Software

These days, a new player on the Software scene is being presented—the company's name is CoCoCo, and the founders are well-known people from the industry. In this interview, we get the chance to talk to two of the three founders, Andreas Aplien and Karl Ciz. It's 35 35-minute interviews, but super interesting to learn from - what is CoCoCo, why does it matter, and what benefit does the software provide its customers? In the interview, Aplien and Ciz share an example from one of the company's customers, where it seems apparent that the savings using CoCoCo deliver a truly rapid return to the buyer - but listen for yourself!

Morten Reitoft and Julie Watson discuss Ultimate Tech's preparations and excitement for Drupa 2024. Watson highlights the company's recent activities, partnerships, and technology introductions. She explains that while Printing United was significant for introducing new technologies like the AI-driven cutting buddy and new nesting technologies, Drupa remains crucial for showcasing its latest innovations to a global audience. Watson mentions the upcoming releases, including the 2024.1 version of Impostrip with enhanced job organization features and compatibility with PDF X4 from the Ghent Workgroup. She also discusses their container version of Impostrip on AWS, demonstrating their commitment to cloud-based solutions. Ultimate Tech will showcase its full-featured solutions across multiple platforms (Linux, Mac, Windows). Reitoft asks about Ultimate Tech's integration capabilities, particularly with their Ultimate Bindery software, which automates finishing processes and supports over 85 devices. Watson explains that their drivers validate jobs and automate device setups, allowing seamless integration and reduced manual intervention. They discuss Impostrip/Bindery's scalability, highlighting its ability to handle high volumes of short-run digital print jobs efficiently. Watson emphasizes the importance of starting with automation and gradually integrating more processes and devices to enhance productivity. Watson also discusses integrating their solutions with other systems, such as MIS and Web2Print platforms, using APIs for open connectivity. She mentions their collaboration with Omikai to showcase an end-to-end workflow solution at Drupa. Reitoft and Watson conclude by discussing the logistical ease of being a software company at Drupa compared to hardware manufacturers and the historical significance of Ultimate Tech's participation since 1990. Watson shares a personal anecdote about her family’s long-standing involvement in the industry.

Reitoft welcomed Tobias Köngeter from Wirbelwild to INKISH. Köngeter introduced himself and his company, which he owns with his wife. In Southern Germany, Wirbelwild's name is a play on the words 'world wind' and 'wild.' Köngeter explained that they started the company because they couldn't find software to create highly individualized printing products, so they decided to develop it themselves. Köngeter and his wife, both from creative backgrounds, found repetitive tasks in pre-press work, such as calendar layouts, boring and risky. They wanted software to handle complex and creative printing tasks that existing software like InDesign or QuarkXPress couldn't manage. To achieve this, Köngeter learned programming, which allowed them to develop the necessary software and turn Wirbelwild into a company providing layout automation solutions. Köngeter introduced ManyPrint Solutions, a cloud-based layout automation software that processes data dynamically without predefined templates. The system can import data from various sources, adapt layout rules dynamically, and produce outputs in multiple formats, including printing PDFs, InDesign files, HTML files, videos, and audio. He explained that ManyPrint Solutions is open to various data inputs, flexible in layout generation, and versatile in output formats. He highlighted a product called the Running Diary, which generates personalized brochures with running route recommendations, maps, and individualized videos based on the user's location. Köngeter announced that Wirbelwild would exhibit at Drupa in Hall 8B, sharing a large stand with Konica Minolta. Visitors can see demonstrations of their products and their integration with Konica Minolta's printing machines. Reitoft admired Köngeter's achievements and planned to visit their booth at Drupa. Köngeter provided final details on their exhibition and expressed his excitement about showcasing their innovative solutions at Drupa.  

Though Durst software, of course, integrates into a third-party solution, it seems that Durst offers pretty much everything you need - so one of my questions to Michael Deflorian is whether he and his colleagues experience more users using Durst software when they get to know the solution? Only one of many exciting topics in this episode on INKISH - please dig in :-)

In this almost 14-minute chat between Cathy Bittner and Editor Morten B. Reitoft, you will learn about Canon (of course) and why they have chosen to use the word "PrintWorks" for something that sounds very much like Digital Transformation. A super great chat that we are SURE you will like!