IMI Europe Digital Printing Conference

INKJET market and technology Advances

20-21 September 2017

Novotel Barcelona City Hotel, Barcelona, Spain

The IMI Europe Digital Printing Conference is the flagship strategic 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. With a theme of 'Vision 2020', this two-day event includes the following elements:

• Market briefings from leading analysts
• Updates and views from industry pacesetters
• Perspectives from key end users
• New technology introductions from inkjet innovators

As well as formal presentations, the conference programme includes panel sessions covering key topics, with the panels comprising and chaired by industry leaders.

Represented companies:

Domino Printing Sciences * Fujifilm Dimatix * Heidelberger Druckmaschinen * IDTechEx * Keypoint Intelligence (Infotrends) * Impress * IT Strategies * Landa Digital * Mouvent * PadaLuma (Palis) * Philips * SPGPrints * Sun Chemical * Xaar * Xerox * Archipelago Technology

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 Sponsors' 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 primary research.

Strategic Advisory Board

The conference programme of topics, panel discussions and presentations are 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:

• Martin Schoeppler, President & CEO, Fujifilm Dimatix
• John Law, Managing Director Advanced Materials, Sun Chemical
• Marco Boer, Vice President, IT Strategies
• Paul Morgavi, Chief Technology Officer Ink Jet and Novel Printing, Xerox
• Mike Willis, Chairman, IMI Europe & Managing Director, Pivotal Resources

Conference Programme

WEDNESDAY 20 September 2017

Digital package printer development: is the industry approach backwards?
Marco Boer, Vice President, IT Strategies

• Product development approach
• Market eligibility approach
• Technology challenges
• Market entry options: low, mid, or high print-volume
• Application volume and momentum: labels, folding cartons, corrugated, flexible film
• Packaging: one of the few guaranteed markets to grow

2018-2020: The time to go industrial with digital packaging production
Montserrat Peidró, Senior Vice President - Head of Digital Print Business Unit, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen

Due to the automated collection and analysis of user data, the customer approach has become more segment-orientated. As a result, go to the next supermarket and you will see how the variation of products is almost exploding, which has a strong impact on shorter runs and faster production cycles. We live in a world where the question is not any longer if digital is the answer for packaging printing. Today the question is how to build a profitable business with it, which technology to select strategically  and what to take into account to succeed. This talk will examine how Heidelberg's Primefire technology solutions have a part to play in this market.

Aqueous ink solutions for digitally printed packaging
John Law, Managing Director Advanced Materials, Sun Chemical

• Challenges in the world of digital packaging print (compliance, brand identity, substrate, environmental)
• Market requirements for ink technology (energy curing, solvent, aqueous)
• Aqueous inkjet solutions (standard pigmented, functional pigmented inks)
• System approach (substrate, inkjet ink, primer, overprint varnish/coatings)
• Printer solution concepts
• Beyond packaging

Panel Session: The ideal ink and curing system for packaging
Topics to include:

• UV versus aqueous inks
• UV, LED, EB curing
• Migration issues

The panel will be chaired by John Law, Managing Director Advanced Materials, Sun Chemical, and include industry experts from the conference Strategic Advisory Board and conference presenters.

Adoption of thin film PZT Si MEMS inkjet printheads in industrial applications: the Xaar 5601 solution
Ramon Borrell, R&D Director, Xaar

Thin film PZT Si MEMS printheads have been used for several years in office and commercial printing, and more recently have started carving their way into industrial sectors. Industrial inkjet applications welcome some of the new capabilities of the technology, such as high resolution, compactness and very high print quality. However, the Si MEMS manufacturing process imposes new restrictions on the size and shape of actuators, which in combination industrial inkjet application requirements poses serious challenges to printhead design. The Xaar 5601 has addressed the challenges in a number of ways, including novel architecture and design solutions, alignment and calibration methods, and formulation and structure of the PZT elements. This has resulted in a robust, reliable, affordable, easy to install, compact, productive solution.

Printed electronics: Applications, technology developments and outlook
Raghu Das, CEO, IDTechEx

This presentation will provide a global perspective on the current progress and future outlook for printed electronics. Each of the main printed components will be covered, including OLED and e-paper displays, printed and flexible sensors, photovoltaics, thin film batteries, conductive ink and logic and memory. For each, the latest trends will be given including the largest applications. The presentation will also look at investment across the value chain and by geography. Opportunities for digital printers, material suppliers and consumable suppliers will be covered, with the state of the art global progress with digital printing for printed electronics examined.

Printed electronics: When will it be ready for primetime? What needs to happen?
Karl Dueland, VP/GM Digital Manufacturing, Xerox

During this talk I will discuss our view of printed electronics and what we think that means. I will look at a few of the aspects of it including where we see its adoption today (and how far we have to go). While focusing on the business side it will cover areas such as conductive inks, functional electronics, the concept of hybrid printed electronics and then ultimately fully printed ‘smart tags’. I will review the reality of where it is today and what progress needs to be made for broader implementation, usage and value creation.

Panel Session: Printed electronics - finally ready for primetime?
Topics to include:

• Requirements from end users
• Recent technology advancements
• What is left to be done?

The panel will be chaired by Martin Schoeppler, President & CEO, Fujifilm Dimatix and include industry experts from the conference Strategic Advisory Board and conference presenters.

