Chris Minn · Founder · Digital Ink
Trade shows are full of smiling faces, busy booths, new technology, customer meetings and conversations about growth.
But when somebody asks, “How are you?” — how often is the answer completely honest?
At PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, Wayne Beckett catches up with Christopher Minn, Founder & CEO of Digital Ink, a PRINTING United All Star — and one of the people behind She*t For Brains, an initiative that brings mental health and well-being into the conversation within the printing industry.
Chris is wearing several hats in Las Vegas. Digital Ink is supporting customers and partners around the show, he is again part of the PRINTING United All Stars program, and She*t For Brains has been invited to bring its mental health discussions directly into PRINTING United.
And that last role may be the most important.
The printing industry has experienced enormous pressure over the past few years. COVID, supply chain problems, labor shortages, economic uncertainty, geopolitical events, tariffs, and constant pressure on margins have placed business owners, managers, and employees under sustained stress.
During difficult periods, people often simply concentrate on surviving.
It can be later — when things begin returning to normal — that the impact of those experiences becomes apparent.
Chris explains that She*t For Brains isn’t trying to turn printers into therapists. The founders aren’t medical professionals, and the objective is not to pretend otherwise. Instead, they want to create conversations, remove some of the stigma around mental health and connect people with qualified professionals and resources when they need them.
At PRINTING United, that included both private discussions and sessions in the Spill the Ink area, giving people an opportunity to talk about subjects including stress, burnout, PTSD and suicide prevention. PRINTING United Alliance’s support is also helping the initiative reach considerably further across the industry.
For Chris, the ambition started very simply: if one conversation helps one person, it is worthwhile.
But the response has shown that the need is considerably larger.
The initiative has already become a nonprofit organization, and the founders are now considering how to scale it while maintaining the openness and trust that created it in the first place.
Because behind every press, software platform, company, and trade-show booth are people.
And sometimes the most important conversation at an exhibition has nothing to do with equipment.
Watch Wayne Beckett’s conversation with Christopher Minn from Digital Ink and She*t For Brains at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.
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Sat September 26th
Kevin Loos · VP Sales & International Busine...
At PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, Morten B. Reitoft catches up with Kevin Loos from MCS — just one week after meeting him at LOUPE Americas in Chicago. LOUPE introduced MCS to more label and packaging producers, but direct mail remains a fundamental part of the company's business. And in mail, the economics can be brutal: when millions of pieces are produced, even a tiny change in cost per piece can determine whether a job makes money. Postage is obviously one of the biggest expenses. Kevin explains that MCS works closely with customers to understand USPS promotions and incentives and how technology can help them take advantage of available savings. In 2026, USPS continues to offer several promotional and incentive programs aimed at lowering postage costs and encouraging more effective use of mail. That means MCS increasingly acts as more than an equipment supplier. Customers want help understanding where they can reduce postage, ink consumption, labor, and production costs — and how automation can increase output without increasing staffing at the same rate. Inkjet plays an important role in that equation. MCS develops its own inkjet technologies while also working with partners such as Kyocera and BlueCrest to create production environments where customers can replace expensive toner production, increase inserting speeds, and produce more personalized communication at significantly lower cost. And personalization matters more than ever. Kevin believes the old model of simply sending enormous volumes of identical direct mail into a geographic area is changing. Major insurance companies, financial organizations, and other sophisticated mail users increasingly work with data, segmentation, color, and variable content to make each piece more relevant. That may increase the investment in the individual mailpiece — but if relevance improves response, the economics can become considerably more attractive. Kevin gives an example of an MCS customer producing approximately 50 million pieces every quarter for a large insurance company. At those volumes, campaigns are measured intensely. If the mail didn't generate results, it wouldn't continue. For MCS, that is ultimately the opportunity. Help customers reduce production cost where possible, take advantage of postal incentives, automate more of the factory — and at the same time use color, data, and personalization to make the finished mailpiece more valuable. Because in direct mail, sometimes a penny can make the difference between profit and loss. Watch Morten B. Reitoft's conversation with Kevin Loos from MCS at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.