IMI Europe Digital Printing Conference

INKJET market and technology Advances

30 November - 1 December, 2016

Novotel Amsterdam City Hotel, Amsterdam, Netherlands

The IMI Europe Digital Printing Conference is the flagship strategic business and technical conference for the inkjet industry, trusted as a primary source of high value information by senior executives and commercial managers for more than 15 years. This two-day event includes market and application overviews from key industry figures, as well as the latest technology developments from leading players .

The IMI Europe Digital Printing Conference is the ideal place to learn the latest news from major and emerging companies, as well as exploring business opportunities by networking with top executives across the industry. Our high level event is designed for strategic business and technical decision-makers within the inkjet industry. It is also ideal for companies using inkjet technology, or considering using it, who wish to understand the latest advances and trends.

Presenting companies:

Alchemie Technology * Archipelago Technology * AVA-CADCAM * AVT * Dystar * EFI * Exergen Global * FUJIFILM Dimatix * Inca Digital Printers * Infotrends * InPrint * IT Strategies * Kuei * Océ Technologies * Pivotal Resources * Scanlaser * World Textile Information Network * Xaar

Additional Benefits

NEtworking

The IMI Europe Digital Printing Conference gives you the opportunity to meet senior executives from within the inkjet industry as well as from companies using the technology or developing it for their use. With two networking lunches, an evening reception and additional refreshment breaks, there is ample opportunity to meet with key people.

Sponsor Exhibits & Forum

Event sponsors will have their products and technology on display in the breakout area, and the Sponsor's Forum enables you to hear short presentations from sponsors on their company and latest news. If you are interested in becoming an event sponsor, please visit our sponsorship page.

IT Strategies Market Report

All delegates will receive a free copy of the latest "The Numbers" Market Report by IT Strategies. Generated from their worldwide digital printing industry model, it provides an ongoing source of market information based on a consistent methodology and reporting structure.

Strategic Advisory Board

The conference programme is determined by the Strategic Advisory Board of industry luminaries whose expertise covers a wide range of technology and applications in digital printing. Strategic Advisory Board members are as follows:

• Marco Boer, Vice President, IT Strategies
• Debbie Thorp, Business Development Director, Global Inkjet Systems
• Mike Willis, Managing Director, Pivotal Resources

The Board will be chaired by Dr Tim Phillips, Managing Director of IMI Europe.

Conference Programme

WEDNESDAY 30 November 2016

Page volumes as an indicator for digital print opportunities
Marco Boer, Vice President, IT Strategies

• Putting the digital print opportunity into context
  • Sizing key print applications by equivalent A4-size pages, analogue vs. digital, 2015-2020
• Post-DRUPA 2016
  • Key inkjet technology directional trends
• Sanity check
  • Eligible pages for digital print and specification requirements to watch
  • Technology challenges
  • Business model challenges

Inkjet for packaging: Overview & outlook
Catherine Cresswell, Associate Director, Digital Textile Printing & Communication Supplies Europe Consulting Service & Bob Leahey, Associate Director, Color Digital Label and Packaging (CDLP) Consulting Service, Infotrends

Digital printing has been a tool for packaging converters for over 20 years, first for printing labels and, more recently, for the direct printing of folding cartons, flexible packaging, corrugated, and even bottles and cans. In each of these areas inkjet is either an established contributor or a prospective one. What is the status of inkjet in these deep, growing, and mainly analogue printed markets? What’s the outlook? This presentation will answer these questions, and in the process will discuss these topics:

• Main colour inkjet vendors for labels, folding cartons, corrugated printing
• Inkjet for flexible packaging, key vendors at work now
• Where HP Indigo and other EP competition will stay strong, and why
• Which inkjet news from drupa 2016 will move markets in 2020
• Direct-to-shape inkjet...vendors who will enable mass customisation
• Inkjet packaging print market estimates for Europe, 2015-2020

Global developments to date in digital textile printing and drivers for future growth
James Rankin, Market Intelligence Analyst, World Textile Information Network

This presentation will provide a brief overview looking at the current growth rates seen within the industry and key technologies that have enabled the market to grow to its current size and shape. We will then look at the current stumbling blocks that exist within the industry and the developments we still need to see to drive future growth.

