Do not forget the automation paradox 

There will be a lot of automation at Drupa. A lot. From artificial intelligence to speed workflows and the passage of files to press, to systems that remove operators from the burden of running a litho press, to robots to move pallets or work in progress and of course lines that deliver completed books that no hand has touched. There will be an awful lot of automation at Drupa. There will also be speed, saving seconds at makeready, pushing sheets through a press at 21,000sph, and technology to drive OEE figures up the percentages ladder. Automation leads to efficiency, leads to increased capacity and leads to greater profits. Or so it goes.

That works very well in an expanding market where demand is always running ahead of supply to meet that demand. It works too for businesses that can optimise their sausage factory to deliver a limited range of highly commoditised products. These businesses are few and far between; perhaps in carton printing where runs can still extend into millions of units; perhaps for trade printers who through aggressive pricing on web sites can consolidate the same products to exploit the power of automation and high speed presses. It does not necessarily work for the vast majority of commercial printers who find themselves investing more and more in digital presses because they are nimble, easy to operate and can cope with multiple very short run orders. Many would rather buy offset if they could. But offset is on a rocket to Mars, leaving these Earthly concerns behind.

The traditional offset printer must be impressed by the levels of automation that will be on view. Some will be relevant, useful and affordable. But end to end automation is not for them. The opportunity for the independent printer lies in the gaps between automation, the gaps where people have to make a decision and therefore can make a difference to the product and to the customer. Most serious buyers of print know what they want, and know that they will not get it from the online portals. That is for everyday print, not for the cherished project, the invitation to the launch of a new luxury hotel perhaps where advice on substrates and finishes is welcomed, where the cost of print is well below its true value to that customer. Automation works in terms of increasing efficiency, though not necessarily in increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.