PRINTING United 2026 – Las Vegas

Claus Bahr · Sales Manager · Lamina System

At PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, Pat McGrew meets with Claus Bahr from Lamina System to discuss one of those finishing processes that many printers may not think about until they need it: sheet-to-sheet laminating.

Lamina System specializes in mounting printed sheets onto materials such as solid board, corrugated board, foam board and other rigid substrates used for packaging, displays and commercial applications.

At the show, Lamina demonstrates its semi-automatic SA laminator — a system aimed at companies that want to enter litho-laminating without immediately moving into a fully automated production line. The SA combines automatic feeding of the bottom sheet with manual feeding of the top sheet and can later be upgraded with additional automation.

For Claus, flexibility is one of the most important requirements.

Customers want to handle different board thicknesses, grammages, and formats while maintaining accurate registration. That precision becomes particularly important when laminated sheets move into die-cutting and gluing, where even small alignment errors can create downstream problems.

And the production range is broad.

A smaller operation may begin with a semi-automatic solution producing several hundred sheets per hour, while high-volume corrugated and packaging companies can move into fully automated Lamina systems capable of up to 8,000 sheets per hour.

Lamina also brings data into the process through Lamina 4.0, enabling production information from compatible systems to be integrated into a wider Industry 4.0 environment.

From companies taking their first step into laminating to industrial packaging producers running tens of thousands of sheets every day, the objective is the same:

Better registration. Less manual handling. More automation.

Watch Pat McGrew’s conversation with Claus Bahr from Lamina System at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.

Doug Richards · Product Partner Line Manager · Fiery

A surprising amount of print production still starts with an email.

At PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, Pat McGrew meets Doug Richards from Fiery to see how Fiery Scribe can remove much of the manual work normally involved in turning those emails into production-ready jobs.

The traditional process is familiar. An operator opens the email, reads the customer instructions, downloads the attached PDF, imports it into the Fiery, interprets the specifications, sets copies, media, color, imposition and finishing — and only then can the job move toward production.

Fiery Scribe uses AI to shorten that process dramatically.

A customer can simply send an email describing what they want — perhaps 25 black-and-white booklets — and attach the PDF. Scribe interprets the request, applies the relevant job properties and sends the file directly into Fiery Command WorkStation, ready for the operator to review.

The human is still in control.

If information is missing or something needs clarification, the operator can see both the original request and the settings Scribe has applied, make adjustments and communicate back with the customer.

For busy print environments where dozens of jobs arrive through email every day, removing repetitive job-entry clicks can create a significant productivity gain. Doug describes one early user returning to an inbox containing 40 untouched job requests and using Scribe to quickly move those emails into the Fiery workflow instead of manually recreating each job.

Fiery Scribe supports selected FS500 Pro/FS500 servers and later and is available as a licensed application within Command WorkStation.

Email in.

Job ticket created.

Operator checks it.

Print.

Watch Pat McGrew's conversation with Doug Richards from Fiery at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.

