FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 9, 2006

“Universe” Continues Expanding in Wake of Digital Big Bang

SGIA’s Robertson on how to save specialty imaging from commoditization.

Fairfax, Virginia - “Disrupting the status quo is critical to avoiding the commodity trap. Fresh, new capability pushes the community forward with added customization that defies commodity classification,” said SGIA President/CEO Michael Robertson.

As the keynote speaker at Inkjet Inks 2006, a conference hosted by The Tiara Group, LLC (April 30-­May 2, Rochester, New York), Robertson painted a picture of the specialty imaging community and its direction since what he called the “digital imaging Big Bang.”

SGIA Community Focuses Energy on Opportunity
“Our Big Bang (and the chain of events it triggered) made many of our universal laws obsolete. In particular, the historical relationships of color, quantity and price in commercial printing are no longer valid. We are challenged to redefine the laws of our imaging universe as wave after wave from the Big Bang brings new opportunity,” he said.

SGIA members are responding to the opportunity, he noted: Before 2001, SGIA members’ predominant technology was screen printing. Now, 41 percent of members say digital imaging is a primary technology, and more than two-thirds of graphics-producing members employ multiple imaging technologies (primarily screen printing and digital imaging).

Moving forward, 57 percent say they’re interested in digital flatbeds. SGIA members are also interested in alternatives to traditional ink systems, Robertson said, noting that 42 percent of digital imagers who use ink systems other than UV said they were planning to move to UV within two years.

“Community members expressed a strong and growing interest in UV ink systems, especially in the more developed countries where concern about solvents is a driving issue.”

Commoditization Hurts, Innovation Heals
“For the entire community — printers, suppliers, customers, all of us — perhaps the biggest challenge on the horizon is the threat of being commoditized. With the digital big bang a recent occurrence, the waves of technology development are still coming strong and often. But as the technology matures, well-managed innovation and creativity will pay big dividends to suppliers pushing the community forward and in new directions,” Robertson said.

According to the Council on Competitiveness, and its National Innovation Initiative, innovation — i.e., the intersection of invention and insight, leading to the creation of value — will be crucial to 21st Century success.

Robertson noted that suppliers and imagers are now working collaboratively for overall success. One-time competitors are collaborating, once-segregated suppliers and service firms are merging.

“Cooperative effort between manufacturer and company is proving to be a strong approach to innovative development. … [Reciprocal innovation] reduces business risk for all involved as it speeds up the innovation process.”

SGIA ’06 Brings Innovation Home
For the networking, education and technology essential for success and innovation in your printing operation, attending SGIA ’06 (Las Vegas, September 26­-29, 2006) is essential. New technologies and new developments — the latest in ink systems and digital flatbed technology, for example — on an expo floor featuring more than 500 exhibitors.

Expo registration opens the week of May 15. Qualify for a free Expo Hall pass when you register before July 15. The SGIA Virtual Trade Show, a current SGIA ’06 floor plan and exhibitor list are online at SGIA.org.

SGIA
10015 Main Street
Fairfax, VA 22031
Phone: 703.359.1301
E-Mail: kate@sgia.org
Website URL: www.sgia.org