Well, International Business is about communication. The picture is illustrating a situation where I just had signed a contract with a Chinese company. Helping them to come to the European markets. A short time after we signed the contract, the same day, the manager asked me to go into a meeting room and then explain to all his managers how it was to make business in Europe. And I'm sitting in front of this Chinese group of people, the two sitting left to me, they spoke some English. And the rest was just looking. And I had a preplanned English PowerPoint I was using. It is not about the word 'understanding'. It's more about the word do you comprehend? And this is where International Business Cross Culture very often goes wrong. Business in Europe is about knowing how and knowing who. It's about having a network. It's about knowing the markets. Empathy is about understanding, comprehending, trying to see who you have on the other side. Understand the way they are. It's about relationships. It is a people's business. It's very important. I'm not trying to sell them anything. I'm explaining them what my products can do. And what they can do for them. And together we find a concept which would be the right one for them. In Europe, we have trust. Straight away. The first time you and I we met each other, we had trust. In Asia, it's different. You earn trust, it takes time. You need to get closer and closer and closer. In this specific case, I came back to this guy five years ago. I called him saying: are you home? And he greeted with me with open arms. I hadn't seen him in the company for twenty over years. And said: look here Kim. This was the bottle you gave me thirty over years ago. I kept it and cherished it. And I saved it for a memorable day. That wasn't the customer's attitude. That was a friend's attitude.

Jean Lloyd has been in the industry for a long time and has become an industry-recognized specialist in the past years. In the film, we talk about digital packaging and why converters choose to go to Innovationdays, though there is little packaging and equipment to see. But tune into this film, and learn :-)

Kevin Neureuter, as of May 1st, 2024, has been appointed new CEO for manroland sheetfed North America. Kevin Neureuter has been with manroland for the past four years and explains in this interview that he, for some time, has been trained and positioned for his new role, and now the time is here. Kevin Neureuter will still be visiting clients and will be 'on the road' 80% of the time - and with a background in the industry, Neureuter has the same domain knowledge as the newly appointed Global CEO Mirko Kern. It's interesting to see how different the major players in the market address leadership. Meet Kevin Neureuter in this interview: open-minded, smiling, and relaxed - GREAT!

I live just north of Glasgow in Scotland on the banks of Loch Lomond. Like most sales guys…You know, you spend a lot of time traveling, a lot of time in the office. Probably way too much time working and not enough time personal. I have a lovely golden retriever dog. And him and I walk constantly. And this is my regular walk where I go with a dog. The Loch Lomond Whiskey is a very smooth whiskey. I think it should just be savored and enjoyed. My father is 87. And every night in life he has a big stiff whiskey. I'm sure, Captain Haddock, has maybe dabbled in some of the other ones as well. But but if that's his brand, then good on them. I have a beautiful wife and two lovely kids and a dog. And I love my dog. That's not to say I don't love my kids and my wife. It Is a very true saying. If you love your job, you'll never work a day in your life. My engineering background wants to help people solve problems. I believe in what I do. I believe that I try and do my best for the people that I do the job for. The challenge I have in the industry is the product that we sell, which is Corona treatment, not a lot of people really know it or understand it. They know they need it, but they don't really understand it. The founder of the company Vetaphone, that was actually the guy that invented Corona treatment. Because necessarily invent something doesn't necessarily mean you're the best. And actually that's something that I'm very conscious of. So therefore, to make sure that you are the best, you have to do it in a very different aspect. You have to address all areas of the process. As a company like you mentioned earlier, we're very proud of our history. And one of the things that really separates us from that is the knowledge of the process. We try and help them understand that not one size fits all. We're approaching them to help educate them in the process. And then we can go into the technology and why it's different. Why that is? Why should they buy the piece of equipment that we've got as opposed to just making something themselves? LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-mckell/

Bluecrest technology solutions, or where maximum levels of personalization meet with zero error tolerance. To be considered a trustworthy partner in this niche, it is essential to excel in producing engaging print and mail communications and delivering cost-efficient and error-free personalized printed collateral to the mail or e-box. We learn more by talking to the Vice President of Global Production Print, Kevin Marks.

Congratulations to Kevin Bennett from EZ-Mailing. At drupa 2024, we got to catch up with Bennett, whom we filmed a year ago. Already then, Bennett joked about getting a perfection press - and soon he did :-) A warm Congratulations to everybody.