Inkjet and décor: Dream or reality?
Marcus Timson, Co-Founder, InPrint and Giorgio Macor, Founder, Kuei

InPrint has undertaken research into the trends and opportunities for décor printing with inkjet. This presentation examines the results and the ‘growing pains’ and opportunities for inkjet for new décor markets.

Kuei will provide an example of the reality of direct-to-surface inkjet décor with insight into the development of a 3D haptic ink capable of texturising wood effects.

Technical and commercial challenges/benefits of single pass technology
Dr John Mills, CEO, Inca Digital Printers

Large-scale industrial single pass printers are difficult and expensive to develop.  There are considerable technical challenges in providing printheads with ink and data, and in making a reliable process: the combination of ink, substrate and drying which delivers the required print quality.  An even greater challenge can be the development of a viable business model, when you consider ink cost, printhead cost and uptime. This presentation outlines some of the challenges found by manufacturers and printers.

The analogue to digital transformation
José Luis Ramón, Vice President/General Manager Industrial Printing, EFI

José's talk will cover the following areas:

• EFI's strategy for the analogue to digital transformation
• Hardware, software and ink integration
• Inkjet market penetration
• New markets including corrugated packaging

The SIMEMS printhead factory revisited
Marc Torrey, Vice President, Product R&D and Marketing, FUJIFILM Dimatix

Three years ago at IMI Europe's 21st Annual European Ink Jet Conference, FUJIFILM Dimatix President and CEO Martin Schoeppler introduced his vision of a Silicon MEMS Printhead Factory, based on the experience gained from birthing the Samba printhead technology. This presentation takes a look at how that vision has withstood the passage of time, focusing on the following areas:

• The proliferation of designs enabled by the Si MEMS process
• The importance of die packaging to successful printhead deployment
• Recurring themes in upstream integration requirements
• The role of scale in emerging applications
• Evolving options for customer engagement

The critical importance of software in digital printing for the decorative industries
Nick Langford, CEO, AVA-CADCAM

The arrival of high speed digital printers presents exciting opportunities for decorative printing of textiles, flooring and wall coverings but many decorative printers are struggling to get the results they expected from their investment in digital printing as a result of inadequate attention to the crucial role of software in the digital print workflow for decorative design. Software developed for the signage, packaging and poster industries has some serious shortfalls when it comes to printing sophisticated decorative designs. The talk will discuss the beneficial impact of software designed specifically for decorative applications.

Interactive Panel Session: Inkjet Outlook

Join our interactive session with a panel of experts from key companies to discuss:

• Corrugated packaging presses - what is the market opportunity?
• B2 sheet presses - how do they 'stack up'?
• Managing an inkjet business in the face of political uncertainty - challenge or opportunity?

The session will be chaired by Marco Boer, IT Strategies and Mike Willis, IMI Europe/Pivotal Resources.

Hear short presentations from the event sponsors.

Join us for wine, beer, canapés and good company!

THURSDAY 1 December, 2016

Market driven development for a cause - The making of a game changing sheet-fed colour press
Dirk Van Thillo, Strategy Director Graphic Arts, Océ Technologies

The world of print is changing fast. Everything that can be personal will be personal. Delivery the same day. Constant cost pressure. New propositions are needed that put print providers in the lead; but which? We innovated the way we innovate, leaving our high tech campuses to team up with lead customers. Together we developed the Océ VarioPrint i300, a platform that evolves alongside market developments. iQuarius Technologies, a breakthrough in sheet-fed versatility, inkjet productivity and uptime enable customers to handle new and more diverse applications. Together we change the world of print.

