This year's show is set to be a compelling Ipex for avid followers of press technologies and market trends. For a start, some of those 'technology demonstrations' seen at Drupa are now a commercial reality, so we can expect some lively discourse to ensue as a result.

One such debate will pit B2 litho machines against the B2 inkjet machines from Screen and Fuji. The brand new B2 DI model from Presstek can also be thrown into that particular mix, according to Presstek's Mark Sullivan, group product director for digital printing, who remains unconvinced about the value proposition for sheetfed inkjet. "I'm not sure where those two devices are going to fit - the speed is just a few thousand an hour at a higher price point. I would imagine there will be more action in roll-fed," says Sullivan.

He's right that it's not just in the sheetfed realm that this debate will rage. Suppliers of conventional web offset presses, in particular those targeting direct mail printers, must be watching the initial sales of the high-speed inkjet web machines from HP and Kodak closely.

Communisis, for example, has made it pretty clear that it will be retiring some of its existing conventional web presses when its HP T300 inkjet web is commissioned. And the Kodak Prosper press that will be at Ipex will be installed at Italian direct mail specialist Rotomail immediately after the show closes.

UK printers who didn't make it to Düsseldorf two years ago - and the anecdotal evidence suggests there are plenty of them - have a lot of catching up to do in terms of press developments that will impact upon future investment plans. Ipex will provide a great opportunity for a comprehensive update, even if that will involve something of an Alice in Wonderland experience for some.

"Things really have moved on," observes Komori's European marketing manager Philip Dunn. "For those who didn't go to Drupa, advances like the higher levels of automation available on the presses now really will be very striking."

Another notable thing at the NEC will be the number of Chinese exhibitors who will occupy more than 60 stands - double the number of those at the last Ipex. Among the more familiar Chinese printing press manufacturers will be Shanghai Electric (now a major shareholder in Goss International with which it shares stand space), and Hans-Gronhi, with its range of low-cost multicolour B3 presses. "We're confident in the product and the build quality, and we just want people to come and see it," says Graham Moorby, managing director at UK distributor Printers Superstore. "We're really looking forward to Ipex. The message is 'we're here, come and take a look'".

Hans-Gronhi makes much of the compact footprint of its presses, and this will be a major theme for Ryobi too, which will also be highlighting the potential five-figure ROI benefits in choosing A-sizes rather than the larger and more expensive B-format. Elsewhere Komori, KBA, Manroland and Heidelberg will be among the press manufacturers showing machines bristling with sophisticated technology aimed at cutting makeready times and reducing waste.

"Lean and green are topical issues, and we've never really properly got across how good we are in that area," says Heidelberg UK managing director George Clarke. "It's about more than power consumption, it's about all the inputs compared to the actual output. Lean manufacturing and green are linked issues, and you've got to look at it holistically."

Automatic for the people
Another hot topic for visitors will be workflow automation, something that can be a complex journey and one that many printing companies are only just beginning to embark upon. There'll be plenty of advice on hand in Hall 7 where CIP4 (the International Cooperation for the Integration of the Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress) is organising a special Print Automation Pavilion (stand 7/E460). Its Print Automation Live! programme will also flag up relevant exhibits across the entire show, and the pavilion itself will host up to 20 exhibitors demonstrating print interoperability. PrintWeek's Ipex Daily (stand 6/B530) will also provide a live example of genuine JDF integration - Komori is working with MIS supplier Tharstern to link all the presses on its stand.

There's definitely recognition among exhibitors that the re-investment plans of some of their potential customers are likely to be stymied by a lack of ready access to funding. As a result there's an additional underlying theme for the show involving making better use of the equipment companies already have. Technotrans (stand 6/C561) managing director Peter Benton has already dubbed it "the Efficiency Ipex", and says he is increasingly talking to printers about ancillaries that will help cut costs and improve production quality on existing kit: "At Ipex they will be able to find relatively low cost - smart pressroom fixes without breaking the bank."

Timeline

March 2008
Heidelberg unveils its new VLF presses, the Speedmaster XL 145 and XL 162 at its Wiesloch manufacturing facility

June 2008
At Drupa, makeready speeds in the B1 market are a dominant topic. Heidelberg, KBA, Komori, Manroland and Mitsubishi all launch major enhancements. KBA claims a world-record by producing 15 separate jobs, each of 520 sheets, in under an hour on a Rapida 106. Meanwhile, Heidelberg declares that the three-minute makeready is a reality. Manroland launches a new entry-level B3 press, the R50; and Goss shows the Folia, a 16pp web press without a drier that produces sheets directly from the end of the press

September 2008
Goss International and Manroland settle their patent dispute involving web press sleeve technology

January 2009
Ryobi launches the 920 press in SRA1 format for the UK market, aiming to exploit a market gap with a more affordable option for printers who don’t need to step up all the way to B1

February 2009
Chinese press manufacturer Hans-Gronhi acquires its compatriot Sanxin, giving it a 70% share of the B3 market in China.
February 2009 CL Print, based in the Republic of Ireland, becomes the first company in the UK and Ireland to install a KBA Rapida 75

June 2009
Goss International installs the biggest web offset press in the world – its 96pp Sunday 5000 – at Italian magazine printer Grafiche Mazzucchelli. The deal was signed at Drupa 2008

August 2009
Rumours circulate of a potential merger between Heidelberg and Manroland. By October any putative deal is called off

September 2009
Chinese manufacturing giant Shanghai Electric completes its move to become the second-largest shareholder in Goss International

October 2009
Benson Group buys Europe’s first Komori Lithrone SX40 in an investment worth £1.9m

March 2010
Manroland announces it is in discussions to buy Swiss newspaper press manufacturer Wifag

March 2010
Presstek takes its on-press imaging technology into the B2 format with the 75DI