Smart Factories need powerful MIS systems to automate & communicate, where is it going? - By Geert Van Damme, CERM.

Interview in Dutch - subtitles in English. De bekende Apple-verdeler uit het straatbeeld in België en kind aan huis bij vele drukkerijen. Maar wie is de man achter de naam Lab9 en hoe ziet hij onze grafische branche verder evolueren? In deze VIGC-talks ontmoeten en spreken we met haar Ceo Geert Coolman. -- EN -- The well-known Apple distributor in Belgium and a regular at many printing companies. But who is the man behind the name Lab9 and how does he see our graphic industry evolving further? In these VIGC talks we meet and speak with its CEO Geert Coolman.

International Sales Manager Gary Doman from GEW explains the advantages of using LED-UV and how GEW supports OEMs and the replacement market globally. With fast curing time and even higher quality on several substrates, the reason for buying a UV solution should be evident, and Gary Doman shares that the energy-saving cost (from other curing methods) practically pays for the change. This is a great story; dig in!

The media plays an immense role in the printing industry, and the trade-shows often rely on the promotion, marketing, and coverage of the trade-shows. However, the media also benefit from this symbiosis. Has the current situation with postponed and cancelled events influenced the media and the vendors' ability to get the information across to the PSP's? And with the new reality, will this be an opportunity or a threat to the trade media?

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gandhi-babu-59b57216/

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-gomez-291649145/

Oyama Fumiya with K.K. Irisu, a Japanese graphics supplier is in the DURST Demonstration Center for the first time. He explains his excitement as he has just sold his first DURST press and is looking to sell more into a hungry market. LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fumiya-oyama-7469aa20b/

Kerry Labatt has been with Prisma Graphic in Phoenix for years but with five different positions/roles and has thrived with the company's growth. Visiting Prisma Graphic is truly interesting - the shielding between the entrance and reception area to the customer service people is one long arc with super nice samples of print done by Prisma Graphic - and they are GOOD. The company excels in several types of print, from offset to web-offset, to various types of digital print from inkjet to toner, and the facility is WELL laid out. We are visiting Prisma Graphic as they use Hunkeler equipment and their Screen 520 Truejet device - and Hunkeler kindly sponsored this film. Super nice company, and great to see a company that keeps investing in technology. In the film, you will learn how Kerry Labatt sees investments and when the time is right to do new ones! Enjoy!

INKISH Editor & CEO Morten B. Reitoft was invited to Stockholm to give a presentation on Why and How to Use Video in your Communication. We filmed everything, and here is the presentation. The presentation takes almost an hour, but hopefully, you will enjoy, and hopefully, you can learn. That was the intention. Great day ahead!

Fujifilm's PR company also visited the Peak Performance Print Experience event, AD Communication - represented by Tom Platt. But what does a PR company do? And can a communications specialist also be passionate about technology? Well, listen to what Tom Platt has to say! LinkedIn Profile.

I don't know if the following is 100% accurate. Still, it seems that after Fujifilm and Xerox terminated their partnership, the Fujifilm engineers have worked harder than ever to bring new and exciting products to the market. In this film, I talk to General Manager Scott P. Mackie about the new Revoria B2 toner press, and the inkjet-based Continues Feed printer 1160CF. Enjoy the story and the others already on INKISH.TV.

In the suburbs of Brussels in Belgium, you find Fujifilm Europes facility for education and demos, and INKISH was invited to go there to talk to Head of Digital Solutions EMEA Taro Aoki. Like always, we love these conversations since the length allows us to discuss in details. In this conversation, this takes us from German cars vs—Japanese cars to why the Fujifilm 720/750 is such a good match for many offset printers. Taro Aoki also talks about some of the things he believes Fujifilm could bring to market in the future. As usual. Enjoy!

Henning Rose from Wegner in Bremen, Germany, recently won the Innovation Print Award at a Fujifilm event for an exceptional book project, securing second place in the brochures category and the Global Award for their book. The award is significant for their digital print shop, which specializes in niche projects and uses advanced digital printing systems, including Fujifilm Jetpress and Revorias. The winning book featured intricate details like a transparent foil cover and a keyhole cutout, showcasing their technical expertise. The project, produced on three digital systems, was completed in about eight weeks. This recognition enhances their reputation and is valuable for marketing and attracting new customers.

Our beloved host Pat McGrew travels the world, and in this episode, she brings you wonderfull print samples from a Fuji-Xerox user event in Japan. Pat McGrew is clearly impressed by the samples that not only showcases the technology used but also plays an important role in engaging the participants at the event.

