AI in Print: The Intelligence Behind the Ink
Lisa Brown and Johnny Shell of Keypoint Intelligence stepped onto the stage at FESPA Global Print Expo in Berlin last month, presenting on the topic ‘the intelligence behind the ink.’ Their session—officially titled “AI-Driven Innovation: Transforming the Print Industry”—did far more than display futuristic applications. It mapped a practical, data-rich roadmap showing how artificial intelligence is already changing every link in the print value chain, from the design studio to the loading bay.
Why AI—and Why Keypoint?
Keypoint Intelligence is not a newcomer predicting the next new trend. The company has spent more than sixty years conducting independent lab testing and market research for the digital-imaging ecosystem, earning a reputation as the industry’s ‘trusted resource for unbiased information’. Against that setting, Keypoint’s research covers AI as a major technology trend impacting real-world performance and business outcomes within the print landscape.
Brown took the audience on a tour of the print lifecycle, pausing at each stage to talk about where AI and machine learning are already paying dividends. In design, generative tools are closing the gap from concept to proof, while at the same time maintaining brand-colour integrity. In pre-press, ‘smart file optimisation’ fine tunes colour profiles, resolution and layout automatically based on the substrate—a huge advantage to fabric printers who can wrestle with dozens of material variables.
Shell described how on the production floor, AI-driven job-routing software studies real-time press loads and deadlines before assigning work to the device best placed to hit target quality and turnaround. AI-based predictive engines monitor usage patterns and component wear so that engineers are notified before a critical part fails.
These principles were illustrated through a digital-textile case study. By allowing AI to automate colour matching and route jobs dynamically, early-adopter print shops have trimmed design-to-print cycles by up to half and cut colour mismatches by as much as 70%. Shell noted that embedded analytics—now shipping as standard in several industrial print devices—push alerts to operators’ phones the moment sensor data predicts an imminent fault, turning what used to be surprise downtime into scheduled maintenance.
FESPA’s audience was keen for green narratives, and Keypoint didn’t disappoint on that front. AI’s forecasting muscle means inventory can go back to the ‘just in time’ days, reducing the mountains of unused ink and fabric that traditionally gather dust in storerooms. Computer-vision quality control catches defects on the spot, preventing waste before it leaves the press.
Skill & staff shortages, price pressure, inconsistent quality and tightening sustainability mandates are all quite high on a print service provider’s risk register. Keypoint showcased how AI can tackle each pain point by automating repetitive tasks, optimising resource use, self-calibrating colour management and converting raw sensor data into audit-ready ESG metrics. The result is a print shop that is not just smart but also autonomous and run with significantly less uncertainty.
The duo finished the session with a look ahead. Real-time environmental dashboards will soon turn sustainability from a quarterly report into a live feed; fully orchestrated print-shop workflows will simulate ‘what-if’ scenarios before an operator ever hits print; and generative AI will craft marketing collateral tuned to micro-segments faster than the sales team can schedule a briefing.
Keypoint left the audience with a final thought, ‘the future is about convergence. Smart factories are no longer theoretical—they’re being built with AI and IoT integration at the core’. Lisa’s AI knowledge together with Shell’s expertise of the print shop floor made clear that AI is no longer a research project—it is a production requirement. Print providers who embrace ‘the intelligence behind the ink’ today will be the ones writing tomorrow’s success stories.
If you would like to find out more about AI-Driven Innovation in Print please click below to sign up for Keypoint’s On-demand webinar and find out how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the print industry: