New Year Predictions: Kate McFarlan, Clays

Strategic director at Clays, Kate McFarlan, is keen to see how digital develops for book printing in 2016 and looking forward to getting time to read some of her favourites.

What’s at the top of your Christmas wish list this year?

Time to finish reading the Elena Ferrante Neopolitan novels.

What do you think will represent the single biggest opportunity for book printers in 2016 and why?

Continued developments in inkjet printing – quality and cost – to make colour book production viable in the UK.

What do you think will represent the single biggest threat for book printers in 2016 and why?

Underlying volumes continue to fall – we ignore that at our peril.

What’s the one thing that the industry should do more of, or do better, in 2016?

Focus more on the whole supply-chain and less on ‘printing’ per se .

What was your highlight of 2015?

Lots – we produced some great books and met lots of great authors signing books in the factory, I'm not going to pick one favourite. 

What are your hopes for 2016?

That people continue to buy, read and enjoy printed books.

If you’re thinking of going to Drupa next year, what are you keen to see?

Yes, I am going. Keen to see solutions for turning printed pages into books, not just the printing.