Page 31 - Widthwise Magazine

Q31. Do you expect to invest in any of the following for wide-format in the next 2 years? (please select all that apply)
11.40%
5.70%
5.26%
5.26%
4.39% 3.07%
1.75% 0.88%
0%
Q34. Have you invested in Industry 4.0 technology (e.g. the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, workflow integration)
Widthwise 2020
None below Software – design Finishing – contour cutter Software - workflow Software – Web-to-print Software – MIS Finishing – laminator Finishing – straight line cutter Finishing – specialist textile (eyelet maker etc) Software – versioning/VDP
73.68%
No Yes
93.42%
6.58%
industry has become more environmentally conscious, solvent printers are still used
by many PSPs because they are cheap and reliable (20.8% of companies planning to buy a press in the next two years intend to invest in one).
The rationale for investing in UV curable flatbed printers has not changed much either. Capable of printing on a variety
of rigid substrates and flexible and thus extending your applications capability - especially if you have the right finishing equipment - they remain an attractive option for PSPs looking to diversify their
business. (Which, you could argue, would be every PSP in the UK).
The other items on the wide-format industry’s shopping list are contour cutters (5.7% of respondents expected to invest in them), web-to-print software and workflow software (both of interest to 5.3% of compa- nies). In a tight market, with prices already under pressure even before the present difficulties, maximising workflow efficiency is a good, not too expensive, way of making more of what you already have.
Revolutions don’t always run to schedule and interest in web-to-print is still much
lower than many industry analysts have predicted. Will the current market volatility - and the need to replace customers who have fallen by the wayside - be the spur for more companies to explore this option?
The apathy towards web-to-print is mirrored in the sector’s attitude to the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0. The continuing hype, including a 2019 report on the topic published by Drupa, has not persuaded many wide-format printers to splash the cash. Only 6.6% of those surveyed had already invested in these emerging technologies and no other
Unsure Yes
30.52%
Q35. If no, do you plan to in 2020? No
69.48%
0%
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