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As printers are still seeking to take advantage of the opportunities available thanks to digital label production, new direct-to-object (DTO) systems are potentially muscling in on the label printing market. Or are they? Is DTO merely “labelless label printing” or does it represent an entirely new opportunity?
Join us on Tuesday, June 2 at 1 pm EDT when David Zwang will take a close look at the current state of direct-to-object printing. DTO is not new; it has been used for years to decorate all kinds of objects from dining ware, to golf balls, pins, industrial parts, bottles, cellphone cases, and many more items we often classify as specialty or promotional items. But new printing systems—especially UV printers—have boosted interest in DTO, as well as the range of items that can be printed.
At the same time, while most of product and packaging decoration (i.e., labels and tags) is handled by a label converter, it can—and is—being challenged by inline DTO printing solutions, offering even more new opportunities. Will DTO eliminate the need for printed labels and tags? Of course not, but it will undoubtedly challenge the existing models and offer new possibilities. Join this Webinar to learn what is possible and how it’s being done. Zwang will focus on DTO systems from Norwalt, but the principles he discusses apply to DTO systems across the board.
What you’ll learn:
Printing industry research has consistently found that shops are looking to diversify their product and service offerings—DTO could represent an excellent way of achieving a greater printed product mix and a new class of print customers. Join us and learn how.
Can’t make it live? No problem. The session will be recorded and a full archive—slides and audio—will be available.
Recorded June 2, 2026
Whether we like it or not, so-called artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay, with AI-generated content appearing in more and more places—press releases, marketing materials, webinar registration page copy (but not this one), news stories, blog posts, editorial features, even entire books. While few deny that it is useful for certain of these applications, even fewer disagree that it requires a great degree of oversight. What does that oversight comprise? And how can we detect “bad AI”?
Join Joanne Gore of Joanne Gore Communications and Richard Romano of WhatTheyThink on Wednesday, April 1 at 1pm ET, for an AI tutorial session. This enlightening—and entertaining—session will look at some of the top AI platforms (ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gamma), including presenter-generated examples of good and bad AI. The session will also identify some of the common “tells” that something is unvetted AI. The presenters will also explain how to use AI platforms responsibly to generate high-quality content.
In this session, you’ll learn:
Who should attend this session?
There’s no escape from AI—but we can all learn how to live with it.
Can’t make it live? No problem. Registrants will be notified when a complete downloadable archive—slides and audio—is available.
Recorded April 1, 2026
The worst mistake a printing company can make is assuming “if you buy it, customers will come.” Our annual Taktiful/WhatTheyThink Embellishment Survey is now in the field, and what we have found in the previous two studies is that few print businesses that added embellishment production capabilities had a strategic business plan for adding those abilities—while those that did have a business plan reported greater satisfaction with embellishment sales and profits. But what does such a sales plan look like?
Join us on Tuesday, March 31, at 1:30pm ET when Taktiful Chief Experience Officer Eric Vessels will lead an interactive workshop on creating a business plan for adding print embellishment capabilities, joined by Taktiful President Kevin Abergel. The session will identify the fundamental pillars of business plan—market analysis, unique value proposition, sales and marketing strategy, operations/training, and financial projections—and what each pillar should include, as well as other essential components of an embellishment business plan.
The session, sponsored by swissQprint, will also give attendees access to the Miro interactive workspace to actively participate by answering questions, making suggestions, and essentially helping draft an actual, workable business plan. Attendees will then be sent a copy of the final business plan which they are welcome to use for their own purposes.
What you’ll learn?
Whether you are considering adding embellishment capabilities or already have the equipment and want to get the most out of it, you’ll want to attend this session.
Please note that due to the nature of this session, it will run longer than the usual Lunch’N’Learn webinar, so be prepared to allot 60–90 minutes for the full session. But it will be worth it!
Can’t make it live? No problem. Registrants will be notified when a complete downloadable archive—slides and audio—is available. However, only actual attendees will receive the final business plan.
Recorded March 31, 2026
We often read about how, as an industry, we need to transform our businesses to keep up with an evolving market. An MIS system is crucial to not only automating business and production processes, but also as a way to identify and reduce costs and cycle time. But as print and packaging service providers evolve and expand their offerings, are print MIS solutions ready to handle the challenge?
One certainly is. Join us on Wednesday, February 4 at 1pm ET when WhatTheyThink contributor David Zwang and Kit Tomshøj, Senior Consultant for PrintVis Europe, take a deep dive into PrintVis, an MIS/ERP solution developed on MS Dynamics 365 Business Central, the cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution for small to midsize businesses. It integrates financial management, sales, service, operations, supply chain, project management, and more into one system. The MS Copilot AI agent and assistant also brings new enhancements to PrintVis as well as many benefits to the overall platform.
What you’ll learn:
Can’t make it live? No problem; a full recording—slides and audio—will be available after the session.
Join this Webinar to learn about how PrintVis is designed for the print, label, and packaging service providers of today and tomorrow.
Recorded February 4, 2026
Production inkjet printing is not a new technology, but it has been continually evolving for what is almost 20 years—and yet it still represents a small percentage of overall print volumes. Conversations still revolve around what inkjet can’t do. But that’s old thinking. Better substrates, ink chemistries, and workflow automation have made production inkjet competitive with offset and other technologies for both short- and longer-run jobs in a wide variety of print segments. Join us on January 28 at 1 pm ET when David Zwang takes a deep dive into the latest trends and product releases in the production inkjet market.
Join us for a technical exploration of the trends and advances shaping 2026:
What is the present—and future—of production inkjet? Expect bold insights and actionable frameworks which make you reconsider your current print production. This session is sponsored by the Graphic Arts Alliance, Canon USA, and Xerox.
Can’t make it live? No problem; a full recording—slides and audio—will be available after the session.
And don’t forget to register for the complementary Inkjet Insight webinar, Inkjet Labels & Packaging 2026: The Future is Sexy, Smart, and Intimidating.
Recorded January 28, 2026