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#ThinkPaper Conversation: Put the strengths of print in the right place!

#Think!Paper, CEO Talk on Innovation, Digital Transformation, Multi-Channel Innovation, Posts in German Language, Print for the Digital Age, Valuable Advice, Value Transformation, ValueDialog

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#Think!Paper Edition 3, Vol. 9

Interview by Andreas Weber, Head of Value

Nothing stands in the way of the prospering future of print. Assuming we know how it works! That’s the way to describe Rüdiger Maaß‘s credo. For about two decades, he has been tirelessly committed to contemporary, highly effective print media production with a penchant for digital printing and specialties in print. It is therefore fun to deal with him and his actions and to break new ground.

What is the beauty of print in the digital age?

Rüdiger Maaß: I think the right answer is a multi-layered list:

Multisensory and thus the possibility of deceleration to reach a best-in-class attention
Interaction to better bond with the brand
Experience through action
Immense credibility and navigation aid in the jungle of information aesthetics
etc. … the list can be extended as a never-ending story!

But in the end, it’s not just about the “beauty” of print, but about the effect. And this effectiveness becomes all the stronger, the more print is staged by an overall concept in line with digital communication. The task is – as always – to put the strengths of print in the right place.

Everything in the Mobile Age is so fast. Why is the adaption of digital printing technology innovations so slow?

Rüdiger Maaß: Is it really like that? I’m convinced that digital printing (in whatever form) is immensely fast and fully automated. From my experience, the associated ideas and concepts from the advertising industry are missing – and of course the access to the digital data of the “users”. And in the end it’s all about the courage ☺!

And “fast” is always in the eye of the beholder. Customers who do not know would be surprised to learn that they can get an individual print product in less than 24 hours or even a same day delivery.

What are the key drivers for a powerful & successful print service biz today and what will it be in the future?

Rüdiger Maaß: The key to success is certainly the conceptual advice — who can not afford, can only assert itself as a ‘print-mate’ in the niche. With our unique ’Creatura’ initiative, we developed the Creatura meta-analysis for advice support how to use print media and special effects in the best way.

This meta-analysis is the bible of ’print staging / conception’. However, the resulting knowledge base is immensely important not only for the service providers, but also for the advertising and communication agencies and for the advertising companies. The key to success is rethinking the direction of impact rather than moving on with speeding up the production process. Because knowledge about the effect of print beats ’quick&dirty reach’.

Fotos: f:mp via https://www.creatura.de

The Creatura meta-analysis “The Power of Print” is a must have and must read publication. Available in german and english.

About

Rüdiger Maaß is Managing Director of Fachverband Medienproduktion e.V. f:mp — the Association Media Production e.V. — f: mp. From the beginning, he has dedicated himself to the topic of digital printing and has always started effective initiatives to open up new application possibilities for and with print. In the meantime, f: mp has numerous projects and cooperations that lead beyond narrow industry boundaries. High-light is the congress trade fair PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION, which will be realized together with Messe Düsseldorf and will provide important impulses at drupa 2020.

Im Original: Die deutsche Textversion

Der prosperierenden Zukunft von Print steht nichts im Wege. Vorausgesetzt, wir wissen wie es geht! So könnte man das Credo von Rüdiger Maaß beschreiben. Unermüdlich setzt er sich seit rund zwei Jahrzehnten für eine zeitgemäße, hoch wirkungsvolle Printmedien-Produktion ein, mit einem Faible für Digitaldruck und Spezialitäten im Print. Es macht daher Spaß, sich mit ihm und seinem Tun auseinanderzusetzen und neue Wege zu beschreiten.

Frage 1

Ich denke, es ist eine vielschichtige Liste:

Multisensorik und damit die Möglichkeit der Entschleunigung mit höherer Aufmerksamkeit
Interaktion zur besseren Bindung mit der Marke
Erlebnis durch Aktion
Immense Glaubwürdigkeit und Navigationshilfe im Dschungel der Informationen
Ästhetik
usw. … die Liste lässt sich beliebig erweitern!

Aber am Ende geht es nicht nur um die „Schönheit“ von Print, sondern um die Wirkung. Und die Wirkungseffizienz wird umso stärker, je mehr Print durch ein Gesamtkonzept im Einklang mit der digitalen Kommunikation inszeniert wird. Aufgabe ist es also – wie schon immer – die Stärken von Print richtig in Szene zu setzen.

Frage 2

Ist das wirklich so? Ich bin überzeugt davon, dass gerade der Digitaldruck (in welcher Form auch immer) immens schnell und voll-automatisiert ist. Aus meiner Erfahrung fehlen die zugehörigen Ideen und Konzepte aus der werbungtreibenden Industrie – und natürlich der Zugriff auf die digitalen Daten der „User“. Und am Ende der Mut ☺!

Und „schnell“ liegt ja immer im Auge des Betrachters. Kunden, die es nicht besser wissen, wären sicher überrascht, zu erfahren, dass sie in weniger als 24 Stunden ein individuelles Printprodukt bekommen können. Oder sogar eine Lieferung am selben Tag!

