There has been plenty of activity in the workflow automation and online software field of late. Acquisitions, repositioning, delays and radio silence seem the order of the day in contrast to the excitement and hype that have been prevalent for the last few years – certainly since the last Drupa two years ago. This might be completely normal, part of the Gartner Hype Cycle when the promise of a technology breakthrough and the accompanying hype is followed by disappointment that the promise has not been delivered and followed by a more gradual adoption of the technology until everything and more of what was promised is in place.
Or it could be an indication that the software pushers have either hit walls or that the applications do not work in the way that they should. Most software developers have been independent companies aiming to disrupt and perhaps without the resources either to fund the necessary work or to market it successfully. Or perhaps it has been that printers do not appreciate that such technology is needed. But it is. Like climate change, the environment for print is changing fast. Shorter runs, more digital, more automation at the same time as skills are short and competition intensifying.
For the most part printers, like the proverbial frog, do not appreciate that the temperature is changing. The technology developers may have the answer, but the message is not getting through – or at least it hasn’t been. These companies are unable to gain the speed they need for take off in the way that was possible perhaps in the early days of desktop publishing. The promise of transformation is catching the eyes and imagination of other investors. The funding they need is coming via new shareholders, some from machinery providers, some from end user customers. The industry needs an injection of software development, perhaps exploiting AI and using cloud computing to scale solutions, to succeed. The wave of inkjet presses needs a different approach. And it needs printers that recognise this.
It’s going to be all about the software
There has been plenty of activity in the workflow automation and online software field of late. Acquisitions, repositioning, delays and radio silence seem the order of the day in contrast to the excitement and hype that have been prevalent for the last few years – certainly since the last Drupa two years ago. This might be completely normal, part of the Gartner Hype Cycle when the promise of a technology breakthrough and the accompanying hype is followed by disappointment that the promise has not been delivered and followed by a more gradual adoption of the technology until everything and more of what was promised is in place.
Or it could be an indication that the software pushers have either hit walls or that the applications do not work in the way that they should. Most software developers have been independent companies aiming to disrupt and perhaps without the resources either to fund the necessary work or to market it successfully. Or perhaps it has been that printers do not appreciate that such technology is needed. But it is. Like climate change, the environment for print is changing fast. Shorter runs, more digital, more automation at the same time as skills are short and competition intensifying.
For the most part printers, like the proverbial frog, do not appreciate that the temperature is changing. The technology developers may have the answer, but the message is not getting through – or at least it hasn’t been. These companies are unable to gain the speed they need for take off in the way that was possible perhaps in the early days of desktop publishing. The promise of transformation is catching the eyes and imagination of other investors. The funding they need is coming via new shareholders, some from machinery providers, some from end user customers. The industry needs an injection of software development, perhaps exploiting AI and using cloud computing to scale solutions, to succeed. The wave of inkjet presses needs a different approach. And it needs printers that recognise this.
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Prayers for the future of the print industry
Prayers for the future of the print industry