Tech

Courier Graphics is located in Phoenix, Arizona, and is yet another amazing printing company. When entering the production, you'll see the huge 32-page manroland web-offset press, which is great to see in work, and funny to see how small a Heidelberg XL-106 - 8-color suddenly is compared to the manroland - however, the combination is super great for a company that focuses on HIGH-quality magazines, catalogs, etc. We are visiting Courier Graphics and President Scott Carritt, as the company recently invested in a new MIS/ERP solution from PrintVis, which has given Courier Graphics productivity gains and many other advantages, which we talk about in this INKISH film.

Franz Kriechbaum is the CEO of manroland GOSS, and as we speak to him in this interview, the future looks bright. Good order books, a clear strategy, and a profitable future on new and refurbishing machines in the market, including competing brands. Also, a move into packaging is among the ingredients that manroland GOSS has in the pipeline for its future. Franz Kriechbaum also talks about how manroland GOSS had used similar services on their machines before the term was invented. Therefore, the company has excellent data on its customers securing in-time services and upgrades. Nice to hear, and though production is lower than in the past, the assembly hall was busy while we were visiting the company. Enjoy!

An article published on INKISH.NEWS about an extended collaboration between Horizon International and Ultimate TechnoGraphics got our attention, and we reached out to both parties to hear more. Here is the first (of two) where CEO Julie Watson, Ultimate TechnoGraphics, explains that Horizon and Ultimate TechnoGraphics have worked together for a long time - and without saying anything specific, the new collaboration could mean tighter integration and new products released. We are excited, and though not specific - enjoy this interview with Julie Watson!

When planning trips that involve many printing companies in many states or countries, we, from time to time, get last-minute cancelations as a PSP can be too busy, machines are not ready, or simply days in between without work. This time, Editor Morten B. Reitoft had a stop-over in Louisville before heading back to Denmark, and we called Steve Wuerdeman from HP, as he lives in Louisville, to hear if he could recommend a printing site to visit - and lucky us - we got to meet Brandon Boyers and Jen Von Almen from Vivid Impact in Jeffersontown. A super interesting company with so many capabilities, from offset to digital, and the production of beautiful applications like covers for vinyl albums to children's books with amazing effects, a company that once again shows how things can be done differently. What you see is a printing company, but speaking to Brandon Boyers, you realize that the production is merely a tool enabling the real business - data-driven communication, where print is "just" a part of it. But listen for yourself and enjoy!

Arriving at the Windles Group headquarters in Thame indicated that this printing company is above most - and we weren't disappointed. Windles Group has specialized in the production of greeting cards and other, well, let's say, more complicated printed products that include covers and other products where you need to go the extra mile to get what you want. The brand new Koenig & Bauer Rapida 106 printing press is a perfector press. Still, it has built-in multiple curing systems - one is the AMS Spectral UV LED curing system, which we will hear and learn more about as the nice folks from AMS Spectral UV sponsor this INKISH film. The four curing systems on the press give Windles Group options to pick the right dryer or the right combination of driers to create stunning prints with PMS colors, foil, embossing, even metal dust, and more. Miles Podmore is the 3rd. Generation, head of production, has a new engineering degree and is now very pleased about his job, where he can combine his education with his passion for hands-on production. Super nice visit - and shout out to Jack Fischer - our new filmer - who filmed this project - Ziga still mastered the editing :-)

Somewhere in the always surprisingly huge Los Angeles, you'll find Ultimate Paperbox, a company specializing in packaging. The owner Janak Patel has been in the industry for years and has built a growing packaging printing company. In this film, we talk to him about his relationship with Koenig & Bauer. Besides going way back with the German manufacturer, Patel is still very focused on what they do now - and has invested in folding/gluer from Koenig & Bauer Iberica - and listening to Patel, we wouldn't be surprised to also see a Koenig & Bauer Durst Varijet at some point at the site. In the meanwhile - enjoy!

For good reasons, Label Apeel is one of the UK's most recognized label converters. Whiskey, Gin, and Luxury product labels are what the company is specialized in, and they are super good at. Awards, lifelong customers, and close collaboration with their suppliers. The ABG 'Bertha' is one of more ABG machines at Label Apeel, yet a very purpose-made machine that gives Label Apeel excellent opportunities to win award after award and, of course, satisfy demanding customers. This is our first film with James Quirk as reporter/editor and Jack Fisher as filmer - GREAT job, gents! LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helena-kellock-708346a7/

Visiting a company like ColorDynamics is an experience in itself. The entrance is impressive, and the company's design makes it interesting, with gardens, courtyards, and space. The history of ColorDynamics is also fascinating, as it was founded in Chicago but moved years ago to Allen in Dallas and has since grown through excellent management and acquisitions. We learned all this from Brian Stone and David Dey, along with how the company reduced their four wide-format digital printers to two new Agfa wide-format printers, delivering more than anticipated and higher quality. ColorDynamics is a fantastic printing company specializing in trading cards and providing solutions using their Heidelberg and HP presses and web-offset machines with tailor-made finishing - super lovely company!

