How was 2021 for you, and what do you think 2022 will bring?
So far, 2021, as they say in those football interviews, has been “a game of two halves”. And at IFS we are very much seeing the game has picked up in this second half. The sector is very busy in every area. Pent-up demand has combined with the usual seasonal aspect to fuel the need to revisit investment plans for new equipment.

The trend we are seeing particularly points to print finishing automation. Faster setup times, reduced touchpoints and high automation are the main areas of interest. Fortunately, IFS has been able to satisfy that demand with several key installations of automated Horizon machines already reported and we have a very healthy order book going forward for the rest of this year and into Q1 of 2022.

In the first half of 2021 it was difficult to gauge exactly what the trend would be. So many companies at that time were still operating on low print volumes and vast swathes of production teams furloughed, with the exception of some areas such as book production. It’s certainly all changed now. 

So how will the game end in 2021? It won’t go to extra time or penalties. Things are fast getting back on track and, certainly for us at IFS, 2021 will have been a good year because of the second half. We are winning the game for sure.

For 2022, we of course all hope in our industry that the bounce back will continue, but it is against the backdrop of inflationary pressures in the economy and supply chain challenges. For print, again, there is the need to reinvent itself in the eyes of the print buyer and consumer, as many consumers have done without so many printed products throughout the pandemic.

Fortunately, our sector has many young and vibrant business leaders and visionary entrepreneurs who will have dusted themselves down, used the hiatus of the pandemic to rethink their strategy and reorganised their businesses; most will be stronger for it. This will be the engine fuelling the print recovery which I predict will see an acceleration in investment in the latest digital print technology and automated print finishing systems.

Note: This prediction is taken from a special Briefing article in the new issue of Printweek featuring insights from industry suppliers, hence it does not follow the same question template as the other predictions.