Printing Industry Commentary & Analysis

Labels: Technology and Markets Keep Opportunities Coming

Published May 29, 2026

At its core, labeling is considered package identification and decoration. Its growth is driven by e-commerce, food/beverage demand, and regulations, where the market has surpassed 1.2 trillion square meters in production volume per year. The market is moving toward high-mix, low-waste production rather than only high-volume throughput. In practical terms, the winning equipment is the kind that can switch jobs quickly, inspect automatically, and handle variable data without slowing the line.

Direct-to-Object: Challenging Labels and Tags or Offering New Opportunities?

Published May 29, 2026

Print is a very adaptive technology and direct-to-object (DTO) is another area where it can offer new opportunities for PSPs and product manufacturers. Today, most of the product and packaging decoration (i.e., labels and tags) that exists is handled by a label converter. It is a well-established process that probably won’t disappear. However, it can and will be challenged by inline DTO printing solutions, offering new opportunities.

Labels and the Connected Supply Chain

Published May 29, 2026

You can think of this very competitive connected supply chain landscape in four layers: material suppliers, label converters/printers, hardware OEMs, and software/platform players. The connected supply chain has changed from moving things hand-to-hand or through email to more full-featured automated systems. The good news is that, as a converter, after you decide where you would like to start, there are so many options for you to select from.

The Start-Up Chronicles: dappas—Next Level E-Commerce Packaging Intelligence

Published May 29, 2026

The ultimate goal of dappas is to help facilitate design and eliminate the entire prepress production, so all the converters who are working with them get a stream of work that is ready to go to press and converting.

Ghent Workgroup: 25 Years and Still Going Strong

Published May 26, 2026

The Ghent Workgroup (GWG) has been the global industry association focusing on standardizing best practices in print and packaging for 25 years, and has been expanding its scope, reach, and focus, all with the goal of facilitating consistent, higher-quality output as well as process automation, to facilitate the promise of Industry 5.0 and beyond.

Konica Minolta: Building for the Future

Published May 12, 2026

Whether you are a manufacturer or a print service provider, as market demands continue to change, you need to build for the future. The data is there, and it shows opportunity for those who embrace the change. David Zwang reports from a recent Konica Minolta open house.

Lakeside Book Company: Growing Beyond Production

Published May 5, 2026

The best way to describe Lakeside Book Company is “a diversified book manufacturer as well as a book warehousing, fulfillment, and distribution services provider for publishers.” It is one of the largest book-printing and book-distribution operations in North America. The are becoming a publishers partner and help their customers manage the full life cycle of their titles, their book titles, whether it’s a single copy or over a million copies of softcover, casebound, one-color, four-color. And they keep on growing.

Komori's Offset and Inkjet Solutions

Published April 22, 2026

Komori has been providing offset press solutions for decades, and at drupa in 2024, introduced a new B2+ Inkjet press. Both of these seem to target the demands of today's market. David Zwang talks with Lance Martin, VP Product Marketing for Komori, about the company's offset and inkjet portfolio.

Sustainability: Coming Soon to a PSP Near You

Published April 21, 2026

While the politics of governments turn a blind eye to these concerning facts, upcoming generations, especially Gen Z and Millennials, tend to treat sustainability as a core expectation rather than a niche preference. Sustainable printing at a very basic level is printing that is produced using environmentally and socially sustainable materials and processes for environmentally and socially sustainable products and services.

Scodix Introduces Embellishment for Sign and Display

Published April 17, 2026

Scodix has announced their new Ultra 7000 SHD which is designed to embellish materials for sign and display including rigid material like Plexiglas, acrylics, and corrugated for applications like point of sale and point of display. David Zwang talks with Amit Svartz, COO of Scodix, about the new system.

From Products to Outcomes: HP Indigo Nonstop Digital Printing

Published April 14, 2026

The printing industry is shifting from selling products to delivering business outcomes. All powered by predictability and uptime that customers can rely on. At Dscoop Edge Rockies 2026, HP introduced several tangible steps tied directly to that “outcomes” shift.

EMT Continues to Deliver Finishing Solutions to the Changing Printing Industry

Published April 6, 2026

David Zwang talks with Mike Herold, EVP Marketing and Sales for EMT International, about the industry, its changes, the shifting requirements for digital finishing, and how to address them.

