Exhibitors are focusing more on software devlopment, communications and workflow rather than printing hardware innovations at the drupa media conference in Düsseldorf this week. While there will be plenty of big iron hardware at the Düsseldorf show in May filling all the 17 huge exhibition halls, most of the interesting innovations announced on the first day of the media conference are about cloud-based software.
Cloud-based connectivity is on the agenda for major suppliers led by the HP announcement of its Print OS cloud platform and Kodak’s internet leveraging of its Prinergy systems. While incremental increases in speed of production printing, new printing plates and refinements in inkjet quality provide the traditional hardware announcements, this time around they are taking second place to the development of new software eco-systems.
Kodak was first out of the gate this time around with the announcement of its new cloud-based Prinergy service. Doing away with the differentiation between offset and digital printing, its joint development with Ricoh includes a digital job ticket editor working alongside CTP devices. It is planning to launch more cloud-based Prinergy features during drupa. More conventional releases from Kodak included new pressroom chemistry and another range of its Sonora plates to include UV. It also released a development of its inkjet technology, Ultrastream, which it’s taking to drupa looking for OEM partners.
HP is finally getting around to seriously leveraging its IT background with the launch of a cloud-based Print OS – as in operating system. Not to be confused with a computer OS, the initiative is being promoted as an ‘operating system for a printing business.’ Simon Lewis, business director graphics solution, took to the stage to promote PrintOS as a major advancement for all HP Indigo and HP Pagewide. He terms it "a game changer."
Print OS provides a closed, secure, communications system where printers can access the open, secure cloud-based platform anytime, anywhere. Lewis is appealing for developers to come up with more apps to increase the functionality and there’s no doubt that HP intends it to become a foundation part of its print offering in the future. First two apps are something called Box, a tool simplifying job onboarding through non-automated channels like email and file transfer services and Site Flow, which combines automated order submission, pre-press and shop floor management capabilities.
As this drupa press conference unfolds it's beginning to look as though the trade show in May will be mostly about developments of inkjet processes. However they will operate as a background to the many competing virtual networks and workflows of cloud-based systems. Ironically, you don’t need a trade show to exhibit cloud-based software systems.