In this article, Richard Darling proposes that despite the incredible potential of thin film inkjet heads, this development could be a case of the Emperor’s new clothes. It sounds super exciting, but in reality, does it make commercial sense?

Adaptability is the superpower that is critical to achieving the best results in 2021. As Jonas Ridderstrale said in our Keynote at the October’s FuturePrint Virtual Summit, “We all went to bed in 2020 and woke up in 2030”! Quite apart from the health threat and the general simmering anxiety all of us have become accustomed to, 2020 has been labelled by McKinsey as the ‘Great Acceleration’. And this speed of change is social, economic, political and technological. Read on to discover more…

FuturePrint organisers have announced their first-quarter virtual events for 2021 focusing on the future of print technology for the entire spectrum of print from industrial through to commercial print.

Individualisation is becoming increasingly important in all areas of life and across all age groups. Whether shoes, mobile phone covers, helmets, rucksack buckles, small gifts or electrical kitchen accessories – the trend is towards individualised design and industrial mass production design of three-dimensional objects. And the demand for individually designed tabletops, cupboards and skirting boards is also growing in interior design. With its new 3D SubliColor films, Sihl is proud to present an innovative solution for printing 3D objects using a new process tailored to these markets.

With Alussa, Agfa developed an inkjet system for decorating high-quality genuine leather as used by the fashion, upholstery and transport industries. We spoke to Dieter Jancart, Business Development Manager for Alussa at Agfa, about the specific challenges of the project and the benefits for users.

2020 has been a year to remember but also one I think we are all looking forward to finishing! Quite apart from the health challenges, change has accelerated and challenged us all. But with recent news of 3 effective vaccines, there is reason to be optimistic. Indeed, our recent research in partnership with Ricoh Europe reveals a sector which is resilient and innovative amid this change.

The second FuturePrint Virtual Summit, which took place from the 12th to the 16th of October, included presentations and insights from the global print industry’s most eminent analysts. Following many educated estimates and predictions during the inaugural summit in June, October saw these leading experts bring months of research, data, and experience to the table to build a comprehensive international picture of where the industry stands as the pandemic rages on.

In this article, Marin Steenackers from Chemstream explains more about their new UV Inkjet 3D Printing technology which could well be a breakthrough technology providing new opportunities, particularly with precision applications.

In this interview, we talk to innovative designer and printer Uri Mofsowitz about the work he’s done over the years particularly in the field of innovative wide format print production.

The latest COVID-19 and the Future of Print ’21 Survey was conducted in October 2020 during the FuturePrint Virtual Summit and attracted 139 respondents from over 20 countries. Results reveal a resilient print technology community that has adapted to the challenges placed in front of it while continuing to innovate amid accelerated change.

The second FuturePrint Virtual Summit, which took place from the 12th to the 16th of October, saw more than 3,900 delegates from over 80 countries register to attend, extending its international reach following June’s successful inaugural event . A month on, FM Future’s Frazer Chesterman caught up with Roland Biemans of LMNS, who hosted sessions on inkjet in manufacturing and interior décor, IPIA’s Brendan Perring, who carried out many of the interviews on the Commercial Print-focused day, industry analyst Pat McGrew, who spoke about transforming your way to more profit, and Karis Copp, who led the Young Guns in Print day, to find out their key takeaways from the second summit. Read on for a snapshot of their conclusions, and watch the wrap up session full for their thoughts in full.

We hear more from Marc Graindouze Business Manager Industrial Inks, Agfa and Inkjet specialist about Inkjet and Water-based pigment inks for printing on décor paper to produce laminates.

Labels and Packaging are currently a key target market for digital technology, and in particular inkjet suppliers.

Being a new(ish) and relatively fast moving technology, inkjet tends to fall foul of the Gartner Hyp-cycle sometimes. Which segments offer the best opportunity and Why? we talk to John Corrall from Industrial Inkjet to find out more.

In this article, Ricoh’s Graham Kennedy explains the thinking behind the new Ignite Innovation Campaign.

When times are tough, often new ideas are affected first. Understandably budgets are tempered, and businesses tend to focus on the here and now. While that may make sense, at Ricoh, we believe that the lifeblood of future growth is innovation. If innovation stops or slows, we restrict our growth potential beyond recovery. In this article, we outline a new programme initiated by Ricoh Industrial Printing that has the goal of helping to bring compelling new inkjet projects to life.

Phoseon UV LED curing products offer improved printing processes for labels and packaging. The intense UV output paired with UV LED flexo inks achieved record press running speeds. Due to the long wavelength range of UV LED, it has the ability to cure difficult inks with reliably higher quality at faster speeds. UV LED inks are available with colors matched to traditional inks for a smooth transition.

Interior decoration makes up the atmosphere, both the look and feel of a space. It's a growing market and one we're excited to explore at Roland. Digital printing technology has driven development and innovation, with fantastic results. Naturally, we initially looked at the interior décor sector through a sign and graphics lens, but there are some limitations on standard sign products; they are simply not designed for the décor sector. We talk to Paul Willems, Director of Business Development and Product Management at Roland DG EMEA to find out more.

The second edition of the FuturePrint Virtual Summit was considered a great success by all who attended, presented, and participated. Replays are now available with access to 79 talks from across the print spectrum.

One of the most interesting talks given at the FuturePrint Virtual summit was delivered by Eviatar Halevi from HP. We caught up with him after the summit to explrore more about Digital Print for Corrugated.

If you missed any of the Bobst sessions at the recent FuturePrint Summit you can watch them here and find out more about their vision of the Future of Packaging !

Following on from part one - Dominiek Arnout about his view that many traditional manufacturing businesses are missing the big picture when it comes to digital print.