Boone Graphics is located in Santa Barbara, about 2 hours drive from Los Angeles, and besides the traffic in LA, the rest of the tour was super nice. When we got to Boone Graphics, we were kindly received and got into a super nice meeting room with all types of print - and the rest of the day was interesting. Learning about how ChatGPT is used to write XML documents to be used with Ultimate TechnoGraphics Impostrip and Bindery was a surprise - but the story and how Boone Graphics navigates in the industry was just super nice. Enjoy! LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-tanner-313ba58/ Apology from the editor: As Boone Graphics ALSO uses both Impostrip and Bindery from Ultimate TechnoGraphics, Editor Morten B. Reitoft asked about the use of Impostrip Bindery but used the phrase ImpoBind, which obviously isn't the name - sorry for this - hereby disclaimed!

As part of our California Cruising tour, we visited Lahlouh in San Francisco. That was an interesting visit, not only because of the company's technology - ranging from Xerox over Heidelberg to EFI, Horizon, and tons of other equipment but also because Lahlouh is a truly family-operated and owned printing company. The company has a commitment to its customers is second-to-none. With an ever-optimistic approach and willingness to develop new products and services, Lahlouh is in the hotspot of why print has a long and amazing future. Enjoy! LinkedIn Profiles: Catherine Lahlouh https://www.linkedin.com/in/lahlouh/ Tony Lahlouh https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-lahlouh-49b20535/

Kerry Labatt has been with Prisma Graphic in Phoenix for years but with five different positions/roles and has thrived with the company's growth. Visiting Prisma Graphic is truly interesting - the shielding between the entrance and reception area to the customer service people is one long arc with super nice samples of print done by Prisma Graphic - and they are GOOD. The company excels in several types of print, from offset to web-offset, to various types of digital print from inkjet to toner, and the facility is WELL laid out. We are visiting Prisma Graphic as they use Hunkeler equipment and their Screen 520 Truejet device - and Hunkeler kindly sponsored this film. Super nice company, and great to see a company that keeps investing in technology. In the film, you will learn how Kerry Labatt sees investments and when the time is right to do new ones! Enjoy!

Editor Morten B. Reitoft sat down with Daragh Whelan a few months ago. Whelan has a lot of experience in the label/flexible market and has managed one of the larger UK-based label-converting companies, taking them from one position in the market to the next. Now he works for BOBST and has the title of OneECG Process Manager. OneECG is a BOBST term, but nevertheless extremely interesting to learn from, as the flexo-technology evolves so fast and in such a quality that ECG or extended color gamut is becoming a game changer in the industry. Faster setup times, a higher level of automation, and great opportunities for Converters to make more money. In this interview, Whelan shares his insights, and we are pretty sure you will both learn and enjoy.

This is a VERY interesting film - full disclaimer - I love it. Karis Copp interviewed Jordy Silva de Jong in a recent interview done at FESPA - and we simply had to talk with him about their project SignAgain. Probo is a large reseller-only wide-format production company in the Netherlands, and as so many companies experience - they produce waste from the production. Still, they also deliver products that often end up in landfills or are burned. Probo has now turned waste into a viable recycling venture called SignAgain, which takes PVC waste and recycles this into new boards with many great properties - and in this film, you can hear and see all about it. And pay attention to the Wonderland event Jordy Silva de Jong speaks about initially.

In this chat with Néstor Pascual from People & Technology, he explains the technology P&T delivers to the market, from test printers to printhead cleaning devices. At IST UV-Days, People & Technology will show their equipment to the attendees.

Meet Peter Varady from Pacer Print from California. This company started as a design company and became increasingly involved with production. Learn how Tilia Labs became an enabler for the company. Super story and a great example of how many ways into the industry are so different :-)

Fast, good & Cheap is the slogan of this truly dense printing company in the San Francisco Bay Area, where almost all types of print production are possible. RGMT offset press, HP Indigo, Xerox Iridesse, Fujifilm Wide Format, and tons of binding equipment from Horizon enable the company to deliver fast, well, and cheaply. The two Nag brothers have a background as software engineers at Intel but decided to start their own business year's ago - and here we are with PrintPapa in the Bay Area - amazing how much technology you can fit into premises this size. Great meeting the brothers :-) LinkedIn Profile: Shawn Nag: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-nag-4839508/ Pallob Nag: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pallob-nag-555254b/

What was supposed to be our California Cruising tour also took us to Dallas in Texas, and lucky us, as this allowed us to meet with Jim Singer from Brodnax21C. Brodnax is a General Commercial printing company with both digital and analog equipment. The company has specialized in trading cards and high-end printed products, and as they are an Eagle Systems customer, Mike King and Ellen Manning asked to stop by to see how they utilize the Eagle. And that was a great experience to see and understand why Jim and his team invested in cold foiling. Brodnax has also agreed to invest in a Landa Press in a new DURST vast format machine and has on order a new SCODIX 106 HD machine - and I understand from Jim Singer that even more signatures are on their way for more equipment. Efficiency and a firm belief in the future are what I see when visiting Brodnax - Super lovely people, and super great to see print striving.

