Trends drupa 2016
Print 4.0 – the mega trend at drupa 2016 Printers need solutions adapted to their individual needs, and these solutions must be able to network with other machines and systems
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Between 31 May and 10 June 2016, Düsseldorf will once again be the centre of the printing world. Everyone is getting excited about drupa, the world's leading event in the printing industry, which gives exhibitors the perfect platform to present new products and services, network and nurture customer relationships. This year's tagline, "Touch the Future," is particularly relevant to us as a machine and systems manufacturer. We see it as our job to build bridges to the future and translate technology trends into products for the benefit of our customers. drupa allows visitors to discover these innovations for themselves. For many users, it's their first exposure to them. drupa is growing into a showcase for the future of the printing industry, which is already a pioneer of Industry 4.0 with its networked process chains. In fact, we talk about Print 4.0., an end-to-end digital workflow made possible by the intelligent networking of our machines and systems. Print 4.0 is the enabler for individualisation and personalisation in digital printing. For high-quality packaging that makes the crucial difference at the point of sale. Our industry is opening up new markets with the fast-growing range of solutions in industrial and functional printing. And last but not least, 3D printing, with its seamless digital process chains, is part of a new world of printing that pushes existing boundaries. The five letters of the word d r u p a represent the key technology trends in our industry: • D for Digitalisation of printing techniques and processes • R for Rapid Manufacturing and 3D printing
• U for Utilities, i.e. new consumables, substrates etc. • P for the growth market of Packaging • A for new Applications in functional and industrial printing At drupa it's not just about the packaging, but what's inside, too! Let's take these five keywords one at a time for a closer look at these technology and industry trends to find out how our industry is approaching them.
Industry 4.0 is on everyone's lips, but what is only in the very early stages in many industries is already being put into practice in modern print shops. Intelligently networked machines and systems are linked to form continuous process chains. Quality is monitored in the production line itself by sophisticated sensors. The necessary standardisation is already very advanced. It is no exaggeration to say that the printing and paper industry is the pioneer of Industry 4.0 – with a continuous digital workflow from preliminary workflows to end product. It might be the personal photo book with photos uploaded online, converted into a high-quality product in a modern printing centre on fully networked systems in a largely automated process and then delivered to the customer. Or it might be the annual report, sent to the printer as digital pdf files and then printed, folded, cut, bound and prepared for delivery in an end-to-end process. This is the new quality: the intelligent networking of machines and systems has advanced to a point where automation is economically viable even for small jobs. Print 4.0 optimises the process, helping printers to minimise downtimes and significantly increase the utilisation of their systems. Sensor-based remote monitoring solutions in the machines sound the alarm before a component fails, allowing the equipment to be proactively serviced. Closed-loop colour management solutions alert the operator when color begins to drift, even before it is visible to the eye. Machine manufacturers also link, structure and analyse the data from service, sales and marketing to offer printers informative performance comparisons and more tailored advice and training. VPN connections have been in use for years, not only for remote analysis but also for troubleshooting, updates and upgrades. Another megatrend is the rapid progress of digital printing processes. Recent market studies predict that the digital printing market will grow by 7.5% per year over the next 10 years, and the technology will spread from graphic printing to many industrial applications. Digitalisation is the key to small print runs of individualised and personalised print products. However, analogue printing will remain the method of choice for high-quality, cost-effective printing in large volumes. In spite of the growth of digital printing, analogue printing remains the guarantor of sales in our industry. drupa 2016 will show how machine and system constructors are responding to the digital transformation. Manufacturers are increasingly turning to modular solutions to meet the requirements of
customers in different sectors. Digital technology comes in many forms: in addition to system networking in fully automatic printing centres, it allows continuous processes in multichannel publishing, wide-ranging possibilities for individualisation, print-on-demand solutions and online printing services, digital decorative and laminate printing and digitally controlled high-speed cutting of large formats on a wide variety of substrates. For smaller print runs and flexible formats, there are new solutions for speedy and even automatic conversion. This creates new challenges, but also opportunities in the finishing chain. In response to the many different forms the technology takes, members of the German engineering association VDMA are currently developing a manufacturer-neutral digital interface that will enable a seamless process and data chain from prepress to the finished product. It will allow print shops to operate entirely without paper-based job tickets. This process chain will be demonstrated live at drupa 2016, with the printed material being distributed to visitors.
Rapid manufacturing and 3D printing
Industrial 3D printing is also a digital process, but rather than printing digital documents, it involves printing complex three-dimensional components from a design file. This is known as rapid or additive manufacturing. The process is described as additive because the material is added one layer at a time. In principle, hundreds or even thousands of 2D layers are stacked on top of each other and usually fused together with a laser. The umbrella term '3D printing' covers a wide range of processes, which at present are mostly used to process various plastics and metals. The process is already being used in a number of industries; for example, to make individually adapted implants and prostheses, complex special parts for machinery, selected components for the aerospace industry, jewellery and every imaginable kind of prototype. Users value the advantages of the additive process because unlike moulding or injection moulding, no mould construction is required. Prototypes and parts for pilot series or small production runs can be printed directly from the appropriately modified design files. And because they are formed layer by layer, very complex constructions can be achieved. It's easy to create cavities for weight reduction; ducts for coolant, pneumatic or hydraulic media; integrated connections or cable supports on the part. In addition to this design flexibility, additive manufacturing makes it possible to produce spare parts on an as-needed basis, at the location where they are required. In future, it might be enough to store the design data instead of maintaining a spare
MEPrinter April 2016
MEPrinter April 2016
By Claus Bolza-Schünemann Chairman of the drupa Committee and Chief Executive of Koenig & Bauer AG
Digital printing technology and workflow
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