Ileana L Barber · Global Portfolio Marketing · Xerox

English text below the Spanish: En PRINTING United 2026, en Las Vegas, conversamos con Ileana Barber, de Xerox, para conocer cómo la compañía está ampliando las posibilidades de colores especiales en su portafolio de producción Proficio. Las Proficio PX300 y PX500 fueron presentadas el año pasado, llevando la calidad de imagen de Xerox y las capacidades Beyond CMYK al segmento de producción media. Para 2026, Xerox amplía estas posibilidades con nuevos colores especiales, como oro, plata y blanco, lo que permite lograr efectos metálicos, aplicaciones premium e impresión sobre materiales oscuros o transparentes. El rosa fluorescente ya permite ampliar la gama de colores y reproducir con mayor precisión los tonos difíciles. Al agregar Oro, Plata, Blanco y Transparente, los impresores pueden crear aplicaciones que tradicionalmente requerían procesos adicionales, pero ahora dentro de un entorno digital y rentable incluso para tirajes cortos. Una de las grandes novedades de PRINTING United es la nueva Xerox Proficio PX700 FLX. Esta prensa de producción de seis colores alcanza hasta 120 páginas por minuto e incorpora el nuevo verde fluorescente. Combinado con rosa fluorescente, amplía considerablemente la gama disponible y mejora la reproducción de colores brillantes inspirados en RGB, cada vez más utilizados por diseñadores. Para Ileana, la historia consiste en ofrecer mayor flexibilidad en distintos niveles de producción. Desde las PX300 y PX500 hasta la nueva PX700 FLX, Xerox continúa ampliando las posibilidades de Beyond CMYK, combinando color especial, automatización y productividad. Más colores. Más aplicaciones. Más oportunidades para agregar valor más allá de CMYK. Mira la conversación con Ileana Barber de Xerox en PRINTING United 2026 en Las Vegas. -- English: At PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, we met with Ileana Barber from Xerox to discuss how the company is expanding specialty color across its Proficio production portfolio. The Proficio PX300 and PX500 were introduced last year, bringing Xerox image quality and Beyond CMYK capabilities into the mid-production segment. For 2026, Xerox is expanding those opportunities with new specialty colors, including Gold, Silver, and White, giving printers more ways to produce metallic effects, premium applications, and work on dark or transparent media. Fluorescent Pink already helps extend the achievable color gamut and reproduce difficult colors more accurately. Add Gold, Silver, White and Clear, and printers can create applications that traditionally required additional processes or equipment — but now within a digital, short-run production environment. The bigger news at PRINTING United is the new Xerox Proficio PX700 FLX. The six-color production press runs at up to 120 pages per minute and introduces Fluorescent Green. Combined with Fluorescent Pink, the new toner significantly expands the available gamut and improves the reproduction of bright RGB-inspired colors that designers increasingly use in digital artwork. For Ileana, the story is about giving printers more flexibility across different production levels. From mid-production with the PX300 and PX500 to the higher-volume PX700 FLX, Xerox is expanding Beyond CMYK capabilities while keeping automation, productivity and application development at the center. More colors. More applications. And more opportunities to add value beyond conventional CMYK. Watch the conversation with Ileana Barber from Xerox at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.

Hans Gerhard Solterbeck · Managing Director · Max Daetwyler

English text below the Spanish description:
En el último día de PRINTING United 2026 en Las Vegas, conversamos con Hans Saltenbeck, de Max Daetwyler de México, sobre Atexco y el creciente interés por la tecnología inkjet industrial china en México y Latinoamérica.

Max Daetwyler de México cuenta con más de 30 años de experiencia en la industria gráfica y representa un amplio portafolio de tecnologías para rotograbado, flexografía, offset, preprensa e impresión digital. Atexco se ha convertido en un componente importante de esa oferta, especialmente a medida que las empresas de impresión comercial y de empaque avanzan hacia una mayor producción digital. Max Daetwyler de México incluye oficialmente a Atexco entre las marcas que representa.

Hans explica que Atexco ofrece sistemas inkjet de hoja y bobina en diferentes formatos, tanto monocromáticos como a color, combinando alta productividad con tecnología de tinta a base de agua.

Pero uno de los aspectos más interesantes de la propuesta de Atexco es su economía.

La inversión en equipos resulta competitiva frente a muchas alternativas tradicionales y, gracias al desarrollo y la fabricación propia de tintas, también puede ofrecer costos de producción atractivos. Para aplicaciones como libros, impresión comercial y otros trabajos de alto volumen, esto puede significar un retorno de la inversión más rápido.

Hans también destaca que introducir tecnología china en Latinoamérica requiere mucho más que un buen precio.

Max Daetwyler ha invertido en técnicos capacitados y en un inventario local de refacciones en México, lo que le permite realizar instalaciones, capacitación, mantenimiento y servicio directamente en la región.

Tecnología, productividad y precio son fundamentales.

Pero sin un servicio técnico local que los respalde, la ecuación no está completa.

Mira la conversación con Hans Saltenbeck, de Max Daetwyler de México, en el stand de Atexco durante PRINTING United 2026 en Las Vegas.

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On the final day of PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, we meet Hans Saltenbeck from Max Daetwyler de México to talk about Atexco and the growing interest in Chinese industrial inkjet technology across Mexico and Latin America.

Max Daetwyler de México has been active in the graphic arts industry for more than 30 years and represents a broad portfolio of technologies across gravure, flexo, offset, prepress and digital printing. Atexco is now an important addition to that portfolio, particularly as commercial and packaging printers continue their transition toward digital production. Max Daetwyler de México officially lists Atexco among the manufacturers it represents.

Hans explains that Atexco offers sheetfed and roll-fed inkjet systems in several formats, including monochrome and color configurations, with high production speeds and water-based inkjet technology.

