I almost ALWAYS write the introduction text on YouTube, LinkedIn, and INKISH.TV, and to be honest, quite strange, to write about me. In this Conversations, CEO Julie Watson from Ultimate TechnoGraphics asked if she could interview me, and of course. However, it is important to stress that I am not in the market to promote myself, but ALWAYS promote our great industry and the amazing people I am so lucky to meet. Being an editor for INKISH, I take very seriously, and I hope the words I share here will be an understanding of where I come from, what drives me, and how I hope my words can inspire the people that see, listen, and read the stories we deliver on INKISH.TV and INKISH.NEWS. I love my work, and I am truly grateful for meeting all the really smart people out there! Thank you!

See a new card module on BlueCrest's streamlined insertion machine. Eddy Edel, VP of product management and strategy at the Pitney Bowes spinoff, discusses the importance of integrity when printing sensitive information in transactional direct mail pieces.

Découverte de Roland DG France par son Responsable Commercial, Michaël De Azevedo. En avant-première pour la France, il nous parle des nouveautés et de la gamme True-Vis. L'écologie, la qualité et la fiabilité doivent aller de pair. Un aperçu.

At PRINTING United INKISH delivered more than 30 interviews. One of them was with our friends from Mindfire in California. In this interview, Executive Vice President Joe Manos explains the value of working together with Mindfire. Mindfire has developed a software platform enabling its customers to manage campaigns, social media, and lead generation in a very intuitive way. As Joe Manos also mentions in the interview, Mindfire even offers marketing services, so customers can use Mindfire as a one-stop-solution.

Is it as easy as some will say, to develop a new business plan, including web-to-print, automation, and implement afterward? - Kaylene Lloyd & Morten Reitoft

Minutes after arriving at AM Litho in Chicopee, MA - a smiling Al Meadows welcomed us. I believe everybody who arrives at AM Litho comments on the 'rain forest' you have to pass to get into the printing company. Al Meadows first gives us a tour starting with the rain forest, the history of the Caribbean-inspired wall paintings, and the entire production. In the pre-press area, we meet Fred Gamber, who joins us for the rest of the tour and is part of the interview. AM Litho is a super interesting printing company, focusing on high quality with the abilities of the Eagle Systems cold-foil unit on the company's Koenig & Bauer KBA 106. We are entering the color lab where colors are mixed and checked so they comply 100% with the high-end brands that trust their work to AM Litho. You'll easily recognize the iconic whiskey and perfume brands, and when you see the work put into the colors and the quality insurance, you get a sense of what AM Litho is all about. Besides the KBA with Eagle Systems, the other printing presses are from Komori. Al Meadows is very pleased with his relationship with Komori - and for the first time (for INKISH), we get to see the Komori IS40 (digital inkjet printer based on the Konica-Minolta KM1). Also, this machine is highly appreciated by both Al Meadows and Fred Gamber. The digital department is all Canon printers, which are also highly appreciated by the two. You realize these people invest in technology, supporting their business and supplier relationships. AM Litho is veteran-owned as Al Meadows, and many employees are veterans. AM Litho highly values employees, and you see signs of appreciation and constantly reaching customer satisfaction as a very integrated part of what makes AM Litho, AM Lithography! Great story!

Dustin Graupman, senior director of Kyocera’s Inkjet Division, discusses market share and the OEM’s TASKalfa Pro 15000c+ (with Plockmatic). Watch for a coated version of this device in 2025!

Imagine how difficult it is to get ink to stick to a metal surface! Imagine how difficult it is with water-based ink - and voila, here is OPM-Europa and the LabelSaver solution. Or, to be more correct, almost there. The R&D is finished, and the first machines are assembled and soon ready for water-based inkjet printing on round surfaces like cans, bottles, plastics, glass, and metal. In this interview, owner and General Manager Dursun Acun share the journey with you - we find it inspiring. Once again, a vendor shows how the Memjet technology can be utilized in a new application. Enjoy! Find Dursun Acun's LinkedIn profile here.

