Jean-Pascal Bobst, CEO of Bobst Group SA, shares his views and strategies with Jacques Michiels our CEO of INKISH Benelux. In this truly open and revealing conversation, Jacques Michiels gets the answers to his most pressing and sometimes quite personal questions. This year, BOBST celebrates its 130th anniversary – proof of their resilience, competences and success in long-lasting value creation. Jean-Pascal Bobst talks about how they can futureproof the business of their customers as well as their own. BOBST has a presence in more than 50 countries, runs 15 production facilities in8 countries and employs more than 5500 people around the world. So, as a leading technology company in the packaging world, Bobst is greatly responsible for shaping this part of the industry and Jacques Michiels asks about new product developments, innovation, the people, sustainability and the challenges Bobst is facing in the next 3 years. Jean-Pascal Bobst unveils that they build new substrate processing technologies to increase sustainability along with innovating in digital printing with their Mouvent ink-jet technology, this as well as a stand-alone Label printing technology, but also integrated into the UV flexo “hybrid” printing machines turning in Beta as we speak.

Subtitles in English and French available: Jean-Pascal Bobst, PDG de Bobst Group SA, partage ses points de vue et ses stratégies avec Jacques Michiels, notre CEO INKISH Benelux. Dans cette conversation vraiment ouverte et révélatrice, Jacques Michiels obtient les réponses à ses questions les plus pressantes et parfois assez personnelles. Cette année, BOBST célèbre son 130e anniversaire - preuve de sa résilience, de ses compétences et de son succès dans la création de valeur durable. Jean-Pascal Bobst explique comment ils peuvent pérenniser les affaires de leurs clients ainsi que les leurs. BOBST est présent dans plus de 50 pays, gère 15 sites de production en 8 pays et emploie plus de 5500 personnes dans le monde. Ainsi, en tant qu'entreprise technologique de premier plan dans le monde de l'emballage, Bobst est grandement responsable de façonner cette partie de l'industrie et Jacques Michiels interroge sur les développements de nouveaux produits, l'innovation, les personnes, la durabilité et les défis auxquels Bobst sera confronté au cours des 3 prochaines années. Jean-Pascal Bobst dévoile qu'ils construisent de nouvelles technologies de traitement des substrats pour augmenter la durabilité tout en innovant dans l'impression numérique avec leur technologie à jet d'encre Mouvent. Cela étant aussi bien une technologie numérique autonome à l'impression d'étiquettes (Labels), mais également intégrée dans l'impression UV flexo «hybride» comme dans leurs machines tournant en Béta en ce moment. --- Jean-Pascal Bobst, CEO of Bobst Group SA, shares his views and strategies with Jacques Michiels our CEO of INKISH Benelux. In this truly open and revealing conversation, Jacques Michiels gets the answers to his most pressing and sometimes quite personal questions. This year, BOBST celebrates its 130th anniversary – proof of their resilience, competences and success in long-lasting value creation. Jean-Pascal Bobst talks about how they can futureproof the business of their customers as well as their own. BOBST has a presence in more than 50 countries, runs 15 production facilities in8 countries and employs more than 5500 people around the world. So, as a leading technology company in the packaging world, Bobst is greatly responsible for shaping this part of the industry and Jacques Michiels asks about new product developments, innovation, the people, sustainability and the challenges Bobst is facing in the next 3 years. Jean-Pascal Bobst unveils that they build new substrate processing technologies to increase sustainability along with innovating in digital printing with their Mouvent ink-jet technology, this as well as a stand-alone Label printing technology, but also integrated into the UV flexo “hybrid” printing machines turning in Beta as we speak.