But perhaps the most interesting part of the Atexco proposition is economics.

The equipment investment is positioned competitively compared with many established alternatives, while Atexco's own development and production of ink can also create an attractive running-cost model. For customers producing books, commercial print and other high-volume applications, that can translate into a faster return on investment.

And Hans emphasizes that selling Chinese technology into Latin America requires more than an attractive purchase price.

Max Daetwyler has invested in locally trained technicians and spare-parts inventory in Mexico so installations, training, maintenance and service can be handled locally. That support infrastructure is particularly important as Atexco installations begin reaching more customers in the region.

Technology, productivity and price matter.

But without local service behind them, the equation isn't complete.

Watch the conversation with Hans Saltenbeck from Max Daetwyler de México at the Atexco booth at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.

Michelle Weir · General Manager · 52 Industrial

Bringing a new production inkjet platform to the U.S. market is a big undertaking — especially when the manufacturer is well-established internationally but still relatively new to many American printers. At PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, Pat McGrew meets with Michelle Weir from 52 Industrial to discuss why the company is bringing Atexco’s VegaPress production inkjet technology to North America. For Michelle, the answer is simple: the market needs more choice. Production inkjet has matured enormously, but many systems have also become larger, more complex and increasingly feature-rich. Not every printer needs every feature — or wants the investment, footprint and infrastructure that sometimes come with them. The Atexco VegaPress takes a different approach. The platform uses Kyocera piezo printheads, water-based pigment inks, and is available in 440 mm and 660 mm web widths, with mono and full-color configurations. Atexco specifies speeds of up to 150 meters per minute and a resolution of up to 1200 × 1200 dpi. But Michelle stresses that 52 Industrial isn’t simply introducing another press. The objective is to build a complete production platform around it, combining the appropriate workflow in front of the press and finishing behind it without forcing customers into one manufacturer’s ecosystem. And service came first. 52 Industrial has established an independent authorized U.S. service network, with critical spare parts and printheads warehoused domestically before installations begin. For Michelle, that is essential. An attractive press means very little if customers cannot keep it running. A different investment level. A different ink-cost model. Open workflow and finishing choices. And perhaps most importantly, another choice for production inkjet buyers. Watch Pat McGrew’s conversation with Michelle Weir from 52 Industrial at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.

Oscar Vidal · Global Director, Product & Strategy Large Format Productions · HP

At PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, Wayne Beckett meets Oscar Vidal from HP for a look at something new: AI moving directly into the printer.

The new HP Latex R530 AI Printer combines HP's compact hybrid platform with edge AI capabilities designed to simplify everyday production decisions.

One example is print-mode selection.

Once the job reaches the printer, the onboard system can analyze the file together with media and production characteristics and recommend the appropriate print settings. Instead of relying entirely on an experienced operator to decide how many passes or which print mode should be used, the printer can increasingly help make that decision itself.

For Oscar, that is particularly interesting for smaller and medium-sized PSPs where experienced operators may not always be available.

The R530 itself is designed as a compact hybrid platform capable of switching between flexible roll-fed materials and rigid substrates. It handles media up to 1.6 meters wide and 5 cm thick and can print applications ranging from self-adhesive vinyl and textiles to foamboard, aluminum composite, wood, and glass.

HP PrintOS Production Hub also plays an important role upstream, where AI can already assist with tasks such as image enhancement before the job reaches production.

But perhaps the most interesting point is that this is only the beginning.

With AI processing now available at the printer itself, HP can continue adding new capabilities and use cases over time.

AI isn't simply sitting beside the production workflow anymore.

It's beginning to become part of the machine.

Watch Wayne Beckett's conversation with Oscar Vidal from HP at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.

