One of the most exciting growth areas in print today is the burgeoning field of direct-to-object (DtO) printing. The challenges of DtO include the usual issue of getting ink to adhere to wide variety of substrates (see my earlier feature “Surface Tension”) but also transport and feeding issues. If you’re printing on bottles, auto parts or tape measures, how do you get those materials on and off press at a speed that is needed to be efficient and profitable?

I spoke with Peter Baldwin, Director of Marketing for East Dorset, Vt.’s Engineered Printing Solutions (EPS), about some of the issues—and opportunities—involved in direct-to-object printing. EPS sells both “off the shelf” and custom-built printing systems. A lot of these kinds of applications fall into the category of industrial printing, which means, in general, they involve printing as part of a larger manufacturing process, which limits what you can do with an off-the-shelf system.

“They always involve custom parts handling,” says Baldwin. “We have to integrate with somebody else’s production line or it’s a new kind of substrate. Really, the print engine is the least of it.”