Printers told to innovate with digital print and social media at Fuji Xerox event

Neil Falconer, a consultant with Pira International, discussed the impact of e-books and on-demand printing on the book printing market.

Falconer outlined Pira data that showed a dramatic decline in sheetfed and coldset press purchases, while inkjet equipment sales are expected to grow by 135% by 2014.

"Soon, inkjet will be the main colour process eating into the offset market," he said.

Falconer also said that by 2018, 43% of book printing revenues would be accounted for by digital printers, largely driven by the trend towards on-demand printing. He added that book runs of 5,000 or less already accounted for 70% of book printing.

Falconer said that e-readers such as the Kindle and iPad were in the ascendancy, with the e-reader market having grown from a US$25m industry in 2006 to an estimated value of US$500m in 2010.

He also said that the story of print's sustainability was "not being effectively told", as the production of an e-book actually uses more water, more natural resources and more electricity than the production of a printed book.

Meanwhile, the keynote address was delivered by social commentator Anders Sorman-Nilsson, who emphasised that the likes of Twitter and Facebook actually allowed companies to better practise "the ancient art form" of servicing their customers, particularly with younger consumers.

"As business owners we need to become trend-spotters," he said.

"Social media isn't a fad, it is a new way of communicating. The internet is shaping the thought processes of Generation Y."

Nillson, who is the author of Thinque Funky: Upgrade Your Thinking, advised printers to look to younger staff - "the digital natives that speak technology without an accent" - to help lead them into using social media in their business.

However, he added that older printers should still attempt to engage with social media themselves. "The old ways of how we communicate and connect can still be done with digital technology."

The regional Innovate 2010 event had already been held in Taiwan, Beijing and Kuala Lumpur over the past week. The final event takes places in Auckland tomorrow (19 November).

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