Imagine you are a couple stuck in a desert in Morocco with three young children aged 4,7 & 10. Volcanic ash has caused chaos around the world. Flights are grounded, confusion reigns, anxiety and disorder are at an all-time high. You are well outside of your comfort zone.

What was meant to be a relaxing holiday, has turned into a logistical nightmare.

So, what do you do?

It is now just two weeks to go until the FuturePrint Virtual Conference, held 25th and 26th February.

The summit will feature talks from leading experts and explore the key trends, latest technology and industry disruption. Read on for more information.

Think of a huge dam holding a body of water that has swelled due to unprecedented storms over a period of a year. The pent up pressure of trillions of cubic tonnes of water (saved money mixed with human frustration) is placing a huge amount of pressure against the wall and it will surely burst soon, into the system, and when it does, how are we going to make the most of it?

At the end of 2020, FuturePrint connected with partners and colleagues to form a picture of how the pandemic had affected print, as well as looking ahead to 2021 and the challenges and opportunities it might hold for the industry. These conversations and insights were the foundation for the first FuturePrint Vision Report. In this article, Marc Graindourze, Business Manager Industrial Inks, Agfa, elaborates on his forecasts for 2021.

The UV curing process has been used in the printing industry for more than thirty years. UV LED curing technology continues to replace older technology with compelling advantages of better economics, system capabilities, and environmental benefits. All the major ink manufacturers include a UV LED option today, making integration and use of LED even easier. As ink manufacturers continue to develop formulations to optimize both UV LED curing and specific applications, printers can expand the applications they offer to their customers.

Oostende, Belgium - Mutoh Europe nv, EMEA business unit of Mutoh Industries Co. Ltd., Japan, today unveiled its Mark II series, two new 162 cm / 64” wide 6-colour (C, M, Y, K, Wh, Va) UV LED printers, called ValueJet 1638UR Mark II and ValueJet 1638UH Mark II. Both printers incorporate two piezo drop on demand print heads and two long life UV LED lamps. The ValueJet 1638UR Mark II (VJ-1638UR2) is a roll-to-roll printer; the ValueJet 1638UH Mark II (VJ-1638UH2) is a hybrid model handling both roll and rigid substrates. Both printers come standard with Mutoh’s brand new & genuine VerteLithTM RIP software with advanced 6-channel support.

Following the news that Global Inkjet Systems, the leading developer and supplier of application software, drive electronics and ink system components, has joined FuturePrint as a 2021 Content Partner, we caught up with Business Development Director Debbie Thorp to reflect on 2020 and take an optimistic yet pragmatic look to the future, including a teaser for what’s in-store from GIS in 2021.

FuturePrint made the decision to reach out to partners and colleagues at the end of 2020 in order to collate their thoughts, findings, and experiences as we approached the end of an unprecedented year, and to compile their predictions for the year ahead. The result is the first FuturePrint Vision Report, which reflects on 2020 and considers the key trends, changing pandemic impact, and business and technology updates in the year ahead, all based on input from our forward-thinking FuturePrint partners. As a taster, we’ve summarised three key points from the report.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Integration Technology has stepped up to demonstrate its ability to be ‘innovative, flexible, and pioneering’ – one such example is the development of new products, including a UV sanitizer for the COVID crisis. The business hasn’t shied away from the prospect of new markets, and while UV curing for the print industry remains the core business, refinishing is a key growth area.

If you are a narrow web converter interested in UV LED curing but unsure how to proceed, a great place to act is in areas where scientific principals naturally allow UV LED systems to outperform mercury systems. Focusing on specific aspects of UV LED technology that are uniquely suited for labels and flexible packaging is a more manageable and effective endeavor for those new to the technology than trying to tackle everything all at once. With the technology broken into a few smaller pieces, it is then much easier to analyze and learn how those pieces can directly impact a converter’s bottom line.

I4FÒ, a group of companies providing patents and technologies to the flooring industry, today announced that it has entered into a patent partnership with Hymmen GmbH Maschinen- und Anlagenbau, a leading global digital printing systems provider, specialized in flooring. This new strategic partnership gives I4F exclusive licensing rights for all Hymmen’s digital printing patents and technologies for flooring production, including Hymmen’s award winning Digital Lacquer Embossing (DLE) technology.

Substrate Bank brings together print media manufacturers and their products on a pure B2B industry platform, making the sourcing and specifying of substrates easy, fast and transparent. ”We see the lines between industry verticals blurring as a result of technological developments and the typical entry barriers to digital print disappearing. This requires a modern strategy to connect with potential customers,” says Marco Stevens, Sales & Marketing Director of DIPA Global B.V.

Did you know that The Wright brothers’ first major collaboration was actually a printing press? The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, are most known for designing, building, and flying the first motor-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft in 1903. While many inventors were focused on creating a more powerful engine or lighter materials, the Wright brothers’ unique approach of a flying-machine as a system, or a combination of systems working together, was what really made a difference.

With the announcement that Profile Recruitment will be a FuturePrint Partner for 2021, we ask Dorinda Gibbons to give us her thoughts on the beginning of the New Year 2021.

In my previous FuturePrint blog on the topic of fluid testing for industrial inkjet [1], I highlighted how any R&D laboratory seeking to demonstrate the potential of their ink or fluid needs to consider how to print in addition to just jetting. At DoDxAct, we have always followed this mantra and thus are able to develop expertise and experience that means our advice and training is fully supported by experimental results. In this post, we describe in more detail the importance of modular equipment design for the fullest possible application coverage to serve our clients.

2020 has seen the progress of the SATURN industrial digital printing line with water-based inks that can be integrated into the existing production processes of the customers. To end the year, take a look at an update from our friends at Hymmen.

Look out for our White Paper report on the Trends for 2021. This will be published early in January and promises to share some interesting insights on the key trends and opportunities that our industry froresee in the forthcoming 12 months.

Phoseon Technology the pioneer and world leader in UV LED curing technology for printing & coating has joined FuturePrint as Strategic Partner for FuturePrint for 2021. This underlines a commitment to innovation and thought leadership for the industrial inkjet and printing community.

In this article Phil Jackman and Simon Daplyn of Sun Chemical explain more about the importance of ink. Digital inkjet technologies are taking the global print marketplace by storm, especially as the need for shorter runs of print and personalization increases. With the digital print market estimated to reach $225 billion globally by 2029, businesses are seeking to implement digital print technology into their operations to achieve productivity and profitability gains – but the challenge is often where to start when considering a new application.

With the news that the InPrint, CCE and ICE shows move to June 2021 in Munich. We look forward to warm summer nights with a beer in our hand sitting in a beautiful Bavarian Garden.