Can paper really influence productivity on your inkjet device? Well, according to Axel J Mangelsdorf from Crown Van Gelder, paper has a large impact on productivity AND quality. The uncoated paper from Crown Van Gelder has such a smooth surface that it almost feels like a coated paper, enabling higher print quality, but the paper is also engineered for speed. So listen to Axel J Mangelsdorf and get the latest update on new GSMs developed and how Crown Van Gelder is good for your inkjet press!

If you think your Sustainability journey starts with CO2, you are wrong. Sustainability is more complex, and we have decided to start a series of interviews with various stakeholders to understand the paper, the inks, the energy, the printing, the de-inking, the CO2 emissions during the production of print, as well as the equipment - Please welcome our first guest, Axel Fischer from Ingede - talking about what is de-inking and what is the actual process. Enjoy!

Grakom indbyder i samarbejde med Medit Consult til årets tekniske konference med oplæg fra en række danske og internationale fagspecialister. De senere år har vi været vidne til banebrydende forretningskoncepter, der grundlæggende tilbyder grafiske produkter, men som har vendt op og ned på den grafiske branche. De mest banebrydende grafiske forretningskoncepter baserer sig på et gennemautomatiseret workflow. Den grafiske branche har være udsat for disruption længe før, det ord blev daglig tale. Intet af det var imidlertid blevet realiseret, hvis ikke en lang række processer var blevet automatiseret. På konferencens indlæg belyses det forretningsmæssige potentiale af professionelle forretningsudviklere, krydret med cases fra virksomheder der har gjort det i praksis. Sideløbende ser konferencen indad i den grafiske virksomhed og sætter klassiske optimeringsgevinster som effektivisering, fejlminimering og kvalitetssikring i nyt lys. INKISH er mediapartner og vil dække konferencen. Læs mere og tilmeld dig på: http://grakom.dk/auto

It has been a busy year for Canadian Ultimate TechnoGraphics. New major upgrades to its Impostrip software, an entirely new nesting engine, new partner announcements, and Scalable software technology - as you can understand, good reason to talk to Raymond Duval. We will also meet Ray and his colleagues at PRINTING United to dig more into details, but this is, as always, great talking to him. Enjoy!

At Cardbox Packaging, automation begins before the first sheet reaches the press. A fully automated board-handling system supplies two Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 106 presses—a six-color and a seven-color configuration capable of running both conventional and UV inks. From printing, the sheets move into an extensive die-cutting department equipped with three MK Masterwork Mastermatrix machines. A new MK Masterwork Duopress adds hot foiling, die-cutting, and blanking in a single production process, significantly expanding the products and decorative effects Cardbox can offer its customers. The company has developed considerably since its early expansion from the main plant in Wolfsberg in 2011 and 2012. Business with key customers in the Czech Republic and the United States created new opportunities, while the acquisition of a facility in Pinkafeld, close to Vienna, strengthened Cardbox Packaging’s capabilities in glued packaging. Today, the group focuses on three strategic segments: sleeves, glued packaging solutions, and sustainable food-packaging products—particularly paper cups and lids. Food packaging has always been central to the Cardbox business, but sustainable cup-and-lid solutions could become one of its most important growth areas in the coming years. The market, however, has become increasingly challenging. Overcapacity, pricing pressure, changing supply conditions, and strong competitors from Eastern Europe are making life more difficult for small and medium-sized packaging companies operating in Western Europe. Survival and growth therefore require more than additional capacity. Companies must identify niches, develop specialized solutions, improve efficiency, and offer services that create genuine value for their customers. Innovation at Cardbox Packaging is not limited to major technological breakthroughs. It is an everyday process involving product development, small operational improvements, new services, and continuous experimentation with the possibilities offered by new equipment. The latest investments give Cardbox additional capacity and operational stability, but they also create opportunities the company is still exploring. Employees are training, testing, and learning how the new technology can answer changing customer requirements—often without customers being willing to pay more for the additional complexity. Automation and artificial intelligence will play an increasingly important role. Printed sheets are already being compared automatically with digital reference files, while digitalization is expanding into job preparation, estimating, analytics, and production control. For Cardbox Packaging, however, successful investment is not only about technology. It is also about partnership. New equipment inevitably creates new challenges, and packaging producers need suppliers that will continue working with them long after the installation is complete. The relationship between Cardbox Packaging, Heidelberg, and MK Masterwork is built on years of cooperation, shared experience, and trust between the people involved. Cardbox Packaging describes its central value as customer dedication: understanding what customers need and delivering products, services, and solutions that help make their businesses profitable. Efficiency, digitalisation, sustainability, and artificial intelligence are important parts of the company’s future—but so are its employees. Through its “We Care for You” philosophy, Cardbox focuses on training, development, working conditions, and giving employees and their families confidence in the future. The ambition is clear. By 2030, Cardbox Packaging aims to reach €100 million in revenue while maintaining sustainable profitability. Further acquisitions are already being considered, and additional investment is planned at the company’s US operation. Watch the film and visit Cardbox Packaging to see how technology, partnerships, sustainability, and people are being combined to prepare the company for its next stage of growth.