Colin Sinclair McDermott · Captain · The Online Print Coach

As PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas approaches its final hours, Wayne Beckett catches up with Colin Sinclair McDermott — The Online Print Coach and captain of this year’s PRINTING United All Stars. The All Stars program brings together familiar faces from across the industry to help promote the show, share experiences and connect exhibitors and visitors. Colin says this year’s team included returning members as well as several new “rookies” — although most are already very well known throughout print. But Colin is wearing another important hat in Las Vegas. PRINTING United 2026 has also been the North American launchpad for Print Mastermind, Colin’s peer-to-peer learning community for print business owners and leaders. Across eight round-table sessions in the Spill the Ink District, attendees have been discussing subjects including business growth, sales, marketing, systems, leadership and personal development. (printing-connect.online) The concept is deliberately different from a traditional seminar. There are no long presentations and no sales pitches. Instead, printers sit around the table, share the challenges they are facing and learn from the experiences of others who may already have solved similar problems. For Colin, that community is increasingly becoming international. His work as The Online Print Coach has taken him to events around the world, and Print Mastermind is designed to continue those conversations between exhibitions through online learning, coaching and peer support. (theonlineprintcoach.com) And Las Vegas isn’t the end of the journey. Next stop is The Print Show in Birmingham, where Print Mastermind Live will continue with multiple sessions throughout the event. (theprintshow.co.uk) Watch Wayne Beckett’s conversation with Colin Sinclair McDermott at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.

Daniel Corwin · Sales Manager · Rollem

What better place than Las Vegas to launch a machine dedicated to producing playing cards?

At PRINTING United 2026, Wayne Beckett meets Daniel Corwin from Rollem International for a look at Cardistry — Rollem’s next-generation automated platform for playing cards, trading cards and collectible card production.

The concept is impressive in its simplicity: put printed sheets in at one end and receive verified, packaged decks at the other.

Cardistry feeds the printed sheet, cuts it in two directions, collects and collates the individual cards, rounds the corners and verifies that every card in the deck is present and in the correct sequence. From there, the finished deck can continue directly into packaging.

At PRINTING United, Rollem demonstrates inline boxing, where the carton is formed around the completed deck before being glued and delivered as a finished product.

And all of this can be operated by one person.

Cardistry is available in Single Line and Double Line configurations, with the faster system capable of producing up to 60 completed packs per minute. The system can also be integrated with wrapping, banding and other downstream packaging options.

For card manufacturers, the value is not only speed. Combining cutting, collating, verification and packaging removes several separate production steps, reduces manual handling and helps ensure that every finished pack contains exactly what it should.

Rollem has decades of experience in playing and trading card finishing, but Cardistry takes that expertise another step toward fully automated production.

Printed sheet in.

Finished deck out.

And in Las Vegas, that seems particularly appropriate.

Watch Wayne Beckett’s conversation with Daniel Corwin from Rollem International at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.

William Crabtree · Owner & President · TampaPrinter.com / PrinterBridge

On the third and final day of PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, Morten B. Reitoft meets longtime industry friend Will Crabtree at the 4over booth to discuss PrinterBridge — a platform designed to provide print shops with an entire online business environment in one place.

PrinterBridge combines e-commerce, CRM, workflow management, and other tools needed to run and grow a print business. Customers can order online, while the printer decides how each job should be produced.

That flexibility is important.

A job can be sent to 4over for fulfillment, produced internally, or routed to another supplier. In other words, the platform doesn't force the printer into a single production model — it gives them the infrastructure to sell more while maintaining control over how the work is produced.

For Will, that is where PrinterBridge becomes particularly interesting.

He has spent years running TampaPrinter.com and knows first-hand the frustration of combining separate storefronts, CRM systems, billing tools, and production workflows. Much of what has gone into PrinterBridge comes directly from those real-world experiences — essentially building the system he wishes he had when he started.

The platform has now been rebuilt from the ground up, and PRINTING United provided an opportunity to introduce the latest generation directly to printers and the wider 4over team.

And at $99 per month, the idea is to make serious web-to-print and business management tools accessible even to smaller print shops that may not have the budget or internal resources for large enterprise software systems.

Built from real print-shop experience.

Designed to help printers sell online.

And flexible enough to let them decide where the work gets produced.

Watch Morten B. Reitoft's conversation with Will Crabtree about PrinterBridge at the 4over booth at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.

Steven Antoni · Director of Sales, Americas · Aurigma

On the final day of PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, Wayne Beckett meets Steven Antoni from Customer’s Canvas to talk about web-to-print — and why getting started doesn’t have to become an enormous IT project.

Customer’s Canvas has been developing personalization and web-to-print technology for around a decade, but Steven is quick to explain that it isn’t simply another online editor.

The platform combines a range of tools designed to make complex products easier for customers to configure and order online while allowing PSPs to connect those orders into their existing production environments.

That can include personalized products, direct mail, variable-data applications and more complex projects where the customer needs guidance through the ordering process.

Integration is naturally fundamental.

Customer’s Canvas is API-driven, allowing it to connect with e-commerce platforms and other systems already being used by the printer rather than forcing the PSP to rebuild its complete infrastructure around another isolated application.

