Bonjour #1· Andrew Fetherman/Müller Martini/Hunkeler & Rolando Martinez/Canon · PRINTING United 2026

At PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, Morten B. Reitoft and Pat McGrew meet Rolando Martinez from Canon and Andrew Fetherman from Müller Martini North America for a wide-ranging conversation about presses, finishing, workflow, automation — and why connecting all of these technologies is becoming increasingly important for print service providers.

The starting point is simple. Customers aren’t really buying individual pieces of equipment. They are investing in production capacity, and that means a press, workflow, and finishing system ultimately have to operate as one production environment.

Canon and Müller Martini/Hunkeler therefore begin working together long before equipment reaches the customer’s floor. Mechanical interfaces matter, but increasingly the more interesting connection is digital. Müller Martini’s Connex workflow exchanges production information with printing systems, manages imposition and carries the job information and barcodes required to automate downstream finishing.

That becomes particularly important in highly variable book production. Even when printing and finishing aren’t physically in line, the workflow can create what Andrew describes as an almost electronically in-line environment. Information about a roll, job, splice or production event can follow the work downstream, allowing finishing equipment to understand what has happened before the printed product ever reaches it.

Canon has plenty to show in Las Vegas as well. Rolando talks about the varioPRINT iX1700 sheetfed inkjet press, the Colorado XL platform, the newest generation of imagePRESS toner technology and Canon’s growing PRISMA workflow ecosystem. The much larger varioPRESS iV7 isn’t physically on the show floor, but Canon has created an interactive experience to demonstrate what its B2+ inkjet platform can deliver.

For Rolando, one important development is how far inkjet has advanced. The discussion is no longer simply about accepting inkjet quality in return for digital flexibility. New generations of inkjet are increasingly competing with offset on both quality and productivity, fundamentally changing where printers can consider moving work from conventional to digital production.

At Müller Martini and Hunkeler, automation continues after the press.

PRINTING United is the world premiere of the new Separo PRO, an automated destacking solution feeding book blocks into the Vareo PRO perfect binder. Combined with barcode-driven production, Connex workflow, InfiniTrim and downstream robotic handling, the objective is increasingly touchless book manufacturing — producing more products per square foot and per labor hour.

The Hunkeler GEN8 direct-mail line also demonstrates another important part of today’s production environment: partnerships. The line is integrated with Heidelberg folding technology, illustrating how manufacturers increasingly have to work across traditional company boundaries if customers are going to achieve genuinely automated end-to-end production.

And that leads naturally to one of the industry’s biggest challenges: labor.

Automation isn’t being developed simply because robots and AI are fashionable. Printers continue to struggle to find skilled operators, and highly experienced employees are increasingly difficult to replace. Press automation, automated finishing, workflow integration, robotics and AI therefore become different pieces of the same puzzle.

The conversation ends by looking beyond the Canon and Müller Martini booths. Rolando wants to explore apparel, promotional production, workflow and AI as commercial printers continue diversifying into new markets. Andrew is looking for robotics, cobots, backend automation and further developments toward the smart factory.

Different technologies. Different manufacturers. One increasingly connected production environment.

Or, as Müller Martini’s theme at PRINTING United puts it: Stronger Together.

Watch Morten B. Reitoft and Pat McGrew with Rolando Martinez from Canon and Andrew Fetherman from Müller Martini North America at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.