HP Innovation Journal Issue 07: Summer 2017 | Page 17

Web Presses use water-based ink technology
and specially engineered bonding agents that
do not require hazard labels — helping create a
better work environment than in many analog
printing workplaces.
By enabling companies to print materials
where and when they need them, digital printing
also eliminates storage, pack-
aging, and shipping costs, and
lowers greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions related to transport-
ing materials.
whole supply chains and production via 3D
printing technology.
While 3D printing has been around for de-
cades, it has mostly been limited to prototyping
and tooling. Today, technology, such as HP Multi
Jet Fusion 3D printing technology is helping
accelerate full-scale manufacturing and just-in-
By helping companies better match sup-
ply with demand, 3D printing also eliminates
the overprovisioning of materials, parts, and
finished products. Companies can now create
virtual inventories in which products are made
as needed, rather than physically stored for
later use — or worse, never used at all. Similar
to what digital printing has
done to eliminate make-ready
waste, inventory, and material
use in two dimensions, we also
expect 3D printing to trans-
form manufacturing.
Changing the
And since companies can
now transmit digital files for
publishing business
production locally rather than
One of the key industries be-
shipping physical goods, 3D
ing transformed by digital
printing can also reduce emis-
printing is the book publishing
sions related to distribution.
business.
According to a study published
Traditional printing pro-
in the Energy Policy journal,
cesses usually require very 3D printing is transforming whole industries by helping organizations reduce the amount of by shifting to more localized
large production runs to materials needed to make a finis