Our second featured celebrity is Sarah Kilcoyne-Guilliam, who recently became the Sales and Customer Success Director with British Solopress. Enjoy!

This session for sure turned into something completely unexpected as INKISH was awarded for the first time ever. Thank you, Hayco Van Gaal and Sander Hendrix for the pleasant surprise. However, how great this was for us, the session with Sander and Hayco was really good explaining the development of INKJET over the past 12 years - or as we in our industry measure 3 drupas. Great insight and something to learn from.

Jacob Kent-Ledger is the Production Director, founder, and owner of London-based Citiprint - a small large-format company founded in 2016. The company promises the same delivery within most of London. I 'found' Jacob Kent-Ledger as he was featured in the SignLink magazine, and then Jacob posted a LinkedIn story about the coverage - which pushed our curiosity to learn more. So here we are. Jacob Kent-Ledger and Citiprint were founded in 2016, and though a tiny company, the company has developed a business model that outperforms larger companies. We ask if the same-day delivery enables higher margins - and the answer you will get if you watch the interview. Great to see young(er) people interested in starting a print business, and again, this proves to us that our industry IS attractive to younger generations. Great work, Jacob, and if we at INKISH can support you in any way, please reach out! LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobkentledger/ LinkedIn Post https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jacobkentledger_signlink-citiprint-industry-activity-7094726962543243264-lBY9?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop SignLink article https://www.signlink.co.uk/News/Wide-format/8649/citiprint-looks-back-on

In this film, Fujifilm product Manager Samantha Sim talks about the new Continous Fed digital inkjet press, which is targeted at the general commercial market—super interesting!

Working at Four Pees was, for me, a bit of an eye opener. When I started, a lot of people were actually asking me: OK, but you're going into the print industry and doing marketing there. But isn't print dead? What I wanted to do is just show people that even from your own home office, you don't even have to stand up from your desk. And you see already 10 things that are printed. And some of those things are surprising. I've got laminate flooring in my house. And suddenly you see that that's actually printed. The same for the tabletop. And that is a bit of an eye opener. And the moment you start explaining that in your own personal network, friends and family. You also see their eyes opening. Saying that this is a lot bigger than just paper and print. No, I think mainly what we've done now. Especially with the rebranding of Four Pees. That we've gone away from being a software vendor to being an integration partner. That is kind of related to the second picture I showed you. Simon Sinek's book: "Start With Why". Is that we're starting really to focus on our 'why'. The printer himself wants to know: how can this help me? I think there are a lot of challenges that the printers have nowadays. Raising from web to print is coming in. So they have to do a quick technological turnaround. For bigger printers that's easier than for the smaller ones of course. It is difficult because you're going from product selling to something else. And then making your marketing on a different level. They're selling advantages to people. So the whole company as well started thinking about: what is our why? We want to help printers. Because we know that these are challenging times. Even before Covid. The moment you start telling that story and bring it into the open, a lot of people are thinking: right! So this is actually something that is still here. And is actually even growing and evolving.

BST is a well-known brand in more than just the printing industry; they provide various inspection systems that ensure printers deliver what's expected. Though a competitive market, Global Sales Director Sajid Malik explains that BST has a huge market share—also because of its long history. Interesting insights!  

INKISH hosted for the first time ever our NON-EVENT. The Non-event is celebrating the people that have been in front of the camera, or been supporting INKISH during the past years. This is a new recurring event, and the idea is to give space for the people we have featured to connect in a new way. We invited 150 people, and 32 decided to join us. Our guests came from Japan, Canada, USA, UK, Belgium, Sweden, and Denmark - and we are confident that next year, even more, will come. We asked most of our participants to talk LIVE during the dinner - and here is Sagen De Jonge from Canada. Sagen De Jonge is one of the two owners of Tilia Labs, one of our favourite companies to cover on INKISH. Tilia Labs have reached star-recognition for their Phoenix imposition/planning software, and we were so happy when Sagen De Jonge and Scott More announced to come to our Non-Event. Enjoy!

In this 'Over the Skype' session, I have the pleasure of talking to Sagen De Jonge from Tilia Labs. Tilia Labs have, in few years, got a lot of recognition from the market for their imposition/planning tool Phoenix. In this session, we talk about AI, API, and how Phoenix help printing companies to become more efficient. 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!

In the corner of Canon's gigantic booth, you find a small yet fascinating corner featuring programatic print - which, in essence, is also referred to as the Omni channel. We got to talk to CMO Sabine Rittmeyer from the retail chain POCO. Poco uses the Omni Channel to drive traffic to their outlets and give users an experience when shopping - listen and learn!  

