Paul Manning,account director,Printflow
I would like to see a printing press that is grown from the earth in the shape of a tree. The machine would be a hybrid between an all encompassing print production unit and mother nature. When the client wants a job, they summon kestrels who we would have circling our client base constantly. The kestrels would carry the files via lightweight USB stick and they would return to the tree and pass the job on to the head of production, who I imagine would be an owl. The owl instructs the workers in the Print Tree, who I imagine would be squirrels, who produce the job in its entirety. The benefits of such as system are easy achievement of ISO 14001, low staff costs and low carbon footprint.
Tim Hill, managing director, Speedscreen
One of the biggest issues for us as a digital printer with a range of kit using Aqueous, solvent and UV ink technology is the various ink technologies needed, and the relative cost of that ink. If there existed a hybrid flatbed/roll-to-roll machine that could switch ink systems at a turn of a switch, think how fantastic that would be. A machine that used a range of ink technologies capable of printing both roll material and rigid sheets would tick all the boxes. Having different inks for different applications would help smaller companies be cost effective over a wider range of work, rather than having a range of machines doing different things.
George Clarke, managing director, Heidelberg UK
A coffee machine with an outlook interface, enabling coffee to be scheduled for meetings, at key points in the day and to be ready on waking in the morning. If a small portable version could be made to go with a PDA, you could avoid stopping at motorway service stations. Other ideas include a small ATM incorporated in a laptop to work with online banking and a shredder attached to a laser printer to output the company manual (it might be counter-intuitive, but it would make me feel better). If an industrial version of the latter could be developed it could be used for mailshots compiled from bad databases.
Bryn Oakley, partner, Astra Printing
The piece of hybrid kit that I would like to see invented is a Heidelberg press at the front-end of a digital press. This new and improved hybrid press would have feeder mechanisms and dot-to-dot registration. It would handle the paper perfectly, while still having the qualities of a digital machine. As most digital presses have a plastic feeder, the presence of a front of a Heidelberg press would cut out any friction. If someone could invent a hybrid press like that, that would be spot on.