In this session Robert F. Godwin will share his insights into the following VERY exciting topics. Generic description of the philosophy, strategy and technology required to automate stages of print workflow. How automation can play into using Gamification for employees (philosophy). Business benefits in regard to efficiency and profitability. Business challenges in regard to technology resource to maintain automation.

Sendmoments is a German photo-products printing company specialized in the products of copy one. In this film, CMO Sven B. Binder from sendmoments.de explains how the company uses Ultimate TechnoGraphics in its production. Great film and good learn from - enjoy! LinkedIn Profile

This is ‘real people’ from Bennett Graphics, talking about how they found themselves where they are today. This is how Adam Seiz and Dan Still started considering massive changes to the software mix four years ago. This is how they switched their MIS, picked up Switch, NOPcommerce, and a handful of other tools, and in this session, Dan and Adam would like to discuss the thought process behind why we made our choices. Here are some of the points they will be touching: Knowing where you are at as a company in regards to technology and how to evaluate this properly. What types of tech is best for your particular company, and how to discover this? How to add “Best in Class” software while keeping your tech stack flexible B-to-B storefronts How to pick the right one? Are online B-to-B storefronts profitable? Can they be fully automated? Automation starts from the top down. Automation is EASY; people present issues with automation. How to introduce automation to a plant that has little or no automation When is it the right time, and what are the needs for custom development in automation, rather than buying a “Boxed” solution

Freddy Pieters from Enfocus is a very straightforward specialist. In this interview with editor Morten B. Reitoft, he reveals that many PSPs continue to see automation as difficult in their business. Enfocus has for years paved its way into thousands of printing companies with PitStop and later on Switch. The challenge is, of course, taking automation and workflow into the next step - it's a profitability opportunity and maybe the essential step to be on par with all the printing companies already there!

Once in a while, you meet printing companies that stand out from the crowd, and one of them is for sure Bennett Graphics in Atlanta, GA. The printing company is a family-owned company, and the first things that strike you when you enter the building are the awards. Every wall is covered with awards recognizing Bennett Graphics for its excellence in printing. That established the next thing is what makes the company stand out. The litho printing machine? No. The Scodix? No. The Highcon? No. HP Indigos? No. Since we are sponsored by Enfocus to talk with Adam Seiz about Enfocus Switch, of course, this is part of the success, but the people are the real differentiators. So when you meet dedication and a commitment on all levels, you understand how technology is used to utilize the work, the quality, the awards, and the special touch that makes Bennett Graphics not just famous in Georgia, but among customers in the entire US. In this film, we do, however, focus on workflow and automation, and Bennett Graphics is a transformation process moving from analogue to digital. One thing is the production. But the entire workflow where Enfocus Switch is used to connect the web-store-fronts to the production workflow, to the two-ways integration to the Tharstern MIS system, and to how the company also uses Switch to increase the productivity internally in sales/estimation/production. Adam Seiz is certain that Enfocus Switch is one of the technical key-elements in the success of Bennett Graphics, and when said by Adam Seiz, we believe him. Watch this - in our opinion - brilliant video from Atlanta. We are sure you can learn from it.

Thomas Torp is not only CEO for the Federation of Printers in Denmark (Grakom) but also a newly elected member of Intergraf's steering committee. We got a chance to talk with him at the recent conference in Denmark about 'automation'. The interview is in Danish.

