Page 40 - Print21 Nov-Dec 2019

Digital
Staying ahead of
commodity print
The global head of HP Indigo, Alon Bar-Shany, was in Australia for PrintEx. Print21 editor Wayne Robinson asked him for his insights into printing opportunities.
For the past 15 years Alon Bar-Shany has sat atop the burgeoning HP Indigo business, directing its developments as it has
grown into arguably the biggest print applications solutions developer on the planet.
Next drupa HP will again have the biggest stand at the show, as it did last time out, taking over the whole of Hall 17, with myriad print systems based on its HP Indigo technology set to make their entrance.
Here in Australia and New Zealand the partnership with Currie Group, which has coincided with Bar-Shany’s tenure, has proved beneficial for both parties, and for the more than 150 print businesses that have installed HP Indigo technology in one form or another.
Despite the market’s relatively small size, ANZ is a big draw for Bar-Shany. He is here at least
every two years, mainly to talk
to printers about their HP Indigo and Currie Group experience. He tells me, “Printers in Australia and New Zealand are innovative, are focused on developing solutions for their clients, and work their Indigo presses hard. They push us, they
ask questions, they are looking to move forward. I want their feedback, I want their input. I want to know what they’re thinking about the technology, what they want to see, what their experience of Currie Group is, how we are doing with service, with parts. And, of course,
I want to know and to share with them business developments.”
As Bar-Shany has been travelling the region pre-drupa, I ask him what ANZ printers are talking to him about. He says, “The prospect of trade wars are unnerving them, as everyone in business. The cost of labour and the quality of labour is also a hot topic, and everyone
is looking to automate as much
as possible. There is also a lot of excitement in the labels and packaging space.
“These are actually common themes around the world, but of course they have an Aussie twist, which includes the high cost of energy, paper, and labour.
“Automation is top of mind, for ANZ printers and for HP Indigo. We are making sure that the presses are as productive as possible, to enable printers to get more jobs through with less input and no waste. In the current environment, waste is not acceptable – certainly not plastic waste. HP Indigo flexible packaging systems enable printers to get up
to speed straight away. And there
is an acceleration to biodegradable packaging stocks, which HP Indigo is helping to drive. Plastic is a dirty word now.”
“The solutions we are driving forward with are real world products for real world applications.”
The number one topic in the packaging world is sustainability, and Bar-Shany says it is of key importance to HP Indigo. He says, “The issue is the cost – will people pay for it? HP is proactively engaging with sustainability: it is not a PR slogan, we are trying to impact the world. Our technology, for instance, is using lower levels of energy. Sometimes the print industry does not have a good rap, but we do have a good story to tell and we need to get the message out more than we have.”
Securing print
In a world where putting ink or toner on paper and producing a finished booklet is often a matter of pressing a green button, HP Indigo and Bar-Shany are acutely aware that
the commoditisation of print is a
constant threat. He says, “The reason we keep investing and developing is to give our customers the means to move away from commodity print and into niche areas where they are offering real value.”
One such area is in security print and brand protection, he says.
“New opportunities are coming through brands needing to protect themselves against counterfeiting, which is costing them significant sums of money, and can impact on their brand reputation. HP Indigo solutions are now available with a host of security features for printers to offer to the market. The public needs to know that the wine they are drinking, the meat and cheese they are eating, the pharmaceuticals they are taking are bona fide, and HP Indigo print solutions are able to provide those credentials through a host of features.
“We at HP Indigo are constantly looking at the world around us as it changes and moves, and developing our print solutions to ensure our customers are able to maximise
the opportunities that follow from those changes. Counterfeiting is one of those. It is not going away, but HP Indigo users can offer their customers the means to counter it.”
On the Currie Group stand at PrintEx was the latest iteration of the B2 HP Indigo, the 12000 HD, which comes with an ability to print photo quality at production speeds, and the ability to print micro-text – also useful for anti-counterfeiting, particularly as every piece of text or set of numbers can be different.
40 Print21 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019