Chris Harrington shows a couple of new products delivered by Canadian-based Graphic Whizard. Dig in :-)

At Printing United 2025 in Orlando, Morten B. Reitoft from INKISH meets Chris Harrington from Graphic Whizard, one of the busiest exhibitors at the show — so busy, in fact, that the interview had to be postponed until the final hours because, as Chris put it, “We’re selling too much right now.” Chris, who has spent decades in the print finishing industry, including his entire career working with guillotines, shares how Graphic Whizard’s latest product line brings both tradition and innovation together. “We launched our new series of guillotines about a year and a half ago,” he explains. “We showed them for the first time at Printing United 2024, and now they’re in full production, with installations happening all over North America.” Before becoming a company leader, Chris began his career as a technician, and that hands-on background has deeply influenced his design philosophy. “When you’re standing at a cutter for hours, you realize comfort matters,” he says. “It’s about ergonomics — the button placement, the height, where the foot pedal sits. Operators spend all day at these machines, so it needs to be easy on the body.” The new Graphic Whizard guillotine line includes both hydraulic and electric models. The electric versions, available in 18- and 20-inch formats, are compact, efficient, and ideal for smaller digital environments, while the hydraulic models are suited to heavier production settings. “Electric cutters have come a long way,” Chris says. “If you keep your blade sharp, they’ll last just as long as a hydraulic machine — with a smaller footprint and easier maintenance.” He explains that automation and user assistance are now central to Graphic Whizard’s development philosophy. “We know labor is tight, and skilled operators are harder to find,” he says. “So, our software now includes interactive prompts that guide users step-by-step — where to cut, how to rotate, and how to stack. It gives less experienced operators confidence and helps maintain precision.” Chris also highlights the company’s evolution beyond guillotines. “We’ve become one of the leaders in the slitter-cutter-creaser category, and that complements our cutters perfectly. You can automate a lot of the work that used to wear people out at the guillotine. But the cutter still remains the heart of the finishing department — every print shop needs one.” Discussing Graphic Whizard’s growing reputation, Chris points out that many of the company’s machines are now installed in major national print chains and corporate-owned operations. “We’ve proven that our equipment performs at the same or higher level than much larger brands,” he says. “Before pricing even comes into the discussion, the durability and productivity speak for themselves.” He adds that Graphic Whizard’s model — combining in-house technology with trusted manufacturing partners — allows the company to deliver quality, reliability, and consistency across a wide portfolio. “Ten or fifteen years ago, when someone said they had a Graphic Whizard, they meant they owned one machine,” Chris smiles. “Now, we visit shops that have seven or eight Graphic Whizard systems — guillotines, slitters, die cutters, binders. Once they’ve had a good experience with the first one, they come back for more.” As the show winds down, Morten congratulates Chris on what appears to be a record event. Chris laughs and gestures toward the booth, where half the machines have already been sold. “It’s been a great show,” he says. “A lot of orders, a lot of conversations — and a lot of these machines are heading straight from the floor to their new homes.” Morten smiles and concludes, “That’s the best kind of problem to have — too much success.”

Always great starting an interview with good news, and having sold 200 machines to one customer must be a fantastic experience. Chris Harrington from Canadian-based Graphic Whizard can't hide how happy and proud he is, but not being able to talk about the customer is, of course, a bummer :-) In this interview, we look at the machine they sold - able to slit, crease, cut, and perforate in a very compact and automated way. In the film, Chris Harrington shows you some of the features. Enjoy!

A laminator debut and two laminator workhorses on display with Graphic Whizard - and, as usual, a Chris Harrington that presents the machines, so we easily understand the differences. It was first later the same day that I realized that Harrington started many years ago as a technician and, therefore, has the same passion for diving deep into his and competitors' products. As usual, filming with Chris Harrington, and the Micro (new) and the two other laminators seem to be a good fit for many, so check them out - here on INKISH.