Frage 3

Der Schlüssel zum Erfolg ist sicher die konzeptionelle Beratung – wer die nicht leisten kann, wird sich als ‚Print-Erfüllungsgehilfe‘ nur in der Nische behaupten können. Mit unserer Creatura-Initiative haben wir zur Beratungsunterstützung – quasi wie Print und Veredelung eingesetzt werden muss – die Creatura-Metaanalyse https://www.creatura.de/metaanalyse entwickelt.

Das ist quasi die ‚Bibel der Print-Inszenierung/Konzeptionierung‘. Die dadurch entstehende Wissens-Basis ist jedoch nicht nur für die Dienstleister immens wichtig, sondern auch für die Werbe- und Kommunikationsagenturen und für die Werbungtreibenden Unternehmen. Der Schlüssel zum Erfolg besteht im Umdenken in Richtung Wirkung und nicht im Weitermachen mit Geschwindigkeitssteigerungen im Produktionsablauf. Denn Wissen um Wirkung von Print schlägt schnelle ‚Reichweite‘.

Über Rüdiger Maaß

Rüdiger Maaß ist Geschäftsführer des Fachverband Medienproduktion e.V. f:mp. Von Anfang an hat er sich dem Thema Digitaldruck gewidmet und stets wirkungsvolle Initiativen begonnen, um für und mit Print neue Anwendungsmöglichkeiten zu erschließen. Inzwischen betreibt der f:mp zahlreiche Projekte und Kooperationen, die über enge Branchengrenzen hinausführen. High-light ist die Kongress-Messe PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION, die gemeinsam mit der Messe Düsseldorf realisiert wird und auf der drupa 2020 wichtige Impulse geben wird.

Note

Read as well the summary of all #Think!Paper Conversations and get access to all of them.

#Think!Paper — the key facts at a glance

What we do
We evaluate and profile print and its proponents as an effective driving force for transformation – across all industries!

Our mission
We show, first and foremost, that print is by no means driftwood in an ocean of transformation (with Titanic-style effects) but rather a solid anchor for the ‘tsunamis in our heads’!

Our USP

We are bringing together the brightest minds to form interdisciplinary #Think!Teams with a global outlook.
We are building up the finest pool of expertise with a clear focus on interaction, discourse, customer experience and sustainable conversations.
We are reinforcing the bedrock of any successful ‘digital’ transformation – proficient, dynamic and meaningful communication.

Benefits for our partners
We help our partners make new and market-relevant discoveries that inspire them and inject new energy into their development.

”Print is perhaps the most trusted medium”

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Print ad out of a campaign by ‘internet.org by Facebook’, designed by Sid Lee, U.S.A.

#Think!Paper — Edition 1, Volume 2

”I believe Think!Paper’s stance of recognising the role of print in a digital age will help address this issue and fill an incredible void in knowledge in an ever-shifting communication environment.”

By Fraser Church

I applaud the initiative of Think!Paper. This addresses a number of issues that have become prevalent in recent years particularly in the communication industry.

Today’s marketers have been brought up on digital and social media as being the default form of customer communication, with the much-heralded cry of “digital first” becoming increasingly common. However, the question is whether they are listening to their customers, or whether they are getting carried away on the digital wave whilst at the same time being influenced by perceived efficiencies based more on cost than actual return on investment.

Brands are increasingly focussing on Customer Experience and optimising the customer journey; however, to do that properly, marketers need to recognise that a decision to make a purchase is as much emotional as rational these days. Brand trust, values and relationships are increasingly important in a world where there is a narrowing in product differentiation. As part of building that relationship, it is important for brands to understand which media to use when and for which messaging.

Print is perhaps the most trusted medium.

Remember the phrase “I would like to see that in writing”. So, when something needs consideration, or has to be seen as authoritative, print can be a great medium. Print Is also the only channel that can impact on one of our most important senses of touch. Indeed, in my later years at Paragon I spend considerable time persuading clients of the value of increasing the production values of their printed output, and thus cost, to help subliminally re-enforce brand values.

You could for example question whether a Tiffany shopping bag is perhaps an accessory as much as a means of getting goods home. At the same time, you have to be careful not to over play your hand; for example, charities would never use a coated stock, as this would seem to go against their environmental and cost saving credentials (even though recycled paper can cost more!).

But this does not mean everything should be printed.

Email is a great means to deliver offers, newsletters and access to the depth of content that the online environment can provide. Mobile, whilst being often seen as an invasive medium, is perhaps the best way to remind people of a medical or retail appointments, or increasingly keep them up-to-date in real time about their purchase deliveries; and with the advent of 5G networks they will increasingly deliver richer experiences. Apps are a great way for people to manage their life, for example online banking or travel. Whilst social media lets us reach audiences at pace, in an informal and engaging manner.

