A record number of publishers, printers, and suppliers turn out for the fourth annual forum addressing the ever changing book manufacturing market 

Charlottesville, VA and London, U.K. - INTERQUEST, a leading market and technology research and consulting firm serving the digital printing and publishing industry, today announced a highly successful 2013 London Digital Printing Forum. One-hundred seventeen (117) book industry professionals attended the full-day event which was held on June 20 at the Royal Society in London. It combined sessions where INTERQUEST presented key results from its recent market research with panel discussions from leading players including book publishers, printers, distributors, retailers, and suppliers from the book manufacturing market.

According to Gilles Biscos, President of INTERQUEST, "This year inkjet technology has been a game changer in the book manufacturing market in the UK. Monochrome and color digital book printing continue to grow and are clearly fulfilling publishers' needs in the market. The forum examined all aspects of the supply chain and offered a wealth of knowledge from all aspects of book manufacturing."

Mr. Biscos began the full-day program with an update of the book market both in North America and Europe. He was followed by a panel of leading players from key sectors of the industry that included publishing, printing, distribution and retail. The panelists discussed their visions of the market and key issues in book manufacturing. They included: David Taylor, Senior Vice President, Content Acquisition International, Ingram Content Group and Group Managing Director, Lightning Source UK Ltd, representing the printing and distribution channels; Paul Major, Director of Stock Planning, UK Academic Division & OUP-USA, Oxford University Press, representing publishing; and Philip Downer, Managing Director, Calliope Gifts Ltd, representing the retail perspective.

A strategic look at the major book sectors was carried as a theme throughout the day. A panel of leading printers and publishers that specialize in educational, academic and professional books presented their perspectives on the evolution of these key book sectors. The panel included: Rob Hutcheson, Managing Director, Ashford Colour Press; Gerald White, Managing Director, Berforts Information Press; Ian Davidson, Head of Production, Edinburgh University Press; and Nicola Haden, Book Sales Manager, Royal Society of Chemistry.

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 Reinhold Frech, Sales & Marketing Director, Commercial Printing Group, Canon EMEA; Guy Thompson, Publishing Segment Manager, Hewlett-Packard EMEA; Erwin Busselot, Marketing Director Digital Printing, Kodak Graphic Communications Group EMEA; and Benoît Chatelard, General Manager, Production Printing Solutions, Ricoh Europe.

A session entitled "New Opportunities, New Challenges" focused on topics such as finishing, distributed print and high value color books. Speakers included a joint presentation by Reto Amherd, Sales & Product Manager Digital Solutions, Müller Martini and Frédéric Fabi, CEO and President, Dupli-Print Group; a joint presentation by Hans Gut, Marketing Director, Hunkeler AG and Rob Hutcheson; Managing Director, Ashford Colour; and a presentation by John Lacagnina, President and CEO of SoftPrint Holdings.

The last two sessions of the program focused on the trade market and covered fiction, non-fiction and children's books. Toby Cobrin, a Director at INTERQUEST, provided research background on the trade market. A panel of publishers and printers then discussed opportunities, solutions, and challenges in the trade market for digital printing. Speakers included Martin Collyer, Head of Digital, CPI Group UK; Frédéric Mériot, Supply Chain Consultant to Editis' COO; Neill Thompson, Production Controller, Hay House UK Limited; and David Taylor, Senior Vice President, Content Acquisition International, Ingram Content Group and Group Managing Director, Lightning Source UK Ltd.

The 2013 London Digital Book Printing Forum is sponsored by leading players in the market, including Canon, Hewlett-Packard, Hunkeler, Kodak, Muller Martini, and Ricoh. It is supported by the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP), The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA), The Publishers Association (PA), the Independent Publisher Guild (IPG), the British Association for Print and Communications (BAPC), the International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM), and the European Publishers Council (EPC).