David Zwang travels around the globe helping companies increase their productivity, margins and market reach. He specializes in production optimization, strategic business planning, market analysis, and related services to companies in the vertical media communications market. Clients have included printers, manufacturers, retailers, publishers, premedia and US Government agencies. He can be reached at [email protected].
Displaying 76-175 of 81 articles
Published July 31, 2023
David Zwang talks with Broadridge’s Naveed Choudry about his 30 years with the company and Broadridge’s early adoption of production inkjet printing technology.
Published July 27, 2023
David Zwang talks to Canon Solutions America’s Ed Jansen at the recent thINK Ahead 23 conference about Canon’s “customer-first” philosophy and how it affects how they interact with customers, as well as where the company sees the growth in today’s market.
Published July 25, 2023
In this video, sponsored by HP, David Zwang talks with James Llewellyn, Director of Manufacturing and Distribution for BJU Press, a book printer and publisher of K-12 textbooks for home schoolers and Christian schools. The company started in 1974 with offset equipment and has recently installed an HP PageWide T485. The company has an inline printing and bookbinding workflow.
Published July 24, 2023
Kyocera’s intention is clear: they are moving into the production print industry, and while they may be new to selling inkjet presses in this market, they have 30 years of expertise in developing ink and material jetting solutions, and an impressive track record at that. In this article, sponsored by Kyocera, David Zwang looks at their recent initiatives.
Published July 18, 2023
In 2011, I began a series that looked at the then-current production inkjet vendor product offerings, and over the years continued to look at how they were being, or could be, used. In this new series, 15 years later and with drupa 2024 on the horizon, it’s time to take a look at how production inkjet has evolved, how it is used, and where we can expect it to go and grow. I will look at each of the production inkjet manufacturers and suppliers, customers and document some of their journeys. In this article, I look at the journey of the Canon continuous-feed line.
Published July 18, 2023
Canon's production Inkjet journey started in 2004. Like many others, they saw the benefits and found the challenges along the way. David Zwang talks with Thomas Hofmann, VP of Continuous Feed Business Line at Canon Production Print, about the Canon's continuous feed inkjet evolution.
Published July 18, 2023
DS Graphics has roots going back more than 125 years, but with their mix of production inkjet, toner, and offset equipment have been able to embrace the shifts in market requirements. David Zwang talks with company EVP Chris Wells about that journey and Canon’s role in it.
Published July 17, 2023
In this video sponsored by HP, David Zwang talks with All State Printing’s Charles Christopher. All State Printing is a flexible packaging printer that has been expanding into digital production—specifically, two HP Indigo 25K digital presses—to handle short-run jobs. He also offers advice for others looking to make an investment in digital equipment.
Published June 29, 2023
David Zwang talks with Keri Smith, President of Dot It. Dot It supports the restaurant industry with flexo and Xeikon digital presses. There is a lot more to supplying restaurants with print products than one could imagine!
Published June 27, 2023
The previously announced Gallus One digital label press is more than just an “all in one” label press, jointly developed by Gallus and Heidelberg. It is at the core of an expandable ecosystem designed for the industry’s digital future and the new normal.
Published June 21, 2023
In this video sponsored by HP, David Zwang talks with David Gerhard, Chief Marketing Officer for Digital Impack, a fully digital, fully automated folding carton start-up that plans to launch by the end of summer. The company will be using the HP Indigo 15K as their primary press.
Published June 20, 2023
In this video sponsored by HP, David Zwang talks to Storm Vaske, CEO of The Label Factory. Originally a flexo label printer, the company has converted entirely to digital and is in the process of adding an HP Indigo V12.
Published June 19, 2023
In this video sponsored by HP, David Zwang talks to Anil Namugade, Founder and Director of Trigon Digipack, about how Trigon is leveraging successful and proven platforms to build new innovative solutions for its packaging customers.
Published June 15, 2023
David Zwang talks with Kevin Moll, VP of Sales of B&R Moll, a manufacturer of postpress equipment. B&R Moll has been seeing strong growth in such diverse applications as folding cartons and greeting cards.
Published June 14, 2023
In this video sponsored by HP, David Zwang talks to Phil St-Cyr, President of Rootree. Rootree is a flexible packaging company that offers creative services to help customers design messaging and branding as well as produce it on its fleet of HP Indigo 20000s.