But Wayne raises one of the biggest barriers to web-to-print: setup.

When printers start thinking about thousands of products, substrates, templates and configurations, the project can quickly become overwhelming. Steven’s advice is to avoid trying to launch everything at once. Start with the strongest products or the market opportunity you want to address first, get that working, and expand from there.

Customer’s Canvas is also introducing AI-assisted tools designed to simplify template creation and reduce some of the manual work required during implementation.

Because web-to-print only creates value when customers can actually use it — and when the printer can get it into production without creating another layer of complexity.

Watch Wayne Beckett’s conversation with Steven Antoni from Customer’s Canvas at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.

Veronica Carlson · Marketing Director · Fiery

At PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, Pat McGrew catches up with Fiery to answer a surprisingly important question: What exactly is Fiery today?

For decades, Fiery has been synonymous with digital front ends, RIP technology and color management. But the company has expanded significantly and can now be found across commercial print, large format, industrial production, direct-to-film, direct-to-garment and, following the acquisition of Inèdit, textile and apparel.

That broader portfolio reflects what is happening with Fiery's customers as well.

Printers are diversifying, dealers are supporting more technologies, and workflows increasingly need to connect applications that once existed in completely separate production environments.

Fiery is now part of Epson, but continues operating independently and maintaining the OEM relationships that have always been fundamental to its business.

And AI is becoming increasingly important.

Fiery Scribe tackles one very practical problem: jobs arriving by email. Instead of an operator manually opening the message, interpreting the customer's instructions, downloading files and creating the job, Scribe can use AI to extract the information and prepare the job automatically.

Fiery JobFlow Pro takes automation further, analyzing incoming files and intelligently directing them into the appropriate prepress workflow. Combined with developments such as AI-assisted editing in ImageViewer, the objective isn't AI for the sake of AI — it is reducing clicks, removing repetitive work and helping operators keep production moving.

For Fiery, the future is about integration, automation, color and intelligence across an increasingly diverse print environment.

Not just beside the press.

Increasingly, everywhere in the print room.

Watch Pat McGrew's conversation with Fiery at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.

Maggie Curry · Nation Sales Manager, Production Printing Systems · RISO

At PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, Wayne Beckett meets Maggie Curry from RISO to talk about the company's latest generation of cut-sheet inkjet — the new ComColor GN Series. RISO has decades of experience in cut-sheet inkjet, and the GN Series builds on that history with higher speeds, improved paper transport and stronger color reproduction. The GN9830 reaches up to 180 pages per minute, while the GN7630 offers five-color production at up to 160 pages per minute. For Maggie, however, the real RISO story remains speed, uptime, reliability and simplicity. RISO has found a particularly strong position in transactional and print-to-mail environments, where output needs to be cold, flat and dry and where reliability can matter more than chasing the highest graphic-arts resolution. That also means RISO often sits alongside much larger production inkjet systems rather than necessarily replacing them. The devices can handle dedicated production runs, reprints and other applications where a compact cut-sheet inkjet system makes operational and economic sense. RISO is also working increasingly closely with partners such as BlueCrest, integrating its print technology into larger mail-production environments. And despite years of discussion about communication moving entirely digital, Maggie still sees significant demand from industries such as healthcare, insurance and financial services where printed communication remains important — and in many cases required. RISO knows the applications it wants to serve. And the GN Series is designed to do those jobs faster, reliably and with a relatively small footprint. Watch Wayne Beckett's conversation with Maggie Curry from RISO at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.

Mary Ann Rowan · CXO · Solimar Systems

At PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, Wayne Beckett catches up with Mary Ann Rowan, CXO at Solimar Systems, to talk about a partnership that continues to grow: Solimar and RISO.

The relationship is straightforward. RISO provides the production inkjet hardware, while Solimar sits in front of it with workflow software designed to optimize PDF files, automate production and keep the presses running efficiently. RISO has been a North American reseller of the Solimar Chemistry Platform since 2022.

For Mary Ann, PDF optimization remains one of Solimar's strongest capabilities.

A PDF may look fine on screen but still contain structural problems, unnecessary resources, color issues or other elements that slow down a production device. Solimar's ReadyPDF technology analyzes and optimizes those files before they reach the press, helping customers improve throughput and avoid unnecessary interruptions.

And the company continues to expand beyond traditional workflow automation.

