This Month's Spectrum Summary:

(The following is an excerpt from the May 2004 issue of Spectrum, a proprietary monthly briefing published exclusively for the clients of I.T. Strategies, Inc. © 2004)

drupa 2004 Showcases Ink Jet Technology for Non-Consumer, Industrial Printing

This year's drupa served to affirm a major I.T. Strategies theme: that industrial, non-consumer printing is a primary path for profitable growth and that ink jet looks like the primary vehicle. This is felt to indicate a certain lack of confidence in EP and optimism regarding ink jet from both the user and supplier side. Since we are talking about changing industrial processes rather than document printing, drupa does not seem the most logical arena to showcase these applications.

Leading the charge into industrial applications at drupa were two levels of ink jet technology. On one level are the new high-end UV-curable ink jet printers such as Sun/Inca, and the established water-based Versamark CIJ offerings. The second level are vendors taking off-the-shelf heads from HP or other vendors and stitching them into a full width array to create much less costly industrial printers. One example is the newcomer Dimuken. Another is Riso.

In addition to advancing technology, these developments are being driven by companies finding their existing markets saturated and the EP document market crowded and dominated by a few major vendors.

The competitive picture is expected to evolve significantly over the next five years. At drupa there were a lot of small companies demonstrating innovative industrial products. But with 3-4 major vendors in the mix, it is expected the field will tend to consolidate. Giants such as Kodak and Agfa may make other acquisitions. Big users may try to develop their own industrial ink jet capability, but this does not usually succeed.

Several scenarios are envisioned. One of the Japanese head manufacturers might partner with a U.S. or European company with market access. Direct marketing by the established Japanese vendors into world markets seems unlikely since industrial applications are so fragmented. It would seem logical for one or more of the major integrators to acquire a head manufacturer since head manufacturing has not been particularly profitable. The primary developer is seldom the market developer.

In short, drupa has bestowed firmer credibility upon ink jet in industrial, non-consumer applications. It's all very early in its life cycle. It is sure to fly, but there are myriad ways it could go. If you look five years ahead the landscape is guaranteed to look radically different-particularly in terms of the competitive structure. And finally, the technology is young and has a long way to go before reaching maturity.