Peter Gude, Managing director, Vega Press
The fact is people are buying less and they’re looking for cheaper solutions. In the past four years, the quality and productivity of digital has improved markedly and prices have fallen. We’re driven by what our customers want; the whole mix has changed. Now. If you’re smart, you don’t refuse to provide what a customer wants. Customers are so hard to find and keep, so you want to have everything in your supply basket. What has come out of Drupa is inkjet printing and Landa’s new technology. The cost of the new technology will decide the level of its acceptance.
Neil McNamara, General manager, IPG Print
It’s the usual debate about volumes. With the smaller runs, digital quality is capable of easily replacing offset. But I think the larger runs are still going to struggle for a while. I think the larger runs will not end up going to digital print, but digital media. We’ve already got two Indigos here, so we’re into digital. One of the main things I was interested in at Drupa was the Indigo 10000 and looking at inkjet and seeing where that was up to and if it was an option for us. I didn’t look at offset. We’re happy with what we’ve got and it’s not on the radar as an investment.
David Downie, Director, Kosdown Printing
Not 100%. Five years from now, who knows how far they will take it. In Europe and the US, they might be thinking differently due to the volume and population. But here, the industry is a bit flat and I don’t think all that technology is required in the next five years. We weren’t scared off at Drupa. You’re in a supplier environment, so there’s a bit of emotional blackmail – if you’re not part of it you’re going to miss out. Our clients today wouldn’t care what type of machine we use as long as the price and quality is OK and they get what they want, which is different to what it was 20-30 years ago.
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter