Convergence has arrived in the printing space in a big way as multifunctional machines replace single-task equipment, says Roger Gimbel, president of the International Printers Network (IPN).
Gimbel spoke to ITWeb late last week after the IPN annual membership meeting held for the first time in Cape Town. The IPN is an international association of companies involved in the printing industry and its members are located worldwide.
"More multifunctional equipment is being produced by the vendors. In the past where we had specialised devices such as photocopiers, fax machines, scanners and storage devices, they are now all bundled into one piece of equipment," he says.
The second issue affecting the printing industry is in the field of graphic arts where one will now find shorter runs of high-quality brochures and publications coupled with the ability to do specialised printing tasks, such as security access cards.
"Converged technologies also mean that a publication or brochure can be printed to the exact same qualities anywhere in the world," Gimbel says.
This convergence issue in the printing industry has also led to a certain amount of over-capacity and therefore greater competition for business, he adds.
"The way forward for most printers is to offer niche and specialised services that no one else offers," he says.
Gimbel says the document has to become "more valuable" and that documents will have to become smarter either through eliciting a response from the reader, or pointing the reader to where more information on a product or service can be found.
While technology developments have forced a restructuring of the printing industry, electronic publications have not lessened the demand or need for brochures and other forms of marketing literature that have become the bread and butter for many printers.
"The printed product is still the most tactile of all. Only once information is printed does it become real in the eye of the beholder."
Gimbel was visiting SA as a guest of Bytes Document Solutions, authorised distributor of Xerox in southern, central and eastern Africa.
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