Technology Trends

Welcome to The Cannata Report’s 2025 WatchList issue, where we highlight the trends, companies, people, and products poised to shape the future of the office technology industry.

In the bustling landscape of modern communication, paper finds itself at a crossroads.

Textile printing is an untapped opportunity for office technology dealers and one with a promising future.

Each year, The Cannata Report sets as its mission to spotlight the developments shaping the future of office technology in our Annual WatchList.

With more OEMs pushing production print, the near-term future burns brightly for dealers selling these workhorse devices as well as the production print software that drives them.

Artificial intelligence (AI) was the buzzword on everyone’s lips this year—the hot investment, the future that has finally arrived, society’s downfall or its savior.

Although the sale and use of office digital MFPs have been sluggish due to the global trend toward paperless offices, the sale and use of production printers continue to grow.

The shift towards accessibility presents a unique opportunity for managed print services providers.

A4s have become faster and more durable, and the print quality has improved with each new model. So why don’t these devices get more respect?

In this follow-up to Frank G. Cannata’s PRINTING United overview, Frank recaps his conversations with Xerox executives about the company’s production print strategy.

Frank and CJ travel to PRINTING United Expo 2024 in Las Vegas to discover what’s new in the world of production and industrial print.

The Printer and MFP Subcommittee of the Japanese Business Machine and Information System Industries Association (JBMIA) recently announced the results of a domestic survey on “business areas where paper output remains strong,” a topic of great interest in the MFP/printer industry.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a transformative force across industries, encompassing various technologies such as machine learning algorithms, neural networks, and large language models.

PRINTNG United Expo 2024 once again proved to be a hotbed of innovation, showcasing the latest advancements in printing technology and highlighting emerging trends to shape the industry’s future.

A3 devices, the too-much-is-never-enough workhorses of office printing, have long been the go-to machines for customers seeking a full set of features and capabilities.

PRINTING United provides office technology dealers looking to diversify and expand solutions offerings in production print many opportunities to consider.

Edmund Sumner, managing director of SumnerOne in St. Louis, Missouri, describes his dealership’s entry into production print and strategies for success. 

Konica Minolta secured over 200 orders from customers worldwide and Ricoh added more than 100 orders during drupa 2024 in Düsseldorf, Germany.

In-plant customers represent a gateway to production print for MPS providers.

If you aren’t selling wide format printers, it’s a product category worth considering, especially for expanding your production print footprint.

Industrial print is one of those terms that defies clear definition. Like the sometimes mile-wide, mighty Mississippi River, the broad category represents many things in a vast ocean of different businesses.

We begin this special issue about production print with interviews with four dealers. Each of the first three represents a different manufacturer.

You’d think there would be a definition of light production, but there isn’t. Some vendors dodge the question by citing the jobs that fall into this category.

Broadly speaking, finishing includes corner and edge trimming, perforating, inserting pages, folding, die-cutting, fold-out pages, special trims, adding tabs, perfect binding, and more.

What can AI do to make a dealer’s organization’s workday, and their clients’ easier?