AI IN PRINT
CONTINUED Communication
“AI will evolve as we train it with larger, richer data sets,” says Arjan. “It will be able to process more info with more accurate insights. Things like printer maintenance, waste management and supply fulfilment – which are already using AI – will be far more comprehensive and automated. We will see nuanced, bespoke applications for print as well. “It also empowers the customer to do more with print like layouts and designs, colour corrections as well as hyper-targeted print jobs. An AI-powered chat-bot could act as an interface processing simple instructions to do complex printing tasks.” Rowan adds that as AI technology continues to evolve and become more widely used, it represents a great opportunity for the print industry to increase the efficiencies of manual processes – but warns that it could be missed if businesses don’t receive proper guidance. “To ensure the continued growth of the industry, print businesses need to ensure their employees are equipped with the right tools and skills to make the most of AI tools at their disposal,” he says. “Research conducted by Ricoh revealed that 33% of employees in the UK and Ireland use AI tools, such as Chat GPT, yet only 12% of companies have offered training on how to utilise AI tools. Without proper guidance on how to harness the technology, print businesses could miss out on productivity and business benefits.”
Arjan adds that resellers are an important communication pipeline into customers. “Resellers help us understand what customers like to see with an AI-embused print infrastructure that can feed back into new devices hitting the market,” he says. “Resellers can also shape the conversation with customers, ensuring they can fully utilise AI. Those talks should encompass GenAI applications for chatbots, ways to organise data to ensure the AI is correctly trained and security considerations. “But most importantly, resellers should ask how AI can achieve business outcomes. Doing AI for the sake of AI will only lead to failure. You need to attach a clear and attainable business goal to AI. Resellers can play a vital role in setting up AI expectations for success.” Arjan adds that Lexmark is seeking to set resellers up for success with AI. “We have MPS Express, which enables resellers and system integrators to offer sophisticated Managed Print Services powered by AI through our platform,” he says. Future As we have seen over the past year, AI is a rapidly evolving technology, and will only provide more benefits to business as it develops in the coming months and years and becomes increasingly effective.
Rowan Jeffreys-Hoar director partner channel
ricoh.co.uk
Resellers help us understand what customers like to see with an AI-embused print infrastructure that can feed back into new devices hitting the market. “
An AI-powered chat- bot could act as an interface processing simple instructions to do complex printing tasks. “
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printinthechannel.co.uk
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