2014 Inkjet Summit: Sponsor Vision for Success

Canon Solutions America
By Francis McMahon, Vice President, Marketing, Canon Solutions America, Production Printing Solutions

Canon Solutions America was pleased to sponsor the Inkjet Summit again in 2014. As the identified market share leader in the U.S. and Western Europe for high-speed inkjet devices with our Océ branded technology, our customers know they can count on us to partner with them for success.

We know that print service providers are seeking guidance around this new technology projected to account for one-third of all digital print volume by 2016.

We know that print service providers are seeking guidance around this new technology projected to account for one-third of all digital print volume by 2016. Whether it’s discussing customized solutions, developing growth strategies, or helping navigate the transition to inkjet technology, we work directly with our customers. That’s why we put ourselves in places that enable us to have those conversations with them—whether it is a one-on-one consultation at their place of business, at our Customer Experience Center with the newly built Media and Solutions Lab in Boca Raton, FL, or in an industry forum such as the Inkjet Summit.

The Inkjet Summit gave us the opportunity to discuss and understand specific customer issues and work together to ensure that the right capital investment strategy is in place to enable profitable production of books, magazines, direct mail, transaction and transpromo. It also gave us the opportunity to showcase some of our customer success stories in the form of case studies that highlight how our advanced inkjet printing technology translates into real-life success.

Our customers want to know how they can turn inkjet technology into their next competitive advantage. We showed them how. At Canon Solutions America, we are ready for the future.

Want to learn more about inkjet technology?
Visit www.csa.canon.com/GA for on-demand webinars, case studies, white papers and more, including the Océ ColorStream 3500 inkjet press demo.

Ready for the future, here today.
The Océ brand has a reputation for high-speed production print and workflow solutions that are built to last, customized, and backed by service. As part of Canon Solutions America, we are advancing tomorrow’s innovations to help you grow your business. Whether it’s improving productivity or opening new markets and applications, we can help you be ready for the future.

Fujifilm
By Todd Zimmerman, Vice President and General Manager
, FUJIFILM North America, Graphic Systems Div.

As a Keynote Sponsor at the 2014 Inkjet Summit, Fujifilm shared comprehensive case studies, participated in breakout sessions, and held one-on-one meetings with attendees to explore opportunities for implementing inkjet technology within their operations. It was a tremendous opportunity for attendees to learn about inkjet innovations. Our case studies were presented on book, direct mail and commercial printing segments, profiling the success of print shops incorporating Fujifilm inkjet technology.

We were pleased to have Fujifilm inkjet customers in attendance, sharing their real-life experiences and knowledge. Their candid comments made a positive impact at the summit while reinforcing our ‘Value from Innovation’ commitment to the industry.

We are honored to have received the “Company to Watch” award, as voted by Inkjet Summit attendees.

We valued the opportunity to discuss our R&D investments in inkjet technology during the Keynote session. With investments in printhead technology, ink development and software, Fujifilm is well positioned to bring innovative inkjet solutions to all segments of print, including commercial applications, wide-format and packaging. The 
J Press 720 half-sized sheetfed inkjet press was the first innovation in production inkjet equipment from Fujifilm. More recently, the J Press 540W inkjet web press was introduced, and later this year the 
J Press 720F for folding carton applications will be released. As Fujifilm celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2014, we optimistically look to the future working with customers to incorporate our inkjet solutions. We are committed to continue our investments in R&D, developing more solutions to further our inkjet leadership position.

With an ongoing commitment to develop new and innovative products and solutions, Fujifilm has begun a significant renovation at our Technology Center in Hanover Park, IL. Construction is underway to more than double the size, with the new space expanding to over 20,000 square feet to display everything from traditional offset printing to the latest technologies in flexography, wide-format and production inkjet solutions. The current Technology Center in Hanover Park will continue to host customer demos and events throughout the entire renovation process, with the new Technology Center expected to open early fall.

We are honored to have received the “Company to Watch” award, as voted by Inkjet Summit attendees. At Fujifilm, we believe that being exceptional is expected. We know that innovation is nothing without relentless execution, and Fujifilm is in a unique and advantageous position to assist printers in their on-going transition and adoption of inkjet technologies.

