Professor Andre Economou is HP’s official colour specialist and consultant in Australia, who also runs his own operation as an independent colour and IT specialist. Economou believes that small quick copy shops will virtually disappear in the next five years, as the trend towards in-house printing continues to grow.
He also predicts that there will be fewer but bigger print houses in the future. The move to in-house printing has been fuelled by an increasing need for document security, convenience and cost saving measures, he says. Many businesses today cannot run the risk of having sensitive documents in the hands of strangers. Being able to make last minute changes and save time and money on outsourcing, also adds to the appeal of in-house printing. Economou also says that the change in document distribution patterns means that as the use of printers grows, less paper will be consumed, as users only print selected information rather than entire documents.
