Woulda, coulda, shoulda been at drupa 2020: David Zwang

International industry analyst David Zwang is the principal at Zwang & Co. He has been in the printing industry for about 45 years, and has been an avid attendee of drupa since 1982.

Zwang has seen the industry change since then, along with trends that have shaped the industry to what it is today.

As drupa has been postponed to early 2021, Zwang took to #ElevatePrint to address some of the trends and drivers that are expected to shape the industry at the tradeshow and provided a comprehensive technology overview of new industry offerings and how they can enhance, transform and help print businesses.

“Drupa is not just an exciting event in a fun city. It’s a big deal as a trade show but has been postponed because of COVID-19. As a result, we are now pushed into this virtual world, which I’m getting a bit tired of. I like to be out there, visit stands in the flesh, talk to people and learn about things. My first drupa was in 1982 and like all years, it has been a quadrennial experience of drivers, trends, technology and opportunities,” he said.

“Drupa is a way that we, as an industry, come together; there’s a tremendous depth to drupa that is hard to get with virtual experiences.”

According to Zwang, there is a lot of transformation that has been happening in the industry even prior to the changes brought about by COVID-19.

“Consumer buying patterns are changing, and the way we interact with things are changing and this is not just a result of COVID. In addition to technology advancements, people are expecting more personal and targeted experiences and have more environmental awareness. So, how do we keep up with this transformation and deal with the change?” he questioned.

“First of all, we got to do more with less. Everything – including analog machinery – is getting digitised and that’s allowing us to get more involved in connected processes, which in turn drives automation.”

With shorter runs and faster turn times becoming a norm in the industry, Zwang said bespoke and hybrid solutions are popping up more as printing is no longer happening at just a print shop anymore.

“What this means is that we’re using technology to help build efficient, single-purpose types of production facilities and production processes in areas in and around printing like packaging and manufacturing,” he said.

“When it comes to technology, as an industry, we used to look for ‘high-quality’ printers. That’s not the case anymore. It’s now about printers that have the capabilities of printed products and printed services.”

Internal and external collaboration is another trend that he spoke about, which Zwang said has given rise to more connected and automated technologies.

“This is what your business and processes need to be modelled against. With eBusiness also on the rise, you need to coordinate production processes, create a standard structure for business, and incorporate cloud, which is rapidly become the new norm,” he said.

According to Zwang, collaboration, process automation and a manufacturing mentality is also necessary in the printing industry.

“One of the things driving these trends is inkjet, and you need agnostic modularity, which is software to bring it all together. Software is the key that bridges all your hardware and machines together,” he said.

“You go through drupa and you learn about trends and drivers and all of this, together, comes with opportunities.

“Taking all of these things that you see at drupa and putting them together into a solution that builds your business is what printers are good at. But printers have to remember that adoption is a function of adaptation and that technology is easy, but people are hard.”

Zwang is optimistic that there will be a drupa 2021, but expects a hybrid attendee model.

“I’m sure that there will be a drupa next year but I don’t know what it will be like. It will most likely be a hybrid event – some people will be there and some people will be remote. If you can make it, do so because it’s one of those things that you absolutely have to go to and benefit from,” he added.

Zwang also went through the technology transformations of some industry manufacturers and the advancements that their printers are capable of today, which you can watch here.

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