Growth is given at Fotofabriek in the northern Netherlands, and with an increased order intake, technology needs to adapt. Chris De Jonge was featured on INKISH a year ago, and with more than 15,000 daily orders, Fotofabriek is very happy with Ultimate Tech. Chris De Jonge explains how Impostrip, Bindery, and the dynamic scaling of the solutions help them achieve growth :-) Enjoy!  

At Printing United Expo in Orlando, Wayne Beckett from INKISH speaks with Chris Davis, Head of Sales for Hoenle America, about the company’s rebrand, its business divisions, and the future of UV curing in print and packaging. Davis, who has been attending major U.S. trade shows since 1997, emphasizes the continued importance of in-person events. “People buy from people,” he says. “Trade shows give us a chance to connect, understand customer needs, and show what’s new.” He explains that Hoenle recently unified eight brands under one name — Hoenle in English, Hönle in German — to strengthen visibility and simplify how customers understand the company’s broad technology portfolio. The business now operates across three divisions: Adhesive Technologies, Disinfection Systems, and Curing Solutions. Davis’s focus is on the curing side, which serves sheetfed, web, and industrial markets. Discussing the advantages of UV curing, Davis highlights the flexibility of Hoenle’s systems, which include UV, LED, and IR technologies. Printers can finish sheets immediately off the press, enabling embellishment or downstream packaging processes without delay. For existing presses, Hoenle also provides retrofit solutions, an increasingly popular option as more printers convert from conventional to LED or hybrid UV systems. Hoenle’s approach, Davis explains, is deeply technical but highly collaborative. The company supports customers throughout the process — from application testing in its R&D labs to system design, installation, and performance analysis. “We don’t just sell curing units,” he says. “We run the coatings, measure the cure, and make sure every system performs to spec.” Looking ahead, Davis points to ongoing R&D investments aimed at expanding high-powered LED systems, optical precision, and next-generation UVC solutions. These developments will allow printers to use traditional UV ink sets while still benefiting from modern curing efficiency. With a new global identity and a wave of innovation underway, Davis says the mood within Hoenle is optimistic. “We’ve got a lot happening — new branding, new products, and great engagement here at the show. The industry keeps evolving, and we’re proud to evolve with it.”

It takes time to plan an event like PRINTING United, and it takes even more time when the organizer continues to develop the show. This time, PRINTING United takes place in Orlando from October 22-24, and INKISH, Revista El Impresor, and Printing-Connect.online are busy covering the show. Here, we talk to Chris Curran and Mark Subers about the show - it's good to learn from them!

Understanding the go-to-market approach by vendors may make it easier for most to understand the value proposition. In this interview, Global VP Sales and Alliances, Fabian Prudhomme explains how CHILI address future prospects. Actually quite interesting, and the amazing part is the vast value that CHILI-Publish apparently gives the customers who understand it. Remember to watch the two demos.

Kevin Goeminne is the CEO of CHILI publish and in this film from SPICYtalks 19 in Berlin he expresses his happiness over his team and the achievements his team has done. CHILI publish is successful and more and more customers are using the software to create, not only print campaigns, but also online campaigns. At SPICYtalks CHILI publish used CHILI Publisher to generate hundreds of individual banners that were targeted users online. Kevin Goeminne, as usual, deliver both as CEO and as host in Berlin. Enjoy.

CHILI publish CTO Ward De Langhe was VERY busy during the SPICYtalks event in Berlin. Most can probably understand what a great opportunity it is for partners and customers to get a chance to talk with the CTO of a company that develops software all are relying on? We do at least. Ward De Langhe explains, in this interview, that at the beginning of 2019, a lot of changes was developed. However, most changes were not so visual since it was part of an updated backbone of CHILI Publisher. In the past three months, however, every new release has delivered significant new features - and of course, version 6.0 is a major update. Enjoy the opportunity to listen to Ward De Langhe right here on INKISH.TV

At the recent SPICY Talks in Amsterdam Don Schminkey from Channel-Fusion was one of the participants. We got the chance to talk to him, and as a relatively new client with CHILI Publish he explains how great the software has been for Channel-Fusion and their customers.

