January / February 2023 22 xxxxx 2023 Predictions Looking ahead A new year full of promise and possibilities. But will this actually be the case? We speak to industry members to hear what trends and challenges they think the year 2023 will bring You’d expect my response to be about people because that’s who we are here to support and now, more than ever, it’s vital to know your teams and provide support. So, rather than three unrelated predictions, we have three connected areas that I think will be inextricably linked and visible in 2023. Staff wellbeing: It’s really encouraging to see that staff wellbeing has jumped to the top of the agenda in the print industry since Covid. A clear, consistent, and effective wellbeing strategy continues to develop that resilience we’ve seen so clearly across the industry during the past few years. People: This naturally links to my point about wellbeing, but I think we’ve yet to see the true impact of Covid, and everything that has happened since, on the people in our sector. It isn’t just about the individuals working in print themselves, it’s about their families, too. I think more companies will be searching for ways to support their staff as these pressures mount. Cost of living: Trying to navigate the current sense of uncertainty caused by the cost-of-living crisis is impacting everyone, so of course it impacts those working in print. People and businesses everywhere are struggling with what previously has been taken for granted, the ability to keep the lights on, and sadly more businesses will close. There aren’t any easy answers to these pressures, and we expect to hear from more people facing uncertain futures. It’s important that we keep pushing for greater awareness of the practical and emotional support we provide. Even more so the effectiveness of visual print to create value in the eyes of the customer, marketeers, and specifiers will shine through against other communication outputs. There is an alignment between providers of print, greater confidence, and an understanding of how to sell solutions. Manufacturers of equipment and consumable suppliers are on a mission to deliver this message upstream to brands, and of course the BPIF is a catalyst to amplify the message! The power and talent of people will also be a trend. Resources will be mined to a greater extent, and talent as well as management will be utilised to deliver great solutions and experiences alongside the ongoing use of labour-saving technologies. Talent and skills are a scarce gem now. 2023 will also see ongoing consolidation and merger activity driven by the dynamics of rising cost bases and changing revenue patterns. Neil Lovell, chief executive officer of The Printing Charity Marcus Clifford, regional director of the British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF) The importance of automation, optimisation and visibility into production workflows within our industries is our biggest takeaway from 2022. The onset of pandemic lockdowns in 2020 exposed the risks in operations where the fallback was to rely on available labour resources to fill in production gaps. Automating tasks that can and should be automated was crucial to print and digital media businesses in 2022. Especially with the shortages in ink, media (paper) and equipment. In 2022, you might have wanted to make changes or might have made the decision to change your workflow (your set processes) or even equipment and are still waiting for implementation due to supply shortages. Our current global environment punctuates the need for technology to help fill the gaps to create critical differentiators based on automation, optimisation, and visibility. I predict the three key trends for 2023 will be: continued consolidation to PDF as a print file format; requirements for highly optimised files to reduce the impact on production processes; and automated workflow and hardware solutions that are self-maintainable with reduced professional services or custom code needs (either internally from IT or externally from vendors). Mary Ann Rowan, chief experience officer of Solimar Systems
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