Living Ink and ACTEGA Take on Carbon Black

Published April 2, 2026

Carbon black, a core component of black ink for decades, has come under fire in recent years due to its perceived negative environmental impact. However, David Zwang talks with executives from Living Ink and ACTEGA about a new technology that offers a viable alternative.

Michelman's Andy Rae on Partnering with HP

Published March 31, 2026

Michelman is one of the longest running partners with HP, and continues to provide significant benefits to HP and their customers. Andy Rae, Head of Digital Business Unit at Michelman, talks with David Zwang about how HP and Michelman work together to provide the solutions that support the changing landscape of print and packaging.

Tecnau and Sitma Help RPI Print, Produce, and Ship Thousands of Jobs Per Day

Published March 26, 2026

RPI is a global white label printer that found that Tecnau has helped streamline their production and throughput and are now looking at the final step in the process, packaging for shipping. Sitma explains how it will provide a significant benefit.

ProQure Solves Connected Packaging Challenges

Published March 24, 2026

David Zwang talks with Ami Barda, President of ProQure, which worked with CPGs and PSPs to create a connected packaging platform using NFC and QR Code data carriers for the packaging supply chain.

Miraclon Launches FLEXCEL Prime Plate

Published March 24, 2026

Miraclon has been at the forefront of modern flexo for years and has now launched a new flexo plate that brings even more consistency and ease of use to the pressroom and the prep area. David Zwang talks with Emma Weston, Chief Marketing Officer for Miraclon, about the new plate.

Online Print Summit: Back to the Future

Published March 23, 2026

While Seybold focused on new digital technologies, and how they could drive the digital transition, the OPS focus is on the shifting markets and the role of technology challenges and opportunities in print to support those changes. The common thread is that print is a very dynamic industry, and only those that are willing to live with change will not only survive, but thrive.

Dscoop Rockies 2026: It’s a Wrap

Published March 16, 2026

Dscoop Rockies 2026 was firmly directed at the future, with AI, partnerships, and nonstop printing as the major themes, providing the attendees with a view of their direction and the direction of HP going forward.

Dscoop 2026: Commitment, Momentum, Trust, and the Future We Build Together

Published March 9, 2026

As industrial print enters a new era shaped by automation, data, and artificial intelligence, leadership is no longer about predicting what comes next. It is about earning the future through consistency, credibility, and shared purpose. The message from Denver was clear: the future of industrial print will not be built in isolation. It will be built together.

Norwalt: Integrating Print into the Factory of the Future

Published March 3, 2026

Shifting consumer market demands and supply chain challenges are changing the way that CPGs are looking at their manufacturing lines. Their goal is modular and super flexible. That includes product decoration—i.e., labeling. Ultimately, they need marketing and manufacturing to close the loop with each other on what the marketing efforts are and the actual manufacturing ability is.

Konica Minolta's Michael Cox on The Company's Latest Equipment

Published March 3, 2026

In this Business Update Video, David Zwang talks with Michael Cox, Director, Category Strategy L&P, for Konica Minolta, about the company's latest offerings in the digital printing, digital label, and wide-format markets, as well as the top challenges facing the industry today.

One Taktisphere for All!

Published March 3, 2026

With embellishment becoming more widely available and used, the team at Taktiful decided that it was time to create a place to discuss, learn and share all things embellishment. David Zwang talks with Taktiful's Eric Vessels about the new Taktisphere.

Do You Know Your Carbon Quota?

Published February 24, 2026

CPGs—and residents of the world—are increasingly interested in seeing what impact their printing and operations have on the environment. David Zwang talks with Dominic Harris, CEO of Carbon Quota, a solution that quantifies that information, and does it relatively easily.

CONNECT 2026: 26 Years Later and Still Going Strong

Published February 19, 2026

With 14 tracks and 152 sessions, 40 of them focused on packaging, attended by over 518 attendees and 16 partners, this 26th year of CONNECT continues to be a unique and valuable users conference. Product roadmaps along with industry trends, automation, and AI were at the top of mind for the enthusiastic crowd.

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: Kodak Plate Manufacturing Is Prepared for Global Tariffs and Demand in 2026

Published February 18, 2026

David Zwang talks with Laura Cole, VP Pricing & Controls, Kodak, and Sven Freyer, Global VP Print Manufacturing & Managing Director, Kodak Germany, about the growth in demand for Kodak's Sonora offset printing plates and the company's outlook for 2026.

Should You Diversify?

