Are you in the best position to respond to industry defining trends?

By Robert Stabler, Managing Director, Koenig & Bauer Durst

The landscape of digital production print is being defined by a challenging mix of geopolitical and financial events as well as industry specific trends.

That was among the key observations made by print consultant Sean Smyth at Print Matters - an annual conference, organized by Intergraf, the European association of the national print associations, and the Nordic Printing Association NOPA.

Dr Smyth went on to share a number of industry defining trends that print service providers should be aware of including:

• Innovators re-engineering print manufacturing with high-volume inkjet.
• A lack of skilled operators making it necessary to lower entry barriers in operations.
• Simpler processes and technology enabling end users and goods manufacturers to print.
• The elimination of printing things that people don’t want driving down volumes.

These trends, and the technologies that respond to them, were explored in depth at Koenig & Bauer Durst’s recent SPC Open House on “Digital Transformation in Corrugated Packaging”.

It considered how digital technology, such as the Delta SPC 130 a?single pass inkjet press,?cost efficiently responds in an agile and flexible way.

And how it delivers a production environment that addresses demand for a greater number of SKUs, increased interest in regionalization, enhanced product life cycle management, and the ability to keep pace with ever-changing regulations.

Technology that quickly produces more shorter run, fast turnaround jobs per day.

Technology that comparison tests have shown saves €2.5m on digital addressable volume, eliminates process waste of up to 160k sqm of board and cuts time with the removal of steps associated with analogue printing such as platemaking.

Uptime and capacity is maximised by a global service organization that provides software and workflow support as well as remote diagnostics and telephone service.

Investment is fully supported with project management, prepress, application and operator training, as well as consulting and coaching.

Digital printing technology enables operational capabilities that respond to these defining trends. It also future proofs operations to be prepared for the fresh challenges that are undoubtedly around the corner.

·???????? The next SPC Open House is in Lienz, Austria, on 18-19 March. Contact your local Koenig & Bauer Durst representative or partner for details. The event will cover drupa technology announcements, live demonstrations of the latest SPC technology and special customer insights.

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