Large format output InkJet devices as the technologies of choice are on everyone's radar in the graphics and printing industry. INKISH set out to investigate these pandemic period whisperings and promises that were in full display at the FESPA2021 Global Expo in beautiful Amsterdam. Walking in through the RAI entrance you could not miss one of the biggest booths in show. This is a comprehensive interview with a keen and knowledgeable Koen Steers, Head of Sales, Europe for AGFA’s Sign & Display segment. The excellent atmosphere in and around the Agfa booth and the rest of Expo show is proof that the interviewee, the many visitors and of course INKISH were eager to mingle, explore, have a good time and talk about everything new. Enjoy! LinkedIn Profile:

The very idea about showcasing print on a film may sound crazy, but when you watch Print Sample TV with Pat McGrew, you really get an idea what the print sample is all about. In this 21st episode, Pat McGrew has got her hands on some samples from DUPLO. Most printers may only know as a company making binding equipment, but recently they introduced a LED-UV spot coater. The print samples shown here are not just great, but also explains how they are made. Great inspiration and as usual, Pat McGrew is an amazing host. Watch, like, and remember to share!

In this 'Learn with us' session, Toon Van Rossum from Enfocus gives you an insight on how to see your future automation. This presentation is not about products, but about the process that can lead to any software investment, you are looking into.

What started as an article on tonernews.com strongly urging their readers to raise their voices against lifting the ban on Ninestar - ended up with a long yet lovely conversation between Herve Milner from tonernews and Editor Morten B. Reitoft about global politics, free trade, democracy, and well - interesting we think. If you have time, listen to the conversation, and feel free to comment :-)  

Jeff Sarringar is Senior Marketing Executive at Canon Solutions America, and we got the chance to talk to him at PRINTING United. We previously filmed Jeff Sarringar in a Project Peacock FIlm we did together with Debora Corn, so we enjoyed seeing him again. Jeff Sarringar works with the cut-sheet printer i300. The machine is one of the first inkjet cut-sheet devices on the market, and according to Sarringar, the i300 has been successful for Canon. Recently the i300 was updated to a "+" version, which prints stunning print. Current i300 customers can get their device upgraded on-site, but why not just hear what Jeff Sarringar has to say himself? Tune in!

Many printing companies were hit by the so-called financial crisis from 2008. People, workers, owners were hit because of how banks were abusing their strength in society and that has influenced a lot of people almost everywhere in the world. Most business owners think back on the crisis with remorse and quite a few also had to go through bankruptcies, mergers, acquisitions, and even things worse. As if this was bad enough, the story about the family-owned Greek company Tsolakas, tell us how bad it is for any company when banks are suddenly not there anymore. Imagine how you will operate your company tomorrow if you know you have money in the bank, but you can't use them. This story is a very open and honest description of​ what happened in 2015 for Fillippos Tsolakos and his company.

Tomas Van Rossom has just been appointed as General Manager for Enfocus, and though new in the position, Rossom has worked with Enfocus since 2017 as Global Sales Director. In this conversation, we talk about family, Covid, subscription vs. license sales, setting goals, and how Tomas van Rossom will fit the new role after his predecessors. A very open-minded and great conversation that we are sure you will like - so why not just watch? https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasvanrossom/

This walkthrough shows the new Koenig & Bauer Durst VarieJet 106, a digital printer for folding cartons. The product Manager, Tom Sander, brilliantly explains how the machine is built, where the flexo varnish units are positioned, and what advantages these and the VarieJet have. Enjoy!

Interview in Dutch - subtitles in English. Onze grafische industrie in het algemeen en Drupa in het bijzonder is altijd gedreven geweest door technologie. Hoewel hardwareleveranciers vaak software hebben ingezet, en dat vandaag de dag nog steeds doen om zich te onderscheiden van hun concurrenten, ziet de klant, namelijk de drukkerij, dit nog té vaak als een bijzaak. We zien echter meer en meer dat de bedrijven die hun digitale transformatie centraal stellen in hun bedrijfsstrategie, diegene zijn die onze industrie richting geven en transformeren. We hadden dus wel wat vragen voor Tom Peire, CEO Four Pees. -- EN -- Our graphics industry in general and Drupa in particular has always been driven by technology. Although hardware suppliers have often used software, and still do so today, to distinguish themselves from their competitors, the customer, namely the printing company, still too often sees this as an afterthought. However, we are increasingly seeing that the companies that put digital transformation at the center of their business strategy are the ones that guide and transform our industry. So we had some questions for Tom Peire, CEO Four Pees.

Four Pees has set a course to become one of the leading implementations of printing industry related IT-solutions. With huge knowledge, and as CEO and Founder Tom Peire explain, learning from previous mistakes, the company is now ready to execute ambitious plans. As usual, our 'Conversations' format goes behind the scene and gives you an insight into the human side of the top management in companies in our industry. This one is truly great - so please enjoy it!

