Barney Cox invites you to join him in a game of inkjet Top Trumps as he reviews the latest innovations in this rapidly evolving sector that were on show at Drupa exhibition halls. For anyone who made the trek to Messe Dusseldorf this summer, inkjet, tipped as the dominant printing technology of the future, was a must-see. Admittedly, there wasn't much you could actually buy, but these concept cars of the printing world gave a glimpse of what is down the road. And, in many ways, that glimpse was shocking, as it showed a line up that lacked Heidelberg, Manroland, Komori, KBA and the other heavyweights. Is this a sign that the technology is further from commercialisation than these pioneers promise? Or is it that, as one inkjet insider suggested, the importance of the ink makes it such a different business to offset presses that it shouldn't be surprising that the market is dominated by firms already in the digital market, or those coming from the pre-press world, who understand the close link between consumables and the kit.
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