INTERQUEST, a leading market and technology research and consulting firm serving the digital printing and publishing industry, today announced a highly successful 2012 London Digital Printing Forum. One hundred and thirteen (113) book industry professionals attended the full-day event held June 20 at the Royal Society.

According to Gilles Biscos, President of INTERQUEST, "We see digital printing continue to expand its value in the UK book market, especially with the increased use of inkjet technology. This is proving to be a game changer for both monochrome and color digital book printing. The rich mix of speakers provided terrific content in all facets of digital book printing and we are extremely pleased with the reception the UK market has extended."

Mr. Biscos commenced the full-day program with a presentation of results from recent INTERQUEST research conducted in the North American and European book markets. He was joined by Andrew Tribute, Managing Partner of Attributes Associates and an internationally known expert in the applications of digitization of the media, publishing and printing industries. Mr. Tribute discussed the impact of Drupa announcements on the book market. According to Mr. Tribute the fundamental change that digital printing, especially inkjet, brings to book manufacturing is that "it allows publishers to change their business models mainly to reduce inventory and meet demand."

A panel of leading book manufacturers followed. The panel included: David Mickleburgh, Director of Manufacturing, Clays Limited; Martin Collyer, Head of Digital, CPI U.K.; Andrew Pate, Director of Digital and Program Sales, Edwards Brothers; and Lynn Kaplanian-Buller, Director, The American Book Center, Amsterdam The Hague.

The afternoon sessions included a leading digital printing systems vendor's executive panel discussing topics and issues key to the growth of digital book printing. Speakers for the panel were Robert Stabler, Business Manager Mail & Publishing, Hewlett-Packard EMEA; Erwin Busselot, Marketing Director Digital Printing, Kodak Graphic Communications Group EMEA; Benoît Chatelard, General Manager, Production Printing Solutions, Ricoh Europe; and Kevin O'Donnell, Publishing and Commercial Print, Xerox Europe.

After an additional INTERQUEST presentation by Toby Cobrin, a Director at INTERQUEST, a session for workflow, finishing, inks, and paper provided an update on the challenges and developments relating to these book issues. Joint presentations were given by suppliers and their customers. Speakers included Hans Gut, Marketing Director, Hunkeler AG and Guillaume de Courcy; Managing Director, SAGIM; Reto Amherd, Sales & Product Manager Digital Solutions, Müller Martini and Mark Jones, Sales Director, Ashford Colour Press; and Andrew Pate, Director of Director of Digital and Program Sales, Edwards Brothers.

In the closing session a panel of publishers and book retailers shared their experiences with digital printing and their perspective on the future of paper books and eBooks. Speakers included Judith Gates, Production Director, Faber and Faber; Claire Watts, Production Director, Oldcastle Books; Paul Major, Director of Stock Planning, UK Academic Division & OUP-USA, Oxford University Press; Gareth Jarrett, Head of Inventory, Taylor & Francis; and Lynn Kaplanian-Buller, Director, The American Book Center, Amsterdam The Hague.

The 2012 London Digital Book Printing Forum is sponsored by leading players in the market, including Hewlett-Packard, Hunkeler, Kodak, Müller Martini, Ricoh, Screen, and Xerox. It is supported by the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP), the British Association for Print and Communication (BAPC), the European Publishers Council (EPC), and the Independent Publisher Guild (IPG).