The issue is that whilst a digital revolution is undoubtedly taking place, interested parties have been perhaps a bit blinkered. The Print Industry has tended to take great pleasure at criticizing digital media whenever it can. On the other hand, the digital communication industry has just ignored print as irrelevant. It is not either or. It is not one or the other. The true power is recognising how brands can use all of the media to their best advantage, optimising customer journeys and building long-term relationships. I believe Think!Paper’s stance of recognising the role of print in a digital age will help address this issue and fill an incredible void in knowledge in an ever-shifting communication environment.

Finally, what about Digital Transformation?

Digital Transformation is often misunderstood. It is not about making sure that all communication is sent via email or mobile; it is about using technology to make it more efficient for businesses to both operate and deliver more engaging experiences for the customer. It is an innovation enabler, allowing new business, operational and communication models.

However, this does not preclude print, and it should always be considered as a channel to be used to undertake specific roles. For example, whilst comparison websites may help you find the best mortgage, and banks want you to complete applications online, the issuing of printed legal document, welcome pack and annual statements can provide reassurance and feeling of security for customers.

Also, we should remember that not all consumers are digital natives and a considerable proportion of the population have grown up enjoying and trusting print as a media.

So, whilst Digital Transformation will be responsible for creating a number of digital only brands such as Uber, the majority of companies partaking in digital transformation will still find there is a role, and a productive one at that, for print in their business model.

Learn more about Think!Paper and maybe become a contributor as well.

About Fraser Church

Fraser Church is an independent communication consultant and also General Manager of CPX Group — a co-operative of nine of the world’s largest and most innovative print and digital communication companies.

Fraser, who has a degree in Economics, started his career in consumer marketing working for a number of the UK’s leading brands. He then transferred his allegiances to the agency world as a director of RMP a data driven one-to-one communication agency specialising in customer loyalty in the retail sector.

He cut his teeth in the new digital world by setting up a dot.com company in 1999, providing consumers with an online resource for ordering catalogues and brochures. Fraser subsequently moved on to create some of the world’s earliest and most successful variable digital print applications for DSI who eventually became part of the Paragon Group.

Fraser was most recently Head of Creative Development at Paragon, particularly enjoying spending time with clients evangelising about how print plays an important part in customer journeys in an ever-increasing digital world.

He currently became a member of our #Think!Team to support the #Think!Paper initiative and to enrich knowledge sharing.

Contact via LinkedIn

ValueCheck: Brand Experience vs. Customer Experience

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What does a brand mean to a consumer?
What does a consumer mean to a brand?

By Andreas Weber, Head of Value. | German Version

Many brands boast that they “create worlds of experience for our customers.” The question I ask myself is: do brands still meet the momentum which really determines customer needs, or rather: customer satisfaction? Or does an increasingly enforced brand experience approach not just miss the mark, but create more frustration than enjoyment?

Preliminary remark: learn from the best! Before any initial questions can be answered, looking back will help to bring us forward (‘Back to the Future’ style). Apple is a prime example to learn from. In the mid-90s, the company was at an all-time low, almost to the point of bankruptcy. Despite this, they managed a turnaround. Today, Apple has been the world’s most valuable brand for years. How was this possible? — “Communication first” was a central statement of the legendary Steve Jobs at the ‘Apple confidential meeting’ on September 23, 1997.

With the “Think Different” Campaign he launched shortly afterwards, he initiated a tremendous upheaval in the industrial industry. 10 years later, they went on to break the sound barrier with the release of the iPhone. Since then, Apple as been making a higher per capita profit than most companies in terms of per capita sales.

Although Jobs emphasized that products, marketing and distribution are important, he put smart communication above all else and made it a top priority. With his iPhone presentation on January 9, 2007, he achieved an ad-hoc gain of around $1 billion (media coverage, share price growth) before the product was even on the shelves. The trick: Jobs personally demonstrated the new device in great detail, and thus made himself identifiable with his customers and their new experience possibilities.

The credo: Smart Communication puts the central focus on the customer experience. This has made the pioneer Apple the number one premium brand to date. As an iCEO, Jobs was also a dedicated Chief Communications Officer, which enabled his ideas to become part of the DNA of Apple, its partners and, in particular, its customers. This is a principle to which other companies, such as Berkshire Hathaway by Warren Buffett or Virgin by Richard Branson presumably also owe their success.

In my opinion, Apple is by far the most capable Smart Communication Company — and that includes maximum loyalty to their customers around the globe.

Personal note: Anyone who buys an Apple product can experience
this — I’ve just bought the new iMac 27” with a Retina 5K Display and a MagicTrackPad. From (online) procurement including leasing to
free-of-charge delivery, the incredibly easy setup (just unpacking the iMac is a beautifully designed experience) up to the iCloud registration following Apple’s welcome email — which offered the very best professional support — the new computer seamlessly became a part of both my personal and professional life. This includes marvelous surprises, numerous technical innovations and quality features at the highest level. In conclusion: benchmark!

So let’s ask ourselves:
What distinguishes customer experience from brand experience?

