In the rapidly evolving world of digital print, few voices carry as much weight as Marco Boer. As the long-standing emcee of the Inkjet Summit and Vice President of I.T. Strategies, Boer has spent over 35 years helping manufacturers and printers navigate the complexities of the inkjet landscape.
Widely respected for his ability to translate high-level technical data into actionable business strategies, Boer is more than just a consultant—he is a cornerstone of the industry. In this exclusive Q&A, we sit down with the man who has chaired the Inkjet and Digital Packaging Summits since 2014 to discuss the current state of the market and what the next generation of digital technology holds for us all.
You’ve said print should transition from a mass-market commodity to a ‘luxury’ item. How is the inkjet landscape making that ‘luxury’ model a reality for commercial printers?
Costs are going up everywhere, paper, ink, labor, etc. Unlike COVID when customers more or less accepted higher pricing, they are not as willing now. So print providers have to manage their margins now, shift products, substrates, etc. in order to remain relevant while continuing to make a profit. With AI becoming more commonplace, smaller and medium size print providers are getting tools at their hands that previously were only available to large print providers who made heavy investments in workflow.
This will help the average print provider gain a much better understanding of which jobs they should be taking on, where to add value, etc. The opportunity to a large extent now is to become the advisor to the customer, as the professional print buyer is long gone. The younger generation of marketers knows little about print, how to buy it, and what it can do for their business. Once you are viewed as a partner rather than a low-cost supplier, business becomes very sticky (and profitable).
“It has been shown time and time again that the best time to invest is when things are difficult, because when things recover, you are far ahead of the curve compared to those that didn’t invest.”
Where are you seeing the most aggressive ‘net-new’ revenue opportunities right now?
These things shift every year, but right now the hottest area is publishing (or more specifically book printing). The publishers are getting lots of pressure from their clients to become more sustainable, have less waste, etc. and last-minute digital printing of books fills that need perfectly. It also helps that book printing (mostly monochrome, low-ink coverage) is closest in running cost to offset compared to heavier color coverage documents. The inkjet investment return is fast in book manufacturing, although it has to be said the biggest inkjet presses, which cost upwards of $5M, are facing pushback from an acquisition cost. You really have to have a lot of volume to justify those.
Why is the ‘back end’ of the shop suddenly the most exciting part of the inkjet conversation?
Finishing has always been an afterthought, but it is typically the most labor intensive and an area of highest waste risk. Finishing equipment used to be mostly mechanical, so the lifecycle could be 40+ years. Why would you replace something that works fine? Now, however, we’re seeing there are lots of hidden costs of not upgrading. If an operator messes something up in finishing, you’ve lost the whole value of the product. Automation is reducing human errors, and speeding up the finishing process. So the ROI on finishing equipment tends to be quite fast. Hence the current interest.
“Once you are viewed as a partner rather than a low-cost supplier, business becomes very sticky (and profitable).”
Why is it still critical for senior executives to connect with peers and providers that attend events like the Inkjet Summit?
The simple answer is community. You can parse that out with:
1. Learning about new opportunities you didn’t know much about before. You’ve got all the leading equipment, substrate, and software suppliers present
2. Expanding your network—opening the door to visit other commercial printers and learn from them
3. Self-education—an example is learning from a peer about how to restructure sales compensation for new types of applications
For someone sitting on the fence about a major capital investment, what is the one ‘burning question’ or data point they should be looking for to move from a ‘Have-Not’ to a ‘Have’?
Given the continuous geopolitical instability in our world, it’s difficult not to become conservative in your investment decisions. However, it has been shown time and time again that the best time to invest is when things are difficult, because when things recover, you are far ahead of the curve compared to those that didn’t invest. The largest commercial printers are a good example of this. RR Donnelley, Quad, Cimpress, etc. are all doubling down right now on high-speed digital printing equipment investments. This doesn’t mean the average commercial printer should plunk down $2M on a new inkjet press, but there are so many alternatives available these days that there is something for everyone at every budget level.
