Every four years, the huge printing technology and systems extravaganza

Transcription

1

2 Future of Print on Display at drupa 2012 In the first of two feature stories recapping what some call the Olympics of Printing, Print Solutions examines the key print industry trends that emerged from the drupa 2012 trade show in Dusseldorf, Germany. BY IVARS SARKANS Every four years, the huge printing technology and systems extravaganza in Germany known as drupa provides a unique glimpse of trends that will shape the printing industry worldwide for the next 10 years. Described by some as the Olympics of printing, the 18 immense halls of the Düsseldorf fairgrounds were full of equipment, supplies and software competing for visitor attention and sending a positive message about future opportunities in the printing industry. Advances to make print more sustainable and environmentally friendly were highlighted throughout the show. There was real excitement about new printing technology and a clear indication of market segments where print demand remains strong or is growing rapidly. The overall message of drupa 2012 to industry participants worldwide was that the most innovative, regardless of size, will be able to compete with the biggest, fastest and cheapest in practically all printing market segments. The strategic importance of the drupa shows cannot be overstated; it is the primary venue for a large number of new technology demonstrations and equipment prototypes that have the potential for changing the competitive positions and business models of many printing industry participants. Drupa is unique in signaling both significant threats and opportunities that should be recognized in the business plans of printed product and related service providers. Many of the new technologies and machine designs at drupa 2012 will be proven production devices at drupa 2016 and will make obsolete some of the equipment and systems in use today. The increasing rate of technology-driven change and globalization of the printing industry was evident in every exhibit hall. Industry participants will have to wait until 2016 to get an update on the future of print comparable to what was on display in May 2012 in Düsseldorf. Print Business Trends The improvements in conventional printing and finishing equipment at drupa 2012 centered on reduction or elimination of setup time and waste to bring the minimum economical run size as low as possible for each type of machine. This was partly in response to the challenge from digital equipment, which tends to have an advantage ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF DRUPA 2012 / MESSE DUSSELDORF

3 in short-run production. The broader industry trend behind equipment setup time and waste reduction efforts is the gradual transition of more and more printing to an on-demand production business, with minimal inventories and the option for frequent content or image updates. Talk of the trend to shorter runs and how to cope with a flood of small orders was pervasive at drupa This trend favors digital printing and print service providers over traditional print producers with older conventional equipment. PSDA distributors are in an excellent position to manage just-in-time print procurement programs utilizing the best combination of sources with digital or late model conventional equipment for each product category. Drupa 2012 showed that there will be continued rapid shift to production as needed and where needed in commercial printing, direct mail, transaction documents, books, labels and other specialties, where production is migrating to digital presses and the Internet has a growing role in procurement and prepress functions. Drupa 2012 had a record number of systems and software exhibits to solve the complex supply chain challenges of on-demand print creation, ordering and production. Print as an on-demand production business, combined with print-related services, requires drastic compression of design and procurement cycle times and automation of both workflow and component functions within the supply chain. The software for these requirements can be very complex, expensive and require special implementation and maintenance skills. Drupa exhibits showed a gradual shift toward cloud computing, where this software is available on a transaction-fee basis, with all data processing, storage and system maintenance provided by the software as a service (SaaS) host. The cloud computing trend levels the playing field for distributors and other smaller print and related service providers with limited capital expenditure resources. Printers pursuing diversification into services could examine a wide range of specialized finishing and mailing equipment and machines for enhancing the appearance of printed images. Drupa had numerous exhibits of software and systems that facilitate merging of print with other media and marketing services; allow creation of templates and management of image libraries; and track results of direct mail projects. Many of the new technologies and machine designs at drupa 2012 will be proven production devices at drupa 2016 and will make obsolete some of the equipment and systems in use today. The increasing rate of technology-driven change and globalization of the printing industry was evident in every exhibit hall. Exhibitor presentations and printer business success stories provided strong evidence of a continued shift in Europe and the United States from print as a production business to a service business structure. This means that one of the paths to success and profitability will be a business model based primarily on printrelated services, with actual printing as a byproduct. An increasingly important component of these services is assembly and management of market and customer data, promotion responses and analysis of information. These services are an essential part of developing effective personalized or versioned promotional printing programs. The highest hurdle for printers attempting a service business strategy, as evidenced by drupa 2012 presentations, is availability of resources to develop the necessary information technology (IT) skills and infrastructure. On the other hand, service bureaus specializing in market data collection and analysis, mailing service providers and even creative service operations now face relatively low barriers to moving into print production with digital presses. Drupa signaled a continuing shift in competitive positions between traditional commercial and direct mail print producers and new industry participants with high IT skills and service capabilities. Among both conventional and digital press suppliers, there was a marked shift at drupa 2012 toward machines specifically configured for packaging products rather than general commercial printing. Equipment suppliers are responding to projected growing demand for package printing, while contraction of some commercial printing segments is expected to continue. Reported new offset press purchases for commercial printing in the United States and Western Europe are predominantly replacements of two or three older models. Demand is stronger for sheetfed folding carton presses, especially very large format models up to 80 wide. Drupa 2012 left no doubt about the global nature of print, with exhibitors from 51 countries. Germany and Italy led in total exhibit floor area by country, followed by the combined exhibit space of mainland China and Taiwan companies. The major German offset press suppliers now have operations in China. Shanghai Electric Group, with a huge printing machinery portfolio that includes Goss International and Akiyama, exemplified the major press and finishing equipment exhibitors from Asia with state-of-the-art technology. It is almost impossible to trace the international supply chains behind much of the new 82 PRINT SOLUTIONS JULY 2012 PSDA.ORG