Rafa Menendez, in this film, explains the benefit of PLASTGrommets products. All are targeted in the large format/signage industry. Based out of Spain and with a global reach, PLASTGrommet secures orders on products from material lifts, manual grommet and welding machines, and consumables to automated solutions. Rafa Menendez tells a story about a customer that became so effective with their PLASTGrommet automated solution that the bottleneck went from production to sales. Amazing story, and when you see/hear and understand the PLASTGrommet products, we are confident you will understand why! Enjoy the film.

Four Pees is finally revealing its new software platform - ATOMYX, and we are covering the event. During the day, we will share stories about the platform - what it does, its implications, and its potential. More than 100 people from Europe and the US are here to see, learn, and network and I wouldn't be surprised to sign up for the SDK kits that are available for the platform. Read more at www.atomyx.io

The owner. The CEO. The Boss, and despite all the titles, he is also the one who has the vision for where his new company and software, atomic, should be in the future. Promises are given, and expectations can be high, yet Tom Peire is humble - maybe because of his Belgian background? Maybe because he and his team recognize that this software COULD be a game-changer, and yet they want the results to speak for themselves. Make your mind up. Listen to Tom!

What are the impressions from Industry specialist Pat McGrew? Are there differences between the US and Europe? Pat McGrew also gave a presentation at the REACT24 event - but listen to her yourself :-)

David Zwang, speaker, consultant, and writer, gave a super nice presentation at the Atomyx event in Gent this morning. He spoke about the Cloud and whether it is a viable technology for workflow/automation. He also spoke about how the different Industry X versions change more and more rapidly, making it very visible to the audience how the world is changing and requiring faster and faster decisions. In this interview, we talk about whether the technology or the mindset is the real show stopper - but listen for yourself, and remember to enjoy!

We claim that Bernd Zipper is the number one in Europe, which he denies, but listen to him in this interview, you get a clear idea that his knowledge and experience are beyond most. Mass Customization is not just a word but the necessity of where print is developing. With interesting examples, like his shoes, his shirt, and his jacket, Bernd Zipper talks about mass customization - and if you want to know more, Online Print Symposium is the place: https://online-print-symposium.de/en/

It was a great pleasure to meet Toon Van Rossum in Gent, now as Product Manager for Atomyx. Many may remember Toon from the many interviews we have done with him while he worked for Enfocus - but now he is back in the printing industry responsible for Atomyx. In this interview, Toon speaks about the platform, but also how he bridges input from customers to developers. Enjoy!

Atomyx will add value to Omikai's MIS solution and offer more functionality to our customers, as Atomyx offers deeper and more than similar solutions in the market. CEO Mathias Erlandsson from OMIKAI is very pleased working with Atomyx and trusts the future relationship. Projects involving Atomyx are already in the pipeline!

The following is the truth and nothing but the truth - so listen - this is important. Ukrainian-based Cloudprinter develops online services connecting customers and printers globally. Besides delivering backends and frontends, and integrations also via Enfocus Switch, Cloudprinter delivers a set of SDKs and API documentation, and with that in hand, Atomyx was able to develop an app for the new platform enabling seamless integration between the two software. Imagine this could be between even more software, platforms, and applications; you get the scope of the potential with Atomyx, right? LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martijneier/

Back in the printing industry, Cindy Van Luyck is now positioning ATOMYX for the future. In this interview, we talk to her about being back in the industry after trying something completely different, but also how she and her team will communicate ATOMYX. This is, of course, part of our Launch Event coverage!

Tim Webster is the head of Demand Creation at Kornit, one of the people who decided to come and learn about Atomyx. In this interview, you will learn why Kornit believes Atomyx could be a solution for them and their customers!

David van Driessche is the CTO of Atomyx, and in this interview, David, among other things, talks about how difficult it is not to talk about a product you have worked on for a long time. Being the CTO of a software company, of course, requires input - lots of input. Enjoy!

Sometimes we like to underplay communication and maybe Seth Godin sometimes would like to be recognized for more than his 'Purple Cow' book that has become a tremendously important book for many people. Seth Godin is one of the speakers at PRINT®18 in Chicago and this is just a little tribute to both APTech for getting Seth Godin to Chicago and also a tribute to Seth Godin for his important work.