Product Strategy
The adaptation of technology to individual process or product needs can be complex. The successful implementation of electronic printing technology requires an appreciation of a wide range of scientific disciplines and the interaction of ink or toner with the print mechanism and substrate needs careful consideration. The prediction of final print quality and its control will also need evaluation.
By having a thorough understanding of both technology and markets the route to a successful product can be planned and key review points determined. We help our clients in a wide range of ways:
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Product specification - Balancing what’s desirable with what’s achievable
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Benchmarking - Predicting competitors future product performance
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Technology sourcing - Identifying best printhead and ink technology for an application
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Ongoing support - Design rules for ink jet, project reviewing, testing & evaluation
Evaluation of research portfolio
A major emerging player in the ink jet market found that it had too many ideas under development and had to rationalise in some way
We interviewed the project leaders of a wide range of programmes, and ranked the programmes for time to market, potential value, competitive advantage and relevance to the company’s main business strategy. In addition we identified some gaps in R&D that were needed to complement existing work.
Applying functional materials
A manufacturer using ink jet printing to decorate its products found that its customers believed that the decoration was functional, and wondered whether such a thing was possible
After extensive research, we were able to suggest several ways in which functionality could indeed be added, some using the existing ink jet process and still others with an improved process. These enhancements would lead to competitive advantage, added-value products, and extensions to the current product range.
Technology briefing
A major player, while the market leader with their own technology, was diversifying its technology base and needed to improve its knowledge of alternate technologies
We put together a two day workshop giving a broad overview of other ink jet technologies, focussed on the advantages and issues with established competitors, and also described the system design and product development issues that were different to their current in-house technology.