From the perspective of observers of our reference market and the trends identified and published by the main research companies, we do not expect any major technological revolutions in the field of printing technologies in 2024. What we will see is a consolidation of the existing trends we have seen in the recent past. We will certainly see further developments in both conventional and digital printing systems for flexible packaging, especially for the production of paper packaging. Interesting solutions have already been announced, and the urgency of replacing composite substrates with more sustainable and easily recyclable materials is driving closer collaboration between printing machine and media manufacturers.

Another very active area is that of inkjet printhead manufacturing. The announcements of manufacturing site expansions and acquisitions in recent weeks point to the development and launch of new generations of products that we will see on board inkjet printing platforms in the coming years. Printheads that are increasingly precise, efficient and tailored to specific applications, including in the industrial sector.

The theme of green issues, circularity and ESG policies will continue to be with us, partly due to the challenges posed by sustainability regulations that are changing international scenarios.

Robotisation and the application of digital intelligence will continue their upward trajectory: in practical terms for the world of print, this means greater automation, process optimisation, waste reduction and making the best use of resources. On the other hand, as we have already seen, AI has been applied to RIP, inline quality control, automatic register setting, but also to image optimisation and media management solutions. Of course we will continue to talk about Industry 4.0, hopefully with more awareness of the possibilities of this management model.

As for software, the challenge is on: already in 2023, we saw interesting developments in the direction of increasing numbers of plug-and-play solutions that are able to simplify the life of printing room operators and support printers and converters in the development of ever more fluid and efficient workflows.