Produced By INKISH.BENELUX

Thanks for the introduction and good afternoon. I am Jacques Michiels, responsible in the Benelux of the international organization Inkish. Maybe you know us from Inkish News and Inkish tv. These are our two online channels through which we connect and connect professionals and all those interested in the printing industry locally and internationally. I was asked by the VIGC to discuss the subject a little further with you here today as part of our frequent contacts with printers and captains of the printing industry in Europe. And so the title is Digital mindset, smart factories, a state of affairs in Europe and how we at Inkish actually see this digital mindset taking shape. When we talk about this digital mindset and smart factories, it is interesting to note that right now, whether in Belgium or in the Netherlands or anywhere else in the world, many of us are about to take big steps in their way of communicating. Tackling their processes, and that is of course a consequence. A consequence of major technological developments. But yes, of course COVID has also greatly accelerated this cycle. In concrete terms, being digital mindset smart actually means shifting the focus from the usual internal optimization and digitization of value creation and production processes, which is rather a 3.0 model, to actually open and external networks, say industry 4.0 compliant partnerships with those who can deliver added value and connectivity in the graphic value chain. We call this under the collective name print 4.0. We find 4.0 models perfectly normal in other sectors, such as mechanical engineering, the automotive sector with very high production standards and strong automation and where everything is robotized. But in the graphic industry itself, the subject is often not yet clear. And it wasn’t that for me in the beginning either. That’s why I will try to illustrate a more tangible example of what a 4.0 process can mean further on in a slide. Digital mindset and the smart part are actually a result, as I said, of different technologies. We see a few appearing here that make up the 4.0 element in the industry. As we have automation, artificial intelligence, AI auti, industrial internet of things, augmented reality, big data, cloud computing is of course what is sent up in the cloud. Disruption is going on and of course 5G, fast data networks. And those of you who followed the Apple event this week will know that Apple’s iPhone 12 5G proposed and that their telecom partner Verizon will shortly introduce the rollout of the high-speed 5G network throughout America and in a hundred countries. As a result, this mobile connectivity will once again increase significantly, which will of course also mean enormous added value for the end user, end users sorry. Robotics. Robots obviously play an important role in the smart factory.

What exactly is digital mindset? Forbes described that when leaders find what works and apply it. Leaders see acceptance of new technology as a strategic, not just operational move. Leaders do not take a wait-and-see attitude. Leaders strongly believe in the continuous training of employees and leaders do not believe in boundaries when it comes to both technology and human potential. Now that we at Inkish, also with our conversations, actually see or describe it as the ability to work together, are able to see the benefits of that technology. Identify the creative and the disruptive, be unique in what you do and create value. Value based on the mindset of one, namely that of yourself or your company.

Now. I had also said that I would sketch an example where the smart element within that industry 4.0 is more tangible and then we can draw the parallel to the more automated production environment within a smart print shop. So the so-called print 4.0. And for that we will also discuss the 10 building blocks in a moment, but we are going to discuss them here as well. So I brought something today to make it a little more tangible. In this case it’s about. I have an intelligent smart printer at home in my home office. In this case it’s one of HP and I’ve closed a service for it. And that printer is smart. It is autonomously connected to the internet. It is an IoT-device. And as I said, it communicates autonomously with the HP network in the cloud. That’s where my profile is known. The profile of Jacques.