4 polymeric film on the blanket belt, which is transferred to paper under heat and light pressure. This transfer process is somewhat similar to laminating. While production-ready presses from Landa Labs or their announced technology partners will not be available until 2013 or 2014, the technology demonstration confirms the importance of drupa as a signpost to the future and the potential for disruptive new digital imaging technologies. Landa Labs, with the promotional skills of Benzion Landa and a spectacular presentation, combined with innovative new technology, exemplified the leading exhibits that made print exciting at drupa If his technology lives up to its early promise, much more commercial and package printing will become an on-demand production business, enabled by faster and wider digital presses that match offset print quality. Top: Benzion (Benny) Landa, the inventor who showed the Indigo digital color presses at drupa 1995 and set a new benchmark for digital print quality, returned to drupa 2012 with Landa Labs sheetfed and web presses using a very novel approach to inkjet imaging. Bottom: In the Landa Labs Nanographic system, the printed images become a thin dry polymeric film on the blanket belt, which is transferred to paper under heat and light pressure. equipment at drupa Available data suggest that developed countries with high labor costs are leading the gradual transition to digital printing, while developing regions with low labor costs still favor conventional presses and finishing equipment with modest levels of automation. Technology Trends Digital printing and finishing drew the biggest crowds, had the most spectacular presentations of new technology and matched the exhibit space occupied by conventional equipment. Clearly, a high proportion of print technology research investment is concentrated in digital imaging and related workflow and finishing systems. Benzion (Benny) Landa, the inventor who showed the Indigo digital color presses at drupa 1995 and set a new benchmark for digital print quality, returned to drupa 2012 with Landa Labs sheetfed and web presses using a very novel approach to inkjet imaging. The key innovations are use of a blanket belt to assemble images created by inkjets, combined with inks that use extremely small pigment particles, measuring a few nanometers, in special formulations for this process. The blanket belt allows drying of the water-based inks prior to contact with paper, distinguishing this process from direct jetting of water-based inks on paper and the associated paper distortion, ink absorption and drying challenges. In the Landa Labs Nanographic system, the printed images become a thin dry The second technology with transformative potential at drupa 2012 was liquid toner electro-photographic printing, which promises much higher speeds, larger sheet sizes and wider webs than is practical with dry toner imaging devices. Only one sheetfed machine was actually running at drupa with this technology, but print results could not be examined by visitors, which indicates at least a two to three year waiting period for the first production-ready models. Introductions of liquid toner concepts at drupa included display by PSDA member Xeikon of a new web-fed press prototype with running speed potential close to 200 feet per minute. Direct-to-paper inkjet printing with UV or water-based inks showed both dramatic progress since drupa 2008 and a huge increase in the number of sheetfed and web machines designed for commercial printing, direct mail, transaction documents, books and other types of publications. Inkjet web press print quality can be near-offset on some specially coated papers. Speeds are resolution-dependent and range up to 800 feet per minute on webs as wide as 42. Inkjet web presses are headed for dominance in transaction document and on-demand book printing and will capture a growing share of direct mail and other segments that can accept PSDA.ORG JULY 2012 PRINT SOLUTIONS 83

5 current inkjet limitations. The direct-topaper inkjet process with water-based inks requires specially coated or treated papers for best attainable print quality and substantial dryer capacity. Ink cost is still relatively high compared to offset, and inkjet presses require special maintenance if workload is intermittent with prolonged idle periods. Inkjet will have a major future role in the printing industry and will impact some of the market segments served by PSDA members. At drupa 2008, sheetfed digital printing had displaced most of the two-page (13 x 18 sheet) offset presses. At drupa 2012, digital printing was positioned to complete with offset in the four-page (19 x 29 sheet) segment of commercial printing. The new competitors to offset included several sheetfed inkjet presses with near-offset quality and 29 x 21 sheet size HP-Indigo liquid toner machines that match offset printing. Narrow-web UV-inkjet and electrophotographic web presses are becoming increasingly competitive for shortrun labels and packaging as machine designs and print quality continue to improve. Drupa 2012 digital printing demonstrations included special attention-getting effects such as raised images, printing on sheets of plastic, security features and printing combined with laser die cutting for novelty products. Other important technology trends include the automation of finishing machine setup tasks, which allows configuration of complete programcontrolled digital printing and finishing production lines. In offset presses, the trend is toward redesigned models targeting folding cartons and other packaging as the primary applications. Inkjet units are becoming available for installation on sheetfed offset presses for personalization and versioning. For web offset presses, new inkjet units can produce high-quality process color variable imprints at speeds up to 3,000 feet per minute. The future contest between imaging technologies will expand beyond offset and flexography versus digital and increasingly involve digital versus digital, making investment decisions more complex and risky for print producers and demanding far greater knowledge of alternate production methods from sellers of printed products. The increased use of digital presses with automatic quality-control provisions and programmable finishing machines will also change the machine operator and maintenance skill prerequisites for success in print production. Top: Introductions of liquid toner concepts at drupa included a display by PSDA member Xeikon of a new web-fed press prototype with running speed potential close to 200 feet per minute. Bottom: At drupa 2012, digital printing was positioned to complete with offset in the four-page (19 x 29 sheet) segment of commercial printing. The new competitors to offset included several sheetfed inkjet presses with near-offset quality and 29 x 21 sheet size HP-Indigo liquid toner machines that match offset printing. Pictured here is HP s T360 Color Inkjet Web Press. Growth Segments Suppliers of conventional offset, flexographic and gravure presses at drupa 2012 were targeting two growth segments of the global printing industry: package printing worldwide, including labels, and print production in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe, China, India, 84 PRINT SOLUTIONS JULY 2012 PSDA.ORG

