Cloud, social, mobile are print’s opportunity

Danielle Jerschefske attended EFI’s Connect Users Conference in Las Vegas where the company demonstrated that print is not dead

EFI’s users conference was a great success with over 1,000 professionals attending from the wide format commercial printing sector to the packaging and label printing market. The event kicked off with a keynote presentation from EFI CEO Guy Gecht, who was eager to dispel the gloom that is hovering over the greater printing industry.

While the publishing sector continues to battle the shift to e-content from the likes of Encyclopedia Britannica and Amazon, the US printing industry experienced growth in each quarter of 2010 and 2011. Signage and packaging cannot be replaced and EFI reports that its total ink volume is up.

‘There’s opportunity to be had in printing.’ Gecht said. ‘It’s about hitting the window of opportunity. We must be able to shift with the window. As print providers, you want to sell the future, and as your supplier, we’re trying to predict opportunity for the printing industry. Think: what will Drupa 2016 be like?’

EFI has performed well in recent years by following this principal with just under 700 US dollars million in annual revenue and expansion planned. The provider moved into the digital inkjet wide format and narrow web print packaging markets with the acquisitions of Vutek and Jetrion respectfully in 2005, spends 20 percent of revenue on R&D and is a leader in innovation and streamlining options for the greater digital printing industry.

Gecht points out that while conventionally printed pages are down 11 percent, digitally printed pages are set to increase 98 and a half percent and that UV inkjet wide format printing is set to grow 156 percent. He said, ‘If you look at the total of the printing industry, it is growing. The industry is in transformation and the opportunity has shifted to personalization.’

Following his promising picture of the printing industry, Gecht hosted an informal Q&A with Jeffrey Housenbold, the CEO and president of Shutterfly, the vertically integrated web-based publishing firm with an estimated 60 or above percent market share since acquiring Kodak Gallery in April 2012. Housenbold explained why Shutterfly is experiencing such success, and drew out lessons for the wider print industry: ‘We look at the lifetime value of the customer. With the advent of social networking and the phenomenon of mobile adoption, photos have become a daily consideration for much of the world’s population. There’s more content, more people capturing life's memories.

‘People want to tell their stories. There’s an intrinsic human desire to pass memories on for generations and to connect on a deep, personal level. As people intersect with their photos on sites like Facebook they realize that they should do something with them. We’re here to provide the mechanisms that allow people to do more with their memories. You’ll see Shutterfly continue to make meaningful investments in the multimedia world.’

EFI’s number one request is to enhance print capabilities for the iPad and iPhone. The company is actively working to bring advanced cloud based applications, mobile applications, personalization opportunities, digital store front systems and more to market that will simplify a user’s experience and streamline digital workflow. It is investing heavily in security for cloud facilities, and will continue to focus on integration software that allows the various pieces in print production to work well together.

Still, there is much room to educate end users in all sectors on how to take true advantage of digital printing. The window of opportunity waits. It’s just a matter of time before the CPG community shifts its systems to effectively utilize the personalization capabilities of the technology, transforming the way brands communicate with consumers, directly, using current dynamic and future channels.

EFI Radius

EFI’s APPS (Advanced Professional Printing Software) division, which consists of MIS/ERP systems and web-to-print automation software, including Radius for labels and packaging, has annual revenue of 85 million US dollars, making it 10 times larger than the next biggest competitor, according to EFI. SVP and GM of the APPS group, Marc Olin, said the company would continue to find both organic and acquisitive growth just before he announced the purchase of Metrics Sistemas, formerly the largest MIS provider in Brazil. The acquisition has established EFI Business Software Latin America offering the most benefits for web-based development, but will also support hardware sales in the market and offer possibilities for Radius.

EFI Radius print management software, designed specifically for the label and packaging sectors, has grown 35 percent through 2011 since EFI acquired the firm in 2010. The acquisition of Prism in 2011 has formalized the software provider’s movement into South Africa and with the Metrics Sistemas inclusion, EFI Radius is poised to be more globally oriented.

David Taylor, general manager of EFI Radius, said, ‘We intend to have a standardized product and regular release cycles. Typically we’ve done whatever customers ask for, but in the long-term, this is not a sustainable platform to be able to grow. We will transition as a business and move to the next level.’

In April 2012, EFI Radius released a new version of its software. The 13.1 enhancements including: Integration with SmartLinc, SmartWare and SmartLinc Process Shipper to pass shipping information to various parties;  new flexible packaging enhancements; MRP with streamlined estimating modules for self-adhesive labels with rollouts for flexibles and cartons to come; Introduction of ‘routing logic’ – based on product code and die selection route within the plant; Radius web portal built allowing users to define what is exposed to clients; merge Prism QTMS visual management tool to monitor shop floor efficiency; tighter integration with the Jetrion press’ digital workflow.

EFI Jetrion

Two percent of the labels produced in the world are digitally printed. With the launch of the Jetrion 4900 at Labelexpo Europe, an inte grated UV digital inkjet option for the labels market with inline laser die-cutting, EFI Jetrion plans to increase the market share of digital labels.

Jetrion president Sean Skelly said, ‘Converters have responded very well to the 4900 because it looks more like a traditional label press. When conventional machines have only 40 percent uptime, the speeds of 80 ft/min with laser finishing by SEI are competitive, shifting our labels solution from digital printing to digital production.’

The manufacturer has installed 10 Jetrion 4900 presses around the world, including a couple of sales to commercial printers and Vutek customers looking to diversify. They were less concerned about getting into the finishing side of labels with a full digital option.

EFI knows that the future is bright for digital in the package printing market. The plans are for Jetrion to continue to improve its technology, introducing wider, faster, higher resolution systems with better print quality, that are more reliable, offer more colors – possibly security inks – modularity and upgradability. It will expand its integration partnerships for MIS, finishing and new markets like flexible packaging, which would include an option for low migration inks.

Pictured: EFI launched the Jetrion 4900 at Labelexpo Europe

This article was published in L&L issue 3, 2012