With a background from IBM and Ricoh, Mike Herold used to be primarily associated with products around the mentioned companies' ecosystems. Still, in his relatively new role with EMT International, he is suddenly invited to former competitors—and that journey is, of course, interesting. Still, it also gives Herold many new opportunities!  

EMT International has success, and as we approach the booth, it is full of people, all demanding samples of what we later understand is found, fed, and delivered back to the ocean. This is interesting to learn from, so here we go! Mike Herold: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmichaelherold/

At Printing United in Orlando, Pat McGrew from INKISH meets with Mike Herold, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at EMT, to discuss the company’s transformation, new technology, and growing role in the print finishing market. Herold explains that while EMT has an 85-year legacy of engineering and manufacturing excellence, the company today operates with the energy and mindset of a startup. This combination of heritage and innovation, he says, allows EMT to build on its strengths while reshaping its product portfolio for the future of digital print finishing. Herold reflects on his own time with EMT, noting that Printing United 2025 marks his third show with the company. Since joining just over two years ago, he has helped lead EMT through a significant strategic shift—from being seen primarily as a custom engineering company to becoming a developer of scalable, standardized solutions for a broader market. The company’s reputation for durable, precise, and adaptable systems remains, but its focus has expanded to include products designed for general commercial and direct mail printing as well. At the center of this evolution is EMT’s new Vera cutting platform, unveiled at the show. Herold describes Vera as the embodiment of EMT’s “listening tour”—a process of gathering customer and partner feedback to design equipment that addresses real-world needs. The system combines EMT’s high-speed web handling expertise with a compact, powerful architecture capable of creasing, scoring, punching, pin-feeding, sheeting, chip cutting, and stacking — all within a small footprint. The Vera, he explains, represents a new chapter for EMT, moving the company beyond its transactional print roots into broader commercial and direct mail markets. Partnership and collaboration, Herold emphasizes, are key to EMT’s success. The booth features integrations with Horizon, SpencerMetrics, and other OEM partners, showcasing how EMT systems connect seamlessly within diverse production environments. He credits CEO Mohit Uber for fostering a transparent and open corporate culture that encourages strategic alliances and data sharing across the industry. EMT’s commitment to interoperability includes open data interfaces that allow customers and partners to access machine information for dashboards, performance analytics, and workflow optimization. Herold reports that the response to Vera at the show has been overwhelmingly positive. The booth achieved, in one day, the level of customer engagement and interaction the team had expected over three days, with visitors praising the machine’s reliability, usability, and performance. For Herold and the EMT team, this strong feedback validates their direction — combining 85 years of manufacturing expertise with a renewed focus on innovation, collaboration, and real-world application.

Mark's Quest for American Exhibitors led him to Mike Herold from EMT International - and after sharing American anecdotes, Mike Herold's history from IBM to Ricoh to EMT International is talked about - and, of course, the equipment from EMT. Enjoy!

Mike Ferrari discusses Jetfx's digital embellishment technology, its growing adoption, and the benefits it can bring to label-converting companies.

Mike Barry discusses the new technology being launched by Domino at Labelexpo Europe, including the European debut of its N7310 inkjet press and new inkjet integration module.

Valiani is an Italien based, family-owned company founded in 1974. Until ten years ago, the company specialized in producing machines doing Passepartout - with that knowledge they entered into industrialized cutting up to B2 format. In this film, we talk with Mikael Bryske who is now Sales Director and responsible for sales of the very exciting machine on a global scale. But listen to what Mikael Bryske has to say in this film - we are confident that you will find it interesting!

Widinovations is a Portuguese company and manufacturer of machinery for the cutting and engraving market, mainly for the advertising industry. Miguel Miranda is their CEO, and in this short interview, he commented that they are looking for distributors worldwide. Of interest to anybody? ___ Widinovations es una empresa portuguesa fabricante de maquinaria para el mercado de corte y grabado, principalmente para la industria publicitaria. Miguel Miranda es su CEO y en esta breve entrevista comentó que están buscando distribuidores a nivel mundial. ¿De interés para alguien?

It was great meeting Michelle Reed at FEFCO. The two-year-old start-up SendMePack is a super interesting business that, instead of recycling boxes, re-use boxes to do good for the environment and save customers money. The idea is simple, yet we can imagine much work to pick up fine boxes and reuse them with other customers. Returned boxes are checked, sorted, and made ready for the next round - which was supposed to be one extra time, but often many more. The second project is on its way and is used by brands with high returns - i.e., the fashion industry, but listen to Michelle Reed to get the story. Enjoy!

