Sometimes I believe editors are expressing an opinion, and though I like to share mine, this article is different. I ask the questions, and if you want, let's discuss :-)

By Editor Morten B. Reitoft

Can you be an industry technology leader without having or using a smartphone? Can you lead a printing company without knowing the basics of print? Do you find it likely to invest in new technology without consulting independent media or unbiased consultants? Do you think the Landa digital platform will deliver the speed per hour within the next 5-10 years promised in 2016? Do you believe critical journalism is an advantage or disadvantage for the industry? Next year drupa takes place in Düsseldorf - do you think the show will have the impact it used to have in the past? Do you believe that tradeshows, in general, will have the effect they used to have? Will tradeshows in the future be the time and place where new products and innovations will be presented to the public?

Where do you get your information from? Some PSPs and Converters have developed networks of local printers that support each other when exploring new products and technologies. Do you think this will be a way forward for more? Do you use print in your marketing and communication? Do you think print needs to be sold as something other than "print"? Do you think PR gives you needful information? Do you think trade media - none mentioned, none forgot, are an unbiased source of information? Do you think press releases help you understand new products and services better? Do you think KODAK can win significant market shares with its Prosper 520? Is quality or speed more critical when looking at Inkjet? Do you believe Inkjet will eventually take over toner-based print? Do you think Inkjet will ultimately take over offset print?

What is more important in the future workflow, printing or finishing? Will digital embellishment have a massive future in the industry, or will it continue to be niche? Will paper supply and demand ever be aligned? Will paper-based products in the future have a more exclusive role in communication, or will they be even more commoditized?

Will personalized communication become more or less important in the future? Will woke, gender, politics, or equality become more or less important in the printing industry? Will G7 and the free world asset sanctions against China?
Will LED-UV be substituted by something else? Will we see paper-fiber-based textiles and home decor to the extent that these industries indisputably will be part of the printing industry?

Will federations have a role in the future? How will organizations play a role in the future? Will they be lobbying on behalf of the industry? Will they present national or global sustainability initiatives? Will they be more involved in labor and negotiations on behalf of the industry, as seen with some European federations? Will sustainability become such an integrated part of printing that nobody will ask for it in the future?

Will eco-labels like PEFC, FSC, EU-Flower, and others cease? Will the industry realize that CO2 measuring is impossible? Is it possible to measure CO2? Is CO2 offsetting an acceptable sustainability solution? Will nuclear be a safer and more sustainable energy solution in the future?

Will printing companies in the future be full-service solution providers, or are sales more likely to come from Amazon, Ingram, and others? Will companies without a web storefront be able to exist? Will salespeople continue visiting brand owners and print buyers as we see it today? 

How should a PSP bring value to its customer, if not only inking paper?

See - this is fun - and, of course, I don't know what you will answer, but I believe some of the questions could be interesting to discuss - let's see what happens :-)