The recent news of a well-known printer manufacturer seeking court protection while searching for new investors or acquisition candidates sparked the predictable chorus of industry commentary, including my own. The LinkedIn timeline filled with varied responses: some expressed shock, others said they’d seen it coming, while many offered hopeful support for the company and its people, or lauded the visionary nature of the company’s achievements so far.
What struck me wasn’t those expected reactions, but rather the seemingly oblivious responses from people I considered industry experts; professionals who should have known better or could have known what was happening around them.
Their surprise revealed something profound: there’s a vast difference between what we know privately and what we say publicly, even when uncomfortable truths are common knowledge within an industry. Not the whispered secret kind of truths, but the obvious ones that seem casually brushed under the carpet.
We all know the characters in an industry and their stories. And we all know some hidden facts of the business. At conferences, over drinks, in quiet corners of meeting rooms, there’s talk; some of it is true, some is exaggerated, other things are speculative. But this isn’t about gossip or hearsay. It’s about how industries collectively shape narratives: promoting success stories while glossing over hard realities. This ‘conspiracy of silence’ leads us to believe that success is the norm. And failure will only sometimes come to the surface when a product or project fails miserably or a company’s financial distress makes it impossible to ignore.
This printing industry’s heads-up is just one of many in its own microcosm. These dynamics play out in sectors from tech to finance to healthcare. And so are the responses to them; they’ll pop up in a wide variety once the cracks show.
An example? Seemingly everyone in the finance sector knew of risky mortgage and trading constructs, and insiders knew exactly which companies dealt in shady practices. Yet, most chose to keep this truth hidden from the general public until it was too late. In the food industry, companies make health benefit claims without scientific proof, and there seems to be an ongoing willingness to seek the limits as to what’s permissible.
And in this particular case, even though conceptually visionary (but practically very difficult), the numbers didn’t add up and it was very clear for quite some time that the marketing circus was at odds with reality. Still, the trade press seemed awfully quiet about it.
When we examine why entire industries stay silent about known problems or misrepresentation, we uncover patterns that transcend any single market.
The Architecture of Silence
Why do we maintain these public façades? Why celebrate dubious achievements while ignoring fundamental flaws, misconceptions or marketing spin? The reasons go deeper than politeness or professional courtesy:
- Protecting Reputations and Relationships: No one wants to be the bearer of bad news, especially when it involves peers, partners, or former employers. In tight-knit industries, today’s competitor might be tomorrow’s client or colleague.
- Fear of Professional Ramifications: Challenging giants or accepted practices carries real risk. Careers are fragile, opportunities finite. Silence often becomes a survival tactic.
- Legal and Contractual Constraints: Many insiders are bound by NDAs, non-competes, or employment contracts that prevent them from speaking openly about the problems they’ve witnessed. Former employees, consultants, and partners may possess valuable insights, but face legal risk if they speak up.
- The Echo Chamber Effect: Concerns may circulate freely within private industry circles, but rarely reach the public domain. Meanwhile, the external narrative is shaped by PR teams and amplified by industry cheerleaders who benefit from the status quo.
- Financial Market Pressures: For publicly traded companies, perception drives valuation. Bad press moves markets. Narratives are curated with surgical care. And insiders, knowingly or not, often help sustain the illusion.
- The Sunk Cost Fallacy at Scale: Entire industries can double down on flawed bets. The larger the investment — in technology, strategy, or credibility — the harder it becomes to change course. So we don’t.
The Cost of Collective Silence
This industry-wide silence perpetuates a hidden cost and it carries a steep price. When only wins are celebrated and losses buried, we lose access to the insights that drive companies, innovations, and visionaries. The printing industry’s recent example isn’t an isolated incident; it seems to be a symptom of deeper, unaddressed systemic issues.
Unrealistic Projections and Overpromising
How often do we applaud growth plans or solution introductions built on shaky foundations?
In print, vendors release new imaging solutions with unresolved technical issues (think industrial-level single-pass inkjet). Ink manufacturers tout performance breakthroughs despite known limitations (consider, for instance, the pigment hype). Or the quick repurposing of systems that were built for another print process and fail miserably in another segment (e.g. a paper-based printer unsuccessfully trying to meet textile printing requirements). Products are marketed long before they’re ready and users generally absorb the cost when things fail.
