Heidelberg chairman Bernhard Schreier predicted 2010 will be a great year for the printing industry during his keynote address at US digital print show On Demand this week.


But he added that printers had to ensure that their futures would be bright by learning to price for value and not volume. Schreier concurred with the prevailing view at the show that printers needed to embrace digital technology soon in order to survive, although he dismissed talk of the demise of offset.


He claimed that the big challenge of the next ten years would be to finally make digital print profitable. Thats as much a marketing challenge as a technological one. It will require a high level of co-operation between suppliers and printers and printers and their customers, he said.


He admitted that many printers faced a dilemma when it came to choosing which digital equipment to go for, and likened the decision to buying an important anniversary gift for a spouse. You dont know what to buy but you just know it has to be expensive. You wont understand the full impact until long after the decision has been made. And although you dont know what the outcome will be, you know its important for the long-term future of your marriage, he said.
However Schreier promised that Heidelberg would act as a partner to printers by offering hardware, software and brainware to help them get the most out of their technology.
Heidelberg demonstrated its NexPress colour digital press at the show, which ran from 28 February-2 March in New York. Beta sites for the machine will be announced in the summer, Schreier said.