Inkjet: 'The Next Big Game Changer'

Considering the key role he played at the onset of the print-on-demand revolution in the early 1990s, it was no surprise that Charlie Pesko, founder of InfoTrends, had a few words to say at the inaugural Inkjet Summit last month. Citing the way the Xerox DocuTech had set the printing world on fire back in 1991 and launched the digital transformation of the industry, he noted that production inkjet technology was similarly poised to transfigure the printing business.

"I think we're at that stage today," proclaimed Pesko in his opening address. "I sincerely believe that inkjet is the next big game changer in the printing industry."

From that point on, the rest of the three-day summit set about proving that statement, and impressing upon the assembled printers the need to act now before their competition beats them to it.

Held at the elegant Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, near Jacksonville, Fla., the first-of-its-kind Inkjet Summit drew dozens of printers, including seven in-plants. Most of those in-plants have either already installed an inkjet press (e.g., World Bank, Allstate) or are about to (e.g., Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, State of Colorado).

All attendees were hand-picked by the summit's organizers, nGage Events and North American Publishing Company (owner of In-plant Graphics and Printing Impressions). They spent three days networking and learning from one another, while enjoying a non-stop program of keynotes, panel discussions, case studies and user conversations. The near-constant flow of information provided printers with an in-depth look at everything involved in making inkjet work for them—from the effect of paper and ink choices on productivity, to the critical role of automation and inline finishing on their profitability.

Attendees, some of them admittedly blasé about inkjet at the onset, were bowled over by the deluge of practical knowledge they received. Many commented that they had never considered factors like paper, and how profoundly their paper choice could impact print costs and productivity.

Inkjet Market Segments

Attendees were split into three market segments based on their business focus: books, direct mail/marketing and transaction/transpromo. Sponsors presented case studies for each segment, experts offered industry research on those markets, and inkjet users lent their experience to some insightful, very interactive discussions.

The enthusiasm of attendees and sponsors alike was very high, with many compliments going to organizers for bringing the two groups together in such an intimate setting. The event included scheduled one-on-one meetings between individual printers and appropriate vendors, a novel approach in the industry that drew praise from all sides.

The Inkjet Summit featured some of the most important companies in the burgeoning inkjet business; Ricoh Production Print Solutions, Canon Solutions America, Xerox and Finch Paper were all keynote sponsors, while companies like FujiFilm, Mitsubishi, GMC Software, Scodix, Pitney Bowes and Muller Martini were also major supporters. Noticeably absent were HP and Kodak, who chose to sit out the first year of the event.

Expert Lineup of Speakers

Organizers secured some of the top experts in the digital printing business to speak at the summit, including:

• Conference Chair Charlie Corr, former vice president of Corporate Strategy for Mimeo and ex group director at InfoTrends.
• Howie Fenton, NAPL senior consultant.
• Skip Henk, president and CEO of Xplor.
• Elizabeth Gooding, president of Gooding Communications Group.
• Marco Boer, vice president of IT Strategies.
• Gilles Biscos, president of Interquest.

In addition, Kent Smith, manager of strategic business planning with the U.S. Postal Service, gave a lunchtime presentation that detailed the challenges facing the USPS and how it envisions its future.

A Disruption in the Industry

In his opening keynote, Corr called inkjet "the disruptive digital printing technology" that will challenge offset and allow the industry to move forward. He was not, however, talking about the quality of inkjet compared to offset. For now, offset has won this battle. However not every job requires the highest quality, he pointed out, and these "good enough" color jobs are where the opportunities lie.

One key message at the Inkjet Summit, repeated by many of the speakers, was that inkjet technology is ready, so start making plans now to move in this direction.

"This market's moving faster than even I anticipated it would," proclaimed Corr.

He was backed up by Fenton, who said, "This early-adaptor phase is not a bad place to be. People are making money with it now." Over the next decade or so, he added, equipment prices will drop and inkjet will "cross the chasm" and become a commodity. Early adopters, he noted, get "first dibs" on customers.

Much attention was paid to paper. The need for special paper or application of a bonding agent adds costs and is hindering adoption, Fenton said. The type of paper you use, will affect your duty cycle, performance and costs. Also affecting productivity are roll changes, which many new users forget about, leading them to overestimate potential productivity. And don't forget, Fenton added, inkjet-printed papers don't de-ink and recycle as well as toner pages.

Ink coverage also impacts costs and runnability, speakers emphasized. More ink on a page means a longer drying time. It also increases the chance that pages will curl, impacting how well they run through the finishing equipment. The recommendation was to keep coverage at less than 30 percent.

The faster you run your press, the more life it will have, speakers stressed. Conversely, the more you stop it, the less life. So the value lies in longer runs. Boer noted that most users are profitable with a minimum of 4 million pages a month, at which point color inkjet will cost less than toner. At 10 million pages a month, he said, inkjet costs will be much closer to offset costs.

The Cost of Inkjet

Discussions on cost of operation of inkjet seemed to all come back to the idea that costs will differ for each user. Still, noted Fenton, it's critical to determine your total cost of ownership so you know when it's safe to go below cost.

Speakers noted that inkjet presses have fewer moving parts than toner equipment, thus will have lower maintenance costs than people imagine.

"The real cost in this is in the time," noted Boer, meaning the learning curve and the process of figuring out how to get additional value out of the press by offering new products that currently can't be done.

Current inkjet users warned that black-and-white shops that move into color inkjet will need to hire people who understand color. They will also need to teach clients how to prepare color jobs for inkjet. Designers must produce inkjet-friendly designs and set up files correctly for the presses.

Users noted that customers who are used to offset shells imprinted with variable text may notice the change in quality from an inkjet press and demand to pay less, so you'll have to be prepared to show them the benefits they are getting from inkjet, which more than make up for the quality difference.

Users stressed the importance of doing plenty of research into the technology, talking with current inkjet operators, having a thorough understanding of where your work will come from and allowing enough time for the transition to inkjet.

"Make sure you know where those pages are going to come from," urged Boer. He has seen buyers set up enough business to get started, but it's the next 20 customers that prove to be more challenging. As awareness of inkjet's benefits grows, he said, this will get easier. But it will also get easier for your competition, so delaying a year could mean missing the boat.

By the end of the event, which came to a polished conclusion with an elegant awards banquet, attendees and sponsors alike were eager to know if there would be another Inkjet Summit in a year's time. Organizers were happy to confirm this. It will take place April 7-9, 2014, and all signs point to next year's event being bigger and better than even this year's hugely successful experience.