The “Think Beyond Ink” Revolution

Some might think that “think beyond ink” means electronics, but I am referring to going beyond ink in print. That might sound like a paradox, but what it really means is seeing the entire end-to-end printing process as a single holistic entity.

Why is this so important for the future of our industry? Because if reflects a more mature and business oriented approach which is necessary to scale digital print to the next level. Perhaps, this is something to reflect on as we take the opportunity to spend time on vacation with our family and friends.

In the early days, the industry was still being convinced that digital could reach the same quality and dependability as traditional offset printing. As we learned from drupa 2016, that phase is over. Digital print is now mainstream which means we need to take it to the next level of quality, productivity and dependability. While HP is constantly upgrading its press technology, this is not enough to leverage the full power of digital.  To accomplish this we need to focus on:

• Partnering with best-of-breed third-party vendors to bring digital-specific solutions to our customers
• Seeing the entire print process form pre-print through workflow to finishing as a single holistic entity

HP’s recently announced PrintOS is the platform to bring it all together.

The cloud based software solution is a print management platform that covers all phases for the print process including pre-press, printing, workflow and finishing.  It provides a real-time view about jobs which have been completed, are in process or in the queue with tools to improve efficiency and productivity. In parallel it stores historical data which is then analyzed to review past performance, establish benchmarks and optimize each process for maximum output with minimum resources.  In short - Print Production Management from A to Z.

To check out some of the features have a look at the presentation below:

With over 500 HP customers managing over 800 presses. HP PrintOS is delivering results on the ground and making an impact on the industry. Leveraging “big data” analytics, the system can quickly identify non-standard activities, analyze the problem and suggest a solution. It also significantly shortens the pre-press process, suggest optimal “job ganging” and creates templates for unparalleled consistency for the same press, different presses and even different sites half way across the world.  

That may sound exotic, but for leading brands it is essential that colors - such as “Coca Cola” red - look exactly the same whether printed in the US, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific or Africa. HP PrintOS is one of the few commercially available solutions that gives brands the confidence they need regardless of where the job is printed. The solution currently supports a number of HP presses with the intention of publishing applications interfaces (API’s) which will allow integration of third-party equipment into the PrintOS eco-system.

The HP booth at drupa was really a meeting place for print innovators. We took advantage of that by hearing what our customers, partners and industry peers were saying about how reinventing print possibilities. For most, the common theme was learning to go outside the box and “think beyond ink” when it comes to how to really leverage the power of digital.