The second FuturePrint Virtual Summit will be taking place from October 12th to October 16th. Canon is a FuturePrint Virtual Summit Content Partner, and we caught up with the team to discuss why they are supporting the event, what the attendees can expect, and an insight into Canon’s focus for the future.

Why has your business made the decision to participate in the second FuturePrint Virtual Summit? 

In the current Covid situation people are prevented from traveling and attending the usual physical tradeshows, we are all in that same boat, but despite these unseen circumstances we are all living in, we feel  that people want to stay up to date and learn about the latest technologies and offerings in their industry.

The FuturePrint Virtual Summit provides a unique industry touchpoint, and what’s more, it is filled with good content and interesting speakers. 

Who will be representing you at the FuturePrint Virtual Summit and what is their responsibility and experience?

Kris Walewijns (for Large Format Graphics)

Mathew Faulkner (for Commercial Printing)

Can you provide a brief overview of your chosen topic and why it will be of interest and relevance to Summit attendees? 

Kris Walewijns will be presenting a session on interior design, and more specifically on digitally printed wallpaper. The focus is that the right technology brings to life the right quality, the one that is sought after by interior decorators and specialists. The attraction to designers and creative people is not just the fact that it is digital, but that it is truly ‘digital done right’.

Matthew Faulkner will be presenting on the value gap - what marketers want, and how PSPs can exceed their expectations. This talk will draw on findings from Canon’s Insight Report, which reveals the changing print landscape from the point of view of the people who buy print, namely the marketing directors and senior managers whose campaigns, promotions and communications are the lifeblood our industry, giving invaluable insights into the untapped business opportunities for print.

 How do you see the market developing in the next six months, and what will be your focus? 

The market will slowly but surely recover, as we are seeing those signs already now.

Some segments of the industry will recover faster than other, but in the end  it will be proven again that every crisis creates new opportunities, and those whose see it first and are ready, will fare very, very well.

With our unique UVgel ink  technology we have a promising roadmap good for 10 years of interesting products and applications, so 6 months is a short timeframe to be foreshadowing.

The focus of Canon will be on enriching the applications and possibilities for customers, carefully listening and answering the unserved needs in the market.

Tell us more about the UVgel Wallpaper Factory and the specific market it serves.

The UVgel Wallpaper Factory is a fully integrated end-to-end solution enabling mass-production of customised wall décor: 

Designed for maximum throughput, high quality and to run all day long, the UVgel Wallpaper Factory is a completely automated production facility for digitally printed wallcovering.

Printed Interior décor is a promising growth market and various printer manufacturers have tried to position their solution and capture a piece of this promising, but challenging market.  

Despite numerous attempts, the adoption of digital among the wallpaper specialists is slow and hampered by technological limitations of the current technologies and solutions.

 What is unique about this product? How will it make a difference for customers?

With the UVgel Wallpaper Factory, we successfully merge the inherent qualitative aspects of the velvety matte UVgel finish (which interior decorators prefer) into a high capacity automated production street that tackles the shortcomings of other digital solutions (such as dimensional stability/colour consistency, robustness, etc..).

Being fully integrated from bulk-sized media rolls on the input side to finished rolls ready for delivery on the output side, this is the first solution in this market that takes a mass-personalised digital end product truly into the ‘lights-out manufacturing’ space.

 Being introduced in May of this year, we are experiencing quite some success with both regular PSPs looking to diversify their offering  by going into the high-margin interior décor space as well as being adopted by true wallpaper specialists who are embracing our solution as the first digital offering that they fully trust and can count on.

You can find out more about the FuturePrint Virtual Summit here.

You can find out more about Canon Europe here.