The past decade has after all brought massive changes in the way print jobs are handled before they hit the press, with everything from web-to-print and online proofing to CTP machines hitting faster speeds and better quality than anyone once thought possible. But though these have been significant, industry-changing developments, they were not always trusted or bought into.
At Ipex 2014, however, that will change. Printers will be heading to the pre-press vendors not because they want to take a sneak peek at the future, but because what they are offering is now business-critical. In fact those not making the purchase will now be the ones taking a risk, rather than the other way round.
“Software is becoming a key major focus,” explains Mark Hinder, market development manager for Konica Minolta. “It is essential commercial printers start to review multi-channel communications, as the feedback we are getting from creative agencies is that they want to work collaboratively with printers to help them unlock the market potential in SME companies. In Europe, this market represents over a €1bn opportunity and can only be realised through working as a community to offer solutions such as cross-media for campaign management.”
Hinder explains that this is why his company is moving increasingly into this market and why at Ipex 2014 it will be showing a “full range of solutions including workflow, marketing automation, web-to-print and publishing”.
After years of revolution, it seems then that many now believe this is the year pre-media will showcase how it is evolving into a staple, stable and incredibly effective sector of print.
“Most of the pre-press vendors’ workflow, colour proofing and CTP systems and solutions are now mature, with very comprehensive features and toolsets,” says Paul Sherfield, owner of the Missing Horse Consultancy. “Most of the upgrades over the last year and those expected over the coming Ipex year will be evolutionary rather then revolutionary.”
Sherfield expects that evolution to manifest in incremental improvements to areas such as automation, with better integration with management information systems.
“This will probably not be JDF-based, as that seems to have hit a wall created by its own complexity,” says Sherfield. “But what we will see is that all vendors in this area are including integration to digital printing devices within their workflow, and the ability to repurpose output for these many devices, as well as other ‘screen-based’ media such as smart phones and tablets.”
It seems, then, that not only has the pre-press technology matured, so too has print’s place in the marketing mix. Whereas before print providers were taking pot shots at controlling marketing budgets with themselves as the hub of outsourced operations, now there are many companies holding those positions and using increasingly sophisticated software to provide ever more complex services. Ipex will showcase that the best of those solutions and integration, as Sherfield says, are at the heart of everyone’s agenda.
“The big story this year will be one of integration – integration between all the different stages of production and integration in the sense of using the same pre-media tools to drive different devices,” says Tim Taylor, vice-president of solutions and technology at Screen Europe.
Digitally driven
As to how print has solidified its position in the marketing mix, the key has been digital print, says Taylor, and thus pre-media’s role has also been elevated.
“The importance of pre-media software to digital printing, where job volumes are so much higher, means that the software that drives production is at least as important as the printing device. Digital press manufacturers have always put more focus on workflow and the increasing substitution of offset by digital inevitably means that workflow will feature more prominently at Ipex,” he says.
Does this mean, then, that those attending will be fully clued up on the intricacies of what is on offer? Or, as in previous years, will the vendors have to work hard to educate visitors?
Paul Deane, managing director at Shuttleworth MIS, believes it will not be about telling printers what the kit does, more how to use that kit in a better way.
“We would like to think these products are now an essential tool of a modern manufacturing business. Education is now about making better use of the software they have and also engaging them on the newer technologies for both themselves and for their customers,” he says.
Hinder agrees, explaining that on the Konica stand consultants will be on hand to advise on the best solutions for individual businesses.
“Visitors to our stand throughout the show will see and hear leading consultants educating on where the market is going and what they need to do to enable their business to transform and adapt,” he says.
But Screen Europe’s Taylor thinks a more involved education push may be required for some pre-media sectors.
“I think the level of education required varies from market to market. Certainly the subset of the market that has been using cut-sheet digital presses for as long as 20 years in some instances requires little education, yet other sectors that are only just beginning to benefit from inkjet (and the ability to produce small quantities) are yet to recognise the value of having a streamlined pre-media solution that automates production,” he explains.