At the IST UV-Days, Sabine Geldermann joined a panel discussion with Stéphane Royère (KURZ), Sebastian Stange (Koenig & Bauer), and Tim Sterbak (IST Metz) under the headline 'One year to drupa.' It was a great debate with many interesting views about sustainability, supply issues, digital transformation, packaging, etc. And in this interview, INKISH got the chance to talk to Sabine Gelderman, following up on both the panel debate and her expectations for the upcoming 2024 edition of drupa. Enjoy!

Hello, everyone! This is Morten from INKISH. Today’s episode is a bit different from what we usually do. I’m excited to talk to my good friend, Rob Ens, from Toronto, Canada. Welcome to INKISH, Rob! Thank you, Morten. It’s a pleasure to speak with you. Likewise, Rob! It wasn't too long ago that we met in Düsseldorf at Duba. It was great you could come and see me, even though I was a bit stressed. That was one of the main reasons I went—to see you in action. And it was worth it! Recently, you reached out to me after I announced my plans to visit Ukraine next week. I'm going there to cover a story about a printing company, Faktadruk, which was deliberately bombed by the Russians on May 24th. Seven Heidelberg operators were killed, and more than 20 people were injured. Seeing the devastation on CNN and other major networks, it's a miracle more people didn't die. You mentioned this resonated with you because your family has roots in Ukraine and faced similar hardships after World War I and before World War II. I’d love to hear your story. But first, can you share your thoughts on the current situation in Ukraine? I usually avoid discussing politics online, but here we are. I support Ukraine. I have many Russian and Ukrainian friends, and I love them dearly. However, my family lost their land and privileges in Ukraine, and many family members died during the Bolshevik Revolution. So, I deeply sympathize with the Ukrainian people. They want to live in peace, and I believe they deserve our support. I bring this up because I, too, have Russian friends. Most of them now live in Denmark, the USA, or Canada. Of course, I still have connections in the industry in Russia. I believe that most individuals are not to blame for the war. In my opinion, which is political, Vladimir Putin bears most of the responsibility for the tragic events in Ukraine. There are similarities to the Bolshevik era you mentioned, which was around the 1920s, right? It was around 1919. My family kept detailed records and even wrote a book about it. The story feels different when read from a distance. Let me tell you a bit about the background. This book, housed in the Mennonite Archives in Winnipeg, was partly written by my great-grandmother when she came to Canada. I hadn’t read it until the war broke out, and it was an emotional experience. My great-grandmother wrote in factual terms about their hardships. Mennonites, originally Germans living in Ukraine, were pacifists invited by Catherine the Great to farm the land. They thrived peacefully for over 100 years. My great-grandfather, a learned teacher and lay preacher, was tragically killed by bandits during the revolution, which targeted landowners. The family faced immense hardships, including typhus brought by occupying soldiers. Despite these challenges, my great-grandmother's resilience shone through, seeing even the foggy day of her husband's funeral as a blessing for its safety. Hearing these stories makes us appreciate our fortunate lives today. They remind us of the resilience and hope that can emerge from the most difficult circumstances. Do you still have distant relatives in Ukraine, or did your entire family leave or disappear from there? Most of our direct relatives left Ukraine. An aunt who visited in the 1970s, whose husband had been sent to a Siberian gulag, initially thought our life in the West was staged because she couldn’t believe our prosperity. This underscores how fortunate we are to live in a part of the world with security, education, free speech, and other freedoms. That’s why I decided to go to Kharkiv, despite the risks. Faktadruk is one of the largest printing companies in Europe, printing schoolbooks for all of Ukraine. When the Russians attack such a significant institution, it’s a deliberate attempt to undermine Ukrainian culture and education. Ukraine is a vast country, as big as the entire Midwest in the US. Covering this story is essential to highlight the impact on the printing industry and the resilience of the Ukrainian people. Your heart drives you, Morten. You consistently seek the truth, which is why we admire you. I believe you’ll uncover important stories that can’t be orchestrated. I received a message from a Ukrainian woman who hopes I’ll see some of Kharkiv’s beauty despite the war. Documenting the damage to the printing company and its importance to the industry is crucial. Rob, do these family stories still resonate with your family, or do they fade over time? I’m the one reviving these stories. My cousin, a historian, and I keep history alive, ensuring we understand both sides. My uncle shared insights about the challenges wealthy landowners face, emphasizing the need for benevolence. Thank you for sharing your story, Rob. After my trip to Ukraine, I might call you again to share my insights. I’d love that. Stay safe, and I look forward to hearing from you.

RPI has operations in the US and Europe, and partners in Australie able to deliver consistent digital print globally down to the copy of one. We met with Joris Kuper, Account Manager New Sales, RPI Europe, at the recent Online Print Symposium in Munich. Great story.

