IPEX 2006
Thirteen Years of Industry Transformation
By Ivars Sarkans

Editor’s Note
This is the first part of a two-part article on the large IPEX 2006 show in Birmingham, England.  The first part of the article highlights technologies and industry trends with significant implications for sellers and producers of business documents and related printed products.  The second part will cover more specific new equipment at IPEX 2006 for conventional and digital printing, finishing and specialty niche applications, and the associated new product opportunities.

IPEX 2006, one of the very large international printing industry trade shows staged once every four years, provided another window on the future for both printers and equipment suppliers.  The view at this show, held in Birmingham, England during April, was clearly optimistic and the exhibit floor was crowded, appeared to include a large number of serious “shoppers” and many exhibitors reported brisk sales of equipment and software.  IPEX 2006 also sent a strong message that the rate of change in the printing industry is faster, affecting many established practices of how print is created, sold, produced and used.  Printing industry changes are now driven as much by advances in computer technology and software as by innovations in printing machinery, supplies and materials.

Typical of the largest international printing shows, IPEX 2006 had a sizeable number of new equipment introductions, prototypes demonstrating new technologies and announcements of innovations that will be brought to market during 2006 and 2007.  However, the real significance of IPEX 2006 was not as a single show but as another benchmark in the extremely rapid restructuring of the printing industry evident at major shows since Drupa 2000.  This year’s IPEX takes on exceptional meaning when compared to IPEX 1993, where just 13 years ago Indigo and Xeikon introduced the first commercial production level digital color presses.  It was a shaky start for what a few brave industry observers predicted would be revolutionary change in printing.  These early predictions gained real credibility after Drupa 2000, which showed the transformative power of digital printing combined with major advances in workflow systems and internet-based electronic commerce.

The 13 Year Revolution
One of the most remarkable exhibits at IPEX 1993 was the dramatic introduction of a new digital color press by Indigo.  The machine was in a theater-like setting on a stage behind a curtain, not accessible for close examination by visitors.  Each “Indigo show” included a presentation on the benefits and future potential of digital color printing with this new technology.  For a brief period of time, the curtain was opened to reveal one sheetfed machine and a small number of samples were printed.  Then the curtain again shut off the machine from public view.  Xeikon, on the other hand, introduced the first digital color web-fed press  at IPEX 1993 in the Agfa booth as the Agfa Chromapress.  The machine’s location was obscured by other equipment, and probably was not even noticed by many.  Visitors that found it could see the Chromapress running most of the time and examine the machine and output as long and as closely as desired.  Also in 1993, Xerox had a relatively small booth with several Docutechs and demonstrations focused primarily on office and in-plant printing and duplicating applications.  A few other black and color toner digital copiers/printers at the show appeared to be of interest mainly to quick printers and in-plant printshops.

Only 13 years later, all of the entrance corridors and hallways at IPEX 2006 had prominent signs touting the benefits of digital printing, urging visitors to take advantage of opportunities in digital printing and calling attention to the huge number of digital printing exhibits.  Visitors today might have wondered if they would even encounter an offset press at the show, until they got past the entrance signs and to the booths of Heidelberg, KBA, MAN Roland, Komori and other offset press suppliers.  By far the largest booths belonged to Heidelberg, showing predominantly sheetfed offset presses, and Xerox, dedicated exclusively to digital printing plus related software and finishing equipment.  These companies had close to the same size exhibit space, conveying the message that both now offer mainstream printing technology.  The Xerox booth had a wide range of color and black toner high speed digital presses for commercial printing applications ranging from books to direct mail, brochures, and artwork reproduction.  Xerox was promoting use of digital printing for specific types of commercial printing applications as well as opportunities from integrating digital equipment with conventional offset capabilities using the latest workflow management software.  Unlike IPEX 1993, office and inplant printing was just one of the applications for which Xerox offers an exceptionally broad range of entry level and high speed production digital printing equipment.