At the Graphics Canada show, INKISH talked to the Head of Global Product Marketing and Product Life Cycle, Andrew Gunn from Xerox, about something called Genesis. The great thing about Genesis is that it has become part of the XEROX DNA as it's about how Xerox customers and their customers can become more profitable using the Beyond CMYK+ technology and in the interview part in the same film with Global Product Marketing Manager Billy Stojanovski, talk about another theme with Xerox, 'Better Together.' 'Better Together' is very much about utilizing different types of technology, so you, for example, use one type of technology for covers and another for content - to optimize your profit. INKISH believes most PSPs already understand this, but by emphasizing this once again, Xerox is taking the lead in educating customers - that gives an A in our minds :-)

Interket in Ommen, The Netherlands, is a label-printing company/converter that recently invested in LED-UV curing from IST. The advantages are many. No pre-warming before printing, a longer lifetime for the lamps, and considerably lower energy consumption. Production Manager Ronny Renker is happy and can't imagine investing in new machines that don't have LED-UVs. Great story about how better quality and better economics simultaneously go hand in hand with better environmental production!

Established in 1866 and strongly focused on customer satisfaction, investments in new technology, and curiosity driving Kohlhammer Druck into the future. Often CEO Steffen Franzisi says that's not difficult - which gives you great insight and understanding into why we have two ears and one mouth. Kohlhammer Druck is located in Stuttgart and serves a wealth of well-known brands in both offset and digital. Great company with friendly people and a strong belief in the future, and what we like the most - not afraid of investing in technology driving the company forward!

In the suburbs of Indianapolis, we met with Kevin Bennet from EZ Mailing. EZ mailing is a company focused mainly on political campaigns - a type of company you mainly see in the US. When you come to EZ Mailing, all the walls are covered with slogans and banners from all types of political campaigns. Slogans from elections of mayors and house members to school elections and election of the head of a fire brigade. The diversity is vast, and so is the production, which has both offset, digital, binding equipment, inkjet devices for addressing, a huge paper warehouse, and what drove us to EZ Mailing, an RMGT Series 9 offset printing press. Besides the current machine EZ Mailing has, the company has already ordered its first 9-series perfector press to support the Bennet experience growth. He is even foreseeing growth that could lead to yet a perfector press. Who says print is dying?

Durban is a major print hub on the east coast of South Africa - a couple of hours' flight from Cape Town and only one hour from Johannesburg. Impress Printers is, by all means, a full-service printing company with capabilities from web-offset and sheetfed offset to digital production of labels, cut-sheet, and inkjet roll-based printing. HP is 'living' their newly defined reality where indigos are placed side by side with a T-250 inkjet machine - and all machines are busy from schoolbooks produced on the T-series to posters, covers, postcards, and high-quality printed brochures printed on the numerous Indigos placed in air-conditioned rooms. The contrast to the offset production is sharp as the offset production is about getting volume produced; the HP technology is used for both fast turn-around products, but also short runs and print requiring personalization. Suhail Agjee, who operates Impress Printers with his father, is proud of what they have achieved. I would say a successful printer in South Africa with capabilities beyond most. Great story.

Schätzl Print Emotion is a German printing company that has been covered numerous times on INKISH - and for good reasons. We first visited the company because of an investment in Scodix. The second time because we did a lot of educational videos for the company in both German and English, and this time it's because Schätzl Print Emotion have invested in their first inkjet machine, namely the Canon iX-3200 - and that is, of course, interesting as Schätzl Print Emotion is a high-quality photobook producer (among other things), but also since the company since we visited the company last time has been acquired by Elanders. Lots of interesting perspectives, and as usual, Ulrich Schätzl is open-minded and speaks openly about the interesting perspectives he sees in the market. Enjoy! LinkedIn Profiles: Steven Asumang https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-asumang-3592a3161/

Drewsen Spezialpapiere is an almost 500 years old paper producer based outside Hannover, Germany. Amazing to see how the company has grown over the centuries and how important the company is to the city of Lachendorf. Generations have worked with the company, and the key to success for Drewsen is its specialty paper production. Paper is typically produced on demand and to the specifications required by customers. When BW Papersystems approached the company about the latest edition of the Questec family cut-stackers, the company could hardly believe the promises. 400 meters/minute on 40 GSM, perfect cut and stacked - but after some testing and further development, the machine is now installed and delivered on its promise - and Drewsen Spezialpapiere is very satisfied with the machine, as you can hear. The cut-stacker can also be used on a web-based printing machine and therefore have a broader audience than 'just' the paper industry. But see for yourself - quite impressive! LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthias-rauhut-a2a35066/