Published June 13, 2023
Phoenix Innovate and Chris Dubach have had a long and interesting journey with production inkjet. Today, it plays an important and growing role in their production platform, with lots of plans for the future! David Zwang talks with Chris Dubach about his inkjet journey.
Published June 13, 2023
David Zwang talks with Saskia Willems, Product Manager for Cut Sheet at Canon Production Printing. Canon has been producing continuous-feed production inkjet products since 2008. While they had been producing cut-sheet EP presses for a while, their cut-sheet product development journey started in 2010.
Published June 13, 2023
In 2011, I began a series that looked at the then-current production inkjet vendor product offerings, and over the years continued to look at how they were being, or could be, used. In this new series, 15 years later and with drupa 2024 on the horizon, it’s time to take a look at how production inkjet has evolved, how it is used, and where we can expect it to go and grow. I will look at each of the production inkjet manufacturers and suppliers and customers and document some of their journeys. In this article, I look at Canon cut-sheet production inkjet.
Published June 12, 2023
In this video sponsored by HP, David Zwang talks to Vincenzo Cirimele, CEO of PressUP, a web-to-print company based in Rome. The company operates offset equipment, as well as five HP Indigo digital presses. The company is looking to expand its portfolio into packaging.
Published June 12, 2023
David Zwang talks with Jonathan Ashton, North America President, of ECO3. ECO3 is not a new player in the market, but it now has a laser focus on offset plates, service, and software.
Published June 12, 2023
David Zwang talks with Peter van Teeseling, Executive Director of DSCOOP, and Rick Bellamy, Executive Chairman of DSCOOP, about the forthcoming DSCOOP Distributed Print Exchange. Bringing PSPs together to share and facilitate work across regions and countries is increasingly becoming important. DSCOOP building this kind of program offers lots of opportunities for their participating members.
Published June 8, 2023
With the increased scrutiny of plastic use in flexible packaging, there is an increased interest in moving from plastic to paper. It was once hard to make the switch, but it has been getting much easier.
Published June 8, 2023
It was once hard to make the switch from plastic- to paper-based flexible packaging, but it’s been getting much easier. With some ingenuity, this company not only did it but did it masterfully! David Zwang talks with Simon Balderson of Sirane Group.
Published June 6, 2023
David Zwang talks with Colin Price, Managing Director, UK, for DALIM Software, about the new DALIM Drive that the co pan y was showing for the first time in the US at Dscoop.
Published June 6, 2023
David Zwang talks to Craig Letton, CEO of MRM Global. MRM is a marketing technology company that offers a web-to-print portal designed for sales reps in the alcohol industry to order marketing materials on demand. The reps upload content to predesigned templates which are then sent to MRM’s print partners for output.
Published June 6, 2023
David Zwang provides a primer on embellishment technologies for packaging applications—including why they are becoming more important than ever for brands.
Published June 6, 2023
David Zwang talks to Gershon Alon, Head of Software Solutions for HP Indigo, about the latest features in HP PrintOS and how HP is refocusing its commitment to software.
Published May 30, 2023
In this video sponsored by HP, David Zwang talks with Sirane’s Simon Balderson. Sirane is a 20-year-old “development-led” flexible packaging manufacturer. The company is about to start beta-testing an HP Indigo 200K as part of its first foray into digital printing.
Published May 23, 2023
David Zwang talks to Trevor Schroeder, Product Director, PageWide Industrial Web Fed Packaging at HP, about HP's journey as the pioneer in production inkjet for corrugated preprint production.
Published May 23, 2023
David Zwang talks to Michael Weber, Director of Corporate Strategy for THIMM. The largest corrugated preprint provider in Europe has found the fit for production inkjet and sees a great future.
Published May 23, 2023
In 2011, I began a series that looked at the then-current production inkjet vendor product offerings, and over the years continued to look at how they were being, or could be, used. In this new series, 15 years later and with drupa 2024 on the horizon, it’s time to take a look at how production inkjet has evolved, how it is used, and where we can expect it to go and grow. I will look at each of the production inkjet manufacturers and suppliers, customers and document some of their journeys. In this article I look at HP preprint corrugated.