The large Hewlett Packard exhibit had no curtains shielding the multitude of HP-Indigo sheetfed and web digital color presses from view.  All of the displayed equipment could be seen running and could be examined from all sides.  From labels to commercial color printing, the samples produced at IPEX 2006 indicated that HP-Indigo digital print quality matched offset and flexographic equipment.  Demonstrations included specialties such as lenticular printing and production of photographic prints from digital camera files.

In contrast to IPEX 1993, today’s Xeikon digital color web presses, now built and sold by the Punch Graphix organization, were running in a prominent location at IPEX 2006.  The current 5000 series Xeikon presses are wider, more robust and productive than the model that was introduced 13 years ago.  The three Xeikon 5000 machines at IPEX 2006 were producing long banners, color booklets and labels.  One of the digital presses delivered printed sheets directly into a signature folder.

Major equipment suppliers driving the digital printing growth evident at IPEX 2006 included Oce and Kodak.  Oce has been one of the leading suppliers of web-fed monochrome digital printers and is now moving aggressively into both the sheetfed and color segments.  Like other suppliers of high speed black toner web printers, Oce is targeting short run digital production of books, manuals and directories.  A new 9000 series web printer, currently with highlight color capabilities, is essentially a forms press and can produce statements, invoices, direct mail and other business documents with three over three colors.  Oce also introduced an innovative sheetfed black toner model at IPEX 2006 with two print engines arranged for duplexing at 250 images for minute.

Through acquisitions, Kodak has assembled a strong product line of both web and sheetfed digital presses.  The Kodak Versamark ink jet digital presses hold the current lead in web production speeds with versions rated at 1000 feet per minute for black ink and spot color imaging, and 300 feet per minute for full process color printing.  These digital web presses are now used by new competitors to traditional forms plants who produce direct mail, transaction documents and other business printing.  At IPEX 2006, Kodak demonstrated the new sheetfed Nexpress 2500, capable of process color printing on full 14” x 20” sheets.

The Screen display at IPX 2006 confirmed that another digital color web press, the Screen True Jet, is nearing commercial availability.  This development, using Seiko Epson ink jet heads, has a rated process color production speed of 210 ft./minute.  In high quality sheetfed digital color, Canon introduced a completely new model, the C-7000 VP, rated at 70 pages per minute.  This machine can run sheets up to 13” x 19.2”, including heavy stock in the 140 lb. index range with no reduction in run speed.  In IPEX 2006 demonstrations, the new Canon digital color press produced prints that matched Xerox I-gen 3 output quality.  As a sign of the increasing intensity of competition between digital color press suppliers, two of the new Canon machines, with a combined rated speed of 140 pages per minute, can be purchased for approximately the same price as one 110 page/minute Xerox I-gen 3 press.

Excluding the area occupied by Heidelberg, practically all of the other nine huge halls had some digital printing or related finishing equipment exhibits.  From the two digital color press introductions in 1993, digital printing presence at IPEX had expanded to match the exhibit space occupied by conventional offset, flexographic and gravure press displays.  Large-format color printing of signs, posters and billboards has evolved into another major digital printing segment with an abundance of exhibits at IPEX 2006.  Most of the new large-format models used ink jet technology with applications dictating the choice between water-base, solvent-base or UV inks.  Some of the wide roll-fed printers and huge flatbed machines at IPEX 2006 were producing spectacular barn-door sized posters and displays.  Large format digital printers have posed a significant competitive threat to traditional screen printing equipment.

Digital printing will continue to challenge traditional production methods in many segments in the printing industry, including forms and other business documents.  To reduce inventories of printed items, end users have shown a preference for ordering smaller quantities or printing as needed.  Digital printing technologies and automation of conventional presses in turn have made production of short runs and on-demand printing more economical and practical.  The natural marriage of digital printing, new workflow software and the Internet are strengthening the competitive position of digital versus conventional printing.  New approaches to the entire print origination and production process, enabled by design template programs and web-to-print software, will continue to reshape the industry and reduce the cost of creating, selling and on-demand production of printed items.