Michel Hunkeler is one of the owners, board members, and former CEO of Hunkeler AG in Switzerland. Among the interesting topics is Michel Hunkelers new role, but also how it is to hand over the CEO position, for the first time ever, to a person out of the family, Daniel Erni. Michel Hunkeler was hit last year with severe health issues but has fought back to an almost 100% everyday life. We talk about brotherly competition and how a strong family, for now, generations, has formed the 100 years old company. A very personal interview with great insights - that you, of course, only find on INKISH.

Hunkeler is by far the leading innovator in roll-based finishing, and with an increased focus on digital inkjet, the company seems to have a golden future. We got the chance to catch up with a good friend and INKISH supporter, CEO Michel Hunkeler, so here is his view on the current situation, and future.. Exciting, right? As with all our 'Over the Skype' interviews, quality is limited to bandwidth, web-cams, and ability to literally LIVE mix the conversations. However, it works, and with Over the Skype, we will bring you more than 20 exciting people, and angles on the industry as it is right now. Enjoy!

Established in August 2001, Kangdexin Composite Material Group (KDX) is a material technology firm mainly engaged in the development, production, and sale of high polymer materials. KDX is represented in more than 80 countries in the world and has subsequently established itself as a recognized laminating film brand. LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michel-diruy-b6028935/

Wayne Beckett talks to Michał Czaicki CEO at Printbox regarding the creation of personalised products in a web to print environment that enables PSP's to create effect front ends to enter the online print sector.

Michael Thorvaldsen (Antalis) - talking about paper and why it sometimes makes sense to choose a more expensive paper rather than always focusing on the lowest denominator. LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-thorvaldsson-2666792/

Michael Ryan is almost the synonym of FESPA, and at the Amsterdam 2021 show, everybody held their breath - will it take place, will visitors come, will exhibitors get the return expected - and yes, yes, and yes. Michael Ryan reviews the first days, and it's positive for a good reason. The interview was done just before day two started, and as this is edited and published almost at the end of day two, we can report that Day 2 was busy, with more guests than the first day and a humming buzz like bees in a cube.

Michael Ryan is about to celebrate a personal milestone, September 1st, working 20 years for FESPA - a warm congratulations, and what an impact you and FESPA have - and we know you have a big share in that journey. Ryan also revealed that FESPA is adding a sustainability section to its website - interesting and totally aligned with what everybody in the industry is addressing. Also, 30% more visitors at FESPA just halfway into the show - no reason why Ryan shouldn't be smiling - congratulations!

Good2Go is a simple yet super nice idea enabling printers to keep track of files, revisions, proofs, etc., using Good2Go rather than relying on filled-up mailboxes. I spoke to President and founder Michael Reiher when Good2Go was almost ready for the market, and now it's in the market and has already delivered thousands of files for production. Great to see how an idea became a great product helping many customers. Well done, Michael!

Michael Poulin has vast experience in Inkjet from his past with Canon and Kyocera - not Sr. Manager, Inkjet Solutions for Fujifilm. At Digital Disruption Reveal, Michael presents the Fujifilm J Press CFG1160 - a continuous-fed inkjet printer where the "g" is short for Graphic. The machine offers many new inventions, and among the brilliant inventions is the Paper Stabilizer that removes the need for pre-treated paper by warming up the paper and cooling it down to production temperature, which results in considerably less stress on the paper when it dries the print. Michael Poulin greatly explains the machine and technology, so dig in and learn!

In this 'Over the Skype' session, we talk to Director, Product Marketing, Michael Poulin from Canon Solutions America. As you can hear in the conversation, we have spoken with Michael Poulin at the last Printing United - LIVE from the Canon booth - about partner programs, etc. In this session, we also touch upon partners, but of course, more about the inkjet devices from Canon iX-series, color-stream, and pro-stream - and, of course, all the important things to know before investing in inkjet. Great talking to Michael Poulin again.

At LabelExpo in Barcelona, Wayne from INKISH speaks with Michael Matthews, Product Manager at Domino, about the company’s newly launched entry-level digital label press. Michael explains that this new model, unveiled on the first day of the show, is aimed at converters stepping into digital for the first time or looking to add capacity and access new markets. Unlike N6 and N7, which target the medium and high-end segments with hybrid printing options, this new press is designed to be compact, fully integrated, and easy to use. It’s LED curing-based, offering lower power consumption, lower running costs, and faster setup with no external cabinets—so customers can get up and running quickly. He adds that they’ve seen strong interest not only from traditional label converters but also from textile and tag printers who want to move into digital label production. The press is positioned as the first step in Domino’s portfolio, giving newcomers a clear path to grow into more advanced systems later. Michael says the booth has been busy all week, and they’ve gathered many promising leads to follow up after the show.

