In a little over seven weeks the print production world will descend on Messe Dusseldorf for the first time since 2016.

Following a pandemic, war, energy crisis, higher interest rates, labor shortages and global supply issues, the industry faces a mix of old and new challenges.

Some have been exacerbated by recent events. Others have gained momentum as a result of the industry’s continual evolution. All remain important shapers and influencers for decision makers attending drupa.

That is why attendees will be looking to gain a greater understanding of their long term impact and find ways to ensure their operation successfully evolves to embrace any opportunities presented.

The challenges give rise to the following five considerations:

1. How can I maximise the benefits of digital production? The trend towards personalized, customised, and targeted communications continues unabated. Responsive, cost effective and creative, digital print efficiently responds to today’s client requirements. Supported by intelligent value adding software, PSPs can maximise end-to-end production, ensuring smooth, streamlined, and cost efficient order to completion.

2. How can I produce more jobs, efficiently, cost effectively? As mentioned previously, greater automation across all technologies fuels productivity gains. Both hardware and software solutions can introduce significant improvements ranging from smooth and efficient job inputting and planning to quick start up times, automated paper setup, reliable colour management, error free production with adjustment on the fly, and intelligent communication for both finishing processes and system maintenance.

3. What can AI do for my business? AI can drive digital print production forward by ensuring consistently high print quality, reducing operator load through automation of repetitive tasks, keeping presses productive cost effectively through targeted preventative maintenance, increasing efficiency via print production automation, and creating value through greater print personalisation. These business shaping benefits were explored in more detail by my colleague Sander Sondaal in this blog

4. How can I manage a shortage in skilled employees?
A skills shortage in graphic arts, combined with greater demand for Print Service Providers (PSPs) to offer an ever wider range of services, is placing pressure on investment in highly automated solutions. Intelligent and simple operation ensures quick and easy setup, error free production and friction free workflow. It is also contributing to the trend of specialist team members becoming generalists as my colleague Craig Lewis discussed here. This is expected to continue as PSPs focus on creating a comprehensive approach that supports the ability to deliver a more diverse range of services.

5. How can I ensure my operation is as sustainable as it can be? Sustainability will continue to be a major factor. Drivers include extreme weather requiring supply chains to be more flexible, customer activism forcing companies to exceed legal standards, the effect of the Paris Climate Agreement, and plastic bans favouring paper solutions such as packaging, labels, and card applications. PSPs that enable printing as close as possible to their clients will benefit as will those that can produce micro runs and print only the quantities that are needed eliminating waste, storage needs and transportation-related costs and emissions.

Responding to the above requires us all to be innovators.

Innovation can be big or small or just a little different. It starts with an idea and follows three steps:

• Ideation – the idea is born and other great minds like it.
• Creation – the idea is investigated and brought to life in a useable prototype.
• Validation – the idea is tested and approved to ensure makes sense and cents.

On completion of the latter the idea is transformational if it dramatically changes the way we work.  This kind of innovation can ultimately eliminate existing industries or, at a minimum, totally transform them.

The Japanese call this Henkaku. It is a business ethos that influences all aspects of Ricoh’s operation. It impacts research, shapes product design, tailors education, informs guidance, and supports clients.

We will be exploring this in our immersive theatre at drupa. The House of Henkaku will deliver some powerful insights within a spectacular show that will become, I am confident, one of the highlights of this year’s drupa for everybody who attends.

Our stand will feature the newest additions to the Ricoh portfolio, and Ricoh colleagues will be on hand to demonstrate how they can prove transformative for print operations managing the market challenges highlighted. These range from the RICOH Pro VC80000 high speed inkjet webfed press and the RICOH Pro Z75 B2 sheetfed inkjet press to the RICOH Pro C9500 and the RICOH Pro C7500 color sheetfed presses as well as the fast evolving, value adding software solutions including newly announced automated Ricoh workflow technology for Graphic Arts.

To experience the theatre for yourself, see the transformational technologies in action and discuss next steps to shaping your successful operational future visits us at drupa, Hall 8a, Messe Düsseldorf, Germany, May 28 to June 7.