Page 52 - Print21 July-August 2022

Business
Better Together
Hundreds of print professionals from around the world, including a sizeable number from Australia and New Zealand, were in Israel at the HP Indigo VIP customer event Better Together, to learn the latest market insights and technology developments from the company, as the two-year Covid hiatus on overseas trips ended. Print21 was there.
It has been a long two years, and the relief and joy in the Tel Aviv air was palpable, as print business owners and managers from around the world flew
into the country, and threw off the shackles of Covid for the long- delayed HP Indigo VIP Customer event, enjoying being able greet each other once again.
HP Indigo spent the week touring guests around its burgeoning manufacturing plants, sharing the latest technological developments, and showing the full range of its presses, which now includes labels, flexibles and folding carton printers, as well as commercial presses.
The company is now one of the biggest manufacturing businesses in Israel, and one of the biggest capital goods exporters. Its presses printed 85 billion pages last year, a record amount.
Local printers making the trip
to Israel included printers from all sectors, as well as those looking at adding new revenue streams, such
as commercial printers looking at getting into labels, and label printers aiming to add flexibles.
It is the first such event by the company since 2019, with Covid stopping the 2020 pre-drupa event just two weeks before it was due, and no event possible last year because of restrictions.
The mood amongst print business owners and managers at the event was one of confidence and positivity, as they experienced the vast resources HP Indigo is pumping into developing its print solutions, its annual R+D budget is now in excess of $100m a year.
Speaking to Print21 at the event Rob Mesaros, CEO of Currie Group, who was hosting the ANZ printers, along with Mark Daws and Anthony AJ Jackson from Currie Group,
and Craig Walmsley from HP, said, “It is great to see everyone back together again. HP Indigo is driving the industry forward. The range
of solutions is breathtaking, and designed to meet opportunities in print.”
All the HP Indigo senior management were at the event to welcome printers in. Along with
the factory tours Better Together hosted a range of keynote, market
and technology presentations, and customer panels. Fred Soar, CEO of Soar Print in New Zealand was a panel participant. There was also a partner fair, with companies such as Horizon, ABG and XMPie - who had Enda Kavanagh at the event - taking part.
Nimrod Cohen, head of product
for commercial presses at HP Indigo outlined the vision at HP, saying,
“It is a unique time for opportunity, Covid has fast forwarded the changes
Above Better Together:
Fred Soar (2nd right) CEO Soar Communications Group, on the VIP Customer panel in
Tel Aviv
Below
Person-to- person: HP Better Together VIP customer event
that are going on in business, in society, the world is turning digital at an increasing rate, short runs,
on demand are the order of the day. Everyone is facing labour shortages, skill shortages. The picture is clear, those who know how to capture the opportunities will reap rich rewards, and we are seeing that across our customer base.
“As we enter the future digital print will increase its rate of growth, both in volume and value, with less value in analogue commercial print.”
HP Indigo isn’t the only player in town of course, although it is the biggest, but Cohen welcomed the competition, saying it is “a good sign”. Competition for HP Indigo doesn’t just come from other manufacturers of course, print itself is under competition as a communication channel from the digital channels
of the internet, email and the like. However Cohen says, “Covid has shown us all that the physical is what is important, and print is physical. People are bombarded with digital messaging, coming into contact with something physical, some print, is a different proposition, and generates a different response.
“Today it is all about experience, and print offers the opportunity to crate that experience.” Cohen produces several case studies to back his claims, probably the best
52 Print21 JULY/AUGUST 2022