My ‘least you need to know’ #FESPA summary…
#FESPA2024 was small but interesting, the DRUPA effect of course.
A lot of manufacturers are sandbagging product launches for Drupa, but many are naturally tight-lipped about the details.
Everyone has now officially gone Direct to Film mad.
Most interesting comment at the show… A respected head-tech guru that sells to OEM sector told me they estimate that in coming years they will sell more heads for #DTF systems than they will sell in to entire existing Sign and Display sector. Claims DTF is even more disruptive than the very first UV flatbeds. There’s new volume there for sure.
Problem though… as a market created and developed and even already matured in China, the normal business model of new tech, early high margins, price becoming a factor only later, which invariably ends in a race to the bottom as things become commoditised.
That model is completely reversed here, given that the Chinese domestic market has fast tracked that race to the bottom and they’re there already - the model now is add quality, add reliability, and add margin. It’s a race from the bottom! Not an easy task, but the ultimate reward is very high volumes for the winners.
In non-DTF news…
The hostile takeover of #RolandDG by #Brother was the rumour mills hottest topic. Nessan Cleary has written an excellent piece on the matter, you can find it here: https://lnkd.in/daYDkbzj
#AGFA are also becoming a very very interesting business to watch. They’re making increasingly serious moves because, well, they’re a business that is clearly increasingly serious about their longterm future in print.
Everything else, well you’ll have to go to DRUPA, because that’s the where the next action is!
As for #FESPA2025 that’ll be back to Germany, in Berlin from 6th to 9th May 2025.