Published May 18, 2023
People are continuing to read and actually reading more, but there are still challenges. David Zwang talks with Matt Baehr, Executive Director of the Book Manufacturing Institute, about what the future holds for the book manufacturing industry.
Published May 17, 2023
David Zwang talks to Paula Bair, Head of R&D for Gil Studios, a printer that services the promotional products industry, producing decals, stickers, posters, and magnets, as well as political signage. Founded in 1934 by Forest Gil—who invented the bumper sticker!—the company today utilizes virtually every printing technology.
Published May 16, 2023
Kodak was the pioneer in production inkjet, and Randy Vandagriff has been there from the beginning. He talks to David Zwang about the evolution of production inkjet and shares his perspective of both Kodak's and the industry's journey.
Published May 16, 2023
In 2011, I began a series that looked at the then-current production inkjet vendor product offerings, and over the years continued to look at how they were being, or could be, used. In this new series, 15 years later and with drupa 2024 on the horizon, it’s time to take a look at how production inkjet has evolved, how it is used, and where we can expect it to go and grow. I will look at each of the production inkjet manufacturers and suppliers, customers and document some of their journeys. In this article I look at Kodak.
Published May 15, 2023
David Zwang talks with Rob Welford, the newly appointed President of Xeikon. Welford comes from a long background in technology and R&D and has an interesting vision for Xeikon.
Published May 15, 2023
In this video sponsored by HP, David Zwang talks with Nimrod Cohen, Head of Product Marketing for HP’s Commercial Division, about the offset-to-digital transition—not just in terms of volumes, but in terms of value.
Published May 9, 2023
The new Heidelberg Boardmaster is the fastest and most productive flexo folding carton press in the market. It is the only industrial flexo press that is designed for zero changeover downtime. This is attributable to the Boardmaster Non-Stop Print Deck technology in conjunction with the Intellimatch precision scanning system, creating the first Push to Stop flexo folding carton press.
Published May 9, 2023
Matthias Boog, managing director of Heidelberg Web Carton Converting, discusses how Heidelberg developed the game-changing Boardmaster “Push to Stop” flexo folding carton press.
Published May 9, 2023
Michael Pfaff, VP of Heidelberg US Web Carton Converting, discusses the opportunities and challenges of bringing a unique new press to the market: the game-changing Boardmaster “Push to Stop” flexo folding carton press.
Published May 4, 2023
In this interview, sponsored by HP, David Zwang talks to Peter Obradovic, Director, HP Industrial Software Solutions about the new HP PrintOS suite. HP PrintOS software is used by thousands of HP Industrial Print users. This new cloud-based suite now consists of four Power Packs, each concentrating on specific application requirements.
Published April 18, 2023
In 2011, I began a series that looked at the then-current production inkjet vendor product offerings and how they were being, or could be, used. Since then, I have been following them through their drupa 2008, 2012, and 2017 journey. In this new series, 15 years later and with drupa 2024 on the horizon—after a seven-year forced hiatus—it’s time to take another look at how production inkjet has evolved, where it is used, and where we can expect it to go. I will look at each of the production inkjet manufacturers, customers, and their journeys.
Published April 10, 2023
David Zwang talks to Annette Friskopp of HP PageWide Industrial about her impressions of her first Hunkeler Innovationdays.
Published March 30, 2023
David Zwang talks to Nachum Korman, General Manager of HP PageWide Industrial, about his impressions of this year’s Hunkeler Innovationdays.
Published March 29, 2023
David Zwang talks to Monika Olbricht, Global Vice President of Sales for Xeikon, about Xeikon’s SX30000, the company’s flagship digital press. Although it was introduced two years ago, Hunkeler Innovationdays 2023 was the first international show at which the press was exhibited.
Published March 28, 2023
David Zwang talks with Stefan Steinle of Fujifilm Integrated Inkjet Solutions Group about how Fujifilm integrates its inkjet heads and other inkjet technologies into a variety of production environments.
Published March 27, 2023
David Zwang talks to Masahiko Kamei of Miyakoshi about the current state of the printing industry and the market for print in Japan.
Published March 27, 2023
David Zwang talks to Francis McMahon of Canon Solutions America about the need for printing industry veterans to “leave the industry a better place” and help prepare the next-generation of industry leaders to take over.
