Digital Print Show Aligns To More Print Systems

The fact that print has become a service industry, rather than purely a sector of manufacturing is to be reflected by a revamped Digital Print World exhibition.

This year's Digital Print World (DPW) last week was successful, according to organiser IIR Exhibitions but that was the last time it will be staged in its present format.

Next year will DPW will become part of a new event for London UK, called Total Print Expo, which will be staged between October 14 - 16 2008 at Earls Court 2.

IIR Exhibitions said it is taking the opportunity to expand the focus of the show from pure technology to systems for total print services.

The company's event director, Richard Gayle, commented: "The industry is changing and we have to adapt to meet its needs.

Everyone we have consulted is very positive about this step forward.

It reflects the fact that print, be it digital or otherwise, is no longer simply a manufacturing industry but a service provider." He added that whilst Digital Print World highlighted digital production and new technology, Total Print Expo will allow visitors to explore how all areas of print technology, from litho to digital and small format to large format, can be incorporated in to their operations.

Technology and products will remain at the core of the show but there will be a greater focus on customer service techniques and services, creative applications and integrated marketing developments.

IIR said it believes that the changes will appeal not only to printers deploying digital, litho or both systems but also to print users, who have always had a substantial presence at DPW and that is expected to increase at Total Print Expo.

The organiser has held a digital debate.

At one session, 'All presses will be digital by 20xx', the panel agreed that the days of simply producing a product were long gone.

Kevin O'Donnell of Xerox, commented: "We have to move away from a manufacturing mindset to being service and market driven.

People don't buy print; they buy what it does for their business.

All printing processes are complementary.

It's all about how we manage the relationship with the customer and the workflow process to the output device, whatever technology it is." That view was echoed by James Shand, Principal of eknows .

"Technology does not drive the market - consumer needs do.

The market demands integrated marketing messages that level of variation means digital.

Look towards the application, not the technology." IIR said that the message was loud and clear - print today is customer-driven, not technology-driven, as O'Donnell added: "Technology will come and go.

The challenge we face is one of sales and marketing.

It is six times more costly to acquire a new customer than it is to keep an existing one." Quen Baum, the managing director of Morgana highlighted what he regarded as an overlooked but nonetheless vital area of print operations - finishing.

He explained: "The problem is that finishing is treated as a poor relation.

People will invest significant amounts in print but finishing is an afterthought.

If you want to make a profit, get the bindery right before you start selling pages and documents.

If you have a digital press you can't expect to pull out a 20-year-old folder and give your customer a good job.

Start with the finished document and work your way back." On the convergence and complementary nature of digital and traditional printing processes, Pat McGrew, data sector and transaction segment evangelist of Kodak's Graphic Communications Group, said: "These technologies live together and will do so for a long time.

We are seeing powerful hybrid environments where technologies are integrated and their capabilities maximised according to the needs of the product and the customer.".

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