By Marc Raad
I had the privilege of being a guest speaker at The Digital Imaging Association (DIA) in-person and online meeting held Wednesday, October 16, 2024, at HP’s Canadian headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario. The event, titled “Practical AI for Printers”, explored how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already elevating the printing industry to superior levels while introducing new, more efficient solutions to daily operations. I was joined by Mark Lewiecki, Senior Product Manager for the Adobe PDF Print Engine at Adobe, who demonstrated features in Adobe Creative Cloud applications which use Artificial Intelligence to address real prepress challenges. He also explored the potential of Firefly in Adobe Express and Adobe Photoshop, to generate AI images and inspire exciting new design concepts. Our Moderator was Stephen Longmire, National Sales Manager at print-finishing leader Sydney Stone.
Understanding AI and its Business Impact
Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems process and analyze huge amounts of data to identify patterns, and make predictions, often improving efficiency and accuracy. For now, Artificial Intelligence is giving businesses who use it a huge competitive advantage – but it’s only a matter of time until AI technology becomes standard across industries, including printing businesses! Plus, AI is arguably one of the most important technologies that humanity has created to date, and experts worldwide agree that nothing similar may come along again in our lifetime
AI is already being used in the printing and packaging print industries to automate mundane, repetitive tasks. Generally speaking, about 70-80% of files can now be handled by AI. Yet surprisingly, about 90% of the North American print industry hasn’t started using AI – even though it makes production and other key processes significantly faster, more efficient and error-free while freeing up employee time to perform higher-value tasks.
The Real Benefits of AI for Print Shops
Artificial Intelligence significantly speeds up production processes by automating repetitive tasks and reducing human touchpoints. This boosts efficiency and helps print shops handle more jobs without increasing labor costs. Al can reduce errors, optimize layout and substrate usage, automate inventory and logistics, create standard production workflow processes, personalize customer experiences, and help employees and management better perform their daily tasks, making print shops leaner and more productive.
For an industry facing labor shortages, AI offers a practical solution. By automating routine tasks, AI allows printers to operate effectively with a smaller workforce, reducing labor dependency and addressing workforce challenges. Ultimately, this helps print shops become more globally competitive, as they can deliver faster turnaround times and improved services while lowering operational costs.
For printers ready to take the first step, assessing which parts of their workflow can benefit most from AI automation is crucial. Where are your bottlenecks in production that are costing you time and money every single day? The most successful print providers have partnered with workflow software suppliers such as Significans, to create a roadmap on how they can best incorporate Al into their unique production environment. In combination with customized workflow software, AI has yielded never-before-realized efficiencies from the print shop floor. This includes actual customers which have seen job processing times reduced by 500% – 700%, doubling production output, recovering over 20 hours of employee time per week, consolidating over 75 disparate workflows into 3, reducing kitting project times from 40 hours to 30 minutes, boosting sales 30%, and so on.
Our Approach to AI Integration
After an initial assessment from our Significans team, we usually recommend workflow software solutions which may include AI to solve specific problems. In fact, we’ve been deploying specific AI technologies into our workflows for some time now – from Aggregate to Generative AI, to Narrow AI, to General AI techniques. Patterning, for instance, leverages advanced logic and pattern recognition capabilities. This allows us to analyze large datasets, convert legacy data, and identify meaningful patterns so that print shop owners can make better-informed spending decisions.
The future of AI in the printing industry
A report published by Keypoint Intelligence in May of 2023, summed up the pros and cons of Artificial Intelligence. It concluded: “It is our opinion that AI software will increasingly help printers address labor issues like aging workforces and unavailable skilled workers by assisting with print-oriented tasks. We will see AI used in customer service, job onboarding, prepress automation, estimating, design, scheduling, and business analysis. Despite all their promise, AI solutions need constant verification and management because they can become unpredictable. Almost every workflow automation software vendor we met is investigating how to utilize AI in their offerings. During the coming two years, we will likely see print automation advancements that can change the world.”
Today’s AI solutions are more accessible and affordable than ever, allowing small to mid-sized print shops to get started with minimal costs.
Taking the First Step
AI’s role in print will continue to evolve, it promises a future of greater efficiency, easier customization, and more competitiveness for printers of all types. For print shop owners ready to explore their options, a first step could be getting an objective assessment from our vendor-neutral team by calling Significans Automation at 1-877-463-4465, or emailing sales@significans.com. You’ll be directed not to a salesperson or a third party, but to a regional workflow automation and integration expert who has years of production-floor experience.
Watch the DIA Event Recording: https://youtu.be/NE_BVjaDxrs
Did you find the DIA meeting video helpful?
Have you considered becoming a member of The Digital Imaging Association? This international group of printing specialists meet regularly to share knowledge, learn from industry experts, and network. There are 6 free meetings per year on important industry topics included with your membership fee, as well as other perks. The goal is to keep members up to date with the latest information in the fast-changing printing industry and to provide a forum for information sharing so members can grow their businesses in a planned and profitable manner.
To become a member, please call Association Manager Marg Macleod at (416) 254-4941 or email marg@digitalimagingassociation.com. To review the many benefits of joining the DIA, please visit www.digitalimagingassociation.com.
