European printing, digital communications and publishing professionals learn about current and future markets for digital printing from leading authorities 

Charlottesville, VA and Brussels, Belgium - INTERQUEST, a leading market and technology research and consulting firm serving the digital printing and publishing industry, today announced a successful 2015 Brussels Digital Printing Forumheld at Le Plaza Hotel in Brussels, Belgium on March 31st. One-hundred thirty (130) professionals attended the educational forum that focused on trends and opportunities in two of the highest growth segments of the digital printing market: direct marketing/relational marketing and publishing. 

According to Gilles Biscos, President of INTERQUEST, "We had another successful event in Belgium with an excellent mix of European speakers and attendees. Participants learned about the latest advancements and innovations in the digital printing marketplace and took advantage of networking opportunities throughout the day with key vendors, solutions providers, and user/buyers. We received excellent feedback from partners and participants regarding the content, speakers, and the venue."

To set the stage for the morning "Digital Printing & Multi-Channel Communication"seminar, a keynote address was given by Christophe Benavent, who heads the Graduate School of Economics, Organizations and Society at the University of Paris Ouest. He discussed innovations and changes in the internet that have created new big data business models. "The two most important changes for me are what happened around 2005 with social media development and today the topic of big data and the connected object. Just keep in mind that all these changes are not substitute changes but are different layers and complexities of Internet stratification." He discussed how the design of appropriate and scalable architectures can enable powerful and cost effective omni-channel communication. 

Toby Cobrin, a Director at INTERQUEST, provided insights from recent INTERQUEST research into direct marketing and multi-channel communication. Leading direct marketing specialists then shared cross-media success stories. Speakers included: Tommaso Teppex, Director of International Business Development for Loyalty Expert; Bart Blondelle, Direct Mail Specialist at Symeta N.V.; and Jordan Audenaert, Managing Partner at BBC. 

Gilles Biscos provided INTERQUEST research findings in transactional printing to set the stage for a panel of service providers and corporate users who discussed how they are taking advantage of the convergence of transactional printing and direct marketing to counteract declining transactional print volume. They also discussed new and innovative multi-channel solutions they have been implementing. Speakers included: Bart Vanwijnsberghe, Director at Fedopress; Jonathan Laloum, Development Director for Groupe Diffusion Plus; Yves Dewyspelaere, Manager Document Services at ING Belgium; and Frederic Lanciaux, Managing Director of OptiMail Solutions.

A panel of executives from leading digital printing equipment vendors shared their views on direct marketing and transactional markets and applications. Panelists included: Peter Jongeling, Regional Business Manager HP Indigo and Inkjet Web Presses, General Western Europe; Charles Deck, Cofounder and Sales Director of NMC Company; Danny Mertens, Director Segment Marketing & Business Development at Xeikon; and Olivier Zwartjes, Sales Director, Production Printing Solutions Division at RISO.

Following lunch, the afternoon seminar—"Digital Printing in Publishing"— was kicked off by Hubert Pedurand, an entrepreneur and pioneer of distributed newspaper printing. His keynote, "Distributed Printing 360°" discussed the IRENEO initiative which targets the dissemination of on-demand book printing systems in bookstores throughout Europe. This distributed model can help eliminate out of stocks and returns for books and newspapers. "Distribution can drive production, and sales can drive distribution and production," explained Pedurand.

INTERQUEST then provided an update of trends, issues, and developments in the use of digital printing in newspapers and magazines. Following the INTERQUEST presentation, Stefaan Vanysacker, Managing Director of Genscom; and Emanuele Bandecchi, Marketing Development Manager at Rotolito Lombarda SpA discussed their use of digital printing technology for producing short-run and targeted publications.

Gilles Biscos shared recent INTERQUEST research into digital book printing in Europe and North America, followed by a panel of leading digital printing equipment vendors who discussed developments targeted at publishing markets. Executives included: Reinhold Frech, Sales & Marketing Director, Commercial Printing Group at Canon EMEA; Christoph Blank, Executive Sales Manager, Digital Post-Processing Solutions at manroland web systems AG; Erwin Busselot, Commercial Print Solutions Director, Production Printing, for Ricoh Europe; and François Gouverneur, Graphic Communications Marketing Manager at Xerox Europe. 

In wrapping up the program, leaders in book publishing and manufacturing discussed how they work together to streamline the supply chain. They also discussed how technology innovations help them expand their digital printing business. Speakers included: Anthony Morin, Marketing and IT Solutions Director of CPI Group; and Anthony Smeele, Chairman and CEO of Publidisa Digital Limited.

The 2015 Brussels Digital Printing Forum was sponsored by leading players in the market, including Böwe Systec, Canon, CPI, Hewlett-Packard, manroland web systems, NMC, Ricoh, RISO, Tecnau, Xeikon, and Xerox. It was supported by leading industry associations including the Belgian Direct Marketing Association (BDMA), the European Publishers Council (EPC), the Federation of European Direct and Interactive Marketing (FEDMA), the Federation of European Publishers (FEP), the European Federation of Envelope Manufacturers (FEPE), Intergraf, as well as Nouvelles Graphiques/Grafisch Nieuws.

For more information about the event, visit www.inter-quest.com/focused-forums/2015Brussels.