No matter in which corner of the printing industry you look, one of the primary mantras is “automation.” From file intake, to prepress, to printing, to finishing, companies are seeking to automate as much of the production process as possible. The reasons for it are threefold. First, to improve speed, productivity and efficiency. Second, to reduce the possibility of human error. Third, to simplify a given process so that relatively unskilled and lower-cost operators can run it. Automation is all about increasing throughput and reducing costs.