Published February 17, 2026

Traditional printing markets have been shrinking as a result of an increase in online technologies, and shifting consumer demands. Diversification in the printing industry is the deliberate expansion beyond a shop’s traditional core applications, markets, or business model to create new, more resilient revenue streams and reduce dependence on shrinking legacy work.

Xeikon Defines New Management Structure for North America

Published February 16, 2026

David Zwang talks with Rob Welford, President of Xeikon NA. Xeikon North America has restructured the organization to better serve the region with their existing and new toner and inject products for commercial print and packaging.

dappas: Next Level E-Commerce Packaging Intelligence

Published February 9, 2026

The ultimate goal of dappas is to help facilitate design and eliminate the entire prepress production, so all the converters who are working with them get a stream of work that is ready to go to press and converting.

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: Fiery JobFlow Pro Brings Intelligent Communication to Print Workflows

Published February 3, 2026

In this Product Spotlight, David Zwang takes a deep dive into Fiery JobFlow Pro, a new and innovative workflow platform based on intelligent automation.

Product Spotlight: Fiery JobFlow Pro

Published February 3, 2026

David Zwang talks with Hans Sep, Product Line Manager for Fiery, about JobFlow Pro, a new and innovative workflow platform based on intelligent automation.

Cloudprinter Opens Their Own Facilities to Better Serve Their Growing Market

Published February 3, 2026

David Zwang talks with Martijn Eier, Founder of Cloudprinter.com, about how the company is enhancing their backend production by opening their own facilities to better service the growing market.

Book Production: Inkjet Drives the Future

Published January 27, 2026

Using inkjet for book manufacturing enables ultra-fast turnaround, critical for Amazon, educational publishers, and self-published authors, so books can be printed as orders arrive, drastically reducing unsold inventory. Inkjet book production will continue reshaping the publishing landscape, making it possible to efficiently print, personalize, and deliver books at nearly every scale from bestsellers to niche specialist titles through 2030 and beyond.

Friesens—A Unique Company

Published January 13, 2026

Friesens was started by D.W. Friesen in 1907 as a one-man operation in a 20-foot-wide store on Main Street in Altona, Manitoba, Canada. Today, Friesens Corporation is 100% employee-owned and has a campus, still located in Altona, that has grown to encompass four divisions (Book, Yearbook, History Book, and Packaging) and employ about 600 people across North America with annual revenues well in excess $125 million

An Exciting Year for Heidelberg USA

Published January 9, 2026

Last year, Heidelberg celebrated its 175th anniversary, and opened the Home of Print in Germany. This year the celebration will be here in the US with the opening of "The Print Media Center Americas - Home of Print." In this Business Update video, David Zwang talks with Clarence Penge, President of Heidelberg USA.

Rootree: Not Just Making Pouches

Published December 18, 2025

Canadian company Rootree has been involved in flex pack for about 16 years and among the foundation players in digital flex pack. Today, digitally printed flex pack runs are increasing in size challenging the established business requirements. While there are many challenges and ways to address them, Rootree is addressing many of them, and one of them by opening a facility in the US.

Filling a Market Gap with Canon's varioPRINT iX1700

Published December 15, 2025

David Zwang talks with Colleen Molkenbur, Manager, Product Planning & Marketing, for Canon U.S.A. about Canon's new varioPRINT iX1700 cut-sheet production inkjet press. The new press was designed to fill a gap between Canon's higher-product ion inkjet units and its toner-based presses.

Canon's Lisa Weese on Canon's Broad Production Inkjet Portfolio

Published December 11, 2025

David Zwang talks with Lisa Weese, Director of Product Marketing for Canon U.S.A., about Canon's extensive line of production inkjet equipment.

Canon's Patrick Donigain and the New Colorado XL

Published December 10, 2025

David Zwang talks with Patrick Donigain, Sr. Manager Marketing for Canon U.S.A., about Canon's new 3.4m Colorado XL series, the latest in Canon's successful line of UVgel wide-format printers.

Canon’s Matthew Poliniak on How the imagePRESS V1350 Creates Versatility for All Print Shops

Published December 3, 2025

David Zwang catches up with Matthew Poliniak, Senior Manager, Product Marketing for Canon U.S.A., about their imagePRESS V1350 technology and the machine's features that create more automated and efficient print runs.

Scaling Xitron's K2

Published November 20, 2025

In this business update video, David Zwang talks with Bret Farrah, Executive VP of Xitron, about Xitron's K2, targeted to print businesses looking to upgrade their aging workflows.

