Steve Strang, the recipient of the 2015 Visual Connections Industry Overseas Research Grant, has finalised research on the impact of mobile technology on print and says the industry cannot operate in isolation from the digital revolution.
Strang conducted his research in Israel, and concluded his findings were ‘illuminating’ exploring the future links between mobile technology and print.
He says, “The technological advances and the amount of funding being poured into the digital space will simply wash away the industry that does not change.”
“The printing industry cannot survive if it tries to operate in isolation as the rest of the world continues to move forward into an integrated and automated future,” says Strang.
The national account director for Fuji Xerox Document Management Solutions advises printers to collaborate with digital partners, saying there is little chance of survival in the automated future.
Strang believes by 2025 user data consumption will skyrocket by more than 500 fold, and asserts the digital and physical world are ‘integrating rapidly’, presenting the print industry with many challenges.
“The world is changing and it is becoming digitally integrated in a way never seen before. The question is what the print industry will do in response to pro-actively take advantage of the huge range of opportunities never seen before,” he says.
The key outcome, says Strang, is the growing need for the print industry to focus on collaboration with digital partners.
“The Visual Connections Grant has given me the opportunity to view some of the most ground breaking technology that can make step changes to our industry both in cost out initiatives and new technology integration,” he says.
“This experience has provided me with new channels to gather information, new sources of reading material, and contacts internationally to hear about developments within the mobile and digital arenas. It is my hope that the industry will gain some benefits from this overseas investigation and I will support any future programs or engagements that are related to innovation within our industry,” he adds.
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