Graphics companies are on the lookout for innovative ideas and products to make new investments
After six years of economic crisis and a profound transformation in the sector, the Spanish graphics industry is starting to recover and is on the lookout for innovative products and ideas with added value in which to make new investments in technology, a field in which print is offering promising growth prospects. In this context, the group of representatives of associations, suppliers, business owners and professionals from different graphics specialities who participated in Graphispag's sector meeting last week in Madrid said they were looking forward to the next edition of the trade show on 24-27 March 2015, where they are hoping to find inspiration, technology, knowledge, success stories and the keys to the new graphics business.
The meeting, which was held at the head office shared by the Spanish Printing Industry Federation (FEIGRAF) and the Madrid Association of Graphic Arts Enterprises (AGM), analysed the current situation and opportunities in a sector which is searching for formulas to reinvent printing against the competition from the digital world, and which is completing its restructuring process to emerge from the crisis even stronger.
The President of FEIGRAF, Eladio Muñoz, urged business owners to fight back and, above all, to be optimistic. ¿This is a complex sector that has managed to overcome other crises in the past. It is worth remembering that everything that goes through our hands is printed,' he asserted. Muñoz also referred admiringly to the German model, which is largely industrialized: ¿To be specific, 44% compared to Spain's 15%.' According to the president of the graphics guild, companies in Spain's graphics sector still need to decide whether they want to be an industry or a service company. ¿You can't mix the two things. Companies need to decide what they want to be, and specialize in it. Everything else can be subcontracted,' maintained Muñoz, who is also confident that there will be more investment in the sector.
The Graphispag of recovery
Along the same lines, the president of Graphispag, Ángel Artola, said: ¿This will be the Graphispag of recovery. For this reason, the show will help companies to analyse their business model and establish whether it is consistent and has a future.'
Meanwhile, the President of the Spanish Reprographics Association (AER), Miguel Ángel Prieto, also underlined the importance of Graphispag for the sector and explained that ¿thanks to the show, we can find out which direction technology is heading in and buy new knowledge that will be fundamental for our businesses.' Meanwhile, the Vice-president of the Spanish Association of Screen and Digital Printers (FESPA), Antonio Moreno, expressed his ¿moderate optimism' at future prospects. In this respect, he highlighted the complementary nature of screen-printing and digital printing, whose synergies ¿have provided the boost that is maintaining the sector.'
Towards ¿smart' graphic products
To successfully tackle future challenges, the Secretary General of FEIGRAF and the Madrid Association of Graphic Arts Enterprises (AGM), Jesús Alarcón, believes it is worth answering these three questions: ¿How, how much and, above all, what is going to be printed. In my opinion, almost anything can be printed.' In this respect, he emphasized that ¿certain sectors are potential targets for new graphics products, such as interior decoration and the furniture industry. The key lies in combining traditional graphics products with the electronic world; we need to create smart graphics products. That's where the opportunities will be.'
Someone who shares his views, the CEO of Henche, José María Henche, went further into the need for ¿reinvention, seeking out new products and business opportunities', to which the General Manager of Grupo Aga, Álvaro García, added that Graphispag ¿needs to serve as a source of ideas and a platform for discovering new tools and new products, such as those associated with enhanced reality that combine mobile technology with printing.'
The General Manager of Dugopa, Carlos Albertos, predicts that there will be an increase in printing products and applications that the Internet cannot replicate, such as decoration, packaging, labelling and the personalization of all kinds of objects. On this same point, the General Manager of Lumen, S.A., Alejandro Ávila, referred to specialization as one of the keys to success, and explained the experience of his own company in the photography market.
Meanwhile, the Director of Professional Printing Solutions at Canon, Andrés Ferrer, also focused on packaging, label printing, signage in general and customization as niche markets that offer increased opportunities. However, Ferrer believes that the key lies in ¿being able to add value to the printed product, making it not only smart but also interactive. We need to play up the creativity offered by the use of digital printing,' he pointed out.
David Martínez, the President of Forletter, mentioned the need for flexibility in this context of transformation: ¿What we need are dynamic companies which might be printing today, selling advertising tomorrow and adding value the next day.' In this respect, Martínez explained that his own company's current investments and projects are focused on niche markets that generate value, while the production segment is regarded as a commodity.
Along the same lines, the Account Manager of the Iberia Indigo team at Hewlett Packard, Vicente Delgado, championed the combination of technology and training when investing in new graphics products and applications, and revealed that in order to adapt to the rapid evolution of the graphics market his multinational is developing innovations in large format, 3D printing, packaging and labelling.
The bond between suppliers and printers
Discussions also covered the role of the manufacturers and distributors of equipment and machinery and their permanent involvement in printing companies' projects. The General Manager of OMC, Enrique Rodríguez, maintained that ¿you have to understand the clients' needs and provide them with everything that might be useful to them and help them make a profit.' The Sales Representative of Hartmann, Angel Grutzmann, recommended ¿constant liaison with printing companies so you can address their specific needs at all times', while the Western Regional Sales Manager of AGFA, Víctor del Río, cited Graphispag as a useful platform for interacting with clients and getting to know them better.
Finally, the Director of Graphispag, Aleix Planas, highlighted the role of the trade show organized by Fira de Barcelona in collaboration with the Graphispack Association as ¿a driving force and consolidator of the Spanish graphics industry'. ¿The show and its technical seminars let people discover the latest trends, share their experiences and find ideas and solutions at the scale of each individual company,' he concluded.
