This advance will be at the expense of gravure and offset, but flexo will remain constant, adds Piras Five-year Technology Forecast of Printing and Publishing.

The report predicts that the costs of digital production will fall considerably due to increases in press speeds, mainly through automation, and price cuts for consumables.

Job definition format will also play a central role in reducing set-up times and enabling different classes of equipment to work together.

The report warns that trade shops and repro houses that do not change their services to aid transfer of digital data between printers and publishers will continue to be the losers in digitisation.

Printers are advised to "seize the opportunity" presented by customer relationship management (CRM).

It recommends that the tool should be used to develop high value-added digital printing services for customers by implementing CRM-driven workflows for customised promotional material.

The report costs 1,500.

Contact: Shelagh Patterson 01372 802071.