Kenneth Hanulec · VP Global Marketing · EFI · PRINTING United 2025
At Printing United Expo in sunny Orlando, Wayne Beckett from INKISH sat down with Kenneth Hanulec from EFI to talk about how the company is approaching this year’s busy and energetic show. “We love Printing United,” Kenneth said with a smile. “It’s a great community of people. It’s been super busy—day one was packed, and we’re halfway through day two and still running full speed. We’re just excited to be here.”
Wayne noted that the show seemed bigger and more vibrant than before, and Kenneth agreed. “It certainly feels like there’s more traffic,” he said. “We’ve seen people from Latin America, Canada, and a lot more from the West Coast than I expected. It’s really a broad mix of visitors.”
EFI’s booth was one of the largest on the floor, showcasing an extensive range of machines. When asked how conversations with PSPs were going, Kenneth explained that the focus was mainly on applications. “EFI is centered on three verticals—sign and display, packaging, and industrial textile,” he said. “All of our printers are designed to do two key things: maximize productivity and efficiency while driving the lowest cost per square foot, and enable new applications. Whether it’s clear ink, multilayer printing, or working with new substrates, it’s all about giving PSPs ways to boost profitability.”
Wayne remarked on the impressive range of substrates EFI printers can handle, from textiles to rigid materials. Kenneth laughed. “I tell people—and it makes engineers nervous—that we can print on almost anything. As long as it’s about 2 inches thick or less and the process is contactless, we can spray ink onto it and make a beautiful image. Whether it’s paper, film, metal, glass, wood, or plastic, inkjet technology is incredibly versatile.”
Asked if EFI has a “sweet spot” among its many printers, Kenneth replied, “I love all the children. We have over 40 printers available for commercial use across our three verticals. Here we’re showing hybrid and roll-to-roll technologies, and our partners have brought dedicated flatbed and hybrid systems as well. The strength of our portfolio is its breadth—whatever a customer’s capacity or productivity needs are, we’ve got a solution that fits.”
Wayne pointed out that EFI continues to partner with Fiery for front-end solutions. “Yes,” Kenneth said. “We’ve worked with Fiery for decades. Even though we’re now separate companies, Fiery still accounts for 99% of our digital front-end sales. They’re great partners, and we really value their technology.”
Turning to automation, Kenneth explained how EFI approaches it from both software and hardware perspectives. “When we talk about automation, it’s really twofold,” he said. “There’s software-based automation, which drives workflow efficiency, and then there’s hardware automation. Take our packaging solution, Nozomi—it can produce a thousand boards an hour, so you need automation to keep up with that. We’ve also launched EFI Insight, a cloud-based analytics tool that converts real-time data from the Nozomi printer into business intelligence. It helps customers improve efficiency, increase profitability, and even manage preventive maintenance. It’s still early days, but the potential is huge.”
Wayne asked whether robotics was also part of EFI’s roadmap. “Yes, we’re working on various automation programs,” Kenneth confirmed. “There’s nothing commercially available yet, but it’s an area we’re actively developing.”
As their conversation wrapped up, Wayne commented on how impressive the EFI portfolio looked. Kenneth nodded. “We have an excellent direct and indirect sales team, and we focus on solving real problems for our customers,” he said. “With such a wide portfolio, I’m confident we can help anyone who comes to us.”
Wayne smiled. “Kenneth, it’s been great talking to you. There’s still a day and a half left—by the time you leave, I’m sure all the machines will be sold.”
Kenneth laughed. “That’s always the plan.”
Sun October 26th
Chris Schowalter · Global Sales Director Sof...
At Printing United Expo in Orlando, Morten B. Reitoft from INKISH spoke with Chris Schowalter from Durst about his first year with the company and how the software division has evolved under his leadership. Chris joined Durst about a year ago, after working at Fiery. “At last year’s Printing United, I was only four days into the job,” he said with a laugh. “Change is difficult. It’s not just about learning the products—it’s about understanding the people and how things work. But the Durst team has been incredibly welcoming. I actually sent a note on my flight here to thank my colleagues for how open they’ve been. I never had to position myself internally; they were ready to collaborate from day one.” He explained that this openness has been a key factor in the progress the software division has made. “Of course, it’s a team effort, but I can say there’s a lot of me in what we’ve built this past year,” he said. “When I look around this booth, it’s not just a small software corner like you see with most hardware companies. We have our own large stand, a full team, and even a dedicated website that went live yesterday. It shows that Durst is serious about software as a core part of the business.” Chris described how Durst’s approach to software is based on openness and interoperability. “Durst started by investing in companies like Callas and by committing to openness,” he said. “We’re working with other OEMs and even showing that on the floor here. People were surprised to see an HP printer at a Durst booth, but that was deliberate. It’s our way of saying we’re open, we’re connected, and we mean it.” When asked if it had been a challenge to convince the organization to support this approach, Chris said he had expected internal resistance but was surprised by the support. “I thought it would be a tough conversation,” he said. “But there were open doors everywhere. The mindset was, ‘If this is what we want to do, let’s do it and mean it.’ That’s how Durst works—there’s no nonsense, just action.” He went on to describe the Open Software Initiative and how it ties into the company’s Smart Factory ecosystem. “We’ve built easy-to-understand packages that offer maximum functionality,” he said. “We didn’t want overly complex pricing or endless options. For example, Smart Shop and Lift—our web-to-print and ERP solutions—are sold directly because they involve long integration projects. But our new products, Prepare and Produce, are channel-ready and easy to implement. That’s what we’re launching here at the show.” Chris also spoke about the acquisition of Callas and how that strengthens Durst’s capabilities in PDF handling and automation. “We’ve brought in some fantastic people from Callas, and it’s expanding what we can offer,” he said. “When you look at the market, you see many third-party integration platforms like Cocco and Atomyx. We’re not trying to replace them; we’re embracing them. We have extremely powerful APIs across our products, and if a customer wants to integrate with Cocco, for instance, we support that. In fact, Cocco is here at our booth because we see them as a partner, not a competitor.” He emphasized that the goal is to make software integration easier, not more confusing. “We lead with value, not limitation,” Chris said. “We don’t tell customers they have to buy everything from us. They can choose what fits their needs. But once they see how well the modules connect, it often makes sense to use more of them. The key is flexibility.” Reflecting on the journey so far, Chris smiled. “This is just the first step,” he said. “It’s been a year of preparation, and now the real work begins. That’s the fun part.” Morten thanked him for the conversation, noting how the openness and innovation on display reflected Durst’s evolution from a printer manufacturer to a complete technology company. Chris nodded. “Exactly,” he said. “That’s what makes this so exciting.”