Digital décor printing: market potential and technology progress
Dr Andreas Dörfler, Managing Director, Impress

• Paper based decorative surfaces – market overview
• Specifics of décor printing – a world of its own …
• Digital printing in the décor industry today
• Business model and value proposition
• Digital décor printing: product or process innovation?
• Customer added value: voices from the market
• Focus areas for technology development
• The ink challenge
• How to get a printing company into a digital mindset
• Digital décor printing 2020 and beyond

Hear short presentations from the event sponsors.

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

THURSDAY 21 September 2017

“New” buyers and mass personalisation drives further automation
Marc Schillemans, VP & GM EMEA, Landa Digital Printing

We face “new” buyers that want products that are specific to their needs. They want them quickly and have less brand loyalty. Everything has become on-demand: communication, gaming, and entertainment. Everything has become more personalised: knowledge, news, and advertising. Everything is becoming greener and safer: 60% of consumers want to buy from environmentally responsible companies. The printing world is changing accordingly. Product proliferation, on-demand production, and mass customisation are key differentiators. Brands, content owners and the printing industry are already responding to these unique trends and opportunities. Digital printing has a critical part in creating a fully automated end-to-end solution. Landa intends to be the driving force of digital printing within these advanced automated ecosystems. This talk will review Landa's potential impact in these markets and progress with our technology solutions.

Digital printing – New horizons in woodworking
Ron Gilboa, Group Director Production Technology, KeyPoint Intelligence (Infotrends)

We will explore an emerging industrial segment that is embracing digital printing. The woodworking industry is vast and encompasses a range of application from architectural, furniture to flooring and beyond. The emergence of high productivity digital printing solutions are enabling new opportunities for large as well as small producers. From decorative panels, flooring and decorative elements, all can be decorated directly or via a lamination process using digital printers. The talk will explore:

• Industry segments and their size
• Emerging digital printing technologies
• The range of diverse applications
• Key industry suppliers

Digital print in packaging, the evolution of customer needs
Lee Metters, Group Business Development Director, Domino Printing Sciences

Digital printing is one of the major enablers of change within the packaging supply chain, albeit from a very low starting position compared to other digital printing applications. Packaging is seen by many technology companies as the last bastion of market growth. But packaging is a more complex application than many other types of printing and this complexity means that there are traps for the unwary supplier or customer. As the penetration of digital print into packaging increases, the customer risk increases and so the range of customer requirements will continue to grow. This presentation will focus on those customer needs and how suppliers will need to evolve to enable growth to continue.

Digital décor printing driven by innovation
Patrik Lutz, Managing Director, PadaLuma Inkjet Solutions

Innovations have created and formed what we know nowadays as the décor printing market with its demanding requirements. This fascinating and continually evolving process is now standing at the crossroad of facing new challenges like individualisation and the need for more flexible concepts. Industrial inkjet is considered as a potential innovative solution but it is confronted with a critical defensive attitude and is waiting for the perfect décor printing solution. What needs to be fulfilled to be a perfect solution? This talk will review which requirements are challenging industrial inkjet in order to meet market demands. Is industrial inkjet ready to perform in the décor printing market?

Panel Session: Printing onto products - better than labels?
Topics to include:

• Challenges of direct-to-shape printing
• Cost benefit versus labels

The panel will be chaired by Marco Boer, Vice President, IT Strategies, and include industry experts from the conference Strategic Advisory Board and conference presenters.

Single pass technology solutions for textiles and other markets
Roy van Erp, Area Sales Manager, SPGPrints

Digital printing will continue to gain market share, especially when the perceived disadvantages, like high costs, printhead issues and application challenges have been overcome. Although rotary screen printing has cost advantages, digital is growing with a CAGR of over 20%, reaching a share of more than 10% of all printed textiles by. The industry is investing in single pass technology. Growth is driven by economical, technological, value chain and ecological arguments, addressing different potential customers. Each argument has a relative importance which differs and depends on the specific potential customer: designers, brand owners, printers and design/textile schools. Main question: What is the right moment to invest? Some are waiting while others are moving.

A new approach to inkjet integration – "cluster technology", a printed printer
Piero Pierantozzi, CEO, Mouvent

"Cluster technology" is a bottom up design building the base for a modular and truly scalable print engine that can be integrated into a wide range of very compact digital printing machines to serve all kind of markets. During the 4 years development journey it was decided to realise the production of the modules with 3D printing/manufacturing. This opened up totally new possibilities in terms of functionality, design, weight and shape. The biggest challenge was reinventing the innovation and implementation process.

Capacitive MEMS actuator technology platform for inkjet
Erwin Hijzen, Program Manager, Philips (with co-authors Ton Nellissen, Sergei Shulepov)

At the moment the main MEMS technologies being used in inkjet applications are either thermal or piezo based. A less known actuation technology is capacitive actuation. Within Philips this technology has been developed for application in medical ultrasound transducers. This has resulted in a mature actuation technology, with demonstrated advantages over existing piezo-based solutions. We will explain the basics of the technology, demonstrate its maturity with application examples, and show its potential for application in inkjet heads as an alternative actuation technology. It offers additional advantages, like lower power consumption, easier integration with driver electronics and flexibility in form factor and design. 

Powerdrop: enabling inkjet to excel
Charlie Stokes, Engineer & Designer, Archipelago Technology

The inkjet business is expanding into large but demanding markets. Textiles, flooring and packaging all present us with a big opportunity but are challenging. On top of the high image quality the print needs to be safe, robust, and pass a series of difficult tests. It’s hard to put all this functionality into a single ink. That’s where Powerdrop can help. By putting the image into the ink and the robustness into a separate coating we can simplify the problem and speed up the solution. In this talk I will explain the latest developments of the Powerdrop technology and introduce applications that combine imaging and functionality.