Gecht launches Connect

EFI CEO Guy Gecht has kicked off its global user conference Connect, giving his opening keynote address, foreshadowing an upbeat future for the future of print, writes AP news reporter Paul Brescia from the show floor.

Centred on the concept of the fourth industrial revolution, which will involve big data, personalisation, virtual reality and augmented reality technologies, and the internet of things (IoT), Gecht contends that print will play a key role for consumers, bridging a gap visually between the virtual world and the physical world.

He says, “This is an important moment for the world, for technology, for industry, especially for printing. We think it is the early stages of the fourth industrial revolution.

“Involving artificial intelligence, robots, virtual reality, new applications that require more computing power and more data, will lead to more personalisation. Adaptable designs will become more common, and industries that use images, like fashion, building materials, display graphics, packaging, they will need a lot of the printing tools, that we as an industry build over the years.

“Manufacturing on demand will change what we want. Marketing will not be the same, people have their own tastes. We will not have advertisements targeted at everyone on the east coast that watch TV at 7am, you will target the people you want to give them the product they want.

“With that, we think there will be a new definition of print. No longer are people after just documents, no longer is this an industry just about publishing, every material in the world that needs to have images is print. If we as an industry embrace that, there is a bigger opportunity than we have ever had before. There are bigger markets than we ever addressed before.

“Ten years from now when we talk about EFI being 40, whoever is on stage will be asking ‘who remembers when boxes were just black, or white, or brown?’ and younger people will be confused by it. In packaging, personalisation will enable every single box leaving the factory to be tailor-made for the customer.

“In apparel, the changes in the design are so fast now, that the only way to keep up is with inkjet, digital printing, and colour management. There will be a great revolution there, it is only at the beginning.

“Our role will be exactly where the virtual world meets the physical world. We are going to translate the images from the virtual into the physical.

“Those who were quick to embrace the first digital revolution, the third industrial revolution, took advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves, and are doing well now.”

Gecht pointed out that while a lot of printing businesses had closed, many of those who remained had seen increases of revenue, benefitting from less competition. Gecht noted that Darwinian ideas of the survival of the fittest came into play, with the print business still remaining those best able to adapt to a new environment.

EFI Connect is taking place all week in Las Vegas, with a thousand printers from around the world, including from Australia, taking part.

                                                                                                                                           

 

 

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