Developing multiple business models on a cut sheet inkjet infrastructure
Sander Jansen, CEO, ChangeVenture, former CEO, Scanlaser

In an innovative journey of ten years, Sander Jansen has transformed a regular print production company to a full service logistical production and distribution partner for its customers. During this session he will present the case study of Scanlaser and guide the audience through the internal innovation of the company. On top of that he will show how completely new business models were developed and how new business emerged. Sander Jansen will present the highlights of the Scanlaser generic infrastructure that supports three different business models based on the use of cut sheet inkjet in all cases.

Dedicated inspection solutions for inkjet printing
Michael Almagor, Marketing Director, AVT

Inkjet technology brings many advantages and new opportunities to the printing industry, but it also brings a new method of printing technology that has its own limitations and specific defects. AVT developed dedicated solutions to detect the specific defects of the inkjet technology and in order to maximize the benefits of this growing technology. Among AVT’s inkjet customers you will find Heidelberg, Landa, EFI and other leading companies in the inkjet printing arena.

Technical challenges of thermal management and increased speed in inkjet printing
Bart van Liempd, CEO, Exergen Global

Production speed is an ever-present challenge in digital printing, and is often exacerbated by thermal management challenges. There is a continual need to increase speed without elevating equipment heat to levels that cause printer malfunction or degrade product quality. The session will introduce general concepts of thermal management as it relates to inkjet printing and then discuss related technologies and equipment involved in balancing print quality with the need for production speed. A technique will be described based on the speed boost equation, a thermal management concept that includes provisions for the difference between the surface temperature of the equipment, which can be directly measured, and the bulk material temperature, which must be indirectly measured. Using a simple result from a complex mathematical model, the technique can increase production speeds while maintaining material temperature characteristics. Examples of inkjet applications at Kodak will be provided that employ the speed boost equation describing the benefits gained in doing so.

Insight into new technological developments from recent patents
Mike Willis, Managing Director, Pivotal Resources

• The view inside the industry’s research laboratories through the patent “window”
• Thermal inkjet has plenty of life left
• Update on Landa and other intermediate transfer technologies
• Challenges for high-speed printing, maybe not what you think!
• Inkjet developments for new non-office applications

Volume 3D printing: the role of the inkjet printhead
Andrew Morse, Materials Development Manager, Xaar

3D printing is yet to reach its potential in the industrial sector. Slow build times associated with current methods prevent the “industrial 3D printing revolution”. Xaar are looking to use their industrial inkjet printheads to drive this expansion. Xaar has recently appointed experienced 3D printing staff in order to maximise the commercial potential of volume manufacturing using inkjet printheads.

Digital additive manufacturing is growing from strength to strength
Dr Alan Hudd, Founder & Director, Alchemie Technology

• Novel digital technologies to selectively pattern liquids and powders directly
• From healthcare to highly complex 3D based structures
• Requirements for productive 3D processes
• Digital printing graphene to transform the performance of printed structures
• Producing the digital poly pill; the additive manufacturing solution for old age

Vat dyes - Innovative coloration concepts for industrial digital textile printing
Markus Dorer, Global Head of Marketing Printing, Dystar

Digital textile printing has become truly industrial, with the fashion segment based on reactive and sublimation ink shows being the main focus for growth in the recent years. Specialist textile markets such as home textiles have not yet adopted digital significantly due to the need for high fastness levels not provided by existing solutions. Vat dyes have significant importance in this segment in conventional coloration, but until now no similar solution was available for digital printing. DyStar and Zimmer have between them created the first digital print solution for high fastness home textiles. The vat dye inkjet inks have the same performance characteristics as regular vat dyes. The technology background and application performance are outlined in the talk.

Powerdrop: a different way of jetting difficult materials
Guy Newcombe, CEO, Archipelago Technology

The world market for coatings and adhesives is more than 100 times greater than the market for industrial digital printing inks.  It is also well-informed and open to the benefits that non-contact deposition brings in terms of lower costs and improved performance. What’s held the development of these markets back? These materials are sticky, viscous and generally troublesome, particularly if you’re trying to get them through an inkjet nozzle. In this talk, Guy will set out the business opportunities in a range of applications and explain how Archipelago’s Powerdrop technology fundamentally addresses the problems that until now have held back the growth of this important market.