Focusing on Mental Health and Wellness with She*t for Brains

Published November 20, 2025

David Zwang talks with Chris Minn, Jessica Decola, and David Rosendahl, collectively known as She*t for Brains, a grass roots initiative that focuses on mental health and wellness in the print industry. The organization offers live and virtual sessions that provide a safe space for industry professional to get together and discuss the issues they are wrestling with.

Gallus Launches Gallus Five and Gallus Alpha—Creating a Full Lineup for Label and Packaging Applications

Published November 18, 2025

David Zwang talks with Thomas Schweizer, Head of Global Sales for Gallus, about the company’s major launches at Label Expo 2025, including the Gallus Five, a new hybrid press combining flexo and high-resolution inkjet printing, and the Gallus Alpha, a digital-only press for affordable, high-quality inkjet production—completing Gallus’ full lineup for diverse label and packaging applications.

Sitma Tecnau's Chris Petro on the Convergence of Print and Packaging

Published November 4, 2025

David Zwang talks with Chris Petro, General Manager & VP Americas, for Sitma Tecnau, about Tecnau's acquisition of Sitma, an Italian manufacturer of ecological packaging production equipment and how it complements Tecnau's print finishing equipment portfolio.

New Chair Lane Kathryn Hickey-Wiggins on the PRINTING United Alliance

Published October 27, 2025

David Zwang talks with Lane Kathryn Hickey-Wiggins, Chair of the Board of the PRINTING United Alliance, about her experiences as a longtime PUA Boardmember.

Hybrid Software: A Unique Company with a Targeted Vision

Published October 21, 2025

Many companies have been creating solutions to enhance the printing and packaging production plant. Hybrid Software is unique in being the only full-stack provider of all the core technologies required for industrial inkjet printing from printhead electronics to high-performance digital front ends (DFEs) and workflow automation systems. They do this through an interesting collection of very targeted solution acquisitions and continuous development, which can be confusing to understand to some, but knowing the principals I know there is a plan.

Online Print Summit: “Re:Inventing Print for the On-Demand Era”

Published October 21, 2025

David Zwang talks with Bernd Zipper, CEO of Zipcon and Founder of OPS about this year's Online Print Summit. The print industry is changing to meet the changes in market demands including automation, AI, etc. This significant event will host industry leaders and operations people who will share how they are managing it.

Esko's Jan de Roeck on the S2 Platform

Published October 20, 2025

David Zwang talks with Jan de Roeck, CMO of Esko, about the company's new S2 platform that leverages secure data sharing, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence across Esko products, partner integrations, and APIs from a single source.

Esko's Joel Depernet on Customers' Top Challenges

Published October 16, 2025

David Zwang talks with Joel Depernet, President & CEO of Esko, about the top challenges facing customers: how to reduce costs and how to improve quality.

RFID, NFC, and the Future

Published October 15, 2025

David Zwang talks with Manfred Mueller, CSO and COO of Identiv, about how RFID and NFC are replacing barcodes and QR codes for identification and tracking of products and product lifecycles to meet brand and regulatory needs.

LABELS & PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY OUTLOOK—Trends in L&P: 2025

Published October 14, 2025

Generally, print and especially packaging will continue to grow as long as there is economic growth. However, all labels and all packaging are not equal, and as a result the opportunities, trends, and technologies can differ, affecting margin and volume growth. While digital package printing provide many opportunities for higher margins and growth and ease of operation, it still faces lower productivity, higher costs for traditional runs, and some substrate limitations as it competes with digitalized flexo and offset.

Durst's Michael Deflorian on the Open Software Initiative

Published October 14, 2025

David Zwang talks with Michael Deflorian, Director Business Unit Software & Solutions for durst, about the Open Software Initiative, a neutral, modular software platform designed to provide print service providers, resellers, system integrators, and OEMs access to powerful and flexible modules and enable seamless integration of third-party solutions, regardless of printer type or manufacturer.

PRODUCTION PRINT TECHNOLOGY OUTLOOK—Trends and Technologies in EP (Toner) Digital Printing: 2025

Published October 13, 2025

Production inkjet has reached the offset quality barrier, and digitalized analog printing is targeting shorter run, so some believe that it is the death knell for electrophotography (EP), aka “toner.” Although, as Mark Twain said, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated” and based on trends and recent developments in EP technology, I believe that is the case here as well.