Imaging Solutions AG (ISAG) Are best known for their frames and lay-flat-photo books solutions, but the company also develops and sells other products. At C!Print '23, Imaging Solutions co-exhibited with Xpozer.com and showed a clever yet simple solution, together with a new alu/poly-based substrate, that can make stunning images printable, easy to send, and VERY easy to assemble. Two software solutions were also presented - by Imaging Solutions, as far as we see :-) The first is an extremely important software in the digital age, an AI-based image scaler that uses AI to render images to be used in a larger format - very convincing. The name of the software is Viesus. The other was equally interesting, though I found it strange that Imaging Solutions don't offer a demo- site to test the software's capabilities. The service is called MyPrint.ai, and what you do is upload min. 10 photos will then be made - again with the help of AI - into stunning images that can be used for your art. Everybody talks about AI, and with OpenAI's Dall-E2 and ChatGPT, MyPrint.ai is a welcome addition to the creative use of computers. Super nice to see! LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clvanos/

Many companies grow through mergers and acquisitions - but Kongsberg is an example of the opposite since Kongsberg became its entity after a peaceful separation from Esko. In this Conversations editor, Morten B. Reitoft talks with President & CEO Stuart Fox. Teamwork, innovative technology, and a strong belief in the future are just a few of the takeaways! LinkedIn Profile

Ladies and Gentlemen. It's time to do business cards that are more than black text on white paper. Let the business card lead into the story you want to tell. In this Print Sample TV episode host, Pat McGrew gives you examples on business cards that are changing the perspective of a business card. The good thing is. If you have a printing press, you can do more, and better to engage with your clients. Here you'll find inspiration!

Steve explains that Spander is based in Shanghai and has been developing printing and packaging machinery for 15 years. The company is showcasing three product lines at the show — the S5, S7, and AC series — with the S5 positioned as a compact, cost-efficient press and the S7 as their long-established flagship now in its fifth generation. He emphasizes that all machines are fully servo-driven, gearless, and designed for high quality, efficiency, and ease of use, which he sees as essential given the growing difficulty worldwide in finding skilled machine operators. Steve notes that Shanghai gives them access to strong industrial infrastructure and well-educated engineers, which has enabled them to build everything in-house from scratch rather than copying others. He acknowledges that Chinese manufacturers are sometimes seen as copycats but stresses that Spander has pursued its own designs from the start, aiming for fair, market-adapted pricing rather than low-cost competition. He sees automation as the main future trend and says the company has deliberately spent years strengthening its base before now expanding globally. Having already sold 60 S5 presses in just eight months, Spander is now seeking the right distribution partners across Europe and beyond to bring its technology to international markets.

DG3 is a fantastic printing company with diverse production. Patrick Caragliano says with a smile, “We can produce anything here but foil stamping and embossing.” - we believe them. One of the centerpieces on the production side is the new Koenig & Bauer Rapida 105 - but they have everything you can dream of. Binding, enveloping, digital print, and tons of people. It is a fantastic company with an exciting story told by Steven Babat and Patrick Caragliano - super happy to have experienced DG3 firsthand; second best is, of course, through the eyes of your INKISH team :-)

Steve Luedke recently joined Mark Andy after 26 years with WS Packaging, so he brings a converter's perspective to the press manufacturer's customer service department. He is responsible for its new Mark Andy 360 customer service initiative, announced at Labelexpo Americas 2024.

Steve Johnson, or Tonerman, is well-known in the American print community. He is a smart businessman, a columnist with WhatTheyThink, and now also featured on INKISH. Listen to Johnson and learn the difference between books and manuals. In this interview by Mark Vruno, you get a lot of great insights about his company, Copresco, and great learning in general. With this interview, we also introduce Mark Vruno. He has been with us at various tradeshows and will also be at PRINTING United, but this is his first FULL INKISH Interview. Great work—welcome on board!