Solimar has introduced AI-based tools into its own environment, including Diego, an assistant trained on Solimar and industry knowledge, while partner Hansen360 supports AI-driven workflow development without exposing sensitive customer data.

2026 is also a special year for Solimar, celebrating 35 years in production print and digital communications. From PDF optimization and job tracking to automation, reporting and digital delivery, the Chemistry Platform continues to evolve around one objective: making existing print infrastructure work better.

For printers, that can be just as important as buying another press.

Watch Wayne Beckett's conversation with Mary Ann Rowan from Solimar Systems at the RISO booth at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.

Cj Urban · Sales Specialist · Inland Group

Automation becomes interesting when you can measure what it actually gives back.

At PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, Pat McGrew meets C.J. Urban, Vice President of Operations at Inland Group, at the CAI booth to discuss the company's transition to ECO3 APOGEE — and how connecting prepress more closely with Pace MIS has changed everyday production.

Inland previously used Kodak Prinergy, but when the company added HP Indigo production and needed stronger integration between offset, toner and digital, C.J. began looking for another workflow environment.

APOGEE quickly became interesting.

One of the first benefits was color consistency. Inland can now move work between offset presses, HP Indigo, and Konica Minolta toner production while maintaining color closely enough that, as C.J. puts it, putting the sheets side by side makes it difficult to identify which technology produced each sheet.

But automation is where the economics become particularly interesting.

Preflight and imposition are handled within APOGEE, and jobs containing hundreds of pages that previously could require hours of preparation can now be imposed and prepared in around 20 minutes. That gives Inland production capacity back without simply adding more people.

The integration with Pace is equally important. ECO3 and CAI have been working specifically on connecting MIS and APOGEE so job information can move directly into prepress while production and cost information can flow back into the business system.

And Inland isn't finished.

The next objective is increasingly hands-off customer approval. A customer uploads the file, APOGEE preflights and imposes it, creates the approval, and allows the customer to approve, reject or replace pages without requiring somebody inside Inland to manually manage every step.

That is ultimately where workflow automation creates its value.

Not automation because software is interesting — but because hours are freed up in production, capacity increases, and employees can concentrate on the jobs that actually require human knowledge.

Watch Pat McGrew's conversation with C.J. Urban from Inland Group at the ECO3 / CAI booth at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.

Lemaz Sanchez · CEO · PlanProphet

At PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, Pat McGrew meets Lemay Sanchez, CEO and Co-Founder of PlanProphet, for two conversations in one: how printers can grow customer relationships more systematically — and how the industry can attract the next generation.

PlanProphet describes itself as a customer growth platform for print businesses. CRM, sales automation, marketing automation and customer communication come together around one objective: helping printers understand and grow the complete customer lifecycle.

And PlanProphet doesn't necessarily require printers to replace the systems they already use.

The platform integrates with numerous estimating and MIS systems, online storefronts and accounting platforms, allowing order information to flow into PlanProphet and give sales and customer-service teams a clearer view of what is happening with each customer.

For smaller and medium-sized printers, that can be particularly valuable. Many businesses still manage opportunities through spreadsheets, notes, email and knowledge stored in individual employees' heads. Lemay actually likes those environments because the improvement from introducing structure and automation can be immediate.

The objective isn't to make printers become software experts.

It's to automate repetitive customer-management tasks, identify opportunities and help companies extract more value from the customers and equipment they already have.

But Pat and Lemay also talk about something much more personal: Ink Runs Deep.

PlanProphet created a limited-edition, American-made varsity jacket celebrating the culture of print, with 100% of net proceeds supporting scholarship programs for young people entering the printing and graphic communications industry.

For Lemay, attracting new people is one of the industry's most important challenges. Print needs young people who see technology, automation, creativity and business opportunity — and recognize that this is an industry where they can build a future.

Grow the customers we already have.

And invest in the people who will take print forward.

Watch Pat McGrew's conversation with Lemay Sanchez from PlanProphet at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.

