Media Convergence Technology | AI-driven, a new technological revolution in the printing industry is coming

　　In the wake of the AI (artificial intelligence) wave, how can the printing industry continuously advance towards intelligence, improving production efficiency and product quality? At the 2025 Wuhan Printing Industry Association Annual Meeting held recently in Wuhan, Hubei, reporters from China News and Publishing Broadcasting Newspaper heard from representatives from various sectors, including industry, enterprises, and universities: AI technology is empowering the high-quality development of the printing industry.
　　Actively adapting, integrating AI into production
　　“AI will subvert traditional production and operation models, bringing about a new technological revolution. The applications and innovations of ChatGPT and DeepSeek in various fields are sufficient proof of this.” In the view of Zhu Haiming, chairman of Wuhan Wenshang Yanghang Packaging Printing Co., Ltd., the application of AI is still a new thing for traditional small and medium-sized printing enterprises, and enterprise leaders need to further break through their understanding of how new-generation information technology can be integrated with existing enterprise production and operation activities.
　　According to reports, Wenshang Yanghang is actively exploring how AI can quickly generate diverse packaging design schemes in the product design stage, shortening the design cycle. At the same time, based on consumer preferences and dynamic market data, it optimizes design styles, and in the personalized customization stage, it combines user behavior data to automatically generate exclusive packaging patterns and text layouts, improving product added value and user stickiness. “The key is also to improve employees' understanding of AI and their proficiency in AI applications. Only in this way can we quickly provide solutions for customers while reducing costs and increasing efficiency for the enterprise,” Zhu Haiming said.
　　Zhou Yitao, chairman of Wuhan Xinhua Industry Printing Co., Ltd., believes that the application of AI in the printing field is very extensive. For example, intelligent order taking, intelligent design, intelligent production scheduling, and intelligent logistics can all be applied. For enterprises, this is an innovation in business models, production models, and technical operations, requiring the enterprise's own innovative awareness and execution ability, and even more, talent reserves and technological reserves, to plan and apply according to their own actual situation.
　　“We have already started preliminary research and exploration of AI applications, and we are cooperating with third-party information technology companies. We plan to embed DeepSeek in intelligent order taking, intelligent design, and intelligent logistics in the early stages, and we expect to complete market application this year,” Zhou Yitao said. Digital upgrading is a transformation method that Xinhua Industry has been exploring and applying in recent years. It has successively applied ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), MES (Manufacturing Execution System), intelligent typesetting, and digital workflows, and the application effects have been good, and the market's rapid response capability has also been enhanced.
　　Last year, Xinhua Industry also joined hands with the Wuhan Printing Industry Association, Yingongshe (Qingdao) Internet Technology Co., Ltd., and Wuhan Information Communication Vocational and Technical College to jointly create the “Printing Industrial Internet Platform—Printing Cloud Manager,” focusing on digital printing color management, precise data acquisition and abnormal dynamic analysis of equipment management, and product digital color quality evaluation systems, providing practical and easy-to-use solutions for key enterprise technologies. Zhou Yitao introduced that this platform allows the production process to shift from “passive firefighting” to “proactive optimization,” and from “relying on experience” to “looking at data.” It has currently been promoted and applied in companies such as Hubei Hengtai Printing Co., Ltd. and Wuhan Jingyijia Printing Co., Ltd.
　　Industry-education integration, consolidating the talent base
　　The innovation of printing industry technology is inseparable from the development of printing education. “We actively embrace the new era of AI, promoting in-depth industry-education integration and the development of industry enterprises through the integration of science, education, and technology and resource integration.” Xiong Weibin, dean of the Intelligent Manufacturing Engineering College of Wuhan Information Communication Vocational and Technical College, shared that in recent years, the college has conducted a series of explorations and practices in the digital transformation and upgrading of printing industry enterprises and talent cultivation. Focusing on industry-education integration and school-enterprise cooperation, the teaching innovation team has developed projects such as “Intelligent Control Device for Improving Printing Machine Efficiency,” “Intelligent Control Device for Double-Reflection Ultraviolet Curing of Label Printing Machines,” and “Robot Packaging Logistics,” which have been granted patents, and the results have achieved good results in enterprise application transformation.