ECO3's Guy Desmet on the Company's Expansion into Flexo

Published October 13, 2025

David Zwang talks with Guy Desmet, Global Head of Strategy & Marketing for ECO3. ECO3 supplies consumables, processing systems, and software for offset workflows, and has expanded into flexo, serving as a one-stop shop for customers in the flexo industry.

Xitron's Eric Nelsen On K2 Version 2

Published October 9, 2025

David Zwang talks with Eric Nelsen, VP of Product Development for Xitron. Xitron K2, a full featured workflow system, was developed to replace older workflow solutions from many manufacturers as well as drive multiple CTP devices, digital presses, and other output devices.

Canon Digital Corrugated: Meet the CORRPRESS IB17

Published October 8, 2025

At drupa, Canon teased their early development of a digital corrugated press. It’s no longer a tease, and at the European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers (FEFCO) biennial event, Canon introduced their rumored corrugated press, this time with details. Considering the amount of time digital corrugated presses have been available, you would have expected that adoption would be much higher than the few hundred installed globally today. Canon is looking to change that with the CORRPRESS IB17.

ESKO's Eddy Fadel on Navigating Changing Customer Needs

Published October 8, 2025

David Zwang talks with Eddy Fadel, VP Flexo Business Unit for ESKO, about how the company is addressing customers' changing needs and requirements.

GEW's Robert Rae on the Company's UV Curing Systems for Printing, Coating and Packaging Applications

Published October 7, 2025

David Zwang talks with Robert Rae, Managing Director, Sales, for GEW about the company's extensive partnering with machine manufacturers in the narrow-web label market, and the company's extensive product offerings.

ACTEGA's Thomas Sawitowski On Navigating a Changing Market

Published October 7, 2025

David Zwang talks with Thomas Sawitowski, Senior Vice President, Flexible Packaging, for ACTEGA about how the consumables company is navigating the changes and trends in the market, from shorter runs to changing regulations.

Durst's Martin Leitner on the New Tau G3

Published October 6, 2025

David Zwang talks with Martin Leitner, Head of Product Management Labels & Flexible Packaging for Durst, about the company's new Tau G3 Platform for digital label printing, which was introduced at Labelexpo 2025 in Barcelona.

Canon EMEA's Edoardo Cotichini on the Expansion into Digital Labels and Packaging

Published October 6, 2025

David Zwang talks with Edoardo Cotichini, European Senior Manager, Marketing, Label & Packaging, for Canon EMEA, about the company's rapid expansion into labels and packaging.

Durst’s Christoph Gamper on Expanding Beyond Printing

Published October 2, 2025

David Zwang talks with Christoph Gamper, CEO and Co-Owner of Durst, about where he sees Durst going, and how the company is expanding its offerings beyond printing into ancillary areas such as automation and software.

Landa Digital Printing: A Rebirth

Published October 1, 2025

On September 6, 2025, the $80 million acquisition bid by FIMI was accepted by the Central District Court, giving the private equity firm 100% ownership of the Landa Corporation. Importantly, the reorganization is designed to keep the company operational and provide a solid path forward, more than 20% of their customers have placed a repeat order for a second or third press. So how do they keep it going and growing?

Konica Minolta’s Toshi Uemura on Application-Specific Printing Technologies

Published October 1, 2025

David Zwang talks with Toshi Uemura, CEO of Konica Minolta, about KM’s toner and inkjet printing technologies, and where each technology fits in the market.

Labelexpo Europe 2025: In the LOUPE and it’s a Wrap!

Published September 30, 2025

Labelexpo has been evolving for years to better reflect the market and importantly the converter and exhibitor preferences. Initially, the extension brought flex pack to the event, and this year was also saw some folding carton solutions. While many service providers were selling print and packaging and therefore purchasing consumables and software solutions, between the confusing tariff situation and multiple conflict zones, they were holding back on equipment purchases. Based on the discussions with many exhibitors at Labelexpo, that may be changing.

Mark Andy’s Duane Pekar on Today’s Packaging Customers’ Needs

Published September 30, 2025

David Zwang talks with Duane Pekar, CEO of Mark Andy, about customer needs and pain points, as well as the growing interest in hybrid printing/converting and application-specific solutions.

Printwell’s Paul Borg, Jr., on Data-Driven Digital Printing

Published September 29, 2025

David Zwang talks with, Paul Borg Jr., Project Manager for Printwell, about his personal journey at Printwell, as well as today’s challenges of moving data to feed digital printing systems. How do you get work in? How do you move it through the production workflow?

