The Growing World Of Inkjet
Part 2 of 3
(for the full article, contact the publisher:
omike@dealercommunicator.com)

If inkjet can be considered a bandwagon technology, graphic communications professionals are jumping on it-and at an impressive rate.

by Julian Robledo, General Manager, Agfa Corporation, Inkjet Division
(reprinted with permision by IPA)

Spreading the Word
Many commercial printers are well aware of the present and future strength of inkjet and are more than happy to help spread the word. A number of inkjet end-users have agreed to speak at industry trade shows and conventions on inkjet's behalf, for as inkjet grows, so too will the advertising, promotion and packaging industries that use it.

Jon Hudson, owner of a Sign-A-Rama shop in Escondido, California, spoke at SGIA in October about his recent purchase of an Anapurna XL2, which he knew presented a decisive road to the development of his indoor and outdoor sign and display business.

Hudson's company is a small one, with just two employees, but with inkjet he is certain he will develop several niche markets in his region, including on-demand work for real estate agencies, point-of-purchase retailers, and as a wholesale option for other small printers. His UV curable inkjet print engine enables him to deliver excellent large-format results on uncoated rigid media, and rolled media, in widths up to 98 inches. He explained that custom-made, well-designed, high-quality signs, banners or posters help his customers build the identities they need to succeed.

Seeing is believing, and a vast majority of printers and print department managers are discovering-as Jon Hudson discovered-what inkjet can do for them. For those who don't recognize it right away, it will be up to vendors to explain. That, frankly, is the greatest challenge with inkjet in today's market: there are still, of course, many good, effective, high-quality print solutions out there, and end-users can get puzzled by the choices and tempted to go with the more well-known solutions. Based on their particular markets and what they need to do to attract and maintain clients, hitching their resources to the wrong bandwagon may force them to lose momentum and face tough times ahead. Inkjet may be the right solution for them, or it may be one of the right solutions for them.

We like to say that we are not just selling machines, but value concepts. It will be up to vendors like us to explain the inkjet value proposition to the market. Our ability to explain inkjet properly, in the context of all other valuable print technologies, will have a direct correlation to just how successful the inkjet market will become.

Integration & Support
We've taken decisive steps to support the inkjet proposition. First, we promote effective integration, and second, we support our customers.

Inkjet may indeed be an innovative technology, but like most system solutions it must work in tandem with various software suites and workflow components. Just how to integrate it seamlessly with these and other factors is a function of technological research, education between vendor and customer, pre-planning by the end-user, and sometimes even trial and error.

One reason inkjet has taken off with such momentum is because-when done right-it delivers a perfect match between the inks, the print heads, the printer or press, and the workflow software. That kind of precision integration must be maintained for inkjet to grow.

How to integrate the human factor is another important consideration, and that, too, is primarily a responsibility for the print shop. Employees at various levels of skill may be working on inkjet projects, and it will be up to the owners and managers to decide who to put on the inkjet line. After all, it's a user-friendly technology-almost anyone can do it-but it can also be wildly creative, and that may take special skills.

Agfa has taken a lead in product support as well, and it is our hope that other vendors follow suit. We have pioneered a comprehensive client support program called C3 that provides inkjet customers with a fast track to maximizing the technology's true value.

Client support programs like C3 (Complete Integration, Complete Services, and Complete Benefits) are integral to the success of inkjet. Integration refers to the perfect tuning of UV-curable inks, sophisticated printing heads and the inkjet press or printer. Services comprise the installation and maintenance of a customer's entire inkjet portfolio by experienced teams of engineers, training professionals and financial consultants (who have programs at their disposal to help virtually any customer get on board). Benefits assure all users the most vibrant colors, prints with durable images, and printers with unmatched productivity.

See Part 1 in February's issue

for the full article contact the publisher: omike@dealercommunicator.com Part 3 of 3 will appear in the April 2008 edition of Dealer Communicator and again in DealerCommunicatoronLINE April 2008