Ricoh
By Mike Herold, Director, CF Inkjet Technologies, Ricoh
The 2013 Inkjet Summit gave us a unique opportunity to interact with customers in an environment ripe for conversation, trend-spotting and relationship building. And so, it was an easy decision to return to Florida this year as a Keynote Sponsor. What we noticed more than anything else this time around is how inkjet’s disruption continues to evolve. How much change is happening in terms of applications, and how everything from variable data usage to needs for full-color at lower prices have driven the interest in inkjet technologies to the highest point we’ve seen thus far.

The evolution of our customer has paralleled that of the inkjet industry, growing beyond the core application of transactional print.

This year’s Inkjet Summit allowed for face-to-face conversations with both current and prospective customers to discuss these changes, learn what’s holding their business back and how they want to grow, and assess how they can benefit from solutions customized for their specific information needs.

Ricoh has a long history of inkjet innovation with our InfoPrint 5000 platform, along with workflow technologies that make work more efficient and intelligent. The InfoPrint 5000 has led the U.S. inkjet market for six years in a row, and our close, consultative partnerships with our customers are as much a factor in that leadership as the hardware itself. The evolution of our customer has paralleled that of the inkjet industry, growing beyond the core application of transactional print. In the last few years, we’ve been noticing direct mailers, book publishers and commercial printers becoming eager to leverage the inkjet opportunity using our comprehensive offerings of hardware, software and services. It’s within these industries that we are seeing the largest need for new applications.

The Inkjet Summit takes the pulse of the people who make up our industry—many of which might be future partners or customers. Our current customers, such as Action Mailers, also utilized the Summit as a platform to share their successes in embracing inkjet technology with their peers. The format of the Inkjet Summit’s case study presentations, in particular, delves into the specifics that many other events gloss over—insightful anecdotes on the unanticipated gains and new opportunities that inkjet delivers. The sessions incited lively conversation and debate on real-world, relatable business problems, and gave potential starting points for implementing and growing inkjet use.

The 2014 Inkjet Summit gave attendees a stimulating environment to explore growth, innovation, changing trends and future solutions—and the importance of such opportunities simply cannot be ignored.

International Paper
“International Paper was a pioneer in inkjet papers when we developed some of the first papers suitable for desktop inkjet printing in the ’80s via our Hammermill Brand,” said Jeff Hester, Marketing & Strategy Manager for IP’s Printing & Bristol Papers Division. “We continue to leverage innovation to position our business for the future and maintain our competitive edge in the digital marketplace.

International Paper was a pioneer in inkjet papers when we developed some of the first papers suitable for desktop inkjet printing in the ’80s via our Hammermill Brand.

“Being a Keynote Sponsor at the 2014 Inkjet Summit allowed the team from IP to engage current customers in an intimate setting while providing an ideal format to meet leaders from prospective customers in order to discuss our overall digital portfolio. International Paper offers a strong portfolio of inkjet papers scientifically formulated to optimize the type of inkjet presses in the market. This includes Accent Opaque Dyemond for dye-based inks and Accent Opaque and Williamsburg Offset with ImageLok and ColorPRO technologies for pigment-based printing.” More information can be acquired via colorisforever.com

In addition to these inkjet web grades, IP also has a full line of more than 200 digital sheetfed items across IP’s brands of papers, including Accent Opaque, Carolina Coated Paperboard, Hammermill, Springhill Colors and Uncoated Bristols and Williamsburg Offset.

Hester concluded by saying, “The Inkjet Summit proved to be an exceptional opportunity for IP to demonstrate our capabilities and to discuss solutions that will enable our customers to achieve their goals. These are exciting times, and the collective energy and knowledge displayed at the Inkjet Summit showed us that our commitment to providing high-quality papers for inkjet printing is a key strategy for future growth.”

The Inkjet Summit proved to be an exceptional opportunity for IP to demonstrate our capabilities and to discuss solutions that will enable our customers to achieve their goals. These are exciting times, and the collective energy and knowledge displayed at the Inkjet Summit showed us that our commitment to providing high-quality papers for inkjet printing is a key strategy for future growth.