Learning from the best: If you take a closer look, Apple and many other of the world’s most valuable brands follow a similar principle. Google, Facebook, Amazon, Uber and Airbnb – all of which are highly successful companies of recent times – have internalized and practiced the customer experience principle.

Experts like to claim that their success is due to the superior innovative platform business model. To an extent, in my opinion, this is true: exponential growth is possible with this model, as you are able to address millions, even billions, of customers directly. However, business model innovations, as well as new digital technologies, are ‘only’ a means to an end — and not necessarily a guarantee of success.

Think different!

Consideration 1

It is crucial to exploit the innovation and technology mechanisms in such a way that dialogues or conversations with customers take place in real time. This enables us to perfect services and create products that are tailored to the customer’s needs. Smart Communication ensures all of this!!

Consideration 2

The brand itself is no longer the center of attention; instead, it rather becomes a common vehicle for companies and customers. Mass Marketing becomes Customized Mass Marketing. The majority of established brand companies put their focus on brand experience in order to impress customers with the strongest possible brand impact. This is a way to impress your customers with the strongest possible brand experience and thus induce them to buy your products. However, the best case scenario in this: you end up covering your costs, but you can barely manage to grow profitably and organically or achieve double-digit margins.

Consideration 3

Reality is inevitable: customers often feel more and more disappointed if they feel that brands have lost personal contact with them.

Adobe’s study, “Reinventing Loyalty: The New Loyalty Experience” (Fall 2017) found that 75% of CMOs admit that customer loyalty/customer satisfaction need to be improved, or that they don’t even know what their customers are dealing with. “This clearly demonstrates that CMOs feel that there is huge room for improvement when it comes to implementing new loyalty dimensions.”

In my opinion, these new “loyalty dimensions” are entrenched in “old” values: trust, satisfaction, and relatedness. These values also form the core of Smart Communication.

In this context: The usual “digital” transformation efforts of many companies miss the point. Instead of focusing on customer experience, many companies focus instead on the optimization of internal processes.

While these do save the company time and money, they tend to drastically increase time and effort for the customer. Personal, human-to-human consultation opportunities are thus almost impossible. Anyone who’s spent far too much time on hold knows what I’m talking about.

Consideration 4

In my view, in order to avoid customer dissatisfaction and loss of loyalty, it is not necessarily a matter of changing qualifications, but of changing the mandate of those responsible for marketing.

Why?

Brand experience puts the focus on buying. It mainly uses expensive media and creative services from third parties (although Nielsen reports that in Germany, Europe’s premium market in 2017, gross advertising expenditure declined in some cases, despite high growth in mobile advertising). The corresponding strategies and measures are aimed at, almost as if on a hunt, bombarding customers with advertising, anywhere, anytime. So-called bonus programs make the hunt all the more dynamic.

But: Customer Experience, on the other hand, relies on customer satisfaction and service, through methods of direct contact and dialogue. Customer Experience follows the principle of ‘Listen & Learn.’ Real-time capturing of customers experiences is used to continuously improve products and services. Communication and transaction are interlinked as closely as possible, preferably seamlessly. The credo: It’s all about interaction and relatedness by smart communication.

Consideration 5

The Brand Experience Principle no longer applies. Customer sensitivities and expectations can best be met with an individually-tailored Smart Communication architecture, which should be designed with a customer experience focus.

If the Smart Communication strategy, which is so successful for Apple, is structured in a systemic way, adapted to your company, and precisely understood in detail, the essence of Smart Communication, you will be able to respond extremely quickly to individual customer needs. There is no other choice! ‘Communication first’ thus goes hand in hand with ‘Customer benefits first.’

Instructions

Think different! Put your current branding and customer experience strategies to the test and discuss your findings with others.
Rethink and critically assess the values of your company’s current communication approach and processes (i. e. via the ValueCheck questionnaire).
Listen & Learn. Understand and use the insights that my White Paper on Smart Communication offers, including specific instructions for action and organizational models.
I am always available for further explanations and support.

About Andreas Weber, Founder and CEO of Value Communication AG
Since more than 25 years Andreas Weber serves on an international level as a business communication analyst, influencer and transformer. His activities are dedicated to the ‘Transformation for the Digital Age’ via presentations, management briefings, coachings, workshops, analysis&reports, strategic advice. — Andreas Weber’s Blog inspires readers from around 130 countries around the globe.

ValueCheck: Brand Experience vs. Customer Experience

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Was bringt dem Kunden eine Marke?
Was fordert eine Marke dem Kunden ab?

Überlegungen von Andreas Weber, Head of Value | English Version

Marken schwärmen: „Wir schaffen Erlebniswelten für unsere Kunden.“

Die Frage, die sich mir stellt, lautet: Treffen Marken noch das Momentum, was Kundenbedürfnisse, oder besser: die Kundenbefindlichkeit, tatsächlich ausmacht? Oder führt eine zunehmend forcierte Brand Experience-Attitüde nicht am Ziel vorbei — schafft mehr Frust als Lust?