At ICE/InPrint in Munich, you didn't only meet DURST but also Koenig & Bauer, Koenig Bauer Durst, and Durst - three legal entities that have decided to work together. Many are foreseeing the new VarioJet 106 that will soon hit the folding carton market, but in this film, we also get the chance to talk to Vice President of Sales Christian Harder about the success based on product diversification, having a clear focus on being the best in each of the segments the company addresses - and well, listen to the story and learn. Durst is a well-established company, but despite its age, it has developed into a company that today defines what many companies would like to be!

DURST expose pour la première fois au C!Print, confirmant qu'il s'agit d'un marché important pour la marque. David explique comment ils voient le marché en France et pourquoi il est important pour eux d'être également présents ici.

Duplo présente une première européenne et a choisi C!Print pour le présenter au public. Il fallait donc venir voir. Mathieu Stark nous raconte tout. — Duplo is showing a European première and has chosen C!Print to show it at the public. So we had to come and see. Mathieu Stark tels us all about it.

On retrouve Philippe Bochon, Directeur général pour la France de tous les produits Duplo. Il nous fait découvrir les propositions du salon et les solutions Duplo, notamment leur produit phare, le massicot raineur. Il nous donne son opinion personnelle et sa vision de l'industrie depuis sa fenêtre chez Duplo. Nous faisons le point sur la situation après cette période difficile de crise sanitaire, qui semble enfin être dans le rétroviseur.

In this engaging interview, Duane Pekar, Mark Andy's new CEO since December, shares his journey from the automotive and aerospace industries to the label industry. With an extensive background in operations and leadership roles at companies like General Motors, Carrier, and Honeywell, Pekar explains how his experiences have prepared him for this new chapter at Mark Andy. Duane Pekar discusses the strategic shifts within the company, focusing on operational excellence, customer support, and breaking down silos to foster collaboration. He also highlights the importance of staying connected with large multinational customers and smaller family-run businesses, ensuring Mark Andy’s solutions cater to diverse needs. Get inspired by Pekar's vision for the future of Mark Andy and the label industry and his advice for young professionals aiming for leadership roles.  

Language: English · Subtitles: English/Spanish At Labelexpo in Guadalajara, Morten from INKISH speaks with Duane Pekar, CEO of Mark Andy, about the company's rapid evolution and growing commitment to the Latin American market. Duane highlights the importance of service and local presence, announcing the establishment of Mark Andy Mexico through a new partnership that brings service, parts, and print supplies under one roof. This move strengthens their support for both flexo and digital technologies in the region. With modular press designs and retrofit options, Mark Andy is helping customers in emerging markets transition to digital printing while maintaining flexibility and scalability. Duane also discusses global market dynamics, emphasizing how Mexico offers a level playing field among international manufacturers and has become one of the company’s top five growth markets. The conversation underscores Mark Andy’s global strategy, dedication to customer growth, and ability to adapt to local needs through innovation and strategic partnerships.

At the recent Hunkeler Innovationdays 2019, we bumped into Sabine Geldermann who is the Director of DRUPA, and we got the chance to sit down and talk to her about DRUPA 2020. DRUPA is by most people in the printing industry considered the most important and also the biggest – and as Sabine Geldermann tells in this film, vendors even plan developing cycles around the DRUPA 4 years cycles – so no wonder. However, looking at the numbers DRUPA also becomes smaller and smaller – and, of course, some of the decreases come from the fact that the industry is shrinking, but some may also come from the fact that trade shows, in general, have difficulties attracting the visitors to come. The numbers from the previous DRUPA in 2016 also show something that must be a challenge. 68% of the visitors came from Europe and only 9% from, i.e. North America. To be a true global print show requires not only vendors from all over the world but also visitors from all over the world. Sabine Geldermann tells that some local German tradeshows have closed and been absorbed by DRUPA but also that the number of visitors from outside Europe is growing. In this very openminded interview with Sabine Geldermann, you get a great insight into the upcoming DRUPA 2020, and though it still seems to be far away Sabine Geldermann tells INKISH.TV that the sales for 2020 have already reached the 2016 level and all key accounts are assured. Good for DRUPA, good for the industry – and regardless of where you are located it’s time to organize hotels, Airbnb’s and travels to be sure to get accommodation – and just in case you haven’t been in Düsseldorf before: Be prepared to spend an awful lot of money to get even the worst shitty hotel

