The Expo: One of HELIOS Software GmbH’s core tenants is that they run on almost any platform, so they coded it to run on a Playstation 3 that is on display in their booth at the show. I also found the Gencia Creator technology which is being combined with Kodak Approval proofs to be quite interesting. Approvals can be laminated to almost any substrate and the Gencia unit allows a package to be very carefully cut, scored, etc and a very accurate mock-up made.
Color Management and Creatives: Dave Hunter moderated a great panel of experts to address adoption of soft proofing. An audience member started us off with a powerful comment that sums up some of the expectation problems with soft proofing. He stated that the trust, education, and hand holding required to get end-user acceptance of soft proofing are costs the average early adopter are not willing to incur. The room also seemed to agree that soft proofing is not yet an out of the box solution. Some issued to still be resolved are how do we get paid for soft proofs? Also, Ty Kang from the panel made a good point that click charge based systems are counter intuitive to increasing the usage of soft proofing. At his company LA Graphic, they do not want user’s worrying that every time they make a proof they are running up a bill.
Wide Format: Case Studies in Workflow Integration and Business Success
OK, I am being a little bit lazy, but the reality is reproduction of the content of two of the slides really does a much better job summing this session up than I could have.
- Cost of replacing business, few repeats
- High Research and Development Costs
- Many failed ideas (lenticular, Glass tiles)
- Long time to market (3 years for carpet)
- New Investments required
- New printers with higher quality
- New capabilities like die-cutting and dye-sub
Opportunities for manufactures
- Diversity of services is an advantage
- Meeting unique needs preserves price
- Thinking outside the box helps win deals
- Strategic partnerships can add value
- Retain and wholesale printing programs
- Partnering with smaller ships represents a win-win situation.
I will have one more post on the IPA conference with some general thoughts and recollections. Look for it next week as my next Golden Nugget post.
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