　　Wuhan Information Communication Vocational and Technical College has also jointly established the “Asia-Pacific Color Digital Asset Research Center (Central China Center)” with Shanghai Publishing and Printing Higher Vocational School, Shenzhen Shengshi Technology Co., Ltd., and Germany's CGS ORIS company, and developed the “Packaging Printing Color Management Digital Processing System.” The school's printing teaching and research staff, through production application scenario testing, have successfully applied it in enterprises such as Wuhan Yatian Technology Co., Ltd., Hubei Rainbow Paper Products Co., Ltd., and Wuhan Xinhua Industry Printing Co., Ltd., solving the long-standing problem of unstable product printing colors for enterprises and empowering enterprise technological innovation.
　　Xiong Weibin said that the college has jointly established an “Industry-Education Integration Collaborative Talent Cultivation Innovation Base” with Hubei Xinhua Printing Co., Ltd., Jingjia Technology Co., Ltd., Wuhan Xinhua Industry Printing Co., Ltd., and Hubei Hengtai Printing Co., Ltd., and other leading enterprises in the Hubei printing industry. It has carried out pilot training for the “Chinese-style apprenticeship system,” and together with the Hubei Printing Association and the Wuhan Printing Industry Association, it has implemented production evaluations for students jointly trained by schools and enterprises, forming an innovative mechanism for school-enterprise collaborative talent cultivation, greatly improving students' success rate. Currently, the college's printing media technology, printing digital graphic technology, packaging planning and design, art design, and intelligent control technology majors supply more than 600 graduates to the industry each year, consolidating the talent base for enterprise development.
　　Providing good service, promoting industry development
　　“The printing industry is in the ‘painful period’ of transformation and adjustment. The market adjustment period not only presents challenges but also opportunities for industry integration and the rise of leading enterprises.” At the annual meeting, Liu Jiying, president of China Printing Magazine, shared the basic situation of the current development of the printing industry, proposing that printing enterprises in the current market environment should improve management, improve processes, increase cash reserves, and optimize expenditure structures; they should understand the situation, understand themselves, clarify their goals, and seek stability amidst progress.
　　Huang Chunlei, president of the Wuhan Printing Industry Association, introduced that in the current situation where the internet has had a huge impact on the traditional printing industry, printing practitioners need to have a breakthrough mindset and continuously innovate from multiple aspects such as cost, efficiency, and digital intelligence. According to reports, over the past year, the Wuhan Printing Industry Association has actively provided services to help promote industry innovation and development. For example, it held the “2024 Printing and Packaging Industry Lean Color Management Training Camp” and “AI Design and Printing and Packaging Full Analysis” offline training courses. Through an immersive training model that combines theory and practice, it allowed trainees to learn color management methods suitable for the domestic printing and packaging industry, as well as AI intelligent packaging design, helping enterprises quickly improve their printing technology level. At the same time, the association organized some printing enterprises in Wuhan to conduct research and study trips to Yiwu, Zhejiang, held a symposium with the Yiwu Printing Association, shared experiences in industry and enterprise development in depth, and visited three local enterprises, including Zhejiang Xibulun Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., Yiwu Wansheng Printing Co., Ltd., and Zhejiang Yiwu Baolong Packaging Materials Technology Co., Ltd., to learn from their excellent practices in business management, workshop digital construction, and advanced equipment use.
　　It is worth mentioning that the Wuhan Printing Industry Association also assisted the National Printing Machinery Standardization Technical Committee in holding the first Printing Electronic Equipment Standards and Technology Seminar in Wuhan, with the theme of “Standards Leading Printing Equipment to Empower the High-Quality Development of Emerging Industries,” attracting more than 100 participants from across the country. At the same time, the association hosted the “Digital Empowerment ‘Printing’ Leading Efficiency—Wuhan Printing Industry Digital Upgrading Technology Sharing Conference,” bringing together more than 10 representatives from printing enterprises to jointly explore the path of high-efficiency and low-cost digital upgrading in the printing industry and exchange and share cutting-edge technologies and innovative practices.
　　Source: China News and Publishing Broadcasting Newspaper WeChat Official Account