Wayne from INKISH is at The Print Show in sunny Birmingham, where he meets Steve Giddings, Managing Director of Perfect Binding Machinery. Steve has been in the printing industry for 60 years, starting out with letterpress, moving into lithography, and then embracing digital technology, which he describes as the most versatile and exciting yet. At this year’s show, he introduces a new piece of digital equipment designed to print images, text, and colours directly onto book edges. The machine was flown in from China just in time for the event, after a long and expensive journey through customs, flights, and visa challenges for the engineers. Perfect Binding Machinery has been in operation since 2005, following Steve’s earlier venture, Steve Giddings Engineering, which ran from 1988 to 2001. The company specialises in finishing equipment, particularly hardcover book production. Their solutions include perfect binding, three-knife trimming, case making, foiling, board and cloth cutting, and thread sewing. Steve highlights a compact and innovative binder that can handle endpapering and back lining with hot-melt glue, then produce either hardcover or softcover books on demand. In combination with three-knife trimmers, thread sewing, or digital printing, this creates a streamlined, short-run book production line in a relatively small footprint. Although the UK market has been challenging, with several companies closing down this year, Perfect Binding Machinery continues to serve its customers. Steve notes that, although it hasn’t been easy, the company remains committed to providing solutions that support book production in the UK. Known for his wit and perspective, Steve sums up his lifelong dedication to the trade by saying, “Some people have ink in their blood — I’ve got glue in mine.” A conversation full of history, humour, and insight into book finishing, filmed live at The Print Show in Birmingham.

Steve Billow was recently appointed President & CEO of Fujifilm Dimatix. You may not know that name so well, but in the graphic arts industry, that equals Samba print heads, used in many inkjet printers. We got a chance to talk to Billow about his job, inkjet in general, and many more things - super nice talking to you, and looking forward to further conversations!

Of course, digital transformation isn't only about equipment. When a company like Flower City, just a few years ago, was a litho offset-only company, investing in digital technology from AGFA and learning about the opportunities it presents to the company is simply amazing. The company delivers PODs to numerous household names in the US, but prides itself on being large enough to have a wealth of resources available to us, yet small enough to remain nimble and agile, serving its customers exceptionally well. You should have been there - it's really a great company with many very nice people. What a great day!

Stéphane Royère is the head of Packaging and Print with Leonhard KURZ. We got a chance to talk to him after he finished his panel discussion with Sabine Geldermann (drupa), Sebastian Tange (Koenig & Bauer), and Tim Sterbak (IST Metz) and talked to him about sustainability, value-adding, and of course, also their platinum sponsorship at drupa 2024. Enjoy!

What is KURZ Label Weeks about? Well, it all started with the cancellation of LabelExpo, which KURZ considers a very important trade show. Stéphane Royère explains in this interview the idea behind Kurz Label Weeks - and what the expectations are. Interesting to learn how vendors turn a cancellation into an opportunity, and of course, interesting to see the result of Label Weeks which last almost four months!

In this episode, Stéphane Royère from KURZ will show new silver products that maybe have less "blink" but still can make people look one more time.  

French with English subtitles: DB Print, based in Lille, France, is one of Komori's heavy users of its printing equipment and current offering. What are the new challenges, and what solutions are the large offset printers looking for, especially in commercial printing? What are the drivers when they seek to invest in new technologies, and how do they anticipate entrepreneurial difficulties? We chat with Stéphane Cannone, Managing Director of DB Print, and hear some of his thoughts on the matter. It turns out to be a difficult choice and must consider the lifespan of the technology, the cost savings, and the search for prolonged efficiency gains. -- DB Print basé à Lille, France est l'un des gros utilisateurs de Komori de son équipement d'impression et de son offre actuelle. Quels sont les nouveaux défis et quelles solutions les grands imprimeurs offset recherchent-ils réellement, en particulier dans le domaine de l'impression commerciale ? Quels sont les moteurs lorsqu'ils cherchent à investir dans les nouvelles technologies et comment anticipent-ils les difficultés entrepreneuriales ? Nous discutons avec Stéphane Cannone, le directeur général de DB Print, et découvrons certaines de ses réflexions à ce sujet. Il s'avère être un choix difficile et doit tenir compte de la durée de vie de la technologie, des économies de coûts et de la recherche de gains d'efficacité prolongés.

