The Next Leap in Automation: AI’s Role in Driving Print Business Growth

AI is more than a buzzword in print. It has the potential to automate complex print tasks, optimize resources, and improve processes. Fiery, an industry leader in digital print technology, is at the forefront of this transformation, integrating AI into solutions that streamline job processing, enhance inventory management, and ensure consistent print quality. This article, written and sponsored by Fiery, explores how Fiery’s AI-driven tools are empowering print providers to boost efficiency, reduce costs, and drive growth for print businesses.

By John Henze, VP of Sales and Marketing at Fiery, LLC

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a critical tool for addressing some of the print industry’s most pressing challenges. While much of the conversation has been centered around AI-generated content and images, Fiery is already integrating AI technology into print processes and systems to solve the real-world problems facing print shops today.

Today, many print workflow automation tools incorporate machine learning and AI technologies to streamline operations, enhance quality, and boost profitability. By merging machine learning with advanced algorithms, AI can analyze vast amounts of data, make intelligent decisions, and optimize various aspects of print operations.

For over thirty years, Fiery has been pioneering advancements in digital print, starting with the creation of the world’s first Digital Front End (DFE). From the beginning, our workflow solutions have emphasized greater automation in print operations—and we see AI as the natural next step in this evolution.

By investing in long-term AI technology development and incorporating AI functionality into Fiery’s products, our customers can use our software to intelligently automate many job preparation, submission, and business tasks. Our goal is to help print businesses harness the power of AI to make their print shops more efficient, productive, and profitable.

Below are three ways Fiery AI technology is helping print providers solve some of their most pressing issues.

Streamlining Job Processing

Current market trends are leading print businesses to process a higher percentage of shorter-run print jobs than ever before. To meet this growing demand, printers need to automate and reduce manual touchpoints.

Consider the time spent by a customer service representative or print operator reviewing each job to make job ticketing decisions. This can easily consume hours each day. The Fiery Scribe, which will be available this quarter, automates this process by translating customer requests into machine-ready job tickets. This AI-powered tool interprets natural language job requests from emails and converts them into accurate job tickets. For example, a request like “I need 50 booklets with glossy covers” is automatically processed, with the system aligning job settings based on past similar tasks. This not only saves time but also reduces errors, enabling print shops to manage larger volumes of work more efficiently.

Inventory Management

Ink is one of the most significant expenses in a print shop, and managing inventory effectively is crucial to avoiding wastage and production delays. Order too much, and it could spoil; order too little, and you might have to pay for expensive rush deliveries. Fiery InkWise, a new cloud-based inventory management and ink ordering assistant that will be in the first quarter of 2025, leverages AI technology to tackle this issue.

The application intelligently learns from historical ink consumption patterns and forecasts when stocks will run low. Fiery InkWise alerts you and suggests appropriate reorder quantities and timing. This way, you’re always stocked just right—no more, no less—saving you significant costs.

One print business customer who is beta-testing Fiery InkWise has already saved thousands of dollars by reducing ink purchases and avoiding expired stock. The shop no longer needs to make costly last-minute purchases, and employees are freed from the manual task of tracking ink inventories, saving valuable time. With Fiery InkWise, AI makes sure the right amount of ink is always on hand, eliminating the risk of ink shortages.

Quality Control

Delivering accurate and consistent print quality is essential for maintaining customer satisfaction and protecting a printer’s bottom line. Fiery's workflow automation tools leverage AI technology to ensure the highest quality output.

Fiery JobExpert analyzes incoming PDFs and sets the best job settings for color management, image quality, variable data printing (VDP), and engine-specific properties. It applies predefined rules based on job content, optimizing settings for each specific job. Additionally, Fiery JobFlow AI technology improves image resolution and DPI for wide-format prints, while tools like Fiery Image Enhance Vision Editor make on-the-fly corrections, such as detecting and correcting red eyes in images.

These smart tools have been incorporated into Fiery solutions for years, automatically adjusting settings to ensure optimal color accuracy and image quality. This is particularly valuable as staffing shortages are a key issue facing the print industry, with many experienced operators retiring or nearing retirement. Tools like JobExpert, Scribe, and JobFlow simplify complex tasks traditionally performed by skilled operators, utilizing AI to reduce errors, maximizing throughput, and ensuring the highest quality output.

The Future of Print Automation

AI offers a powerful range of capabilities that can transform print shop operations, from automating routine tasks to optimizing resource management. As Fiery continues to develop and refine its AI products, our focus remains on solving real-world problems and making life easier for print professionals.

Whether through innovative tools like Fiery InkWise and Fiery Scribe or by collaborating with leading AI researchers, Fiery is committed to leading the print industry into a new era of efficiency and growth powered by AI. By embracing AI, print providers can streamline processes, reduce costs, and unlock new opportunities for business growth.

The future of printing is not just about being faster—it’s about being smarter. With AI technologies, Fiery helps printers easily incorporate AI technology into their workflow to work smarter and more efficiently. The future of printing looks brighter—and smarter—than ever before.