Birthdays, New Year’s Eve, Labelexpo.
All excellent times to see friends, take stock, look backwards for a moment, but then come to some kind of resolution about what lies ahead.
I got older again back in May, and I can’t even begin to consider Christmas yet, but sitting at my desk in Austin after a whirlwind and largely wonderful trip to Brussels, all I keep thinking about (and, yes, the Chinese told us this long ago), is the opportunity available in today’s chaos. In this case, my chaos theory is all about digital presses and specifically the many manufacturers who are circling the label converter pool angling for an invitation to dinner and their place at the table.
We research and publish regular reports for both TLMI and FINAT, and have done for more than 15 years at this point, and only this past Spring released the well-received TLMI Digital Label Study which was carefully designed to help TLMI converter members understand the narrow web marketplace for digital printing.
Right now, six months later, we’re embarking on The North American Market for Digital Label Presses, an LPC-study for the manufacturers of digital presses which we discussed before Labelexpo with a number of major players across the price points. While we undertake many ongoing projects for individual clients (mostly suppliers), our association work is more regular in nature, keeping a check on trends, but also tracking and indexing growth and other development metrics in real terms. This new project however is a ‘one off’ to give those who participate the very specific qualitative and quantitative opinions of the marketplace (their existing and potential customers), as it really is today.
At Labelexpo the chaos and opportunity I mentioned was evident in talking with exhibitors. Their future will be determined not just by the quality and reach of their technology, but their understanding of the strategic wants and needs of label converters. But it will also be dependent on how much they want it themselves, even though this sounds daft (as my grandmother used to say).
Surely ALL the folks who are pushing their machines or bringing new ones to market want to become a dominant player (and they can’t all be; there will be a shake-out, there has to be). No doubt, but currently almost all of these suppliers face problems they are going to have to solve, either technically, logistically or corporately, if they’re going to gain the trust of the market and achieve some level of dominance within it.
Many of us will be in Chicago next year and many of us will be in Brussels again in 2017. Taking stock. Seeing who has seized the opportunity. Some will.
As of this writing nine companies have thrown their hat in the ring and are taking part in LPC’s The North American Market for Digital Label Presses study. I’m willing to bet a fair amount that the leaders of this generational shift will be among those who choose to back themselves by participating in this effort.