Past must-haves include desktop publishing systems, auto plate-changing kit, CTP systems, wide-format presses and HP Indigos. 2010 has already been nominated the year of inkjet - everyone must have one; you're not a printer or a true print service provider unless you have an inkjet.

There is one question I ask at Christmas and it's something wide-eyed printers on their way to Ipex with full wallets and the inkjet of their dreams on their shopping lists should consider: does the child really want that must-have toy you have just spent hours queuing for, or is it as much about being seen to have it?

I ask this question because I suspect that many printers have yet to answer the following fundamental questions when it comes to digital technology. Firstly, what have I done to ensure that I will be investing my hard-earned cash in an appropriate technology that adds value to my current customer base? And secondly, do I have the sales process, infrastructure, workflow, products, finishing technologies and customers to support a high-volume inkjet press?

Look and learn
Due diligence is the key. We cannot all have the ‘early-adopter' advantage. Proper market analysis, business intelligence, and relationship and communication channels with the clients will differentiate the successful from the unsuccessful.
Having done this review some will stick with the traditional for the time being, while others will have assessed that it is time to change. It will be dependent on the individual products, markets and territories as to what is right or wrong. Every business will be different. However, one thing is for sure, if you haven't done the research, success or failure will be down to luck alone.

Ipex 2010 will not be about machine sales, there will be many years that outstrip this year in terms of units sold, money changing hands and attendees. What will be key at Ipex 2010 is the opportunity for printers to take a good hard look at the products on offer and ask themselves: ‘What do I have to do to offer my customers better value, better products and best service in the future?'

The media is full of stories about how the amount of square-footage printed by digital means has outstripped that printed on conventional presses. Of course it has. That's where the budget and the growth market are this year.

Don't imagine that I am anti-inkjet, not at all. I believe the new generation of digital print will instigate a fundamental change that will have greater impact on this industry than the impact litho had on letterpress.

However, it's not just about inkjet heads versus conventional presses, it is about the fundamental principals - the entire process will change, from how we order products, to the frequency of those orders; how we sell to customers and how we fulfil their requirements. Every aspect of the supply chain has the potential to change.

Ipex 2010 will be about change; if you aren't there, you won't see the potential or the opportunity. Even if you're not in the market for a new piece of kit, go to see the products and opportunities that represent the print business of the future. Fortunately, (at least for the ill-prepared) a lot of the equipment won't be widely available for a couple of years, unless you have ordered it already. Some of it will be, but sales will be limited to those who are brave (or foolhardy) enough and those who fully understand what they need.

I believe that print service providers will be expected to offer higher-value propositions to their customers, interactive, integrated, intelligent solutions that are well thought out and what their customers want.

My recommendation for Ipex? Don't take your cheque book, take your notebook and use the opportunity in May to plan for the future.

John Charnock is managing director of Print Research International