SinaLite's 25+ Years of Growth

Published September 25, 2025

David Zwang talks with Mike Meshkati, President of SinaLite, which started in 1999 as a small quick printer and has gradually expanded into four-color offset and then digital printing.

K Sidrane—Digital Printing Changed the Scope of Their Business

Published September 23, 2025

David Zwang talks with Michael Liff, COO of K Sidrane, a third-generation family-owned business. The company began 78 years ago as a label and tag converter using flexo equipment. Fifteen years ago, they added digital printing equipment, which has changed the scope of the business.

The Future of Print with Augmented and Artificial Intelligence

Published September 18, 2025

AI is constantly trending in the news, much of that is in the form of textual and image content generation. However, what are the real benefits today and tomorrow for print and packaging production and supply chains.

Intelligence and the Whole Package

Published September 18, 2025

In consumer product industries there is a constant pressure to get to market faster. This creates a lot of primary and supporting challenges across the supply chain. For example, when you want to go faster, how do you keep the process as a whole high quality and at high compliance level?

Gallus’ Flexible and Expandable Ecosystem for Future Growth

Published September 16, 2025

Gallus has just introduced their new System to Compose platform. It is designed with their vision of complete flexibility to manage both the specific and constantly changing packaging requirements of brands and converters.

LPI's Ken Hause on Digitally Printed Church Bulletins

Published September 16, 2025

David Zwang talks with Ken Hause, Director of Operations for LPI, a 52-year-old sales-driven marketing company that specializes in printing bulletins for 5,100 churches nationwide. Partnering with HP has helped the company handle short-run, fast-turnaround work.

Cambridge Label's Deanne Sinclair on Diversification

Published September 11, 2025

David Zwang talks with Deanne Sinclair, President of Cambridge Label, about the company’s diversification into all kinds of analog and digital labels.

Intelligence and the Whole Package

Published September 9, 2025

In consumer product industries there is a constant pressure to get to market faster. This creates a lot of primary and supporting challenges across the supply chain. For example, when you want to go faster, how do you keep the process as a whole high quality and at high compliance level?

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: Canon Entering the Label and Packaging Market with the LS2000

Published September 9, 2025

Canon U.S.A., Inc., has extensive experience with inkjet for commercial applications and maintains a leading global position. Now it is time for them to enter the label and packaging press market with a successful new approach, initially for labels and then corrugated and folding carton in the future.

Canon Entering the Label and Packaging Market with the LS2000

Published September 9, 2025

David Zwang talks with Jason Koyama, Advisor, Canon Production Solutions, about the LabelStream LS2000 and Canon's entry into the label and packaging market.

RRD Opens New Label and Packaging Testing Facility

Published September 8, 2025

David Zwang talks with Robert Challman, Director of R&D, Labels and Packaging, for RRD, which just opened a new, centralized label and packaging testing facility to address a wide range of testing for material components as well as design.

Efren Ramirez's Digital Label Journey

Published September 4, 2025

David Zwang talks with Efren Ramirez, founder of 305 Labels, about how he jumped into digital label printing with no background in print.

Summit Labels' Jordan Fischer on the Evolution of Digital Label Printing

Published September 2, 2025

David Zwang talks with Jordan Fischer, Plant Manager for Summit Labels, about the company's 20 years as a digital label printer. Fischer tracks the evolution of digital printing technology over those two decades.

Spire Graphics' Marketing Services Journey

Published August 26, 2025

David Zwang talks with Skip Dyer, Executive Vice President of Spire Graphics, a 35-year-old full-service marketing services firm. The company began as a class project at university—and evolved as a successful business specializing in electronic, offset, and digital materials.

What's So Different about Labelexpo Europe 2025?

Published August 25, 2025

This year's Labelexpo is in a new venue, with an expanded focus on labels and packaging in general. Managing Director Jade Grace talks with David Zwang about how It has been designed to support the real world needs of today's suppliers and converters in this constantly changing market place.

Nick Bruno on the Evolution of Harris & Bruno

Published August 14, 2025

David Zwang talks with Nick Bruno, President of Harris & Bruno, about the evolution of the company from a small flexo and offset shop to building their own flexo and sheetfed offset equipment, primarily for coating applications. The company has recently carved out a space in the embellishment market.