Outlook for Conventional Printing
IPEX 1993 had over 40 web offset presses running live demonstrations on the show floor and producing forms, direct mail, commercial printing and newspapers.  Only 13 years later, the IPEX show floor had only four fully operational web presses.  Two of those were newspaper presses, one from China and one from India.  Muller Martini had a five-color, plus coating unit, Alprinta blanket-to-steel web press running commercial printing with UV inks.  Rotatek demonstrated a packaging and specialty product machine combing four offset towers with in-line flexographic and gravure units, plus a cold foiling option.  In demonstration runs, this press was switched from folding cartons to pressure-sensitive and film labels, with each changeover accomplished in 15 to 20 minutes.  All of the other suppliers of web offset presses for forms, commercial printing, direct mail, newspapers and other specialties had only static press component displays.

The small number of web offset presses running demonstrations at IPEX 2006 does not mean that these machines are disappearing, but the market has changed.  Several suppliers reported major web press sales at IPEX and after the show, mostly for newspaper production and commercial printing.  IPEX 2006 appears to signal that demand for new web offset presses has declined to a level where suppliers can no longer justify the high cost of setting up live web press exhibits at shows.  Many web offset press sales in U.S. and Europe today are replacements for old machines and established builders of web presses can identify all current prospects and potential new buyers with enough certainty to make expensive trade show displays unnecessary.  As IPEX 2006 indicated, only new suppliers from China, India or other regions or unique new models justify the high cost of setting up a complete running web press to attract the attention of trade show attendees.

Offset technology at IPEX 2006 was represented mainly by a large variety of sheetfed presses, ranging from small two color models to 12 color long perfectors that can print six over six colors in one pass.  Considering current printing industry trends, IPEX 2006 showed that there probably are too many sheetfed press suppliers.  One evidence of this was the strong shift of supplier focus from commercial printing to the package printing market.  Practically all sheetfed press suppliers were promoting models that can now run typical commercial printing papers as well as pressure-sensitive label stock and thick folding carton board.  The Heidelberg exhibit had several sheetfed presses, die cutters and folder-gluers running packaging products.  Over 25 years ago, large format (over eight pages) sheetfed presses were declared extinct, with long runs shifting to web offset production.  IPEX 2006 and other major shows since Drupa 2000 have signaled a revival of demand for large format sheetfed presses up to 70” to 80” wide, driven mainly by short run packaging applications and the versatility of sheetfed printing.  KBA and MAN Roland now build highly automated large sheetfed machines that have setup times comparable to the common 28” x 40” (eight-page) commercial printing presses but much higher throughput due to larger sheet sizes.

Long sheetfed perfectors with up to 12 print units have become a more common sight at major trade shows.  Plants that cannot accommodate the length of these machines can choose comparable capabilities in a stacked design from Akiyama or Komori, with four to six print units above and below the sheet travel path.  Initially, all long perfectors were popular eight-page size (approximately 28” x 40”) machines.  Several suppliers have introduced long perfectors in smaller sheet sizes, and at IPEX 2006 Heidelberg launched a 10 color Speedmaster in the common short run sheetfed two page (13.8” x 19.7”) size.  With long perfectors now available in all common commercial printing sheet sizes and automation that reduces setup time, the migration of work from existing four, five and six color sheetfed presses to these long perfectors can be expected to increase.  While the initial buyers of long sheetfed perfectors in each market region may face a challenge in meeting the high monthly payments, many of their competitors will face the challenge of diminishing orders for work that requires face and back process color printing.

IPEX 2006 signaled a difficult struggle ahead for many medium-size commercial printers with four to six color sheetfed presses, particularly companies with older machines.  In short runs, these printers will be challenged by competitors with the latest digital color presses, automated workflows, web-to-print systems and new business models.  At the same time, the risk of losing larger orders with two sided process color printing to competitors with long perfectors will increase.  Since 10 color perfectors are now available in the two page size, even relatively short runs will start to mitigate to this class of presses.  As a defensive strategy, more small to medium size sheetfed commercial printers are installing digital color presses to complement their offset capabilities.

