The Book Manufacturers’ Institute (BMI – Ormond Beach, Florida) has published a new whitepaper titled The Role of Inkjet Printing in Powering Industry 4.0 in Book Publishing, detailing the findings of a research study conducted by NAPCO Research and commissioned by BMI. The report focuses on how book printers and publishers are transitioning from offset to inkjet printing, creating new efficiencies, improving productivity – and ultimately reaping greater profits. In the context of this joint study, Industry 4.0 is defined as: “The fourth major industrial revolution, brought about by artificial intelligence (AI), big data, mobile devices, the industrial Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, automation and more.” The research outlines key benefits of digital book printing, and suggests that the economics and flexibility of short-run and print-on-demand are a key part of the appeal of inkjet to survey respondents. The whitepaper also includes analysis of methods currently employed by book printers, expectations for future investments in plant hardware, and an evaluation of the size of the opportunity for printers and publishers.
“In many ways, the results of this research confirm what we’ve suspected in recent years – that printers who’ve invested in building digital processes into their manufacturing workflows have been able to serve their customers with a cost-effective option that responds to current market conditions,” said Matt Baehr, Executive Director of BMI.
Nathan Safran, Vice President of Research at NAPCO Media, added: “For those who live by the mantra ‘show me the data,’ this report really makes the case for manufacturers – and for book publishers – to experiment with inkjet printing techniques to improve their workflows and their bottom lines.”
The study was sponsored by Canon Solutions, HP, Ricoh USA and Screen Americas. BMI members have full access to the study. Non-BMI members can access an executive summary at BMIBook.com under the Research tab.
Book Manufacturers’ Institute releases “The Role of Inkjet Printing in Powering Industry 4.0 in Book Publishing”