Published March 23, 2023
Kyocera’s intention is clear: they are moving into the production print industry, and while they may be new to this market, NIXKA isn’t. They actually have 30 years of expertise in developing ink and material jetting solutions, with an impressive track record. This acquisition should help fast track them to their intention.
Published March 23, 2023
David Zwang talks to Andrew Bailes-Collins, Head of Product Management for Ultimate TechnoGraphics, at Hunkeler Innovationdays about the company’s extensive software solutions for prepress processes such as imposition, tiling, ganging, and nesting, as well as binding automation.
Published March 22, 2023
David Zwang talks to Davy Verstaen and Tomas Van Rossom of Enfocus about the company’s flagship products PitStop and Switch and how they fit into the overall print production ecosystem.
Published March 22, 2023
David Zwang talks to Smithers’ Sean Smyth at the recent Hunkeler Innovationdays about the evolution of inkjet printing and the focus away from print engines and more toward workflow and software.
Published March 21, 2023
Now that the market for digital production of flexible packaging is starting to take hold, HP has developed the next generation of product that builds on the expertise gained with the 25K as well as their other products and technologies.
Published March 21, 2023
David Zwang talks to Ricoh’s Mark Little about automation, integration, and the entire print production ecosystem.
Published March 21, 2023
David Zwang talks to Canon Solutions America’s Francis McMahon about his impressions of what was on display at the recent Hunkeler Innovationdays.
Published March 20, 2023
David Zwang talks to Ulbe Jelluma, managing director of Print Power. Print Power is an initiative started by European paper manufacturers in response to the surge of digital advertising that emphasizes to advertisers and marketers the value of print media.
Published March 16, 2023
David Zwang talks to Marco Boer of IT Strategies at Hunkeler Innovationdays about the current state of production inkjet printing.
Published March 16, 2023
David Zwang talks to Cloudprinter founder Martijn Eier about Cloudprinter’s offerings and the company’s growth over the past few years.
Published March 15, 2023
David Zwang talks to Canon’s Jennifer Kolloczek about the vast array of equipment that Canon was showing at the recent Hunkeler Innovationdays.
Published March 14, 2023
David Zwang talks to Adam LeFebvre, president of Specialty Print Communications, about his first time attending Hunkeler Innovationdays and his impressions of the event.
Published March 14, 2023
David Zwang talks with thINK’s Eric Hawkinson and Access Direct’s Lori Messina, the new president of thINK, about the organization and her involvement with it.
Published March 9, 2023
David Zwang talks to Ricoh’s Mike Herold about the equipment that Ricoh was showing at Hunkeler Innovationdays last week in Luzerne, Switzerland.
Published March 7, 2023
Hunkeler Innovationdays 2023 was a resounding success for the partners, the attendees, and the industry at large. The theme of the event was Next Level Automation and it was displayed in every solution on display at the event. Importantly, it is also a sign that the industry as a whole is on the right track.
Published March 2, 2023
David Zwang talks to Hans Gut, Chief Marketing Officer for Hunkeler, about the company’s new Smart Logistics Solutions, which helps to quickly move on-demand printed materials, such as book blocks, from press to finishing equipment, tracking and monitoring where each job is and where it’s going.
Published March 1, 2023
David Zwang talks to Hans Gut, Chief Marketing Officer for Hunkeler, about digital web finishing. Hunkeler’s digital web finishing products initially served the transactional print market and has expanded into book production, launching next-generation solutions for automated book block production.
Published February 28, 2023
David Zwang talks with Patrick Treyer, Area Sales Director for Hunkeler, about Hunkeler’s recent introductions for the cut-sheet finishing market including DocuTrim, a new line supporting the transactional and transformational markets that features dynamic perforating.
Published February 28, 2023
David Zwang talks with Matthias Annaheim, Head of Marketing for Hunkeler, about the theme of this year’s Hunkeler Innovationdays: Next Level Automation, and how Hunkeler equipment needs to connect to a variety of different systems often within a single printing plant.
Published February 14, 2023
David Zwang talks with Toby Weiss, CEO of Fiery. Fiery is now a standalone company, with lots of opportunity and an established management and team. Toby Weiss speaks about the change and looks at the future.
