Inkjet Summit Reflections

I just returned late last night from my ninth Inkjet Summit where I had a lot of opportunities to talk with the two dozen or so in-plant managers who attended. Reflecting back on the first Summit, one big change over the past decade is that about half of the in-plant attendees this year already had at least one inkjet press. The days of trying to convince print providers that inkjet really works are in the past now.

Attendees at one of the keynote presentations.

Over and over we heard speakers from commercial print companies refer to inkjet-printed pieces as “offset quality,” and several said they have bought their last offset press. For them, inkjet is the only path forward, not just for its speed but for the value it brings: the potential to personalize each page; the low cost of adding color; the ability to replace several devices with one inkjet press and still take in additional work.

One recurring theme this year was the industry-wide challenge of hiring skilled workers. Many speakers noted that an inkjet press is much easier to operate than an offset press and thus has enabled their operations to stay productive even after some offset operators retired. One challenge has been convincing offset operators to learn to run an inkjet press; in some cases, operators chose to retire rather than learn this new technology, but an equal number have embraced the chance to move to inkjet.

In-plant managers chat during lunch. From left: Tammy Golden (State of Tennessee), Sherri Isbell (University of Oklahoma), Mike Lincoln (State of Colorado), and Kristen Hampton (State of Michigan).

Among the in-plant managers I talked with, some were K-12 in-plants who see the potential of printing curriculum materials more efficiently with inkjet while also bringing in new work from other districts or universities. Others were state government operations with continuous-feed inkjet looking to add cut-sheet units to bring in new efficiencies and new business. Several university in-plants were asking serious questions about inkjet’s ability to handle their work, and all anticipated adding inkjet in the near future.

Kristen Hampton (State of Michigan) talks with Xerox representatives at one of the 1:1 meetings.

Though it was rainier than we would have liked this week at the Hyatt Lost Pines, outside of Austin, Texas, it didn’t seem to dampen the moods of attendees. I saw all of them talking amiably with other attendees, both in-plant and commercial, and sharing experiences. They embraced the 1:1 meetings with sponsors as opportunities to learn about technologies they weren’t familiar with.

Mike Lincoln at the Inkjet Summit with follow managers Sherri Isbell and Tammy Golden.

Managers chat after lunch at the 11th Inkjet Summit

11th Inkjet Summit

Managers Danny Kirkland and Del Shankle at the 11th Inkjet Summit

Cincinnati-area in-plant managers Roger Chamberlain and John Bartik.

In-plant managers listen to case study presentations at the Inkjet Summit.

In-plant managers listen to case study presentations at the Inkjet Summit.

In-plant managers listen to case study presentations at the 2023 Inkjet Summit.

In-plant managers listen to case study presentations at the Inkjet Summit.

In-plant managers listen to case study presentations at the Inkjet Summit.

As usual after an Inkjet Summit, attendees I talked to felt as though their eyes had been opened to the possibilities of inkjet. All of them came away with a better understanding of the current state of the printing industry and an idea of how it will progress over the next 10 years.

At one of the case study sessions, in-plant managers listen intently. From left: Mike Barnes (Hunter Engineering), Chad Simpson (Baton Rouge Schools), Chuck Werninger (Houston ISD) and Jeff Todd (Oregon State University).