Finishing Touches: The Results of Taktiful and WhatTheyThink’s Landmark Digital Embellishment Survey

A look at the challenges and opportunities of this exploding growth opportunity.

Taktiful, the Digital Embellishment Experts, teamed with WhatTheyThink to conduct a first-of-its-kind study of digital ink and toner embellishment use. The goal of this study was to find out more about how print service providers are using the specialty inks and toners that are available as options for their digital presses. The resulting “Taktiful/WhatTheyThink 2023 Specialty Digital Ink and Toner Embellishment Study” provides insights into the size of the embellishment market and identifies areas for improvement as well as further market opportunities for vendors and print providers alike.

On Wednesday, September 27, at 1 pm ET, join the study’s principal investigators, Taktiful’s Kevin Abergel and WhatTheyThink’s Richard Romano, as they take a deep dive into how current users of digital ink and toner embellishment technologies are utilizing them, what the response from customers has been, how satisfied print providers have been with the sales and profitability of these jobs, where the challenges lie, and their general feelings about the future of these technologies. The report is based on survey responses from owners of specialty ink and toner technologies using them in conjunction with digital printing equipment from Ricoh, HP Indigo, Xerox, Kodak, Oki, Heidelberg, Fujifilm, and Xeikon.

What you’ll learn:

• How current digital press owners and operators are using the specialty ink and toner capabilities of their equipment—how often, for what print applications, and what specific colors/effects.
• The extent to which print providers find these capabilities to be profitable—and how they could be more profitable.
• What the challenges in working with these capabilities are—and how.

If you’re a digital press owner—or planning to become one—find out how you can take advantage of this potential profit center. This webinar is sponsored by Matik/SEI Laser.

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Recorded September 27, 2023

Canon PRISMAcolor Manager: In the Cloud!

Canon PRISMA has long been an important part of Canon’s digital print workflow offerings. Until recently, all of the PRISMA workflow solutions have been on-premise software. Now, they have started moving into the cloud to take advantage of the many benefits it can offer.

Canon’s PRISMA Home is the online portal to PRISMA cloud applications, connecting users to current and future cloud-based offerings. The current tools fall into the categories: Color Management, Device Management, and Data Analytics. A recent addition to PRISMA Home is the award winning PRISMAcolor Manager, which enables printer operators to analyze color performance across Canon and non-Canon CMYK printers by measuring and validating printed colors to help users compare quality and consistency. It verifies color conformance against industry or shop standards and presents clear overviews and trends at a glance, making key data actionable.

On Tuesday, September 26, at 1 pm ET, join WhatTheyThink’s David Zwang and Canon Senior Color Analyst John Thorburn as they talk about the current state of color management in general, and why it has been such a persistent pain point, and the color control capabilities of Canon’s PRISMAcolor.

What you’ll learn:

• How Canon PRISMA has evolved over time and adapted to the changes in technology and production requirements.
• How PRISMAcolor has been designed for both non-expert and expert operators alike.
• How the system supports many different DFE and press configurations with different workflows for doing color validation supported by PRISMAcolor Manager.
• How PRISMA’s migration to cloud offers substantial benefits to print providers.

This session is sponsored by Canon.

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Recorded September 26, 2023

Learn from the Leaders: WhatTheyThink Presents the Top 100 Small Commercial Printers LunchNLearn Webinar

Each year, WhatTheyThink invites small commercial print business owners to participate in its Top 100 Shops Survey, and respondents are then ranked according to their annual revenues. In 2022, the shops included on our Top 100 list accounted for more than half a billion dollars in revenue. For the top-ranked businesses, what was the secret to their success?

On August 23 at 1 pm EDT, the latest installment of WhatTheyThink’s monthly LunchNLearn webinar series will look at this year’s Top Shops. In this 30-minute session, WhatTheyThink’s Richard Romano will share the results of the annual Top Shops survey, talk about some of the challenges these businesses faced in 2022, what new opportunities they pursued, and other aspects that helped them become this year’s Top Shops. This webinar is sponsored by the National Print and Sign Owners Association.

Joining this session is Paul Heffington, COO of Allen Printing Company, this year’s #1 small print business, who will talk about the factors that helped them flourish in 2022, as well as new and continuing initiatives the company is pursuing through 2023 and beyond.

What you’ll learn:

• Who the top small print businesses in North America are.
• The top challenges small print businesses were facing.
• What top small printers see as the biggest business opportunities.
• How this year’s #1 small printer won the top spot.

“The Top Small Printers in North America” is the latest installment in WhatTheyThink’s monthly half-hour LunchNLearn webinar series.

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Recorded August 23, 2023

Status of Nanographic Printing in the Market

Landa Digital Printing has commanded the industry’s attention since the first presses were unveiled. Now that Landa has a global presence, with a growing number of installations around the world, we are seeing firsthand the impact that Nanographic Printing Presses are having on the packaging and commercial print markets.

Join us on Tuesday, June 6 at 1pm ET for a special webinar, sponsored by Landa Digital Printing, on the current state of Nanography. Representatives from Landa will provide an update on the company and its growing installed base of uses, as well as recap the value proposition of the company’s Nanography technology and outline its vision for these digital mainstream presses going forward. The session will also include Landa customers who will offer real-world insights and experiences of day-to-day Nanography printing.

What you’ll learn:

• The current state of Landa’s Nanographic printing technology and installed base.
• The company’s vision for the future of the technology.
• Real-world user experiences from Landa customers.

Featured speakers include:

• Heberto Pachon, General Manager, Landa Digital Printing
• Paul Hudson – Hudson Printing
• Cheryl Kahanec – Quantum Group
• Brad Haralson – Southern Champion Tray

A complete recording will be available following this session.

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Recorded June 6, 2023

WhatTheyThink Technology Outlook: Finishing

On Friday, May 26 at 1 pm ET, our fourth annual Technology Outlook series of Webinars finishes up with binding and finishing. Join Kevin Abergel and Trish Witkowski as they highlight the latest trends and technology and product announcements from manufacturers of binding and finishing and embellishment equipment. Sponsored by Standard Finishing and Matik/SEI Laser, this session will give you the lowdown on new features, capabilities, and applications that can give your business a competitive edge.

Who should attend?

• Commercial printers looking to see what new products and technologies are coming to market.
• Distributors/brokers looking for new applications and partnership opportunities.

What you’ll learn:

• New developments and trends in binding and finishing.
• The latest in digital embellishment technologies.
• New products from major industry vendors.
• New trends, features, capabilities, and applications.

A complete archive—slides and audio—will be available for download following this session.

The Technology Outlook Week webinars are designed to serve as a virtual platform for suppliers to the industry to get their messages out, and for producers to more easily stay up-to-date with the latest technology announcements as they plan for the future of their businesses. In preparing these Technology Outlook sessions, WhatTheyThink will be relying on some of the industry’s best known and best-connected analysts and thought leaders, who have been and will continue to be in contact with industry suppliers to ensure availability of the best and most current information on each topic area.

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Recorded May 26, 2023