The importance of data analysis in the modern era of print production

As the role of digital transformation becomes multi-fold in every sector, it generates huge amounts of information that can yield valuable insights at all fields of business and production activity. This has led to an expansion regarding the necessity of data handing and processing. Industry 4.0 is the current trend on automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. The elements that are included in Industry 4.0 create the so-called "smart factory" concept which indicates the direction towards the total transformation processes for all industries. Data analytics, following data collection, storage and handling, has become a crucial component of any business management system as an integral tool for creating strategies in all major organizations. The printing industry -of course- is not an exception to this rule. Analytic tools are embedded in all major MIS (Management Information Systems) and data are collected throughout the production from prepress to postpress departments. The present paper investigates the structure and formation of data from print management and production and the way that these can be used for providing actual and accurate information for the total business operation of a printing company.