Opportunities for Forms Manufacturers
The trends in conventional offset printing evident at IPEX 2006 signal both opportunities and warnings to forms manufacturers.  First, the turmoil in the printing industry, as evidenced by the dramatic contrast between IPEX in 1993 and 2006, creates an abundance of product line diversification, market niche position and new business model options.  Digital printing is still in relatively early stages of development, with rapid growth and many new applications.   Document production is clearly shifting from offset to digital equipment.  Printing of statements, invoices, coupons and other types of forms was one of the popular digital printer and press capability demonstrations at IPEX 2006.  More and more service bureau and in-plant printing operations with digital equipment are in effect new kinds of forms plants, and traditional forms suppliers can follow the trends by acquiring these competitors or establishing new digital production capabilities that can compete with them.

Commercial printing is a major diversification opportunity for forms manufacturers, since distributors have been very successful in growing their sales of common commercial printing products.  Here, IPEX 2006 sends a warning to avoid being caught in the coming squeeze between digital color presses and long sheetfed perfectors of all sizes.  The opportunities for forms trade manufacturers lie predominantly in short run specialties and common utility level products that practically all businesses need.  In terms of the equipment shown at IPEX 2006, forms producers can diversify using a combination of digital printers, short run offset presses and envelope imprinting equipment.  Manufacturers can also choose from several short run sheetfed presses that can print on plastics and very heavy stock to enter specialized market niches.  The new crop of long sheetfed eight to twelve color perfectors provide an opportunity mainly for commercial printers, since distributors sell relatively little premium commercial printing that would fit these machines.  Forms manufacturers should be careful about moving into the vulnerable middle segment between short runs and long perfector capabilities by acquiring existing commercial printing plants with typical four to six color sheetfed presses.

In short run digital and commercial printing, IPEX 2006 had many new software packages for corporate image programs based on customized printed product templates.  Software advances also suggest that more and more printing will be created, specified and ordered over the Internet from end user desktops.  Companies outside the boundaries of the traditional forms industry are developing increasingly effective and versatile software for creating libraries of electronic forms and other types of documents for on-demand printing and high volume production with automatic merging of formats and variable data.  A wide variety of ink jet personalization, mailing and other document processing equipment at IPEX 2006 pointed to additional diversification opportunities in print-related services.  The faster rate of market and technological change signaled by each successive major printing industry trade show will be part of the normal business environment for forms industry participants.  The manufacturers and distributors who can combine the advances in digital and offset printing with new business models for creating and selling printed products and related services stand to gain sizeable competitive advantages over firms that stay in their traditional comfort zone and watch from the sidelines as technology reshapes the printing industry.

IPEX 2006 EXHIBITORS
All trade names, model names and trademarks mentioned in this article are the property of the respective companies.  Exhibitors have been identified as listed in the IPEX 2006 show directory.

Agfa-Gevaert NV, Mortsel, Belgium 
www.agfa.com

Akiyama International Co., Ltd, Tokyo, Japan 
www.akiyama-international.com

Heidelberg UK, Ltd., Brentford, England  
www.heidelberg.com

Hewlett-Packard Company (Europe), Maastricht, Holland
www.hp.com/go/graphic-arts

Kodak Graphic Communications Group, Waterloo, Belgium 
www.graphics.kodak.com

Koenig & Bauer, AG (KBA), Würzburg, Germany 
www.kba-print.com

Komori Corporation, Tokyo, Japan 
www.komori.com

MAN Roland Druckmaschinen AG, Augsburg, Germany 
www.man-roland.com

Muller Martini AG, Zofingen, Switzerland  
www.mullermartini.com

OCE (UK) Limited, Brentwood, England 
www.oce.com

Rotatek SA, Barcelona, Spain 
www.rotatek.com

Screen Europe, Amstelveen, Holland 
www.screeneurope.com

Xeikon (Division of Punch Graphix), Lier, Belgium 
www.xeikon.com

Xerox (UK) Ltd., Uxbridge, England 
www.xerox.com

Ivars Sarkans is president of consulting firm Sarkans & Associates of Los Angeles, California and a long time contributor to DMIA publications.  He can be reached by telephone at (323) 221-7791 or by e-mail at isarkans@sarkans.com.

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