Vorbemerkung: Von den Besten lernen! — Bevor sich die Eingangsfragen beantworten lassen, tut ein Blick zurück nach vorne gut (’Back to the Future’). Apple ist ein Paradebeispiel, von dem wir lernen können. Mitte der 1990er Jahre im Dauertief, fast nahe der Pleite, gelang der Turnaround. Heute ist Apple seit Jahren die wertvollste Marke der Welt. Wie konnte das gelingen? — „Communication first“ war ein zentrales Statement des legendären Steve Jobs beim ‚Apple confidential meeting‘ am 23. September 1997.

Mit der kurz darauf gestarteten, unendlich erfolgreichen „Think Different“-Kampagne leitete er einen gewaltigen Umbruch in der Industriegeschichte ein, um mit dem iPhone 10 Jahre später die Schallmauer zu durchbrechen. Apple macht seitdem einen höheren Pro-Kopf-Gewinn als die meisten Unternehmen Pro-Kopf-Umsatz.

Jobs betonte, dass Produkte, Marketing und Distribution wichtig seien, stellte aber die ‚Smart Communication‘ über alles und machte sie zur Chefsache. Mit seiner iPhone-Präsentation am 9. Januar 2007 erzielte er ad-hoc einen Zugewinn von rund 1 Milliarde US-Dollar (Media-Coverage, Aktienkurszuwachs) ohne das Produkt schon verkaufen zu können. Der Kniff: Jobs führte das neue Gerät bis ins Detail persönlich vor und hat sich damit mit seinen Kunden und ihren neuen Erlebnismöglichkeiten identifizierbar gemacht.

Das Credo: Smart Communication rückt die Customer Experience ins Zentrum und machte den Vorreiter Apple bis dato zur Premium-Marke Nummer 1. Als iCEO war Jobs zugleich auch ein engagierter Chief Communication Officer, um seine Vorstellungen Teil der DNA von Apple, seiner Partner und v. a. seiner Kunden werden zu lassen. Ein Prinzip, dem andere Unternehmen wie z. B. Berkshire Hathaway durch Warren Buffett oder Virgin durch Richard Branson vermutlich ebenfalls ihren Erfolg verdanken.

Apple hat sich aus meiner Sicht mit Abstand als fähigstes Smart Communication-Unternehmen profiliert. Mit maximaler Loyalität bei Kunden rund um den Globus.

Persönliche Anmerkung: Die Erfahrung kann jeder machen, der ein Apple Produkt kauft — so wie ich gerade den neuen iMac 27’’ mit Retina 5K Display und MagicTrackpad: Von der (Online-)Beschaffung inkl. Leasing bis zur Lieferung frei Haus, der kinderleichten Inbetriebnahme (allein das Auspacken des iMac ist ein Designerlebnis!), bis zu der iCloud-Anmeldung unmittelbar folgenden Welcome-Email von Apple — die Profi-Support anbot, der sogleich aufs Beste erfolgte — wurde in kürzester Zeit der neue Computer Teil meiner persönlichen Erlebnis- und Arbeitswelt. Mit wunderbaren Überraschungen dank zahlreicher Technik-Innovationen und Qualitätsmerkmalen auf höchstem Niveau. In Summe: Benchmark!

Fragen wir uns also:
Was unterscheidet Customer Experience von Brand Experience?

Von den besten lernen: Schaut man genau hin, verfolgen neben Apple auch andere der wertvollsten Marken der Welt ein ähnliches Prinzip: Google, Facebook, Amazon, Uber und Airbnb — alles überaus erfolgreiche Unternehmen der neueren Zeit, die das Customer Experience-Prinzip verinnerlicht haben und praktizieren. Von Experten wird gerne angeführt, der Erfolg liege am überlegenen innovativen Plattform-Geschäftsmodell.

Aus meiner Sicht stimmt das zwar, weil exponentielles Wachstum möglich wird: man ist in der Lage, Millionen und Milliarden von Kunden direkt anzusprechen; aber Geschäftsmodell-Innovationen wie auch neue Digital-Technologien sind ‚nur’ Mittel zum Zweck — und per se keine Erfolgsgaranten.

Wir müssen also das Andere denken — Think different!

Überlegung 1

Entscheidend ist, die Innovations- und Technologie-Mechanismen so auszunutzen, dass Dialoge respektive Konversationen mit Kunden in Echtzeit entstehen, um für die Perfektionierung von Services und Produkten nutzbar zu werden, die sich am individuellen Bedarf des Kunden ausrichten. Smart Communication stellt das sicher!

Überlegung 2

Die Marke selbst steht nicht mehr im Zentrum, sie wird quasi zum gemeinsamen Vehikel von Unternehmen und Kunden. Aus Mass Marketing wird Mass Customized Marketing. Legt man wie die Mehrzahl der etablierten Markenunternehmen den Fokus auf Brand Experience, um über die möglichst starke Strahlkraft der Marke per Mass Penetration Kunden zu beeindrucken und so zum Kaufen zu bewegen, kann man im besten Falle noch Kosten decken, aber kaum noch profitabel organisch wachsen oder zweistellige Margen erzielen.

