Artificial Intelligence: The Future for In-plant Printers

The in-plant community was out in force at the In-plant Impressions Forum at PRINTING United Expo 2024. The session, held on the first day of the Expo, drew a crowd of nearly 70 attendees. Among them were managers from the state printing operations of California, Missouri, Ohio, New Mexico, and Alaska, along with numerous K-12 and higher-ed in-plants, several insurance and healthcare companies, and even print managers from the FBI.

In-plant managers packed the room for the IPI In-plant Forum.

As in-plant managers listened to the Ricoh-sponsored lunchtime presentation, which covered the potential applications for artificial intelligence (AI), they realized that this technology has been more pervasive than they had thought. Several attendees, such as Tina Wolfgram of University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, realized they already had AI processes in place at their in-plants — they just hadn’t thought of it that way.

“I think there are many more opportunities for AI as we start to kind of unfold and pull back what AI can do and how you can use it in your business,” said Heather N. Willovit, principal consultant for software and strategic solutions in Ricoh’s Commercial and Industrial Printing Business Group. “But I will preface this: AI is very, very specific to what you want to use it for. So, when we look at AI as a total whole, it seems like a pretty big ball of wax, but when we start to peel it back a little bit, there is a lot more that we can see.”

In-plant managers packed the room for the IPI In-plant Forum.

AI can be applied in many different ways, and some people may be worried about what that means for the jobs they do today. According to Willovit, it’s not taking them away. Instead, “it's giving us better insight and better tools to actually do those jobs,” she said.

However, since the availability of skilled labor doesn’t quite meet the need for it, AI offers a way to bridge that gap and do more with less, Willovit said.

Here’s a glimpse at where AI can make a difference for in-plants.

Automation and Workflow Optimization

One of the most common uses of AI in the printing industry is for optimizing the production workflow. With AI, in-plants can predict when their equipment may fail or need maintenance, limiting repair costs and how much downtime is needed.

IPI Editor Bob Neubauer addresses the crowd of in-plant managers.

AI can also optimize job scheduling to help in-plants become more efficient and cut down on waste.

“AI does a wonderful job today of being that intuitive piece behind the scenes that schedules jobs and gets them in a timely fashion and puts them out in a more structured way,” Willovit said.

State printers from Alaska, New Mexico, Missouri and California attended the forum.

Further, automating routine tasks such as preparing files, pre-flighting, and routing jobs can give employees more time to work on more involved tasks. One attendee mentioned that their in-plant already uses AI to update job descriptions.

Even before print production begins, in-plants are taking advantage of AI capabilities. Several attendees mentioned that they use AI to create written content such as proposals and marketing assets, as well as for graphic design.

Quality Control

AI can easily detect issues within a print job. For instance, image recognition programs powered by AI can find defects in a job prior to printing that a human may otherwise miss.

Managers from Palm Beach, Lockheed Martin and the State of California.

Additionally, AI can help with color management through precise calibration processes, which are necessary for reproducing color faithfully. In the past, Willovit said the calibration process for 10 machines may have taken several hours or even days to complete. With AI capabilities, like those of the Ricoh Auto Color Adjuster, this can be cut down to a matter of minutes.

“When you have that type of technology sitting behind the scenes there, there is no reason for a person to be standing there,” Willovit explained. “There’s better things for you to be doing than reading these [calibration] patches through.”

Personalization

Something that can really make a print job stand out is personalization. For example, AI can help automate the integration of variable data printing (VDP) into your operations, which can be used to boost the effectiveness of direct mail and other marketing assets.

“What you're doing here is you’re actually speaking to your end user, you're speaking to your audience, you're speaking to the buyer, you're speaking to the employee, you're speaking to the prospect,” Willovit explained.

Supply Chain Management

Another cost-saving purpose for AI at in-plants is within supply chain management. AI can be employed to predict demand for certain products, which can help plan the ordering of inventory more efficiently.

“You remember what it was like during COVID to get paper, right? It was another nightmare,” Willovit said. “And the costs? They went through the roof, because … very few companies had control over a lot of the supply and demand. Well, [AI] actually would enable us to optimize what we're using and then minimize excess inventory. We don't want inventory sitting on our floor, because what happens? A lot of times we don't use it.”

Innovative Applications

Where AI really shines in printing is innovative applications, such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and content generation.

AI can assist in and enhance the creation of these elements, which can elevate print products and, in the case of AR and VR, help immerse end-users in the printed piece.

While none of the attendees indicated that they use AI for these applications, Willovit urged them to give it a try. She explained that in-plant printers across verticals would benefit from using AR and VR, and that it would help propel them into the future.