Gieslle Robeson · Senior Product Marketing Manager · Fiery

At PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, Pat McGrew meets Gieslle from Fiery for a first look at a new capability in Fiery ImageViewer — Object Editor. Anyone working in production knows the problem. A file has already reached the Fiery, it has been RIPped, and then somebody notices that one element isn't quite right. Traditionally, that could mean sending the job back to prepress, reopening the original file, making the correction in an application such as Photoshop, resubmitting the file, and re-RIPping it. Object Editor is designed to shorten that process. Fiery ImageViewer already allows operators to inspect RIPped files at full resolution and make color adjustments directly at the DFE. With the new Object Editor, AI-based technology can identify individual objects within the rasterized page, allowing the operator to select a specific element and apply a targeted color correction without affecting surrounding elements. That means a background, image, or other element can potentially be adjusted directly in production while the job remains on the Fiery server. And importantly, the correction isn't simply lost after printing. The edited job remains available in Fiery Command WorkStation, allowing operators to return to it, review the changes, and reuse the corrected version when necessary. For busy production environments receiving large numbers of jobs through web-to-print or automated workflows, avoiding unnecessary trips back to prepress can save valuable time and keep presses moving. Object Editor will be introduced with Fiery's next-generation FS800 Pro platform, making it another example of how AI is being used not as a headline, but to solve a very specific production problem. See the problem. Select the object. Fix it. Print. Watch Pat McGrew's conversation with Gieslle from Fiery at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.

Lisa Oakleaf · Director, Global Software Product Management · RICOH

At PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, Pat McGrew meets Lisa Oakleaf from Ricoh to talk about what may still be one of the company's best-kept secrets: workflow.

Ricoh is obviously known for its production printing equipment, but the conversation around software has changed significantly. Instead of presenting individual workflow products and asking customers where they might fit, Ricoh is increasingly starting with the customer's actual production environment.

How does the job arrive? How is it onboarded? What happens in the MIS? How does it move through prepress and preparation? Where are the bottlenecks? How much capacity is available? And how can production data be used to continuously improve the business?

For Lisa, that's an important change.

The solution to a production problem isn't necessarily another Ricoh product. It may be professional services, integration between existing systems, a partner technology or a combination of several technologies working together.

The focus is increasingly on the outcome rather than the product.

And customers are changing as well.

For years, workflow was sometimes something discussed after the printing equipment had been selected. Today, Lisa sees printers increasingly starting the conversation with software, automation and integration because the hardware itself has become so capable.

Skilled employees are also becoming harder to find, and much of the knowledge that traditionally resided in the heads of experienced operators needs to be captured in workflows, automation, and data.

That leads naturally to AI.

But Lisa makes an important distinction: before printers can extract meaningful value from AI, they need to understand and organize their data. Production information sitting in isolated systems won't suddenly become useful simply because an AI layer is added on top.

The first step is therefore understanding the workflow, connecting the systems, and building a meaningful data strategy.

Then AI can become genuinely useful rather than simply another industry buzzword.

At PRINTING United, Ricoh has deliberately placed workflow much closer to the center of its story, showing how hardware, software, services and partner technologies can work together across an entire production environment.

Because increasingly, buying a faster press isn't enough.

The real question is how efficiently you can get work through the entire factory.

Watch Pat McGrew's conversation with Lisa Oakleaf from Ricoh at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.

Erik Norman · President · SwissQprint · America

On the final day of PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas, Morten B. Reitoft meets Erik Norman, President of swissQprint America, to talk about customers, technology — and why the relationship after the sale matters just as much as the printer itself.

The show has been busy for swissQprint, and one customer provided a particularly nice surprise. A long-standing client who originally planned to purchase one Karibu roll-to-roll printer returned to the booth and decided to buy two.

For Erik, that says something important about trust.

INKISH recently visited 40 Visuals in Michigan, where swissQprint technology is used to produce demanding work for high-end brands. What stood out wasn't only the print quality and productivity, but how highly the customer spoke about the swissQprint applications and service teams.

And Erik believes that is fundamental.

The printer itself is ultimately a tool. The real value comes when technology, applications knowledge, service, and customer support combine to help the PSP produce reliably, solve problems, and develop profitable new applications.

swissQprint is often associated with exceptional quality and specialty work, but Erik also stresses that these are very much everyday production machines. They need to handle the bread-and-butter work that keeps a wide-format business running while also opening opportunities for higher-margin applications.

That combination is becoming increasingly important as customers look for fewer devices that can handle a broader range of work.

Premium applications when required.

High-volume everyday production when needed.

And a support team that helps make both profitable.

Watch Morten B. Reitoft's conversation with Erik Norman from swissQprint America at PRINTING United 2026 in Las Vegas.

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.

Kevin Loos · VP Sales & International Business · MCS

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.

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