Überlegung 3

Die Realität ist zwangsläufig: Kunden fühlen sich mehr und mehr enttäuscht, wenn Marken offensichtlich den persönlichen Kontakt zu Ihnen verloren haben.

Adobe hat in seiner aktuellen Studie „Reinventing Loyalty: The New Loyalty Experience“ (Herbst 2017) herausgefunden, dass 75 Prozent der CMO’s zugeben, dass bei Kunden-bindung/Kundenzufriedenheit Verbesserungsbedarf besteht bzw. dass sie gar nicht wissen, was ihre Kunden eigentlich beschäftigt. „This clearly demonstrates that CMOs feel that there is huge room for improvement when it comes to implementing the new loyalty dimensions.“

Die neuen ‚Loyalty Dimensions’ fußen meines Erachten auf ‚alten‘ gemeinsamen Wertvorstellungen, geprägt durch Vertrauen, Zufriedenheit, Verbundenheit (relatedness), die auch den Kern von Smart Communication ausmachen.

In diesem Kontext zu beachten: Die üblichen ‚digitalen‘ Transformations-Bestrebungen führen am Ziel vorbei, da nicht Customer Experience, sondern die Optimierung unternehmensinterner Prozesse erfolgt, die dem Unternehmen Aufwand und Kosten sparen, den Aufwand beim Kunden aber drastisch erhöhen. Persönliche Rückfrage-Möglichkeiten von Mensch zu Mensch sind dann allzuoft kaum noch möglich.

Überlegung 4

Um Unzufriedenheit und Loyalitätsverlust bei Kunden zu vermeiden, bedarf es aus meiner Sicht nicht unbedingt einer veränderten Qualifikation, sondern der Änderung des Auftrags der Marketing-Verantwortlichen.

Warum?

Brand Experience legt den Fokus auf „buying“ und benutzt überwiegend kostspielige Medien und Kreativ-Leistungen Dritter (wobei wie Nielsen in Deutschland als Premiummarkt in Europa für das Jahr 2017 vermeldet, die Brutto-Werbeausgaben zum Teil rückläufig sind, trotz hohem Wachstum bei Mobile-Advertising). Die entsprechenden Strategien und Maßnahmen zielen darauf ab, Kunden ständig, fast wie auf einer Treibjagd, mit Werbebotschaften zu befeuern, anywhere, anytime. Sog. Bonusprogramm dynamisieren die Hetze erheblich.

Aber: Customer Experience setzt dagegen auf „serving & satisfying“ v. a. durch Direktkontakte und Dialoge. Customer Experience folgt dem Prinzip des ‚Listen & Learn‘. Die Echtzeit-Erfassung der Kundenerlebnisse wird genutzt, um Produkte und Services stetig zu verbessern. Kommunikation und Transaktion werden dabei so eng wie möglich, am besten nahtlos, verzahnt. — Credo: It’s all about interaction and relatedness by smart communication.

Überlegung 5

Das Brand Experience Prinzip führt nicht mehr weiter. Mit einer individuell zugeschnittenen Smart Communication-Architektur, die Customer Experience-fokussiert ausgestaltet wird, lassen sich Kundenbefindlichkeiten und Erwartungen am besten decken. Im Fokus: Great Conversations!

Wenn man die für Apple so erfolgreiche Smart Communication-Strategie systemisch strukturiert, aufs eigene Unternehmen adaptiert sowie im Detail das Wesen der Smart Communication exakt versteht, wird man extrem rasch auf individuelle Kundenbefindlichkeiten eingehen können. Es bleibt nämlich gar keine andere Wahl! ‚Communication first‘ geht dann einher mit ‚Customer benefits first‘.

Handlungsanweisungen

Think different! Stelle Deine aktuelle Branding- und Customer Experience-Strategie auf den Prüfstand und diskutiere Deine Erkenntnisse mit anderen.
Überdenke und hinterfrage kritisch den Wert der gegenwärtigen Kommunikationspraxis in Deinem Unternehmen (gerne mithilfe des ValueCheck Fragenkatalogs).
Listen & Learn: Verstehe und nutze die Insights, die mein White Paper zu „Smart Communication“ bietet, inkl. konkreten Handlungsanleitungen und Organisation-Modellen.
Gerne stehe ich mit meinem reichen Erfahrungswissen für weitere Erläuterungen und Unterstützung zur Verfügung.

Über den Autor: Seit mehr als 25 Jahren engagiert sich Andreas Weber als international renommierter Business Communication Analyst, Coach, Influencer und Transformer. Seine Aktivitäten fokussieren sich auf ‚Transformation for the Digital Age’ via Vorträgen, Management Briefings, Workshops, Analysen & Reports, Strategic Advice. — Mit seinem Blog www.valuetrendradar.com inspiriert er Leser aus über 130 Ländern der Welt.