In this session, we talk to Michael Green from Hueney in Quebec, Canada, about his change from standard plates to process-free plates. Interesting journey, and pretty much without any obstacles. LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgreenhueneye/

Michael Fries confirms that he has a lot of fun working for one of the World's largest PSPs, namely VISTA. This is the first time any from VISTA is being interviewed on INKISH, and Michael Fries openly answers the questions about the organization, the leadership, the operation, and whau - it could be interesting to see the company from the inside as well. The second best is meeting Michael Fries at The Online Print Symposium 2025 as keynote speaker and guest. Enjoy!

Wayne Beckett talks to Michael Fries from VistaPrint about their internal software solutions and how they are developed. Michael explains that software development is an important part of their business and is constantly being reviewed.

At Printing United Expo in Orlando, Morten B. Reitoft from INKISH meets Michael Deflorian from Durst Software & Solutions for an in-depth discussion about Durst’s growing software division and how it’s moving beyond the company’s own hardware ecosystem to serve the entire print industry. “We’ve been busy today,” Morten begins. “When we spoke with the Durst people earlier, we realized we made a mistake — your software isn’t actually on the main Durst booth, it’s here, in your own space. Michael, good to see you.” “Good to see you too,” Michael smiles. “Yes, this is the first time we’ve presented Durst Software & Solutions with a dedicated booth at a major trade show — and it’s been great. The traffic’s been strong, we’ve already exceeded our targets for leads and sales, and our location helps — when people walk into the hall, they bump straight into us.” Michael explains that Durst’s software journey began in 2018. “We started with our pixel-to-output strategy, building an ecosystem around Durst printers. Now, seven years later, we’re showing that same technology to the entire industry,” he says. “We have two main messages here. First is the Open Software Initiative — we’re making our market-proven technology available to everyone, not just Durst customers. Second, with the acquisition of Callas, we’ve strengthened our core PDF technology and can now provide that to other OEMs as well.” Morten notes that the booth even includes an HP printer, something unthinkable a year ago. Michael laughs. “That’s right. Our customers often use mixed environments — Durst, HP, others — and our Durst Workflow software already supports those devices. We’ve learned how to handle non-Durst printers efficiently, so it’s time to show the market that we’re open, not exclusive. We’re stepping outside the Durst universe.” Durst’s software division is also expanding through partnerships and acquisitions. “With Callas, we’ve added core PDF manipulation capabilities,” Michael says. “That lets us provide OEM-level technology and build accessible channel products like Durst Workflow and Durst SmartShop for printers of all sizes.” Morten teases, “So, is this openness just a marketing move? Durst software has always been relatively open.” Michael nods. “That’s true — technically, our solutions were always open, but they were perceived as being exclusive to Durst printers. We didn’t have the right channel products or positioning before. Now we do. It’s partly repositioning, yes, but we’ve also created products that are easier to access and integrate. And with Callas, we’re thinking more about leveraging technology, not just selling software licenses. The puzzle pieces are finally coming together.” Morten points out that Durst’s collaborative mindset — working with partners like Koenig & Bauer and OMED — makes this expansion feel natural. Michael agrees. “Durst’s philosophy has always been about making customers more efficient. It started with high-performance printing — feeding the printer, removing bottlenecks, automating workflows. Now we’re extending that knowledge to the wider market. Everyone, regardless of company size, faces the same challenges: automation, workflow complexity, and a shortage of skilled operators. Our solutions address exactly those issues.” Morten observes that it’s remarkable to see Durst — traditionally a hardware company — become a major software player in just a few years. Michael smiles. “That was always the strategy, but you never know if it will work until it does. Today, we’re in a unique position. We’re the only wide-format company that truly offers a complete ecosystem — hardware, software, automation, and workflow. Customers can have an end-to-end solution from a single source or integrate our components with their own systems. That flexibility is what’s driving interest.” As for the show itself? “It’s been fantastic,” Michael says. “It’s our first time with a dedicated software booth, so we didn’t know what to expect. But by the end of the first day, we had already surpassed our lead target by 30%. The feedback has been excellent — people understand that Durst Software & Solutions is here for the entire industry.” Morten concludes with a smile. “Fantastic, Michael. We’ll be following your developments closely.” “Thank you,” Michael says. “It’s an exciting time — and this is just the beginning.”