OUTPUT

Consolidation – that's the word I'd use to describe this year's FESPA Digital and, despite Iceland's attempts to scupper the event by threatening to drop lumps of ash on Hamburg, the atmosphere throughout has been alive and buzzing. It's been busy, busy, busy with technologies and applications mingling nicely to drive home to visitors what the industry is really all about

For old hands in the digital printing industry, this wasn't a show where you will find new technology thrust at you in every aisle. If you're a newcomer, then there's the perfect opportunity to find out what you can do to get into this fascinating arena.

Overall, I don't think anyone honestly expected to be wowed by the sudden emergence of things new and unexpected but that's no bad thing. It puts a positive spin on how our industry is in a stage of steady, and pleasantly laid-back, progression.

These days, exhibitions should be telling and showing people what can be done with digital technology. We don't really need to have it drummed into us that it's a new and innovative production solution. Instead, what we seek is confirmation that the applications that can be produced are being refined both in printing and finishing terms. We can push our expectations further, too, as people in production environments can use their knowledge, experience and the information gleaned from participants and general networking to find different things to do.

There was plenty of talk about textiles, which wasn't an unexpected turn of events. Likewise there were conversations about the progress of latex technologies and more flexible UV-curable ink formulations. We also noticed that solvent-based chemistries are alive and well with our old friends, aqueous-based inks, still holding their own.

There's also been considerable interest in my old favourite, that wide-format is getting narrower. As a colleague mentioned, it's also fair to say that narrow format is getting wider. What we really mean is that the boundaries regarding width are falling away and, as long as the main production criteria are present, we don't really need to consider overall dimensions as a specific limitation when it comes to taking an order.

So, to me, FESPA Digital has sprung no surprises and was much as I'd expected before setting out for Hamburg last Monday. But this isn't a negative perspective. Instead it's positive testimony to how we can follow the expectations that what we see is what we get. This provides great reassurance for those who wandered originally into the digital wilderness and who've found that early speculation has now resulted in a solid selection of technologies that are here to stay. The wheels of this industry, and its wealth of applications, are certainly continuing to turn in a very healthy fashion.