All this talk of evolution and education should not be seen, however, as a smokescreen to hide there being nothing new to see at Ipex. Quite the contrary. There will be something fresh with the potential to change a print business for the better on every single stand. While many of the vendors will only comment that far – holding details of developments to nearer the time – some are prepared to be a little more forthcoming at this early stage.
“On the Screen stand we will be showing the latest version of our universal workflow software Equios,” says Taylor. “Equios will drive any of our inkjet presses as well as third- party digital machines. This means operators only need to learn one set of tools and one user interface for multiple output devices. In addition to the software, we will show our new UV inkjet label printer as well high-speed roll-to-roll inkjet.”
Over at Shuttleworth, meanwhile, Deane reveals: “We are launching not just new products but new technological services for our customers to offer to their customers. We will be launching a mobile stock app that enables users of the Shuttleworth System to use mobile technology to better control their stock. We will also be showing how we can offer services to support their business development activity with customer bespoke mobile applications, QR Codes and augmented reality. Shuttleworth will also show using social media, that this data can be delivered back to the brand owner.”
Sherfield expects other new launches to either improve recent innovations or herald the departure of some of the old processes that are being used less and less.
“Hard copy contact colour proofing in many market areas is decreasing sharply,” he explains. “It is being replaced by soft proofing portals, mainly for content, not colour. I wonder if this is the year when, at last, contract colour soft proofing will become mainstream? There are a number of hurdles to cross, the main being the use of and calibration of high-end, wide-gamut monitors by clients in the offices.”
Hinder adds that he expects cloud solutions to move on apace, providing access to pre-media solutions to more printers than ever before.
“It is clear that software as a service, with products such as web-to-print and marketing automation, will continue to move to the cloud, offering companies an easy and low investment route to create profitable opportunities. We hope to make some announcements in this area in the near future and will be showcasing solutions at Ipex 2014,” he says.
Sherfield reveals, though, that one area he does not expect to see improvement in is unifying the language of colour automation. Perhaps, he suggests, Ipex 2014 may be the time to rally for this type of solution.
“Colour management tools within prepress workflows are getting more automated and intelligent. But often there is a lack of documentation and the tools are not intuitive to use. So a plea to vendors: make these areas of the workflow reflect a common colour management language and menu, with good training and documentation,” he says.
Lobbying for issues such as this can be done alongside getting to grips with pre-media issues and making pre-media work better in your business during Ipex 2014’s Masterclass and World Print Summit seminars. Content will include case studies from printers who lead in their fields, research and expert opinion from across the print supply chain, and plenty of chances for debate. Of particular interest will be Theatre 1’s 27 March theme of web-to-print and Theatre 2’s 25 March theme of ‘Better workflow’ (see boxout).
All in all, then, even before many of the vendors have announced what they will be showcasing come the end of March, it already looks like pre-media will be on every printer’s agenda. Granted, there may not be the fireworks in terms of leaps of innovation seen in previous years. But what is on offer this year is likely, more than ever, to be crucial to the profitability of the print providers of the future.
Seminar programme: pre-media
Ipex masterclass programme
Theatre 1 – Better Business
24 March
Theme – Planning for change
12.00 Case study: The 123 of cross-media
14.00 Practical steps to integrate print in a mobile world
27 March
Theme – W2P: grow an online business
11.00 W2P: How to start out
12.00 Engaging customers & how to sell print online
13.00 Panel discussion: How can printers succeed in an online world?
14.00 W2P: ABC of making money
Theatre 2 – Better margins
25 March
Theme – Better workflow
11.30 Workflows that work – the key steps for smaller printers
12.30 Reducing cost with a colour managed workflow
14.30 Where printers go wrong with colour management
15.30 Case study: Integrating your MIS to save money
The World Print Summit Programme
25 March
12.00-12.45 Panel discussion: Can print co-exist with digital Communications in the future?
27 March
11.00-11.45 Keynote address & Q&A: Harnessing big data to understand your customers’ behaviour
15.00–15.45 Panel discussion: Colour confidence – an audience with the innovators