As part of our California Cruising tour, we visited Lahlouh in San Francisco. That was an interesting visit, not only because of the company's technology - ranging from Xerox over Heidelberg to EFI, Horizon, and tons of other equipment but also because Lahlouh is a truly family-operated and owned printing company. The company has a commitment to its customers is second-to-none. With an ever-optimistic approach and willingness to develop new products and services, Lahlouh is in the hotspot of why print has a long and amazing future. Enjoy! LinkedIn Profiles: Catherine Lahlouh https://www.linkedin.com/in/lahlouh/ Tony Lahlouh https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-lahlouh-49b20535/

We've been with SO many printing companies over the years, and though amiable people meet 99% of the time - this one will be something special. Not just because of the superior technology and the products they produce. Not only because you see a company is investing in technology like the gigantic Massivit 3D printer. Not only because the company also invests in the creative side of events (we get to see how they work while here) but also because of the warm people working with CamAd in Toronto. Dan Deveau is highly genuine, open-minded, and friendly, but he touched me when I met his father. Bob Deveau has undoubtedly been a focused businessman. However, handing over the printing company to his son, and still at a high age, almost daily coming to the office to be around and participate in the business decisions, is lovely. Still, it also shows why CamAd is a company where everybody knows each other and does not just SAY family values but live family values. All the above said, Dan Deveau and his team operate a company where they still (but less) work screen printing (analog) but have taken strategic measures to become a digital company with strong craftsmanship - Dan Deveau is not a believer in automation, and you can see that the manual approach does its advantages - for example in how media is handled, but enough written. Watch the film, listen and learn - absolutely one of the better in my mind!

Horizon presents nothing less than 21 end-to-end solutions; all targeted to different applications and all very real scenarios for the thousands of IGAS attendees. In this film, we talk to Muneki Ban from Horizon International. He shows us a setup that is actually two solutions. The first half is fed with up to B1 sheets, which are folded into typically 16-pages signatures, and where the signatures are moved to the pallet using a robot solution. The second half of the setup in this film is where the signatures are placed in a machine gathering the signatures into book blocks, moved on a conveyor to the BQ500 binding solution, and finally, using a three-knife trimmer delivering finished books - and all handled with only one operator. The solution can even be extended with AGVs that can drive the pallets from a printing press to the feeder and the folded signatures to the gatherer - simply amazing and extremely productive!

To establish a smart factory a digital mindset and 360-degree business solutions are needed. We present our interpretation of a smart factory with the goal of full automation of repetitive task and a self-optimizing production. The scope is not limited to the digitalization of production and print data workflows or to automate production lines with smart and connected machines but includes the sales process, customer communication and enterprise resource planning. To make it tangible, we discuss a potential end-2-end business solution using the example of a personalized face mask and cookie box from the creation of a business idea to the shipped product – from Pixel to Output.

Mergers and Acquisitions take many shapes, and in this film, we talk to Christoph Schacht, who recently left his position as COO from EFI/Direct Smile. Direct Smile is a well-known software used by many print service providers globally. This story is about the company, which Christoph Schacht himself refers to as a 'Pirate' company, and how the failed three times getting to America, how they got in contact with EFI, and how Due Diligence was a process that has been a learning experience about Corporate America for Christoph Schacht. Enjoy - yet another great session about M&As. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christoph-schacht-919aa796/

In our series of films about Mergers and Acquisitions, we in this film meet Gerhard Märtterer, one of Alpha Picture's founders seventeen years ago. Everything developed fantastic until the financial crisis in 2008/09 directly influenced customers and forced Märtterer to file for insolvency. In this film, Gerhard Märtterer openly tells us about the failure, the shame, and the opportunities that eventually ended with Märtterer to buy back Alpha Picture together with two friends. This is an amazing story to learn from! https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerhardmaertterer/

It was supposed to be a behind the scene film from Venlo in the Netherlands and Poing in Germany. Inspired by the openness of Canon, and the amazing opportunity to see everything from how inks are made, to R&D labs with machines in development, to the production of the sold machines is by all means interesting. Regardless this film came to be about the transformation from offset to inkjet - and it is really good - Hayco van Gaal and Hans Schmidbauer from Canon EMEA share their insights. We will, however, shortly also deliver a more behind-the-scenes film, where you get an insight into how Canon works - pretty sure you will be as amazed as we were!

Lee Borns is the Vice President and 2nd. generation owner of Borns Group, Aberdeen, South Dakota, USA. Borns Group has grown over the years and experience that customers demand becomes more demanding. As he says, this changes the philosophy of printing/mailing more; it's about printing/the mailing smarter. To get the business operating as efficiently as possible, the company continues to invest in new technology, from new presses to smart software. One of the partners is Solimar, who delivers software enabling the Borns Group to create more innovative solutions. In this film, we get the opportunity to hear from Lee Borns about how Solimar supports their business.

Matthew Allen never planned a career in print, yet he now sees himself growing within the company he got part of years ago. Matthew Allen works at Eurostampa North America, an OMET customer throughout Europe and North America. An interesting journey for Matthew - enjoy the film!

Visiting a company like ColorDynamics is an experience in itself. The entrance is impressive, and the company's design makes it interesting, with gardens, courtyards, and space. The history of ColorDynamics is also fascinating, as it was founded in Chicago but moved years ago to Allen in Dallas and has since grown through excellent management and acquisitions. We learned all this from Brian Stone and David Dey, along with how the company reduced their four wide-format digital printers to two new Agfa wide-format printers, delivering more than anticipated and higher quality. ColorDynamics is a fantastic printing company specializing in trading cards and providing solutions using their Heidelberg and HP presses and web-offset machines with tailor-made finishing - super lovely company!