Kevin Abergel is the founder of Taktiful - a company driving a community for companies working with digital embellishment - and also now a software supplier of a newly developed MIS system - that essentially takes the next step for how embellishment can help their owners make more money. In this interview, Abergel talks about how he was born into the industry with two uncles and a father founding MGI - and how digital embellishment differentiates from analog embellishment. Super interesting story that we can all learn from! Watch and learn!

Kern is one of the main players when it comes to inserting & mailing systems. The Hunkeler feeders will match the company color and can be had in Swiss red, or was it Ferrari red? Not sure if it has to reflect the speeds they obtain, but they are the only ones allowed to have a different color for the Hunkeler equipment that they integrate into their inserting lines. Good talk with Daniel Wenger about how Kern meets their customers' automation requirements.

When Japanese publishers wanted to expand their approach to logistics and publication management, they began working with the Rotomail team and their solution, Bronte Global Alliance. In this exclusive Inkish interview, Kenichi Igarashi speaks publicly for the first time.

Ken Garner is the VP Development & Industry Relations for the American organization, APTech, short for Association for PRINT Technologies. APTech used to be the organizer of GraphExpo and Print shows in Chicago but chose in 2019 to team up with Tarsus to continue the show under the name Brand Print Americas. In this, Over the Skype session, we get the chance to hear more about the work of APTech. We also hear about the first larger virtual conference that due to the COVID-19 was moved from being a physical conference to a virtual one - and many more exciting subjects. 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!

Soon after the pandemic got its grip on the world, the British Web-to-Print company Vpress started The Crown Pub. Two times a week, the pub opened its doors for users to discuss meaningful subjects. Rarely the topics were about anything relating to Vpress and their products. Regardless Kelvin Bell and his team continued the pub, and in this session, we talk to Kelvin Bell, whether this is just REALLY smart marketing, will this format continue forever, and what has the take-aways been for Vpress.

Paul is a friend, and if you are not connected with him, you should. Paul Gardner owns the second-largest print group on LinkedIn, with more than 120,000 members and a quite active community. He is the Director of Operations with AlphaGraphics, Sandy, in Utah daily. Whenever we are in Salt Lake City, we get a chance to meet with Paul, have some great food, and talk about the industry - and, of course, we had to interview one of the people who connects the most people in this industry. Please subscribe to Digital Printing and connect with Paul Gardner. Before doing so, please watch the film :-) LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/100048/

At any open house, the presenter/moderator makes the day flow. With the BHS Open House, the woman that 'glued' the event together was Katharina Aguilar, a professional presenter and moderator. We got the opportunity to ask her how much she had to prepare and understand the customer, and we believe you'll find this interview great. Enjoy!

Kasper is the second printing company in the world, being cradle-to-cradle compliant. In this session we hear about the journey, why it's important, and how it can be good business! LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kasper-larsen-b230252/

At the Horizon Finishing First event, one of the Horizon partners was the German workflow software specialist Impressed. Impressed has for 30 years delivered workflow solutions from Ultimate TechnoGraphics, Enfocus, and software for color management - pretty much all the needed software on the pre-press side. At the Finishing First event, Karsten Schwarze demonstrated the Impressed Server platform, which converts and streamlines the XML data. The software is super interesting for companies with multiple input data sources, but see the presentation and learn!

At the LabelExpo-Americas show, we got the chance to talk to CEO Kevin Karstedt from Karstedt & Partners, who today, Tuesday, September 20th, announced the company's acquisition by Keypoint Intelligence. Kevin Karstedt is well-known for the company's 20+ years of experience in packaging, and with his experience, he and his partner Jeff will be leading the packaging division at KPI. Super cool to meet Kevin Karstedt, and I am sure you will like the interview.

The KAMA ProCut76 is an amazing machine, and in the interview soon to be published on INKISH, the founder of Studio on Fire, Ben Levitz, explains how and why the KAMA ProCut76 is a game changer for the company - but in this film, we take the operators perspective. How easy is the ProCut to use, and what makes it stand out from similar machines in the market. Eric Ryan operates the ProCut76 and explains to Editor Morten B. Reitoft how it's used - and I am sure you will understand well - so sit back and enjoy!