OneVision delivers Workflow Solutions to the industry - and has developed a modular-based solution that fits all sizes. In this engaging interview with Stepha Reiter, you get an insight into what OneVision offers, the challenges, and what to expect at drupa. Nice talking to Stephan Reiter again!

Since Stephan Plenz left Heidelberg years ago, he has worked as a consultant for a number of companies. Ten months ago, he was appointed Managing Director for Actega Metal Print, and together with his team, he is now working on bringing Ecoleaf to the market - initially in the labels segment, but as Stephan Plenz explains in the film - later for other segments. Ecoleaf is developed on technology acquired from Landa Labs also years ago but is not, according to Plenz ready for the market. He describes Ecoleaf as a disruptive technology. Plenz is also a board member of Tresu and Landa, so a busy man :-)

Interview in Dutch - subtitles in English. Kennismaking met de exclusieve verdeler in de Benelux van het Zwitserse Zünd. We bespreken de trends in het "vrijmaken" van drukwerk en industriële applicaties. Termen als automatisatie, robots en connectiviteit zijn ook in de afwerking zeker niet meer vreemd, integendeel. -- EN -- Introduction to the exclusive distributor in the Benelux of Zünd. We discuss the trends in the "liberating" of printed sheets and industrial applications. Terms such as automation, robots and connectivity are certainly no longer strange terms in the finishing department, on the contrary.

Wayne Beckett talks with Stephan Eckner from Tessitura about software connectivity, software integration is a must now in the print sector and Stephan talks about the different possibilities using their software.

In this engaging conversation, Stephan discusses Tessitura's innovative technology designed to seamlessly connect hardware and software within the printing industry. Tessitura specializes in creating a "transporting and translation medium" that facilitates communication between various systems, such as MIS (Management Information Systems), workflow systems, machines, and reporting services. This integration extends to both modern and classic machines, offering a comprehensive solution for improving operational efficiency and data accuracy. Stephan highlights the origin of the company's name, "tessitura," an Italian musical term meaning "the weaving" or "comfort range of a singer," reflecting the company's mission to interweave different technological systems harmoniously. Most Tessitura team members are musicians, adding a unique cultural layer to their technical endeavors. The conversation delves into the practical benefits of Tessitura's technology, emphasizing its ability to provide production leaders with a transparent overview of production progress, enhance quality control, and facilitate accurate cost calculations. Stephan points out the challenge in postpress operations, where performance often relies on guesswork. Tessitura solutions offer a way to gather precise data, enabling better operational decisions and efficiency. Moreover, Stephan explains how Tessitura's technology simplifies the integration process between different vendors' systems, eliminating the need for costly and time-consuming custom project work. The company's approach significantly reduces development time and expense using a specialized interface that translates and transports data between systems. The discussion also touches on Tessitura's participation at Drupa, showcasing its integration capabilities, classic machine integration solutions, and tools for enhancing shop floor transparency. Stephan invites interested parties to visit their booth for more information. Despite being a relatively new player in the industry, Tessitura has made a significant impact. The market's reception has been mixed, with some clients quickly recognizing the potential of Tessitura's offerings while others are slower to appreciate the innovation. Stephan's narrative illustrates Tessitura's commitment to breaking down technological barriers and fostering a more connected, efficient printing industry.

Friday May 31st, Fujifilm had an award show at the Hyatt hotel in Düsseldorf - and one of the winners was Stephan de Vries from Fotofabriek in the Netherlands. First and foremost, congratulations - and second, in this interview you will learn more about how Fotofabriek won the Innovation Award by making a children's book product using AI.  

Flyerline.ch is a major Swiss-based company specializing in high-quality printed materials, promotional items, and packaging solutions. While we love hearing stories from vendors and tech companies, it’s equally important — perhaps even more so — to listen to the heavy users of this equipment. These users need solutions that ensure profitability and enable them to make their mark in this rapidly evolving printing space. Being in Switzerland, it only makes sense to hear from one of the “national” online print service providers to gain insights into the reality of online digital printing and the true needs of such operations.