*This is our opinion based on intense research that we will write about in a series of articles on INKISH NEWS in the week from October 26th-30th. We are confident that Drupa 2021 WILL be canceled - or at least, our analysis of the situation points in that direction. The conversation between Andreas Weber, CEO INKISH D-A-CH, and Morten Reitoft, Editor-in-Chief, INKISH, is an appetizer to a week with articles about drupa. For the past many weeks, we have talked to people in the industry, other exhibition venues, media, sub-contractors, hotels, restaurants, and many more about the situation in Düsseldorf. The COVID-19 situation is, of course, the reason for the uncertainty, but why isn't drupa canceling drupa 2021? As with so many things, it's because of money. The drupa machine is vast, and the impact on the printing industry and the city of Düsseldorf is unimaginable. The situation for exhibitors is not comfortable. Lots of money is tight to drupa, and Messecenter Düsseldorf, and how drupa is handling the current situation, is most likely influencing the tradeshow's very future. Signup to our newsletter on INKISH NEWS and get notifications when articles about drupa are released! Signup link: https://inkish.news/?action=signup-newsletter-form

Jan-Olof Jungersten is the distributor of HP Graphic Arts equipment in his company Visutech, in the Nordic and he and his company recently celebrated their 30 years anniversary at Scanpack 2018. INKISH do not so often cover representatives but of course, we have exceptions. Jan-Olof Jungersten is not only the first Indigo channel in the world, but he is also an author. His third book 'Transmission - Transform the Packaging Industry' is about how he sees the changes in demand, changes in technology, and how we as a printing industry needs to adapt to the new order of the world. As he says "digital is not only about the machines​ but also about the mindset" (free from memory). So, in this INKISH film, he shares some of his visions, some speculations, some considerations put in Swedish perspective - and of course, considerations about both HP and the market in general. Enjoy!

At the BHS Open House in Münster, BHS CFO Dr. Thomas List presented a Pay-Per-Use model for BHS equipment, making the cost of running an operation almost 100% variable, doesn't impact the balance sheet and enabling customers to scale faster. In this interview, Editor Morten B. Reitoft tries to understand how the components in financing work - and we believe it's a good session to learn from. Enjoy!

Counterfeiting is a much larger issue than most would believe. In this film, Steffen Scheibenstock explains how KURZ and print can support brand owners. See solutions printed directly on the package to complex and extremely interesting options. With Scribos' solutions, it's possible to monitor how products are being checked globally in real-time. Amazing!

In this interview, Dr. Markus von Beyer explains how KURZ addresses the sustainability agenda - as well as how KURZ work on lowering the company's carbon footprint as well as how they assist customers in achieving higher sustainability through the development of new products. Super interesting to hear how a lower carbon footprint can go hand in hand with packaging that sells!

Imagine that a discovery made 30 years ago for space is now vital for fast inkjet presses? We are talking to Dr. Kai K.O. Bär, the Managing Director and President of Adphos. Adphos delivers NIR solution, which is a curing system that, by using the near-infrared light specter, can dry inks without heat. Fascinating technology - but listen to the specialist here!

Every day at 11.00 a speaker is presented on the stage. Today, September 27th, 2022, it was Dr. Johannes Warther from Apenberg & Partners. The company is a consultancy company and has specialized in consulting printing companies. Among the topics were acquisitions and consolidations - which many find interesting in these challenging times! The presentation is done in both German and English at the same time!

At Drupa, we're at the Weilburger Graphics booth, talking to partners, including the Italian ink producer, Colorgraf. They've collaborated with Weilburger Graphics for over 35 years, offering a range of inks for various applications. The ink company, founded in 1951, has expanded from sheet-fed inks to UV and flexo inks, aiming to provide a comprehensive product lineup. They emphasize technical support and passion in their work. Discussing market trends, they see sustainability and investment as key future challenges, believing in quality growth. They hope to pass the business to the next generation.

At Fespa 2023, we meet Dr. Aleksey Etin, the owner of UAB Veika but better known in the market under the brand name DIMENSE. A really interesting showcase of 3D digital large-format printing and embossing technology. Let's see what's so special and new in this niche market. Interesting stuff, enjoy!