To be fair, the industry has delivered true innovation: industrial inkjet systems that revolutionised packaging, textile solutions that changed fashion production, wide-format machines that unlocked new creative avenues, the ceramics industry turnaround to almost fully digital decoration. There’s plenty to be proud of.
But these achievements are often overshadowed by noise: premature launches, exaggerated claims, and inflated promises. The industry’s credibility suffers when every incremental step is presented as a revolution.
This isn’t unique to printing. Think: autonomous vehicles “coming next year” for a decade. Blockchain “solutions” to problems no one had.
Hype Cycles vs. Practical Reality
We’ve seen “game-changing” technologies that fail to deliver real-world value: single-pass textile printers with massive footprints and limited commercial traction; wide-format machines rebranded under new names to retread old promises. And yet, there are companies that under-promised, over-delivered, and focused on real problems. These quiet success stories often get drowned out by the louder campaigns of the bigger players that, unfortunately, eventually disappoint and take much longer to deliver meaningful results.
Think of VR’s promised revolutions, or AI tools that were supposed to replace humans overnight. The same holds true for this particular example: the speeds and qualities needed to convert traditional print processes to this digital technology have not become a reality.
The Cult of Personality and Investor Blind Spots
Some companies thrive on charisma rather than fundamentals. One direct-to-garment brand overpromised in investor decks, and was later called out when reality didn’t align. Another digital press venture dazzled with demos but couldn’t convert them into installations. Insiders saw it coming, but most stayed quiet until the collapse was undeniable.
This dynamic is everywhere: compelling founders, slick presentations, and investors swayed by vision over execution. Those with the know-how to understand what was going on watched in amazement as charisma raised money, got press, and built a business on something that would never come to fruition.
Unsustainable Business Models
Some companies run on razor-thin margins, outdated strategies, or unsustainable debt, all while projecting strength. Insiders know it. Outsiders don’t. Until it’s too late. In an effort to persuade the public and the buyer that all will be just fine, shortcuts are taken and marketing spin is being parroted by trade media.
Talent Drain and Skill Gaps
There’s no shortage of “innovation team” headlines. But little is said about aging workforces, talent shortages, or resistance to new skills. Early digital textile pioneers had vision, but many disappeared quietly due to cost, timing, or complexity. And their quiet exits spoke louder than their glossy brochures.
Breaking the Silence: A Path Forward
This isn’t about finger-pointing. It’s about building a culture where learning from what didn’t work is as valued as celebrating what did. The goal isn’t cynicism. It’s honesty.
- Foster Constructive Scepticism: Industry associations, conferences, and trade journals should create space for postmortems, not just product launches.
- Reward Truth-Telling and Responsible Innovation: Don’t punish early critics. Celebrate companies that do the hard work: R&D, testing, slow-but-sustainable launches. In printing, several such manufacturers exist, but often get overshadowed by louder peers.
- Separate Marketing from Analysis: Trade media needs clearer lines between promotion and journalism. If everything is a “breakthrough,” nothing is.
- Embrace Failure as Learning: Silicon Valley’s “fail fast” culture has flaws, but its insight is clear: failure teaches. Industries that stigmatise failure lose access to that intelligence.
The Broader Imperative
The printing industry’s latest upheaval offers a message that resonates far beyond its borders: sustainable growth starts with confronting uncomfortable truths.
This sector has produced technologies that genuinely changed how we design, create, and manufacture. But its reputation gets eroded by a culture that rewards hype, avoids scrutiny, and hides behind curated narratives.
The most valuable lessons are not in polished case studies, but in the cautionary tales whispered behind closed doors.
Whatever industry you’re in — tech, food, finance, travel, healthcare — ask yourself:
- What truths do insiders know but hardly ever discuss?
- What patterns are playing out behind the scenes?
- What would change if those quiet conversations became public dialogue?
The cost of silence is always higher than the discomfort of truth. The real question isn’t whether your industry has uncomfortable realities. It’s whether you’re brave enough to talk about them before they become tomorrow’s headlines.
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