In our business we travel the world attending the major exhibitions. From Chicago, to Shanghai, Sao Paulo to India, Birmingham to Dusseldorf . . . and then Brussels. On average 25,000 people, THE largest label show in the world, gathering from around the globe and all in Brussels. It is a surprise and it illustrates, I think, that the label market is different from other printing industries. A smaller community, more personal, and a real mixture of people from around the world.

So what to expect this year?

 The most often heard question in the last weeks before a show! I would like to share my view on this. Being a press manufacturer, I will talk about production and print technology although there will for sure be other innovations in areas like substrates and software. 

Labelexpo 2009 brought us then for the first time to a hall dedicated to digital printing. For a lot of people this was seen as the busiest hall throughout the whole show which I think was right. It clearly marked the presence and acceptance of digital printing in the label market. Since then this trend has only continued mainly fuelled by the economic downturn. In time of “crisis” people are forced to think differently, print buyers changed their behaviour – i.e. “I buy what I need for the next month instead of the whole year”Printers were facing more challenges to cope with runs getting shorter on their flexo presses. This trend already existed, but for sure has been accelerated, and the question is if a company will survive over time when the production environment does not have the ability to shift gears based on end user demands.

So 2011 will bring more digital?

 For sure yes. There will be more suppliers offering digital equipment in printing and finishing, flexo press manufacturers acknowledging the shorter runs and trying to adapt their presses to make them more efficient on short runs. The Labelexpo organisation has even introduced a free feature – the digital technology workshop  in hall 9 where people can educated themselves on the capabilities of the different digital printing technologies. No commercial chitchat, just a straight forward comparison between uv-inkjet, liquid toner and dry toner all printing the same files on the same substrate.

When I look at Xeikon, this show has grown exponentially for us. Two years ago we exhibited one machine; last year (Chicago) two machines, and then this year three machines at three different location (Hall9h45, Hall12 package printing zone , Hall9 digital technology workshop with two converting units. Our booth space has increased by 50%, and staff has doubled. This is just one illustration of our success in this market.

So is it all about the digital presses?

No, certainly not. Keep your eyes open the next trend: digital production.  The end user needs flexibility, and that requires a transparent overview of the whole factory. Once you have optimised your printing division, the heart of your business, by combining analogue and digital printing, the next challenge is to optimise the whole production chain. It is a chain, nothing in a company works as an isolated cell. The presses turn-around printing and converting but that doesn’t bring in the jobs. Neither does it deliver the jobs to customers. The printer will need to look at optimising administration and job ordering. Do you really need sales people or is it better to have a sales/account managers? For example all reprints can be ordered through a website at any time during the day. On the handling and shipping, why do you not print the shipping label at the end and/or start of a digital job? That is all possible. Remember each label can be unique when printed digital, and will optimise the handling.

My advice: look beyond printing.

Ask yourself where you want be in a few years, define the criteria and milestones to get there and study carefully the equipment you plan to acquire now. Does it fit your plan? For sure do not deny technological evolution or you might end-up as the next Nokia. 

 Filip Weymans