6 other areas of Asia, Africa and South America. Finishing equipment suppliers are following the trend in press sales with major updates to machinery for packaging products and special models for emerging markets. There was a strong indication that the production capacity for general commercial printing in Western Europe and the United States is adequate for current demand, and future sales of offset presses and related finishing equipment in this market segment will consist mainly of replacements. As conventional printing capacity increases in developing countries with low labor costs, it is possible that more print volume may migrate to those areas from highly developed regions where environmental regulations and restrictions tend to increase production costs. format inkjet color printers were ubiquitous at drupa 2012, and the competing screen presses were limited mainly to exhibitors from China. Both roll-fed and flatbed sign and poster printers are getting wider, faster and more versatile, signaling a major growth segment. Wide-format inkjet printers are now available for textiles, wallpaper, floor tile and laminates, carton board printing and other creative applications. A very large and relatively new highgrowth specialty featured in many sheetfed digital color demonstrations at drupa 2012 is production of photo books. In the package printing segment, the trend to digital color production is strongest in short-run labels with digital presses that can run pressure-sensitive, foil and film stocks. New 29 x 21 sheet Many of the new machines and some of the prototypes that were close to production-ready at drupa 2012 will be on display in Chicago at the big PRINT 2013 show. The broadest range of growth opportunities were evident in digital printing, as rapid advances in both sheetfed and web digital color presses enable more applications and products and shift some work from conventional to digital machines. There was equally rapid evolution evident at drupa 2012 of both in-line and off-line finishing equipment specifically designed for programmable setup and interfaces with digital presses. The trend to digital systems is most noticeable in commercial printing and labels, where the on-demand, short run production advantage of digital presses can offer sizeable advantages. The four-page digital presses at drupa 2012 were part of the trend toward larger format sheetfed digital color printing. The latest inkjet web presses confirmed the capability of digital equipment to challenge more conventional printing methods on the basis of production rates and high-volume capacity. Widesize digital presses with the capability to run folding carton board and a prototype laser die cutter for folding cartons hold promise of more equipment for short run packaging market niches. From the numerous digital-printed product displays at drupa 2012, a developing trend toward highly personalized and versioned labels and folding cartons signals a limited volume but high value opportunity in promotional packaging, personalized brands and the creation of new advertising specialties through personalized labels or packaging. At drupa 2012, a worldwide shift to ondemand digital printing was evident in books, manuals, special interest reports and magazines, limited-distribution newspapers and other application opportunities for high speed web inkjet color presses. A particularly impressive demonstration of an inkjet web press with an integrated automatic production line was the daily printing of the Wall Street Journal an exact duplicate of the full U.S. edition in pages, colors, sections and assembly, delivered to drupa visitors at 5:15 a.m. New York time. Other opportunities created by digital imaging technologies were evident in exhibits featuring image enhancement with visual or tactile coating, 3-D effects and the whole new specialty of printed electronics. Many of the printing growth segments require specialized software, workflow systems or have major established participants. Drupa 2012 provided solutions for practically all applications and even new businesses with limited capital expenditure resources. Cloud computing in the form of SaaS was a significant trend with a wide range of exhibits featuring software and systems for workflow, project organization, proofing, customer interfaces, process management and production control, all available on a transaction-fee basis. drupa Replay in the United States Many of the new machines and some of the prototypes that were close to production-ready at drupa 2012 will be on display in Chicago at the big PRINT 2013 show. Some of the technology trends visible at drupa 2012 will be confirmed with new machine launches in the United States, and new opportunities in the growth segments of printing will be more visible. PRINT, scheduled for September 2013, should be viewed as a unique market research opportunity in the United States and a strategic planning guide that printing industry participants should not miss. In the meantime, look for part two of our exclusive drupa 2012 recap, covering specific exhibits and technology features, in the August issue of Print Solutions magazine. PS Ivars Sarkans, a printing industry consultant located in Sequim, Wash., specializes in business strategies, marketing, systems and technology and is a longtime contributor to PSDA publications. Contact him at or isarkans@sarkans.com PSDA.ORG JULY 2012 PRINT SOLUTIONS 85