ValueCheck: Lufthansa brand relaunch – is it really soaring to new heights?

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Digital Transformation, Valuable Advice, Value Innovation, ValueCheck

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Photos: Lufthansa

By Andreas Weber, Head of Value | German Version

Note: As a teenager, I made my first flight experience with Lufthansa. That was great! Over the next 45 years, I have had some ‘Ups & Downs’ with the Kranich Airline (also a few years as a premium customer with Lufthansa Senator status). — I watch relevant news as an analyst always highly interested.

With a big bang, millions in advertising revenue and full of fervor, Lufthansa is re-branding itself. At the heart of this is an elaborate re-design – above all the crane as its symbol – which according to estimates has taken at least seven years to be fully implemented.

According to Group CEO Carsten Spohr, the new brand world is the icing on the cake of modernization, he says with pride and joy. It works. Experts are not tired of holding forth about all the design aspects of the new brand identity. [The newspaper HORIZONT provides an overview].

However, the news channel n-tv rightly noted, with the help of media expert Thomas Koch, that whether the redesign will actually bring in new customers and give the business wings is debatable. According to Koch, it’s the customer who decides on the performance [quality] of the offer. A redesigned logo as a trademark is more incidental.

Lufthansa’s head of marketing, Alexander Schlaubitz, emphasizes that it is about more than that [or even about everything!] As his Group CEO has said, Lufthansa needs modernizing. For corporate marketing, this means doing away with anything which cannot be optimally digitized in order to do justice to the digital transformation and mobile communication, right down to the last pixel. [See interview by Fabian Wurm].

Photo: The Lufthansa logo since 1990.

This was actually something that the godfather of the design, Otl Aicher, had his eye on at the start of the 1960s when he created the crane as the trademark as part of a comprehensive CI. But his demand for clarity, conciseness and simplicity ruffled a few feathers at the time, and compromises had to be made in the tradition. Surprisingly, now, almost 60 years later, the results that have been reached hark back to Aicher’s original intentions. [Note: I became aware of this first-hand because I personally spent a few years working closely with Aicher on his Rotis typeface project and he often spoke of Lufthansa and other clients.]

NOTE: A great review of Lufthansa’s design was already published February 8th, 2018: Feeling Blue.

Much ado about nothing?

As is often the case, the customer’s experience of the brand is very different to how marketing assumed it would be. Lufthansa simultaneously sent out an email (presumably to all customer program members, in modified form also used as a manifesto by advertising motif), which is thought-provoking as it overdoes it with self-praise while in many staccato sentence fragments manage to forget possible customer benefits.

The introductory sentence starts with “We” (in terms of “We at Lufthansa” and not “We as a community”).
From the outset, the customer is stylized, to put it bluntly, as the “flight attendant”.
It is assumed that customers must follow the Lufthansa claim.
The advertised claim, in modern hashtag dexterity, #SayYesToTheWorld is laughably banal and implies that Lufthansa customers can best take off by being a yes-person.
Last but not least, the key visual in the email shows the tail fin of a plane, as if the person in question had just missed his flight…
And last but not least: It’s not personal! An option or even an active request for the email recipient to give immediate feedback to the modernized Lufthansa “outfit” by return is not included. What a shame. Or is it? Because this goes against the values that the digital world stands for in the social media age.
Note: It should be assumed that many hundreds of thousands of customers have received the email, in any case presumably significantly more than had received it at the time of the email being sent by re-branding via the media customers.

In my view, the “crassly modern” digital electronic mail-shot back-fired because it does nothing for the customers – instead it wants to create a good impression. This brings to mind unsettling experiences which, as a long-standing senator of Lufthansa, I was continually subjected to.

Lufthansa E-Mail vom 8.2.2018 an Andreas Weber

Lufthansa Manifest – Anzeigenmotiv

Better late than never: reverse the communication course!

If it really is about the Lufthansa brand (its self-image as being a “premium” brand) being brought into the digital age, Lufthansa’s thinking and mode of communication needs be changed radically.

In my view, these aspects should be considered:

It is crucial that the innovation and technology mechanisms be made use of so that dialog or conversations with customers take place in real time, to serve the optimization of services and products so that they are aligned with the individual needs of the customer.
The brand itself is no longer at the center, instead it becomes a kind of mutual vehicle for companies and customers. Mass marketing becomes customized mass marketing. If, like the majority of established brand companies, the focus is placed on brand experience, to impress customers using the hopefully strong charisma of the brand through mass penetration and thus motivate the customer to make a purchase, in the best case, costs can be covered but it is barely possible to make profit from organic growth or to achieve profit margins in double-figures.
The reality is unavoidable Customers are increasingly disappointed when brands have clearly lost personal contact with them.

