With the exception of last year’s Print show, this year’s Graph Expo is the biggest ever. With 5,000 products from 550 exhibitors, I might call it a technology avalanche. But it’s confusing. Printers must really be IT savvy to survive. If you don’t understand IT, you’re out of schlitz real quick.

The Must See ‘ems selection committee spent the last 6-8 weeks screening the avalanche of equipment coming to Graph Expo and here are the top five technologies they agree printers must understand and implement to ensure survival:

1. Management Information Systems (MIS)—perhaps a surprise as number one, this is a core piece of technology that printers have to come to grips with. No matter what segment you’re in, you can’t operate on gut, you have to operate on information, and you get that from a print oriented information system.

2. Job Definition Format (JDF)—right on the heels of MIS, the committee thinks JDF is going to be the most talked about—but least implemented—technology at the show.

3. Digital Printing Developments—edging out conventional lithography, data shows that digital printing is a high grow technology. We expect the battle to heat up with new entries from those NOT in the number one or two spot in the industry. There will be lots of attention and lots of competition here and along those lines, we expect to see the beginnings of inkjet-based technology nipping at the heels of toner-based technology.

4. Workflow Enhancements—this can be confusing for printers as everybody at the show says step right up and see my workflow. But understanding and coming to grips with workflow and changes in technologies is an important piece of what is being showcased.

5. Color Management and Bindery Development—tied for fifth place, color management must happen from the beginning of the creative process until we deposit something on a substrate. While not a hot spot for most printers, there will be quite a bit of advancement in bindery development, whether part of inline workflow, direct mail or standalone, it’s a catch-all category.

The seminars on print management and IT (Executive Outlook, the 70 show-sponsored seminars and manufacturer seminars on the show floor) are essential for maximizing the educational experience at Graph Expo. If you participate in these and take the time to explore the technologies on the show floor, Graph Expo is really an insurance policy for your survival over next five years in a very competitive industry.

That sums where I’m at 10 days before the show. I look forward to your comments.

Bill Lamparter
Industry Analyst
PrintCom Consulting Group