Bespoke is a term very familiar to our British friends. It describes the process of made-to-order goods. Initially it was a term relegated to clothing, but it has since expanded to include made-to-order goods and services in general. As is the case in many areas today, as we become a more global and interconnected society, we find local customs, practices, and languages being adopted globally. The term bespoke is one of the words that has found its way into the global lexicon. Of course, the concept of custom manufacturing is not new, and in fact print has always been custom manufacturing. However, other than transactional and certain limited applications, the available tools for print workflows and manufacturing equipment have been fairly generic, actually limiting the available levels of customization.

This is changing. The introduction of new digital print manufacturing technologies along with changing market requirements are feeding off each other to create new demands, and new tools and processes to satisfy those new demands. The new drive to Industry 4.0, in which digital technologies connect devices and requirements across disparate disciplines, is driving this even faster and further. This is creating the potential for almost innumerable opportunities for new products, services, and new bespoke production methods. It is a very exciting time for those who are looking for new ways to use print, and those who develop and supply these new bespoke technologies and processes.

The new landscape of bespoke processes affects all sorts of print applications from omnichannel marketing to new burgeoning functional printing applications and everything in between. Bespoke manufacturing already has a foothold in label and packaging production. It should come as no surprise that label production was one of the first to embrace these new opportunities for bespoke manufacturing processes, since the flexography process has a history of using hybrid printing, finishing, and embellishment technologies in a single connected production line. I recall the first time I saw the combination of flexo, gravure, silkscreen, and offset printing technologies, along with die cutting, in one line, and how fascinating it was. However, the new enhancements in flexographic printing and the addition of inkjet and digital embellishment are taking this to a whole new level.