Published February 14, 2023
The integration of analog and digital equipment can provide lots of opportunities but also challenges in plant optimization. Workflows, especially front office and plant for packaging operations, have to address many complexities not found in commercial printing workflows.
Published February 13, 2023
David Zwang talks to Tom Peire, CEO of Four Pees, about how, as print and packaging continue on the journey toward a more automated and connected value chain, integration and support are key.
Published February 6, 2023
With the shifting market directions of procurement and print production there is a lot to be learned about the new requirements, processes, and pain points of the customer base. Building a “one size fits all” solution will usually fall short of those goals. Ultimately the solution needs to fit the specific needs of a PSP and their customer and partner relationships.
Published January 31, 2023
More printing companies are finding opportunities in packaging production as more targeted and shorter packaging production runs increase and new digital tools help reduce the skill sets required. However, many are finding that different production tools and workflows as well as new processes are required to optimize and succeed.
Published January 31, 2023
EFI and Fiery have been one company under Siris Capital for a while now, and the time has come to let each of them grow to their individual potential. David Zwang talks to Jeff Jacobson, former CEO of EFI and now the Executive Chairman of both companies, about how he will help support the new growth.
Published January 24, 2023
Since there is an increasing shift of consumers from large global brands to smaller local/regional brands, so is the amount of disparate packaging required. However, while the diversity of needs commercial print are feeling the pressures, packaging adds many other level of complexities.
Published January 17, 2023
David Zwang talks with Clyde Tillman of Lithec about the company’s 25-year-history in developing color control systems primarily for packaging systems. Six years ago, Lithec introduced LithoFlash, an in-press color control system for offset presses.
Published January 17, 2023
Hunkeler Innovationdays is not really an expo as you might expect, but is instead a unique gathering and presentation of complete digital print and finishing workflows. There are no expos or other events like this that provide the latest in digital printing and finishing equipment, in live and running complete multi-vendor end to end workflows.
Published January 10, 2023
The demand for shorter runs is increasing, driven by consumer market shifts across the packaging landscape. However, justifying the cost of digital corrugated production per package/box, when the ink cost is almost 10X the cost of flexo ink, and close to equal with the media in some cases, is difficult unless there is some added value or a more efficient solution.
Published January 3, 2023
Today, Gallus and Heidelberg, after some difficulties in the past, are affirming their roles as “natural relatives” to create the innovation and solution which benefit their customers and the industry as a whole.
Published December 16, 2022
As things start to wind down for a little while, many of us step back, think about new year’s resolutions, and take a look at what we do, how we got here, and where can we go in the future. Those reflections, in some cases, also remind us that perhaps life is really about the rewards of giving.
Published December 14, 2022
David Zwang recaps the year in labels and packaging, with a look at notable product releases, and the continued growth of digital labels and packaging.
Published December 13, 2022
David Zwang talks to Matt Bennett, Bobst's General Mgr. Label and Mid Web Business NA, about how Bobst has found the sweet spot between digital and flexo for label production, and how the market acceptance has been encouraging.
Published December 13, 2022
Bobst has taken a measured approach to entering the digital print fray. Mr. Bobst often states that he prefers to wait for market entry until he has products that are deserving of the Bobst name and will deliver against the high expectations customers have about the company. While initially they offered a few all digital devices, Bobst has now started to integrate their inkjet print technology into their analog product line.
Published December 12, 2022
BookBaby is a publishing services provider for independent, small and self-publishers. The company is celebrating its 10-year anniversary in 2022. David Zwang spoke with President James Foley.
Published December 12, 2022
With the rise of the digital generation and social media, BookBaby has created the perfect role in the publishing and promoting of independent content creators. David Zwang talks with President James Foley as the company celebrates its 10th anniversary.
Published December 5, 2022
David Zwang talks with WCD’s Karen Brookman. WCD is a 70-year-old family owned digital printing and information management company based in Calgary, Alberta. The company offers a broad range of services, from document management and scanning to digital printing and signage. The company is focused on commerce and personalized on-demand print.
Published December 1, 2022
David Zwang talks talks with Matt Doran of The Anstadt Company. Founded in 1878, the company is a fifth-generation family-owned commercial print business that has expanded and diversified. It has been shedding its offset equipment in favor of HP Indigo Digital Presses.
