"Ink-jet certainly was big news," said consulting partner Marco Boer.

"We saw the clear emergence of at least four integrated ink-jet technology solutions providers Agfa, Jetrion (Flint Ink), Sun Chemical/Inca and Kodak all with a clear focus on industrial markets. The ink-jet industry has the potential of real momentum and resources to push new market initiatives with the backing of these companies".

The firm identified eight products in three categories at the show all of which used ink-jet technology and were both new and significant that is "products or events which break new ground, or hold the realistic promise of doing so."

Those eight products were divided into three categories: ink-jet print heads, industrial ink-jet systems and document print ink-jet systems.

Xaar's OmniDot and Spectra's M-Class print heads were picked out in the first category. In the second category the Jetrion 3025 (PrintWeek, 10 June), Agfa Dotrix the.factory and Sun Chemical/Inca's FastJet were highlighted.

In the third category Riso's Orphis HC5000 (PrintWeek, 20 May), Miyakoshi MJP-600 and Kodak Versamark VX 5000 met the firm's criteria.

IT Strategies claimed that ink-jet is "actually beginning to make a credible case against electrophotography (EP) but only just."

More significantly for commercial printers looking at digital colour print, the company said: "Implicit in the actions and statements of major EP vendors is the understanding now that what others had said before that the offset print industry is a smooth pathway to demand substitution is just not true. Colour EP market development is mostly new market development via different channels."

It also claimed that there would be fairly imminent consolidation among  software and workflow pro viders.

Contact: IT Strategies www.it-strategies.com

Story by Barney Cox