By Elisha Kasinskas – Rochester Software Associates sponsored our first thINK conference this year. Here are five key things we learned from the conference:

  1. Inkjet presses continue to advance, both in cut sheet and continuous feed, with output quality and press speed increasing. Canon introduced the new Océ ProStreamTM 1000, upping the quality level of high speed continuous devices. They also discussed Voyager, the new smaller footprint B2+ sheet fed inkjet press, offering quality Canon describes as “near photographic.” Launching in Q1 2018, the seven-color prototype produces 3,000 sheets per hour and has been described as a “game changer.”
  2. Inkjet technology is evolving as equipment continues to be introduced. Output quality continues to improve, there are new inkjet heads and ink, speeds are increasing, more substrates are available, and inks costs are decreasing.
  3. Conference attendees are viewing inkjet presses as a way to produce the same work they already do, but at a lower cost. In-plants and customers we’ve spoken with see the value in printing color without a premium— adding value, and are looking at inkjet to produce more than just transactional work.
  4. Educational content and how to sell inkjet output to end customers was a key focus. If you are considering or are using inkjet, think about how you will sell the benefits of inkjet to your customers. There are many educational resources available, including:
    1. thINK
    2. Publications such as Printing Impressions
    3. Associations
    4. Analysts and consultants such as Inkjet Insight
  5. RSA’s ability to send output to any production device holds true for inkjet- cut sheet or roll fed. To our solutions, an inkjet press looks like any other output device. We continue to integrate with production devices so that customers can take advantage of inkjet without impacting their current workflow. In fact, solutions like QManager for PRISMAsynch™ (output management) provide a bridge to use inkjet. QManager for PRISMAsynch creates a single point to receive, manage, ticket and optimize jobs; integrate your inkjet devices into existing workflows; and efficiently route output to all production equipment.

Contact the RSA team to learn how you can automate and streamline your workflow and send fully ticketed jobs to all production printers, including inkjet devices.


View of the In-plant’s Value and Benefits Depends on Level of the Person and the Effect of Certain Factors