What do you think will be the greatest opportunity for and threat to the print industry next year? 

The greatest opportunity will be for businesses to realise the power of combining other media platforms with print, for instance PURLs (Persistent Uniform Resource Locators) that act as permanent identifiers in the face of a dynamic and changing Web infrastructure. 

Specifically in print, digital will be the biggest opportunity in order to drive better return on investments for their clients. In continuing difficult economic times, more than ever the industry must provide higher return on investments and more relevance to their clients. 

The threat continues to be the economic conditions that could drive down the volume of print within the industry.

What do you believe is the most under-recognised aspect in printing that is likely to gain more prominence in 2012?  

Workflow, while seen as an integral part of a solution, it is sometimes overlooked and can often be the lynchpin for a successful business.  While there is often a large focus on the printing hardware and its quality and speed capability, workflow will begin to be the glue that businesses must focus on in order to reach their potential.

Companies / organisations have to ensure that they have an end-to-end solution starting with the print file.

What do you hope to get out of Drupa 2012?

This will be an incredibly exciting time for Océ, which will combine with Canon at Drupa to showcase the depth of our combined portfolio and business proposition.  From managed print services, through to print rooms and commercial printers Océ as part of the Canon Group is a company that can address any business need at any level.  We aim to demonstrate this value to Drupa visitors.
 
What new technology do you expect to see at Drupa 2012 in your sector? 

We expect to see a continued development of inkjet technologies, new inks, faster speeds, wider web widths, improved quality and expanded paper opportunities.  We also expect to see integrated workflows being a more integral part of the story. 

As high speed colour solutions increase so do the complexities of the workflow and investment here is key to successful partnerships and will allow greater operational efficiencies for businesses.  Océ has recently announced new additions to our Océ JetStream range, the Océ JetStream 1900 and the Océ JetStream 4300. 

These two new products continue to demonstrate the investment and breath of the Océ continuous feed portfolio allowing our customers to have the right solution that fits their applications and business needs. 

With technology advancements so frequent companies can no longer wait for events such as Drupa to announce the latest technology, although some may still have something up their sleeve for the show!

What new technology do you expect to see at Drupa 2012 in other sectors?  

Vendors will use Drupa to announce new features to existing platforms, showcasing the continued development and investments of their portfolio.

What do you think the main trends will be at Drupa 2012 in your sector?

Inkjet will again be a key trend in 2012. 

Four years on from the "inkjet Drupa" 2012 will finally realise some of the potential that was demonstrated in 2008. The technologies have improved considerably, this being shown with the increased uptake over the past couple of years and the forecasts by the industry experts which show the expectation of a rapid uptake of technologies over the next few years.

What trends do you think will emerge at Drupa 2012 in any other sectors?  

Digital for the packaging market will become an increasing area of opportunity along with increased demand for digital books as offset volumes fall.  Newspapers will also continue to adopt digital solutions offering a greater opportunity for short run and tailored advertising.

What can the industry do to increase its profile next year?  

It will be important that the industry continues to market it services capability and demonstrate to its clients that it can support them to drive incremental revenues.  ROI will be a key factor that the industry must be able to demonstrate. 

Advertising spend must be targeted and show a direct return - this is where digital technology can help allowing better and more relevant communication through personalisation
 
What will you do differently next year?  

The combined strength of Océ and Canon will allow us to approach a wider market offering a wider portfolio of services.  We will continue to support our customers with application development, the latest technologies and solutions in order to optimise the return on their investment.