The second FuturePrint Virtual Summit, which took place from the 12th to the 16th of October, included presentations and insights from the global print industry’s most eminent analysts. Following many educated estimates and predictions during the inaugural summit in June, October saw these leading experts bring months of research, data, and experience to the table to build a comprehensive international picture of where the industry stands as the pandemic rages on.

The analysts present a diverse range of opinions and conclusions across an array of topics, but there is one common theme that is woven throughout their sessions - evolution. To what extent do print businesses need to adapt to survive? How do they get started? Where are the opportunities?

Elizabeth Gooding, Co-owner, Inkjet Insight, led a session entitled: ‘Inkjet – is Changing Lanes a Competitive Advantage?’, in which she discusses how the industry as a whole needs to adapt and evolve, and dip its toes into new market segments and/or service areas in order to remain competitive. Elizabeth warns that it’s not a simple process, and urges businesses to do their due diligence and ensure your next steps are thoroughly researched.

Pat McGrew, Managing Director, McGrew Group, follows a similar theme. In her presentation, ‘Nobody Died, But…Transforming Your Way to More Profit’, the transformation she speaks of is akin to evolution. She draws on the quote often misattributed to Albert Einstein, ‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results’, as a way of helping businesses think more deeply about what they do. Assess, audit, automate, keep your finger on the pulse – all of these elements are crucial to successful transformation.

Colin McMahon, Senior Editorial Analyst, Keypoint Intelligence and Tim Greene, Research Director, IDC, presented a session entitled, ‘What Do The Analysts Think?’. Some of their thoughts made for sobering listening, backed up by statistics and studies that reported details of a slow recovery and outlined the areas experiencing the most significant decline.

However, the importance of evolution and adaptation was raised in this presentation, too; the numbers and analysis demonstrate that print companies with diverse product offerings are less impacted, and are seeing more success. There is surely no better argument for branching out and embracing change than the fact that it could be the difference between success and failure.

Ralf Schloezer, Independent Print Analyst at digitalprintexpert.de, provides a fantastic breakdown of the state of print applications by segment in his presentation ‘The Rise, Fall And Restructuring Of The Print Economy In 2020’, demonstrating that the print industry is changing fundamentally, boiling it down to ‘less volume, more value’. And if the industry is changing, surely businesses must be open to transformation too?

You can catch up on all the replays from the summit here.