The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has chosen to use CHILI Publisher as part of their delivery of brand consistent marketing. At SPICYtalks 19 in Berlin Digital Project Manager Thomas Julé from Airbus gave a quite impressive presentation of what they are doing. It was also very nice to experience the openness of Airbus and how they show the application. Great design, great implementation, and here you can hear and see for yourself some of the motivations for working with CHILI.

CHILI-Publish is maybe one of the worlds leading software when it comes to online mass-customization, and we are so happy that we are broadcasting LIVE from CHILI-Publisher. Not only will it give you an insight into the product, but also to get to know the people behind the company. In this film with Global Vice President Sales & Alliances, Fabian Prudhomme introduces us to CHILI. Enjoy and see the other interviews with Fabian Prudhomme as well.

At the recent LabelExpo, we got the chance to talk to Fabian Prudhomme from CHILI publish. Some may recognize Fabian Prudhomme, who used to be the VP of Enfocus. His new position with CHILI publish is Global Vice President Sales & Alliances. In the interview, we talk with Fabian Prudhomme about the opportunity Chili has in a time where everybody talks about mass-customization, personalization, etc. We also asked Fabian Prudhomme whether the marketing- and storytelling isn't becoming more complex when a product becomes more and more complex. See and hear his answers in this short interview from LabelExpo and stay tunes for a full day of coverage from CHILI publish's booth #11657 at Printing United 2019 in Dallas.

One of our absolute favourites in the industry is Piet Saegeman from CHILI publish. He controls words like no other and can even use the words as a playground for kids. He is always serious when talking to him, of course, but he also knows the power of the word. In his presentation at SPICYtalks 19 in Berlin, he spoke about how the porn-industry has been a test field for many of the technologies used today. He continues with his second slide, spelling porn wrongly (pron) and jokes about that his colleagues at CHILI publish didn't even proofread his slides. There is no need to proofread his slides - Piet Saegeman has an enormous knowledge, and he knows exactly how to sell CHILI - so that is exactly what he does. I LOVE this film. Enjoy!

Wayne Beckett from Inkish interviews Chiara Prati at LabelExpo in Barcelona. Chiara is part of the second generation leading Prati, a company founded in 1973 by her father and now over 50 years old. She explains that Prati has long specialized in designing, manufacturing, and servicing finishing and converting machines for the label industry, later expanding into flexible packaging—and now, for the first time, also into folding carton. At the show, Prati is launching the new Digifast 20000, a larger-format solution aimed at folding carton production. It complements their existing Jupiter modular platform, which mainly serves the food and beverage sector. Chiara says their stand showcases equipment covering all market segments—food and beverage, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, security labels, logistics, and retail—demonstrating how Prati machines can handle a wide range of applications from narrow to mid-web. Each machine on display is running a job tailored to a specific market to highlight its versatility. She adds that Prati operates globally through a strong distributor and service network, with a branch office in Dallas since 2018 to support the United States market. Chiara says the first day at the show has gone very well, with customers excited to see Prati’s move into mid-web solutions, which opens new business opportunities for converters. Wayne concludes by praising the impressive size of the Prati booth and the impact they’ve made at the show.

In this conversation, Anthony Thirlby, Steffen Franzisi, and Morten B. Reitoft review 2024 and discuss 2025. However, we have also invited ChatGPT 4o, which can now listen and—well—engage with us. It is interesting to see how technology may be used in debates like this sooner or later. We could have set better rules for ChatGPT in advance, but this is the default version. Maybe you will be surprised—we were!

