Inkjet technology: Trends and opportunities

At the recently concluded Print Business Outlook conference in Mumbai, Marco Boer, vice president at IT Strategies, provided a snapshot of the industry trends, with specific reference to the digital printing industry. His presentation revolved around the importance of innovations by smaller companies in order to map out successful business solutions.

18 Mar 2016 | By Priya Raju

During his presentation, Boer discussed the future opportunities and challenges of inkjet technologies. He said,  “Inkjet printers is in a phase where there is acceptance on the customer's end for the image quality produced and expansion of applications with these printers. Next on the card is an inkjet printer which will provide flexibility on the substrates on which it can be printed,” said Boer. Today, inkjet technology is used for a wide range of applications ranging from the billboard, textile, ceramic industry, and auto parts to newspapers. 
 
Talking about the flexibility offered by inkjet technology, Boer said, “The flexibility of inkjet is creating new, incremental, high-value print applications which were not possible earlier. Transactional and direct mail, and marketing collaterals are merging into new forms of output, applications that have higher returns on investment for marketers than ever thought was possible.”
 
According to Boer, “The productivity of colour inkjet technology is dramatically altering business models, particularly in the area of inventory waste reduction.” 
 
“In a multi-channel, big data communication world, print has the final say. Inkjet is the only print technology that has the ability to print messaging just-in-time, with a high degree of relevancy, in the mass volumes, marketers require,” concluded Boer.