print technology Archive - Ask the digitalprintexpert.de

Why drupa still matters

Drupa 2024 is only days away. I will attend for seven days. This will be my eighth drupa, after starting in 1990 still as a printing technology student. Attending a drupa has always been a highlight, first in my job in R&D and especially as an analyst and industry expert for digital print technologies.

There has been some talk about the relevance of trade shows lately. Especially, after the pandemic-induced break and the rise of virtual fairs or presentations. Also, budgets are getting tighter and the audience for print shows, printing companies, is dwindling.

Still, I find that trade shows are important, and even if participants should always question the value of attending, I believe the industry needs a flagship tradeshow like drupa. Here are a couple of reasons why drupa still matters:

Print is technology driven. Granted, the business model needs to come first but using technology is still required and does make a difference in capabilities and costs.
Online events are not an adequate substitute. Too little chance to ask questions (especially the ones not asked in front of a big audience), limited views on what is presented, and little detail in general. Moreover, virtual presentations are not always that efficient considering the info you get and the time you spend. I covered the virtual drupa in 2021 (here, here, here and here) and while it was entertaining in parts, the content was not that helpful.
Print is tactile; hence I want to hold the output of a press/embellishment/finishing device in my hand. Also, a close look at the build of a piece of equipment is telling.
Trade shows are networking places. The best information still stems from personal conversations, based on the trust created between persons meeting physically.
Open houses are great but they are not as efficient as trade shows. In seven days, I will probably talk to 50 different companies. At an open house (including travel), I spend two days to speak to one company.
Traditionally drupa is the one place where suppliers not only share their technology roadmap, they also show prototypes and technology demos. Suppliers get feedback on technologies, customers the insurance that suppliers are investing in new, competitive technologies. Everybody gets an idea of future possibilities and how to build ecosystems around it.
The serendipity of trade shows should not be underestimated. We tend to be well informed about the technology areas directly affecting us and vendors will make sure that we get those news. However, print is versatile, full of niches, and changing constantly, so it makes a lot of sense to get inspired and what might be a market to enter in the future or how to use new tech to become more efficient.

The big question is, do exhibitors achieve an ROI? Usually, equipment is not sold anymore directly on the trade show floor. Smaller companies certainly do benefit most, as a trade show is their best platform to showcase their products and services. Bigger companies still benefit from a close customer contact by presenting new tech and their complete portfolio, personal contacts to customers and prospects, and by showing their solutions as part of a partner workflow (or find these partners). If a company is strictly cost driven and doesn’t have new technologies to present, it should not exhibit as the expenses are substantial. At the same customers and potentials should deduct that the company is not investing in new technologies, which will be a concern in the future

For me, there are many reasons why drupa still matters. I believe it is also good for the industry to have that one focal point where everything and everybody converges.

17. May 2024 Blog No Comments

How big is the European printing industry

A question often posed to me is: how big is the European printing industry. The answer depends very much on the markets you want to include. The obvious ones in the graphic arts industry include Graphic Arts print (which subsumes in the statistics commercial print and also more specialised printers like book, catalogue, forms or magazine printers). The only application specific type of printing company split out in the statistics is newspaper print. Prepress and postpress companies contribute to the graphic arts industry revenue, although strictly speaking they do not print. Important print producers that should be added, while not included in graphic arts statistics, are label and packaging printers – although commercial printers produce smaller volumes of label and packaging print as well as part of their services. Often overlooked in the statistics are photocopy services and in-house printing sites, the latter including data centre print.

There are some markets more difficult to size. Direct mail is produced as part of commercial print but also in advertising services – a portion that cannot be easily identified. Décor print (like wallpaper, furnishing, ceramics or textile) is missing as well, as the value of the print produced is hidden in the goods production. Also some small or niche packaging segments lack a good data basis.

In the view I recommend, those 10 segments contribute to the European printing industry revenue:

Printing of newspapers
Graphic Arts Print
Pre-press and pre-media services
Binding and related services
Folding carton
Flex Pack printing
Corrugated printing
Label printing
Photocopy services
In-house printing

Graphic Arts print (including publication and specialty print) contributes the biggest single chunk to the European printing revenue. Label and packaging printers combined add about the same amount (although some additional packaging output stems from commercial print, as mentioned above). The high substrate costs in label and packaging print drive up the revenues, while by surface area printed, commercial print would a much higher. Other segments are noticeably smaller but still add to the pie.

Share of Europe print industry sectors — Europe print industry sectors by revenue size

25. March 2024 Blog No Comments

The Inkjet Integrator Series

For Inkjet Insight I am preparing an Inkjet Integrator Series, profiling companies and their services offered. Some basic considerations on which companies are going to be covered are laid out in a kick-off article on Inkjet Insight. In short, we cover companies buying in inkjet heads and designing inks, transport, and handling for bespoke print solutions. This can stretch from commercial to packaging, industrial, and even 3D-print and electronics. Often companies develop a set of modules to pick and combine with a lot of leeway to include custom components.

I am impressed with how integrators come up with efficient solutions for complex problems, considering the typical company size of about 30 employees. And how they compete against inkjet behemoths often 100 times the size is fascinating as well. There is one area integrators often fall behind and that is talking to the market. The Inkjet Integrator Series is hopefully changing this a bit.

The series kicked off with an article on NEOS, a company I have known for some years now. I already completed three more interviews to turn into written articles and the series will be continued shortly. The plan is to add one or two profiles per month. Inkjet Insight decided to have the articles outside of the paywall so users can get informed on the capabilities of the players for free. Please keep in mind that the articles are not sponsored and reflect the view of the author.

NEOS Bombardier module — Inkjet Integrator module – custom configurable

If you think your company should be considered as well, please contact me at ralf@digitalprintexpert.de

16. February 2024 Blog No Comments

Evidence is rushing in – printed is better

There has been some confirmations before that printed is better for learning, now governments are taking action. In September 2023 the Swedish government reversed its decision by the National Agency for Education to make digital devices mandatory in preschools and instead focus more on printed materials. It plans to go further and to completely end digital learning for children under the age 6. It follows a drop in the reading scores of pupils since 2016. The government even set 60 million euros aside for book purchases for the country’s schools this year.

The decision follows expert advice from the renowned Karolinska Institute that highlighted the lack of substantiated positive findings and emphasized the significant negative effects of digitizing schools on students’ knowledge acquisition. “There’s clear scientific evidence that digital tools impair rather than enhance student learning,”

3. January 2024 Blog No Comments

Booktok – influencing the book market

You might have heard of Booktok, even not being a regular (or at all) on Tiktok. Booktok is influencing the book market and the contributors are the modern book bloggers who reach millions of users with their short videos. The Booktok hashtag is now closing in on 200 billion views. Of course, it is unclear what portion of views ended up in real sales. The general consensus is that Booktok contributed to an uptick in book sales since 2021. Nielsen in the UK did some consumer research and found that the share of Booktok among all sales accounted for 3% of all book revenues in 2022.

Who and how Booktok is used is a bit better researched. According to one study in the UK, 38% of young people rely on Booktok for recommendations ahead of family and friends. At the same time, 68% said Booktok inspired them to read books they wouldn’t have considered otherwise.

13. November 2023 Blog No Comments

Content

Why drupa still matters

How big is the European printing industry

The Inkjet Integrator Series

Evidence is rushing in – printed is better

Booktok – influencing the book market