Future Links May 25th
Today our news roundup from the printing industry covers Y Soft’s partnership with Xerox, Dubai’s ambitious 3D printing strategy, growth predictions for the thermal print industry, an interview with the father of 3D printing, the benefits and limitations of web-to-print, how the print industry benefits from digital technologies and new on the drupa blog: Fish packaging that moves like fresh fish.
Cloud-print management provider Y Soft partners with Xerox
Xerox selected YSoft SafeQ as its solution for subscription services in the Xerox Secure Print Manager Suite. Customers who purchase the suite or its modules receive print management software powered by Y Soft. More than 14,000 customers around the world use YSoft SafeQ as their enterprise IT provider for reducing costs of business printing, copy and scanning; increasing document security and improving productivity. As a platform, YSoft SafeQ offers print management, document capture and workflow and 3D printers integrated with print management and accounting, into one solution.
More at Eweek
Dubai is making headways with 3D printing strategy
Dubai is determined to become a leader in 3D printing technology. The business hub in the United Arab Emirates has just announced its first 3D printed office building and has announced a new 3D printed lab space to be added to a huge solar park. But the ambitions go further. The plans for the medical sector are most specific: The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has just announced that they plan to be offering 3D printed artificial limbs by 2025, at a cost of approximately 108.90 USD.
More at 3D Print
Thermal print industry to reach 39 billion USD in 2021
The market for thermal print is growing, according to a new report by Smithers Pira. The researchers predict that the global market for this technology will be worth 31.8 billion USD in 2016 at end-user price level. It is forecast to grow at an annual rate of 3.9 percent to reach 38.9 USD billion in 2021. Retail and manufacturing are the largest users of thermal print, followed by transportation and healthcare.
More at Smithers Pira
The father of 3D printing looks ahead to the next developments
When Chuck Hull invented stereolithography in the early 1980s, he had some ideas about what it might spawn, but he could have never imagined the scope of the current 3D-printing world. He believes that in the future, a lot of plastic parts will be automated and built with 3D printing. 3D printing will also become a more common method to manufacture specialized metal parts.
More at Industry Week
How web-to-print can solve customers’ communication challenges
In an opinion piece on What They Think?, Jennifer Matt looks at how web-to-print can serve the print industry. She proposes looking at it as a way to help customers solve their communication challenges. However, web-to-print isn’t always the best solution, she argues and warns against forced e-commerce workflows.
More at What They Think?
How the print industry benefits from the internet
Print or digital? While both forms of communication are often discussed as polar opposites, the idea behind the question represents in fact a false dichotomy. Print and digital are part of the same whole and for decades, digital high-performance networks and data transfer have been indispensable for print technology development.
More at Graphic Repro Online
New on the drupa blog: Fish packaging that moves like fresh catch
Packaging is often used to communicate product attributes. ‘Fresh’ is written on packages, or ‘low calorie’ or ‘great taste’ – and consumers have to rely on the printed words to assess the claim. This approach clashes with the axiom of creative storytelling that says ‘show, don’t tell’. A team at the creative agency `Jack the Maker’ in Portugal has taken the storytelling advice literally.
More in the article