A Peek at Canon’s Packaging Lineup

Published August 12, 2025

Canon has extensive experience with inkjet for commercial applications and maintains a leading global position. Now it is time for them to enter the label and packaging press market with a successful new approach, initially for labels and then corrugated and folding carton in the future. With the depth and breadth of this projected packaging product line, it could ultimately give Canon the largest footprint this segment of the industry.

BMS Technologies' Jeffrey Evans on Adopting Digital Printing

Published August 12, 2025

David Zwang talks with Jeffrey Evans, Executive VP Operations for BMS Technologies, a 30-year-old technology company with in-house printing that started in offset and transitioned to 100% digital in order to move into and serve the markets they were looking to serve.

Scodix's Adee Mor on Digital Embellishments

Published August 11, 2025

David Zwang talks with Adee Mor, Chief Marketing Officer for Scodix, about the company's digital embellishment technology and applications.

Ironsides Technology's Bill Riley on Track-and-Trace

Published August 11, 2025

David Zwang talks with Bill Riley, President of Ironsides Technology, the developer of track-and-trace systems that can adapt to any production environment.

Inkjet Insider: Kessler Creative Produces A Wide Variety of Marketing Materials

Published August 6, 2025

David Zwang talks with Dina Kessler, President of Kessler Creative, a direct marketing agency that also produces commercial print, direct mail, booklets and brochures, signage, wall decor, and any other kind of marketing material.

Marco Boer on the Changing Nature of Direct Mail

Published August 5, 2025

David Zwang talks with Marco Boer of IT Strategies about changes in direct mail, the greater—and more sophisticated—use of data, and geofencing to more closely marry print and electronic marketing campaigns and make them more profitable.

Bret Moriarty on Inkjet Printing of Financial and Regulatory Documents

Published August 5, 2025

David Zwang talks with Bret Moriarty, VP of Office Services and Print Operations for Raymond James. The financial company specializes in printing regulatory documents—statements, confirms, tax documents, and letters to clients. They got into inkjet about 10 years ago with the Canon ColorStream.

Direct One's Evan Stewart on the Toner to Inkjet Transformation

Published August 4, 2025

David Zwang talks with Evan Stewart, CEO/owner of Direct One. Founded in 1998 in a garage, the company has grown to about 84 employees across two facilities. Direct One started as a print operation, but now has a full letter shop, and does creative work, strategy, and data analytics. Operating mostly a "toner farm," the company is looking to add production inkjet capabilities.

Doug Madgwick on the Highly Automated Valpak Manufacturing Center

Published July 31, 2025

David Zwang talks with Doug Madgwick, Director of Production for Valpak, who produces the coupon packs that appear in the mail. The company prints in all kinds of quantities, and offers local businesses the opportunity to deliver coupons to 10,000 homes within a business's ZIP code. To manage volume, they created the highly automated Valpak Manufacturing Center.

Koozie Group's Jeff Ibberson on Inkjet in Promotional Printing

Published July 30, 2025

David Zwang talks with Jeff Ibberson, Site Manager for Koozie Group, a company that provides promotional products including pens, calendars, sticky notes, drinkware, bags, chairs, umbrellas, teddy bears—just about anything that you can print advertising on, they produce. The company has a mix of offset and digital equipment, but is transitioning from toner/EP to inkjet.

MAKO 8 and APEX: Taking Rendering to the Next Level

Published July 30, 2025

Global Graphics has been licensing the MAKO SDK to software developers and equipment manufacturers for years with great success. However, this new APEX solution brings a smarter and faster solution to the market. David Zwang talks with Global Graphics Product Manager David Stevenson to learn more.

Labelexpo Europe 2025: New Venue, New Focus, and Bigger Than Ever!

Published July 29, 2025

Labelexpo Europe is the biggest of all the Labelexpo events, and truly a global event. It is held every other year, with the US event held in the even years. Historically, it has been a label and converting event, but in recent years, it has seen flexible packaging solutions share the floor as the shift in packaging and demands for more sustainable solutions increase. This year, for the first time, the event will also host folding carton solutions.

RPI Print’s Expansion into Book Printing and Publishing

Published July 29, 2025

David Zwang talks with Andy Cooney, Sr., VP of Global Manufacturing for RPI Print, a global manufacturer of a wide range of print products—photo books, cards, calendars, and business products, including wide-format printing and banners. They are migrating heavily into trade paperback and hardcover publishing and have been investing in book production equipment.