Debate to Discuss Whether Analog Print Can Survive in Digital World

“Can analogue print survive in a digital world?” is the topic being discussed during a live debate at Label&Print 2016, on Feb. 25, 2016 at Birmingham’s NEC.

This year’s panel will include Andy Abbott, GM at Dantex UK; John Bambery, chairman at BPIF Labels; Douglas Hutt, global packaging manager at SAB Miller; and Marian Stefani, CEO at IPIA. Chairing the debate will be PrintWeek’s contributing editor, Jo Francis.

“Different methods of digital printing have opened up so many new possibilities for packaging printers and their clients,” Francis said. “However, conventional printing equipment has not been left behind in some sort of analog dark age.”

The digital print community has always been keen to stress its complementary role to its analog counterpart, but surely the increasing influence of digital technology – plus trends towards shorter product life cycles, demand for faster time to market and a decline in average run lengths – will tip the balance in favor of the newer contender.

“The debate on whether ‘analog’ print can survive misses the point that putting ink on paper is the key to a successful industry,” said Bambery. “High quality printing using ‘analog]’ technology is here to stay as it will be some considerable time, if ever, that digital production will ever be as competitive for the long runs that are required by the media, commercial and packaging sectors.”

“I strongly believe that digital has created a robust and valuable platform that brands can profit from,” Hunt added. “Analog print continues to be a stalwart for high volume/high quality printing, whereas digital has demonstrated success within the label sector. However, technology gaps need to be closed before a truly ‘digital pack’ can be realized. Digitally printed secondary/tertiary packaging cannot yet match the speed and quality of analogue. So, digital and analog will continue to evolve their symbiotic relationship in the short and medium term.”