And today I’m working and I have a number of pages to print out, but of course I need raw material. Raw material, ink, paper and the like more. And with the profile that is familiar to me and my average consumption. Then the system or the printer will say: ‘Jacques is going to run out of ink next week’, and two days later: ‘Ding dong’. At the door I get a parcel and only then does the question actually start to arise: ‘Probably I’m going to run out of ink, so what’s in the package that’s coming? The ink cartridge that will be needed is the raw material I need. And in principle, today I don’t have time for that, because I still have an urgent assignment to finish. I will do that tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll have the time for that and I’ll replace that intelligent cartridge, because there’s also intelligence in the raw material. I’m replacing it. At the same time, a page is automatically printed on the printer that I am brought with to recalibrate that printer. So in the end, after I’ve replaced that cartridge, I’m perfectly operational again and on color, without thinking, without a headache. Important element, also in that ‘industry 4.0’ element is the sustainability. That sustainability. What’s left in the package that comes here? That’s a special envelope where I put the used materials and raw materials back in and actually send them back to HP in this case. And on the slide also shows that actually recycling and completing that circle of elements, so the cartridge is shredded, reused to make new raw material and sent back to the customer. In this case I have as surplus a cardboard box, which also goes with the cardboard collection. And my residue is zero, so I don’t have a headache. I know my beautiful application and I have been facilitated without a headache for an acceptable price. High quality, durable, simple, transparent, for me as a customer, the end user. If we now extend that to our 4.0- or ‘print 4.0’-aspect, we see all those elements coming back anyway. We talk about cyber-physical systems. What should we imagine? They are sensors, cutters, as many as three to four thousand of which can be found in a Heidelberg, Xeikon or Komori press. In that small printer with me, too, there are hairdressers that communicate through the cloud with cloud computing about the status and data of production. Internet of things and services is one of the building blocks. Of course, they all generate big data, the essential basic raw material for the graphics business of the future. So we also have that artificial intelligence that plays a part. We have robotics that is making its entrance in both production and finishing as well as in logistics and 3D and digital printing play a very important role in this new ‘industry 4.0’-smartprint model. Because of that capacity that with that data mass personalization can be generated. The necessary integration of new business models is of course introduced vertically and horizontally in our business environment. Of what will be needed, especially in the printing business of the near future, so that we have to adapt. At the moment we are already quite efficient in most printing companies in Europe, but mainly internally. As I said earlier, print 4.0 is actually about more openness, about network communication and connections with strategic partners externally. As you can also see here on this slide from the supply side left to the customer side right, supported by your chosen strategic partners. Because make no mistake, everything will go even faster than today and in even shorter lines, so we need to have the right direct channels to receive, send, communicate and process the relevant data in real time. Only in this way will you be able to offer your products or services to the end customer quickly, efficiently, sustainably, think of green, sustainable, and therefore at a favorable price. As the slide shows somewhere there, we’ve gone from inbound logistics to production, to outbound logistics. Intelligent marketing can be facilitated by using big data that is all collected back in the cloud. And we can also offer new services, smart services, by using all that data. And in the end this will result in a hopefully price-friendly price and a sufficient margin to be able to keep the company going. In order to be able to do this, it is a matter of choice. Choose. Choosing new partners, the others who will support you to formulate an answer to the demands of your customers, in the end. And this customer is very well informed, because they have full access. They are also on the internet, have access to all information and they are aware of who is the best, most reliable and therefore the desired candidate for his or her order. And as it always is, the paying customer is usually always right. So smart printers 4.0 realize that their ability to continually reinvent a competitive advantage depends less on their internal capabilities today than on their ability to reach networks of business partners. The insulated print shop will make way for virtual company networks. And printing companies 4.0 of the future without joining forces. Also with other companies to be able to play their core competencies together. Print 4.0 thus offers the graphic industry the opportunity to redefine and optimize their organization and business model. And for this, a well-founded digital mindset is an absolute must. So, as I said before, we think this digital mindset is a consequence. A consequence of the fact that our strategic partners we are going to find and their innovations drive us to switch to this new printing concept, as we have, for example. Heidelberg. Next Monday they will hold their virtual Innovation Week for five days under the slogan Unfold your potential. Well, their goal, and that of all partners, is to sharpen your digital mindset and to draw attention to the possible achievable productivity increases and thus help increase the competitive advantage, which everyone is looking for, of your company as well. Machine builders and solution providers will formulate answers to the challenges of the printing industry. That is their job. And together with Inkish, they’ll also inform, educate and educate printers on how to prepare for the future with innovative technologies, new business models, end-to-end solutions to keep your graphic arts business competitive and profitable, of course. So as a final conclusion, I should actually say, look, everyone should look into their own business, know what products or services they need to automate and be smart for. So you need to stay relevant to the market, so keep your finger on the pulse and grow your own digital mindset and I wish you all the best of luck with that.

And I would like to thank you Jacques Michiels and I also invite you to come and sit down, because of course it is also possible to ask Jacques a question. You’ve been able to do that for the past twenty minutes and I hope a few more may come in. Here a first one. ‘Why does digital printing offer the best perspectives in the concept of print 4.0?’

Good question Francesca.

Didn’t come from me.

No? Okay.

Comes from the viewers.

I would say why digital printing actually has the most potential is, of course, because in the “industry 4.0” model concept, a lot of attention will be given there to mass personalization. A number of the speakers today have already dropped it and thus eventually the mass personalization. In the end, that’s what customers are going to ask, what new products are actually going to be developed for. And that’s a bit in contrast to before, when it was mainly mass production. And so that personalization, that personalization element, will become more and more important in order to actually satisfy that end customer’s demand. Because in the end, that is what the market demands more and more. And by the fact that this digital technology and digital printing is actually suitable for this personalization. I think that’s one of the important things in that 4.0 concept.

Okay, thank you. Let’s take one last question. What about the profiles of the new employees? Who do you need to, yes, roll out that digital mindset?

That’s not easy either. With Inkish we had our week long webinar about four weeks ago, where there was also a topic about the graphic profiles. I also talked about this with the people from GRAFOC who are very familiar with it. So it also emerged that it’s not easy. So those profiles indeed. These are not the artisanal profiles that everyone used to associate with the printing industry perhaps. So those are indeed more IT-oriented profiles. But what emerged, also in the conversations, was that this is not easy. One often speaks about the white raven and there it is especially important that the appetite is there to do it. Of course there has to be the knowledge, but there is also a lot of training on the job. So the machine, or rather the technology that will be there, is often supported by the constructors. But you need people who are open to it and who actually have the right mindset to make their own and to create added value for that company. So it is often young, enthusiastic employees who qualify.