Almost exactly a year ago we met ION Print and Kairit Parker for the first time. It was literally days before version 1 of ION Prints print broker platform was released. The software is made to help print brokers utilize printers, and instead of asking printers for quotes, ION Print automatically calculate the prices based on a large number of parameters. ION Print is out of Estonia, and for those who don't know, Estonia is one of the most developed IT-nations in the world. Now a year later, ION Print has been launched, and customers are using the platform daily. Listen and learn! 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 this conversation with Jutta Hendrikx and Hayco van Gaal from Canon Europe, we get a chance to talk about the new iX-series sheetfed inkjet printers from the global print-giant. We also get the very first view of the machine in action, filmed by Hayco van Gaal from their experience centre - so that's all very cool. 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 this 'Over the Skype' session Chief Co-creation Juriaan van Beelen of the online printing player - Print.com - talks with Jacques Michiels from INKISH Benelux about their business strategy, their focus on the professional market of Printers and print shops. Print.com offers online printing services in a "closed platform" and with App Connectivity. We talk about how Print.com see their own future and that of their customers, the Printers and Print providers in the BENELUX and the surrounding countries. All very interesting considerations and evolutions! We keep you Up to date! --- In deze 'Over the Skype' sessie spreekt Chief Co-creatie Juriaan van Beelen van de onlinedrukwerkspeler - Print.com met Jacques Michiels van INKISH Benelux over hun bedrijfsstrategie en hun focus op de professionele markt van drukkerijen en printshops. Print.com biedt online drukwerkservices in een "gesloten platform" en met App Connectivity. We praten samen over hoe zij hun eigen toekomst zien en die van hun klanten, zijnde de drukkerijen en Print providers in de BENELUX en haar omringende landen. Allemaal interessante overwegingen en evoluties! Hou dus samen met ons de vinger aan de pols!

We got the invite from our friends at Future School, as Shekar Balakrishna was awarded the first FOGRA certification in India. FOGRA celebrated and acknowledged this moment as the certificate was signed at the FOGRA booth. Enjoy the interview with Jürgen Gemeinhardt, and remember to see the interview with Shekar Balakrishna. Enjoy!

Julie Watson is the CEO of Ultimate TechnoGraphics based in Montreal, Canada. Since 1989 the company has focused on the imposition and was the first to introduce imposition using computers. Just imagine how many things have changed since then? Technology, customers, speed, CPU-power, Memory, and Julie Watson's career plan changed in 2008 when her father suddenly passed away at drupa in 2008. First, her mother, Joanne Watson, took over the leadership. Five years ago, Julie Watson became CEO of Ultimate Technographic - the company by some better known for their flag-ship software Impostrip. In this Conversation with Editor Morten B. Reitoft, Julie Watson shares her views on technology and why speed continues to be an essential factor in efficient workflow/automation. INKISH has months ahead of this interview filmed two Ultimate TechnoGraphics customers Print On Demand from Cape Town, South Africa, and Sendmoments from Germany. Print On Demand https://inkish.tv/inkish-video/pod/ Sendmoments https://inkish.tv/inkish-video/sendmoments/

Always excellent to see successful collaborations and our friends from Ultimate Tech and Horizon International is a brilliant example. This is being talked about in this Bonjour - but more interesting things - so dig in :-) LinkedIn Profiles: Julie Watson https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliew/ Yasuo Taketsugu https://www.linkedin.com/in/yasuo-taketsugu-55999134/

Morten Reitoft and Julie Watson discuss Ultimate Tech's preparations and excitement for Drupa 2024. Watson highlights the company's recent activities, partnerships, and technology introductions. She explains that while Printing United was significant for introducing new technologies like the AI-driven cutting buddy and new nesting technologies, Drupa remains crucial for showcasing its latest innovations to a global audience. Watson mentions the upcoming releases, including the 2024.1 version of Impostrip with enhanced job organization features and compatibility with PDF X4 from the Ghent Workgroup. She also discusses their container version of Impostrip on AWS, demonstrating their commitment to cloud-based solutions. Ultimate Tech will showcase its full-featured solutions across multiple platforms (Linux, Mac, Windows). Reitoft asks about Ultimate Tech's integration capabilities, particularly with their Ultimate Bindery software, which automates finishing processes and supports over 85 devices. Watson explains that their drivers validate jobs and automate device setups, allowing seamless integration and reduced manual intervention. They discuss Impostrip/Bindery's scalability, highlighting its ability to handle high volumes of short-run digital print jobs efficiently. Watson emphasizes the importance of starting with automation and gradually integrating more processes and devices to enhance productivity. Watson also discusses integrating their solutions with other systems, such as MIS and Web2Print platforms, using APIs for open connectivity. She mentions their collaboration with Omikai to showcase an end-to-end workflow solution at Drupa. Reitoft and Watson conclude by discussing the logistical ease of being a software company at Drupa compared to hardware manufacturers and the historical significance of Ultimate Tech's participation since 1990. Watson shares a personal anecdote about her family’s long-standing involvement in the industry.