In the middle of our presentations from Standard Finishing at PRINTING United, we suddenly see Rosemarie Garvey from Blooming Color. Of course, we ask her for a short statement about Horizon; as we know, Blooming Color focuses on HP, Horizon (sold by Standard Finishing), and Ultimate - so listen to her words here. LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosemarie-breske-garvey/

A few days before Rosemarie Breske Garvey and her team headed to Indianapolis to be part of DSCOOP, we visited Blooming Color in a sub-urban in Chicago - and it's super great to see Rosemarie Breske Garvey again. The last time we met was at DSCOOP Rockies in Denver, and now, I guess you understand that we are visiting a very dedicated businesswoman working with HP. A few days before our visit, the LAST offset press was removed from the site - and the digital transformation is complete. We are visiting Blooming Color because they use Ultimate Tech Impostrip and Bindery in the company, and with an increasing number of orders of one, the Ultimate Tech software has become a cornerstone in the company. Enjoy the film, and GREAT visiting this super smart company. Long live Commercial Print.

In this film, Rolf Scmidtke from Kurz discusses sustainability and how the entire life-cycle solution is developed. For now, in the northern part of Europe, later - enjoy!  

Though HP didn't bring an Advantage T2200 to Indianapolis, you could still learn a lot - on the product site, they released a plus pack that enables the press to run colors at 800 feet per minute, the same speed as monochrome - so with that said we got an opportunity to learn more about the print heads that are rather unique to HP. But rather than having me explain these, here is Rolando Martinez - enjoy!

RolandDG is one of the leading companies in the printing industry for large format, contour cutting, and machines that extend the boundaries of what's possible. See for yourself at www.argosinspirationdays.com in Brussels

Roland DG has always been considered a work-horse and in the upper segment of their segment and at Argos Inspiration Days we got the chance to talk to Business Development Manager Jeroen Kooij from Roland DG Benelux. In this short film, you can the amazing products and what opportunities i.e. the VersaUV offer printing companies and their customers.

Think about it. A family-owned ink manufacturer more than 250 years old and still on the top of the development curve. In this interview with Roland Schröder from Huber Group, we get some interesting background about the Munich-based Huber Group, and not only do we see and learn about the company, but also why UV inks are increasingly interesting, as the LED-technology becomes more and more capable. Roland Schröder shows a magazine printed on a web-offset press where the gas heating has been replaced with LED-UV. Super great result, and shown as it explains why the higher price on UV inks isn't a problem if you look at the entire production process - but don't take my word for it, listen to Roland Schröder - Super cool guy :-)

Business goes well in Switzerland, according to CEO Roland Eicher. With his company placed in beautiful Lucern, he has changed his business from a purely offset printing company to an almost entirely digital printing company today. Besides print and binding for his customers, Eicher Druck also operates as a binding partner for several other Swiss companies. Roland Eicher is at The Finishing First event to learn and invest in new technology - and the deal has been signed - a new Horizon Stitchliner MK III is on its way to Switzerland!

Nouvelle stratégie commerciale chez Roland DG où ils ciblent plus qu'avant le marché d'entrée de gamme. Lorsque ces débutants et adoptants grandissent et doivent adapter leurs machines et vitesses de production actuelles, Roland a tout ce dont ils ont besoin pour soutenir leur croissance. —— New commercial strategy at Roland DG where they are targeting the entry-level market more than before. When these beginners and adopters grow larger and need to adapt their current production machines and speeds, Roland has everything they would need to support their growth.

At IGAS, we saw more robots than ever before at any tradeshow. Henrik Christiansen from Cool Graphics is a well-known robot/cobot specialist in the printing industry. In this film, he walks us through several different types of robots and explains when it's called a cobot and when it's called a robot. What is the difference between an AMR and an AGV, and why two arms instead of one? We also get a view of the different types of grippers, so in short, a guided tour of the different types of robots and how they are utilized in our industry. GREAT - so watch it :-)

German language with English/German subtitles Richard Müller is the production manager of one of Europe's largest online printing companies, Saxoprint. We were invited by Horizon to see how robots are used along with Horizon's BQ series of binding machines, and the result is a solution that requires a minimum of operator intervention. Amazing to see, but in this film, we try to cover the full story of how automation has become increasingly important in digital and analog production. We also published an article on INKISH.NEWS about SAXOPRINT (In English) - you can read it here: https://inkish.news/article/MTMyOQ== -- add on --- our friends from Printmedianieuws found inspiration in the article above and the film published on INKISH.TV, and wrote this follow-up article in Dutch - you can read it here, requires a premium subscription!

At the Seiko Open Week 2022, you get the opportunity to get kind of behind the scene. How do ink- and substrate manufacturers test their products? Even printhead manufacturers need test equipment, and that is exactly what Roberto Campos from People&Technology show in this interview. The company has two main products - one is the above-mentioned ink testers. The second product line is machines made to clean printheads when they start making stripes or have other artifacts. Interesting to see how this works, and a world, that many most likely don't know! Enjoy!