In 2019, Simon Roberts joined Integration Technology as Managing Director. Integration Technology has been very much part of the development of inkjet with their pioneering UV curing technology being a key component technology enabling the rise of inkjet printing. Based near Oxford in the UK, since 2015 Integration Technology has been part of the IST METZ Group. This enables Integration Technology and IST together to offer the world’s largest portfolio of UV curing solutions. Integration Technology serves the industry’s OEMs, integrators and system developers supported by offices in Europe, USA, South America and Asia. In this interview we talk to Simon about his experience, his view of the market and what the future holds for Integration Technology, inkjet, UV curing and LED.

According to the Future of Inkjet Survey 2020, conducted by FM Future in partnership with Ricoh, confidence that we have in the future growth of our (inkjet) technology remains high. This is really positive of course. But this has been the case for some time now. Yet has inkjet really penetrated into new markets and matched the expectations we had for growth back in 2014?

Genevieve Lewis is editor of monthly trade publications Print Monthly and SignLink. In this interview, she talks about the industry’s surprises and delights, current trends, and how we can build a better future for print, as well as a look ahead to this year’s Print Show, and new co-located event The Sign Show.

Kristin Adams is Marketing Manager at Kao Collins. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Kao Collins has a strong track record of innovation in inkjet inks and has played an integral role in the growth of inkjet in the US and worldwide. Since 1990, the company has introduced innovative ink solutions enabling customers and OEMs to reduce costs, increase productivity, and expand offerings into various markets such as graphics, commercial print, packaging, labelling, textiles, and consumer products. In this interview, we talk to Kristin about her experience, her view of inkjet, marketing and the issues, challenges and opportunities for new market growth.

Staying safe during turbulent times is appealing.

But sheltering in the safe harbour, while it may be reassuring is hugely limiting. What are you going to do when the storm eventually comes your way?

There’s no hiding from change, so it’s best to confront it or flow with it, or at the very least set a course forward.

Any sailor will tell you that once you’ve set a course, there will be a whole set of adjustments and adaptions you’ll have to put in place on the way. Very few voyages go to plan. Yet to fail to even try is the worst strategy of all. Often what restricts progress is fear of the unknown.

2020 is a big year for Print Tech! So we are delighted to announce our FuturePrint Tech Partners for 2020 who are going to be sharing some inspiring and interesting content throughout the year. The objective is to collaboratively to grow the FuturePrint community and help to connect innovative print tech people with new opportunities in new markets.

Phil Jackman is Global Product Manager for Digital at Sun Chemical and I caught up with him after the InPrint Show to give his roundup of 2019 and a projection for 2020.

Often, an innovative technology takes far longer than we expect and hope to take effect. Sometimes it can take decades. There are plenty of past inventions that were ahead of their time. Think of the Sinclair C5, which was launched in the 1980s, then look at the Tesla. Obviously the TESLA looks fantastic next to the C5! The point is the concept was similar but the ‘time’ was different. Read on for more.

In this article, Frazer Chesterman interviewed Jos Steutelings who is the Managing Director of the VIGC about their view of the print industry, the changes that are shaping the Belgian and European market and what the association is doing to create value for the community and help its members lead their future.

David Reid is Global Sales Manager at Sun Chemical with a particular focus on inkjet inks for labels. Managing the global Inkjet sales AOP through our sales teams in Europe, China and the USA. In this article, we ask him about the label sector, the level of inkjet adoption, the trends and opportunities.

In this article, Frazer Chesterman talks with Henning Ohlsson who is CSR Director at Epson Europe / Managing Director for Epson Deutschland GmbH. Here he talks about the drive for sustainability in printing and the importance that Epson places on the environment.

In this article, we ask has inkjet finally crossed the chasm in new industrial markets?

Maybe it has, but to successfully grow inkjet then we may need to adapt our strategy in line with today’s commercial challenges.

We recently interviewed Karis Copp who we are delighted to announce is writing for FuturePrint in 2020! Karis trained as a journalist and became interested in working for a B2B publication after an internship. Based in Bristol in the UK she became an editor at Link Publishing, who produce the magazines Sign Link and Print Monthly as well as organising the Print Show in the UK. In this interview, she gives us her view of print, the pros, cons and where she sees the market developing.

ThePackHub is a packaging innovation consultancy specialising in the delivery of technical and innovative packaging solutions for brand owners, retailers and packaging suppliers. Paul Jenkins understands the industry drivers, the packaging trends and consumer insights that help inform the packaging innovation process. In this article, we ask Paul Jenkins more about the compelling trends in packaging and how print needs to adapt to follow suit.

Confidence in the future of the industrial inkjet market is high, according to a new survey from FM Future and Strategic Partner Ricoh Europe. The Future of Inkjet Survey evaluates the attitudes and trends that are driving the adoption of inkjet, speaking to 129 participants from around the world. The survey and accompanying report are available for download here.

FM Future attended InPrint this year as part of ‘Consultancy Corner’ and we presented as part of the conference programme. The event itself was once more very well attended and performed the role of the perfect platform for industrial printing. Each year InPrint runs it is a reflection of the development and interest in industrial printing. Read on for further feedback on the event from the organisers, Mack Brooks.

Memjet has become a global leader by providing digital inkjet technology that enables simplicity, speed and profitability. And having met both Arnaud and Kevin, you can sense their genuine desire to change the printing industry for the better.

After working for technology companies for the last 35+ years I decided to do it differently this time. I decided that sharing is better than keeping information to yourself. Especially in our the printing industry and textile markets, knowledge is kept close to the heart. Just in case the competitor is looking, might steal my idea or whatever reasoning you would like to come up with.

In our previous discussion, we talked about the fact that one of the key issues which hold back progress with inkjet is that there is a misunderstanding of what digital should and could do in new markets. I take up the discussion again with Changlong Sun and go further in detail with him.

Dave Gray is the Ink-Jet Technology Strategic Development Manager at Ricoh Europe for the Industrial Print Business Group. He’s had a long career in print and print technology and seen the sector change through innovation aligned to changing consumer demand. In this article, we ask him specifically about a project that Ricoh has developed with Olbrich, an analogue wall coverings machinery manufacturer and their work with Ricoh and inkjet.