Published November 29, 2022
The print service provider, their suppliers, and their customers are all a part of a value chain ecosystem, and as such their individual processes need to be aligned and bridged with each other for maximum operational benefit. As a result many of the more successful PSPs have tailored their workflow systems to their specific needs, usually using a modular Lego-like logic.
Published November 28, 2022
David Zwang talks with Dwayne Black, COO of Shutterfly. Founded in 1999, Shutterfly started out producing 4x6-inch prints, then expanded into cards, photo books, and gifts, and now can produce whatever the customer wants to personalize. The company has installed more than 30 HP Indigo 100K Digital Presses.
Published November 16, 2022
David Zwang talks with Chris Greene, COO of One Touch Point, a print marketing company offering direct mail printing, marketing materials, and grand-format, as well as digital marketing services. Their printing equipment runs the gamut from offset duplicators to the latest digital printing technologies. One Touch Point has worked extensively with HP Indigo, which has helped them address their business challenges.
Published November 14, 2022
David Zwang talks to Corefact’s Christopher Burnley. Corefact was founded in 2005 as a company selling analytics software to the real estate industry. They added direct mail printing capabilities to help build the software business and then began growing the print business, specializing in variable-data printing and some transactional. The company now has locations in California and Kentucky.
Published November 9, 2022
David Zwang talks to Sammy Shehadeh, President of Print-Hub, a printing company founded three-and-a-half-years ago out of hospitality and real estate businesses that needed printing, had difficulty finding a printer, so decided to start a print business to serve their own needs. They soon started printing for other customers and has since acquired another print business to expand their capabilities.
Published November 8, 2022
Even with Ricoh’s background in inkjet and cutsheet digital toner press manufacturing, developing a reliable larger format cutsheet industrial press takes a lot of research, testing, and time. With the Ricoh Pro Z75, this new B2+ press may really be a game changer.
Published November 3, 2022
David Zwang talks to Julie Watson, CEO of Ultimate TechnoGraphics, about the post-pandemic uptick in interest in workflow automation, the factors driving that interest, and Ultimate’s portfolio of automation solutions.
Published November 2, 2022
David Zwang talks to Mark Little, Senior Manager, Marketing and Communications, for Ricoh about Mark’s new role at Ricoh as a liaison between the company and its customers, helping customers identify specific desired outcomes and what solutions would bring about those outcomes.
Published October 31, 2022
At PRINTING United, David Zwang talks to Robert Stabler, managing director of Koenig & Bauer Durst about the joint venture between Koenig & Bauer and Durst to build single-pass inkjet presses for the corrugated printing market.
Published October 26, 2022
David Zwang talks to Hybrid Software Group CEO Mike Rottenborn about the evolution and growth of the company. Hybrid Software Group is one company with six operating businesses—Hybrid Software, Global Graphics, ColorLogic GmbH, iC3D, Xitron, and Meteor Inkjet—which serve predominantly, but not exclusively, packaging end users and OEMs.
Published October 13, 2022
David Zwang talks to HP Indigo Folding Carton Category Manager Glen Adams about how folding carton is the next big opportunity for digital print providers. This is a great interview to learn some of the basics!
Published October 11, 2022
Print technology and production methods have been changing along with the changing market requirements. All of this coupled with the “can do nature” of print and packaging service providers, continues to push technology and equipment manufacturers in new ways. David Zwang looks at how new modular component production solutions can be integrated and combined with almost all printing technologies including digital, offset, flexo, screen, and inkjet.
Published October 10, 2022
Designing a digital press for today’s market requirements can be a challenge. Canon’s latest production digital press is the result of years of customer feedback and engineering ingenuity. It focuses on productivity, cost control, automation, quality, and ease of use, individually and collectively.
Published October 6, 2022
David Zwang talks to Koenig & Bauer President and CEO Killian Renschler and Sr. VP Marketing and Product Management Eric Frank. Koenig & Bauer has been a powerhouse equipment manufacturer in the commercial print and packaging market for over a century. Through all of the changes, they have managed to keep very relevant and even thrive. Renschler and Frank talk about what the company has been working on.
WhatTheyThink is the official show daily media partner of drupa 2024. More info about drupa programs
© 2024 WhatTheyThink. All Rights Reserved.