30 years ago, Tom Ling, now President and CEO of Advantage Colorgraphics, got into a mailbox company - and as he said, he has lived the American Dream and today operates an 800+ people company. The Mailboxes became Direct Mail, and when we ask him about a defining moment, he talks about the decision to invest in sheet offset. 30 years later, Advantage Colorgraphics has acquired numerous companies, invested in web-offset, Xerox, and HP toner technology, and now Tom Ling has not only one Landa S10P but also an S11P. He is VERY pleased with his Landa's and explains how they are a perfect fit for his diverse production - but listen for yourself :-) LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomling/

Great having time to get to know the people better when touring - and that is exactly what we had during our Always on Tour with Koenig & Bauer in New Berlin and Bloomington the past two days. Here Editor Morten B. Reitoft have a chat with Tom Fitzgerald :-) LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-fitzgerald-34116210/

The Mark Andy Low Migration event gives us an amazing opportunity to talk to interesting people. Here Jacques Michels talks to the executive VP of Sales, Tom Cavalco. Another more things Cavalco focuses on is why Hybrid machines are an important area for Mark Andy and how their partner strategy plays a role. Great to learn from!

Tom Baker is responsible for selling MBO post-press equipment in the UK, and he explains in this film that things are pretty OK. The Cobo Stack has also been a success in the UK - but dig in and listen for yourself!  

Interview with Tom Allum, Owner &Chairman of Abbey Labels (UK). Abbey Labels have been working in the digital label printing business for more than 10 years and are an important user of Xeikon digital equipment. Tom among other things explains the great importance of seamless color matching between flexo printing technology and Xeikon’s Digital Dry toner technology and why it is of the utmost importance when dealing with brand owners and food packaging in particular. Abbey Labels as an important player in the label business is constantly looking to improve and invest in the best and most suitable innovations to go forward. Tom shares some of their plans for the near future. SO important to hear about how technology and the right choice of solutions can drive one's success.

Toby Weiss is the COO of the Fiery Digital Front End for EFI. In this CONVERSATION, Toby tells about his work life balance, the challenges presented by the (not so) great pandemic and his vision for what Fiery means to to the print world as the transition to digital accelerates. With a background in high technology that had little to do with print, he has become a thought leader in moving Fiery forward to the places print needs to go. His sense of humor and keen insights make this an enjoyable journey to what makes EFI a key player in the industry.

Reitoft welcomed Tobias Köngeter from Wirbelwild to INKISH. Köngeter introduced himself and his company, which he owns with his wife. In Southern Germany, Wirbelwild's name is a play on the words 'world wind' and 'wild.' Köngeter explained that they started the company because they couldn't find software to create highly individualized printing products, so they decided to develop it themselves. Köngeter and his wife, both from creative backgrounds, found repetitive tasks in pre-press work, such as calendar layouts, boring and risky. They wanted software to handle complex and creative printing tasks that existing software like InDesign or QuarkXPress couldn't manage. To achieve this, Köngeter learned programming, which allowed them to develop the necessary software and turn Wirbelwild into a company providing layout automation solutions. Köngeter introduced ManyPrint Solutions, a cloud-based layout automation software that processes data dynamically without predefined templates. The system can import data from various sources, adapt layout rules dynamically, and produce outputs in multiple formats, including printing PDFs, InDesign files, HTML files, videos, and audio. He explained that ManyPrint Solutions is open to various data inputs, flexible in layout generation, and versatile in output formats. He highlighted a product called the Running Diary, which generates personalized brochures with running route recommendations, maps, and individualized videos based on the user's location. Köngeter announced that Wirbelwild would exhibit at Drupa in Hall 8B, sharing a large stand with Konica Minolta. Visitors can see demonstrations of their products and their integration with Konica Minolta's printing machines. Reitoft admired Köngeter's achievements and planned to visit their booth at Drupa. Köngeter provided final details on their exhibition and expressed his excitement about showcasing their innovative solutions at Drupa.  

The BHS Open House '23, in Münster, gives us a lot of opportunities to talk to some of the specialists working for BHS - and of course, the new Jetliner gets a lot of attention. One of the people working on the machine is Tobias Fries, a product manager with knowledge and background in commercial print.

Tobias Bairle is the owner and CEO of BAIRLE Druck & Medien and a customer of Horizon. At Horizon Finishing First event, he is looking into new investments and finding inspiration. Language German - will be subtitled shortly!

Chinese language - English Subtitles

Livonia Print is one of the most successful printing companies in the Nordic/Baltic/German area with a dedicated focus on effective book production. The company is Norwegian owned, a German handles location in Riga, Latvia, and workflow/automation and business development. This must be the definition of a truly international company. In this interview, both CEO Trond Erik Isaksen and Head of Business Development Marc Freitag share some of their insights. I like Livonia and what they have achieved - and it seems that their belief in the future is a strong and dedicated focus. Enjoy!

International Paper has published the 21st edition of their recognized Pocket Pal - the book that teaches you to speak correctly - or to standardize the vocabulary of PSPs. Host and evangelist Pat McGrew are excited about the addition of terms from the digital print space, so watch the Print Sample TV edition and maybe find a way to get your copy of the Pocket Pal.

TLMI represents converters, substrate suppliers, and vendors in the label printing industry and uses the BOBST Open House event to support BOBST as a member and to serve and recruit new members. Listen and learn from Dale Coates, Engagement Director with TLMI.

Everything good ends, and after three days with guests from all over Europe, the Horizon Finishing First event is over. Timm Edelhoff is very satisfied with the event and promises that Finishing First as the event will revert, but listen for yourself to the closing notes here.