Business Management - Industry Trends

As I have mentioned many times before in my blogs, it is the market’s responsibility to teach new and existing users the differences and the impact inkjet will have now and in the future. And to make them feel comfortable with changes that will occur to their processes and markets.

In the recent Webinar "Inkjet: Adapting to New Markets—Is Your Business Ready?" presented by Printing Impressions and In-plant Graphics, and sponsored by Kodak, Barbara Pellow, group director of InfoTrends, presented the results from InfoTrends' digital printing application forecast. While Brad Koch, vice president of sales at Webcrafters Inc., Madison, WI; and John Gaspari, vice president of operations for Specialty Print Communications (SPC) in Niles, IL, discussed how transferring offset work to digital print production and emerging applications are driving their business results.

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Large Format Printer Tracker, the worldwide large-format printer market grew 6.2 percent year over year with 77.7 thousand units shipped in the third quarter of 2013 (3Q13).

Choosing an inkjet-compatible paper will provide a more stable platform to print to G7 Gray. Some coated inkjet papers using aqueous pigment inks will even achieve G7 Color. How do you currently measure, match or control your high-speed aqueous inkjet processes?

The second annual Inkjet Summit, hosted by Printing Impressions and nGage Events, will be held at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, April 7-9, 2014. The invitation-only event will feature expanded coverage of market segments and an increased number of qualified attendees.

In IDEAlliance's study on wide/grand format inkjet systems, 24 systems were evaluated for color control, ink consumption, repeatability, print speed and many other factors.

Logo Label Printing of Durham, NC, has added an EFI Jetrion 4830 UV inkjet system to provide volume printing without the added costs of plates, setup, and prepress charges, for a wide assortment of substrates, including foil and clear label.

This webinar will focus on why wide format is an integral part of the cross media mix: QR codes, text messaging, augmented reality.

The industry continues to shrink, as evidenced by a brisk 2013 transaction season, capped by the jaw-dropping pickup of Consolidated Graphics by RR Donnelley. And while it was by far and away the biggest deal in '13, a glimpse at the PI 400 can provide further evidence of a shrinking market.

Do you currently sell both offset and inkjet? Are you confident that your sales staff understands the basic differences? Not knowing will affect your sales and integration of new technology.