Future Links December 23rd
Here are our daily links with the most important news from the printing industry. Today they feature a start-up producing personalized children’s books, Fairphone’s 3D printed wooden accessories, Heidelberg’s open house, digital inkjet printing for packaging, robots and cobots in packaging production and a new way of producing affordable biosensors.
Start-up uses technology for captivating personalized children’s books
The company, Lost My Name, has enjoyed strong success with its personalized children’s books featuring software-created stories, illustrations and captivating narratives. Lost My Name has created illustrated books based on more than 150,000 names so far. More than a million copies of ‘The Little Boy/Girl Who Lost His/Her Name’ have sold in 160 countries this year, including around 370,000 in the United States.
More at The New York Times
Fairphone partners with 3D Hubs for wooden cell phone cases
Smartphones are convenient and fun but most are a burden on the environment using plastic and metals and sometimes even minerals from questionable areas. Fairphone has made it its mission to produce cell phones with a focus on fair wages, conflict-free minerals, recycling and other sustainable practices, and their alternative manufacturing methods include 3D printing. Now, the company has developed cell phone accessories made of colorFabb’s woodFill filament manufactured on demand at 3D Hubs locations, eliminating overstock and reducing waste.
More at 3D Print
Heidelberg shows latest technology at open house event
At a recent open house, Heidelberg hosted over 150 customers from the United States, Canada and Brazil for a full day of demonstrations and seminars. Customers who attended viewed live demonstrations of the latest technology across Heidelberg’s comprehensive print portfolio, the North American launch of the new DryStar LED and the unveiling of its newly branded demonstration center, Print Media Center Atlanta.
More at Printing Impressions
Digital inkjet printing expected to dominate the packaging print market
According to a new report by Smithers Pira titled ‘The future of digital print for packaging to 2020’, the market for packaging printed on digital equipment will grow to be worth 19.8 billion USD in 2020. One dominant trend will be digital printing and the rapid increase in inkjet means that by 2018 it will account for the majority of digital’s use in packaging.
More at Smithers Pira
Expert advice for robots and cobots in packaging
The market for robots and cobots, collaborative robots, is growing rapidly. The forecast for global cobots market is for a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of just over 50 % for the period 2014 to 2019, according to research firm Technavio. While automation is an accepted method in packaging production, there are instances when robots are a better fit, for example when production changes and improvements are always required.
More at Packaging Digest