Mark Syswerda · Chief Sales Officer · Truly Engaging · PRINTING United 2025

At Printing United Expo in Orlando, Wayne from INKISH meets Mark Syswerda from Truly Engaging Print to discuss how digital embellishment—especially with Scodix technology—has transformed their business.

Mark explains that Truly Engaging is a 30-year-old company specializing in direct-to-consumer (DTC) and wholesale printing, with most of its work handled online. “We’re primarily an e-commerce brand,” he says. “The majority of our jobs come through web-to-print, but we also handle wholesale projects for other brands, especially where we’ve built niche expertise—like magnets, stickers, and Scodix embellishments.”

The company operates a fleet of HP Indigo presses—12,000s and 15,000s—alongside two Scodix presses. “Our first Scodix arrived in 2019, right before COVID,” Mark recalls. “A few years later, we added another one. The new polymers work across a wider range of substrates, and that’s opened up a lot of possibilities.”

Wayne asks how customers experience embellishment when ordering online. “That’s the tricky part,” Mark admits. “You can’t feel raised foil or spot gloss on a screen. We rely heavily on sampling—single personalized proofs—so customers can actually hold and feel their design before ordering. For life events like weddings or births, that tactile quality is everything.”

The Scodix investment, he adds, has been a major differentiator. “It lets us stand out with products that others simply can’t offer,” he says. “We’ve even become a demo site for Scodix. They bring potential customers to see our machines running in real production, and that’s brought in new business for us too.”

Designers at Truly Engaging have also embraced the technology. “Our team’s creativity has exploded,” Mark says. “They’re experimenting with gradients, texture variations, and layered effects. It’s not just putting down polymer—it’s turning every piece into something you can feel. Our design department keeps developing new templates and ideas that push what’s possible.”

He praises Scodix’s collaboration and support: “Their product teams have done training sessions with us both at our Chicagoland production facility and our Minnesota marketing hub. They’ve been fantastic partners.”

Looking ahead, Mark sees more opportunities for innovation. “We’re applying embellishment to magnets, postcards, even sticker mailers,” he says. “And we’re taking advantage of USPS’s Tactile, Sensory, and Interactive (TSI) discount program—it’s a perfect fit for embellished print.”

Mark concludes: “Scodix has been a game-changer for us—creatively and commercially. It’s helped us stand out, raise our average order value, and deliver print that people genuinely want to touch.”