tial applications and freeing up time to develop their businesses. He explains: “To print businesses operating in today’s challenging market, these advances empower them to expand their service offering, onboard new brands, or explore novel applications. “It also equips printers to break into entirely new, profitable markets, providing an agility that could be critical looking ahead to an uncertain, and no doubt continually volatile, market future.” AI may no longer be a brand-new addition to the market, but its adoption across the print industry is still developing, as are the technologies themselves. When asked whether AI will continue to develop and be further adopted in the future, Ben-Dor’s answer is clear. “While utilising AI is no longer considered new or revolutionary, the implications of leveraging this technology in today’s market context are vast”, he says. “As such, we believe that AI will remain, no doubt growing and evolving to our needs in the coming months and years.” A Key Point for Printers Keypoint Intelligence is a market intelligence firm which provides the digital imaging industry with global data, market research, and strategic consulting services. One of its recent key focuses has been AI, with the organisation offering a range of AI readiness assessments and advisory services, as well as reports tracking data on its adoption by print and related sectors. In contrast to De Pauw and Ben-Dor, the team at Keypoint Intelligence highlights a range of potential issues and pitfalls print professionals can fall into when adopting AI. Chief among these is a misunderstanding of what current AI software can achieve, with Keypoint warning printers to scale down their expectations and allow more time for the new systems 50 email: editor@printmonthly.co.uk March / April 2025 - Issue 353 In De Pauw’s opinion, AI print solutions are not designed to replace the need for human endeavour. Rather, they are an added tool to reduce menial tasks and therefore free up printers to shift their focus to more creative endeavours. “AI and automation make the perfect match”, De Pauw explains. “When you add the creative power of the print industry into the mix, you get the recipe for something really special.” A Brighter Future Printing manufacturer, Landa, utilises AI and automation modules to increase the efficiency of its solutions, including in its Landa S11 B1 digital press. The press is designed to provide high offset speeds and stability for folding carton production applications. Yarden Ben-Dor, vice president of Product Line for the S11 press, highlights what he sees as a slow adoption rate of AI technologies by certain areas of the print industry. “It’s no secret that as a longstanding traditional industry, the commercial print, publishing, and packaging landscape has historically been characterised by a degree of inertia,” he comments. “With many print businesses accustomed to established processes and technologies, hesitance to embrace new technologies like AI, that require substantial change to workflows and business models, is an ongoing challenge.” However, Ben-Dor insists that AI technologies represent the future of print, and that their adoption in print workflows is becoming increasingly prevalent. He comments: “The benefits of AI are undeniable, and its impact on the graphic arts is starting to be felt in greatly increased automation, leading to increased production efficiencies, increased print quality, and reduced waste.” Landa’s S11 digital press comes with the company’s PrintAI module, which utilises artificial intelligence to enhance print quality, particularly in applications requiring micro-text and other brand protection features. Explaining the module in more detail, Ben-Dor says: “With the brand new PrintAI module, the presses harness the power of AI and big data with completely new algorithms based on huge data models trained on millions of sheets. “This introduces a level of precision that was previously unimaginable. Comprising three new elements packaged into one robust module, PrintAI unlocks unparallelled print quality, ensuring that even the most intricate details are reproduced with perfect fidelity.” PrintAI integrates active quality management (AQM) with the capability to maintain print quality automatically, as well as interfacing with an advanced inspection system supplied by software company, EyeC. “In essence, the new module guarantees that the unrivalled performance profile of the new presses can be matched with market-leading precision and quality”, Ben-Dor explains. “They are able to fulfil even the most demanding of applications across the commercial print, publishing, and packaging space.” Like De Pauw, Ben-Dor believes that AI technologies can provide a boon to printers, offering a wider range of potenAI IN PRINT ▲ Keypoint Intelligence released an AI Readiness report, surveying 454 decisionmakers across various industries AI and automation make the perfect match. When you add the creative power of the print industry into the mix, you get the recipe for something really special
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