Boone Graphics is located in Santa Barbara, about 2 hours drive from Los Angeles, and besides the traffic in LA, the rest of the tour was super nice. When we got to Boone Graphics, we were kindly received and got into a super nice meeting room with all types of print - and the rest of the day was interesting. Learning about how ChatGPT is used to write XML documents to be used with Ultimate TechnoGraphics Impostrip and Bindery was a surprise - but the story and how Boone Graphics navigates in the industry was just super nice. Enjoy! LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-tanner-313ba58/ Apology from the editor: As Boone Graphics ALSO uses both Impostrip and Bindery from Ultimate TechnoGraphics, Editor Morten B. Reitoft asked about the use of Impostrip Bindery but used the phrase ImpoBind, which obviously isn't the name - sorry for this - hereby disclaimed!

The many opportunities with Marketing Automation and Web to Print for going forward and why! Link to presentation: https://grafkom.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/WS19/EFI_eCommerce+Trends_charlotte_low.pdf

The packaging market continues to surprise new innovative solutions, new capabilities, and a changing trend towards a wider format. FlexoPrint in Randers, Denmark, is one of Denmark's leading flexo printing companies, serving customers in Scandinavia, Germany, and as CEO Lars Ole Nauta says, "Wherever there is an order, we try to get it." In this film, we get an insight into the recent investment of the Nilpeter FA 26" machine, which, according to Nauta, serves a gap in the market. FlexoPrints flexibility to serve fast is a KPI that will help to fill the machine with more jobs. Enjoy the film.

At Printing United in Orlando, Morten B. Reitoft from INKISH speaks with Chad Ferguson, Vice President of Sales at MBO America, about his first year in the role and the company’s expanding footprint in the finishing market. After nine years with Standard Finishing, Chad Ferguson joined MBO America to take on a leadership position focused on driving sales growth, building stronger customer relationships, and broadening awareness of MBO’s digital finishing solutions. He explains that the biggest change for him personally has been moving from working independently as a territory manager to leading a national sales team, emphasizing collaboration and mentorship across the organization. Ferguson highlights that while MBO has long been recognized as a global leader in folding equipment, the company has successfully evolved into a major player in roll-fed digital finishing. At the show, MBO America is demonstrating its roll-fed digital line featuring an auto splicer and the CC23 contour cutter—technologies that showcase the company’s strength in inline production and modular design. Each component is built for flexibility and efficiency, allowing customers to reconfigure their systems as needed. The modular “parking lot method,” as Ferguson describes it, means users can roll components in and out on caster wheels, adapting their setup for specific production jobs with ease. He emphasizes that many printers still associate MBO primarily with traditional sheetfed folding, yet the company’s modern portfolio includes advanced solutions for high-volume, data-driven applications such as direct mail, transactional printing, and commercial finishing. The hallmark of MBO equipment remains its robustness, precision, and German engineering quality. Ferguson’s goal is to ensure more printers in North America recognize that MBO can support nearly any finishing need, from simple folding to complex inline digital workflows. Discussing automation, Ferguson notes that while Europe has led in adopting collaborative robots and autonomous systems, the U.S. market is now catching up. He mentions strong customer interest in MBO’s CoBo-Stack and other automation solutions, particularly as print providers struggle with labor shortages. For many shops, he says, the challenge of finding and retaining skilled operators is driving investment in automation. Ferguson believes this shift is inevitable and that MBO’s adaptable, modular approach positions it perfectly to help printers boost productivity, reduce manual handling, and future-proof their operations.

Self driving PDF – The Future of Workflow Automation by CEO Dietrich von Segger. Link to presentation: https://grafkom.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/WS19/Self+driving+PDF+S.pdf

Céline Dumas is relatively new with Komori-Chambon, and maybe you don't know the company - but here you get an insight that guides you to what they are. Komori-Chambon is part of the Japanese Komori group but operates entirely independently at two locations in France. They develop packaging equipment within the offset, flexo, and rotogravure segments, but they offer end-to-end solutions developed entirely by the company. Komori-Chambon delivers mainly high-volume production, and asking Céline Dumas about product types, the answer is instant - 'think milk' with a lower voice and 'tobacco.' But listen for yourself, and I am sure if you need to know more, Céline Dumas is ready to connect with you via LinkedIn - see the link below!