My take

Sometimes the stork appears like a swallow which has not yet brought the summer with it. To avoid dissatisfaction and loss of loyalty from customers, in my opinion, what is needed is not necessarily a change in brand identity but first of all a change in the mission and a change in thinking by those in charge. By acknowledging “globalization, cosmopolitanism and curiosity”, a start has been made. – But at least, put the customer first! – This is all the more important since Lufthansa, according to its own statement, is starting the “largest investment in advertising in the history of the company” – after the company had the best financial year in its history in 2017, with 130 million customers recorded.

Supplement

As of June 5, 2018 Lufthansa does not come from the negative headlines. An embarrassing mishap at a football World Cup spot for Russia as well as constant improvements in the redesign are already more than amazing. Sounds like intended, but not skillful. — By the way, who, as I recently observed a Lufthansa jet in the new look at the start, notes that even at low altitudes above the city with the naked eye does not recognize that its a Lufthansa airplane … It just lacks the yellow! Ouch!

Lufthansa recently had to change the blue of its new livery because it was too dark (Photo: Lufthansa)

About the author

Andreas Weber has been working as an internationally renowned business communication analyst, coach, influencer and transformer for over 25 years. His activities focus on ‘Transformation for the Digital Age’ with lectures, management briefings, workshops, analyses & reports and strategic advice.

In his current ‘Think Paper’, Andreas Weber presents provocative thoughts on ‘Brand Experience vs. Customer Experience’. With the key questions: “What does a brand mean to a consumer? What does a consumer mean to a brand?”.

In case of interest, please send an email to receive the above-mentioned think paper: zeitenwende007{at}gmail.com

ValueDialog: Wie meistert Canon Europe die Transformation fürs Digitalzeitalter?

September 23, 2017

Digital Transformation, Multi-Channel Innovation, Posts in German Language, Trends @ Graphic Communications, Valuable Advice, Value Innovation

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Von Andreas Weber, Head of Value

Canon Europa hat zu einer neuen Organisationsstruktur gefunden, die bestmögliche Kunden- und Marktorientierung ermöglichen soll. Interessenten und Kunden haben es nunmehr mit einem zentralen Ansprechpartner zu tun, der seinerseits die Koordination mit unterschiedlichen Canon-Experten steuert. Das Customer Experience Center von Canon in Poing bei München repräsentiert als echter Hotspot eine Erster-Klasse-Anlaufstelle für Print-Innovationen. — Am 20. September 2017 wurde zu den Production Printing Days 2017 nach Poing eingeladen. Das dargebotene komplette Leistungsspektrum an Hard- und Software trumpfte mit einer Vielzahl an Anwendungslösungen auf, die von Expertenteams erläutert wurden, damit die Besucher sich durch den wahren Dschungel an Neuheiten durchfinden konnten. Ein guter Zeitpunkt für einen ValueDialog, der Canons „Transformation Journey“ verdeutlichen soll. Mark Lawn, Canon Europe, Director of Graphic & Communications Group, stand Rede und Antwort.

Warum unterscheidet Canon zwischen ‚Commercial Printing‘ und ‚Graphic & Communications‘?

Mark Lawn: Diese Differenzierung bezeichnet unseren Weg, eine Art Profil unseres Auditoriums in einem dynamischen Umfeld zu finden. Viele neue Applikationen finden nicht mehr nur in klassischen Marktsegmenten statt. Nehmen Sie als Beispiel eine Firma wie Amazon, die nicht mehr nur mit Büchern handelt, sondern diese auch selbst druckt und damit zum ‚Graphic Communications Provider‘ geworden ist. Hier müssen wir als Technologie- und Lösungs-Lieferant anders agieren können.

Das heißt, Canon stellt sich darauf ein, mit unterschiedlichen Firmentypen zu tun zu haben, die einerseits eine Geschichte in der Herstellung von Drucksachen haben und im Digitaldruck weiterkommen wollen sowie andererseits Quer- oder Neueinsteiger, die mit Hilfe von Print-Innovationen neue Geschäftsmöglichkeiten erschließen?

Inspirierend: Canon zeigte anhand einer eigens kreierten, fiktiven Marke auf, wie per Omnichannel Markenkommunikation funktioniert. Fotos: Canon Europe (oben), Andreas Weber

Mark Lawn: Ganz genau. Es gibt ausserhalb der klassischen Druckbranche, die sich auf industrielle Fertigung von Drucksachen fokussiert, eine Vielzahl dynamischer Anbieter, die ein breites, crossmediales Lösungsangebot entwickeln für eine Vielzahl an Kunden. Unsere Organisationsstruktur muss sicherstellen, hier jeweils einen zentralen Ansprechpartner zu bieten, der Wissen und Ressourcen bündelt, um individuelle Anforderungen präzise zu erfüllen. Im Bereich Graphic & Communications ist es entscheidend, sich in der Wertschöpfungskette nach vorne bewegen zu können, um zu einem möglichst frühen Zeitpunkt Einfluss auf Kommunikationsprojekte nehmen zu können und Print ins Spiel zu bringen. Also nicht nur mit denjenigen zu agieren, die Druckaufträge vergeben. Hier können gerade kleinere Dienstleister ihre hohe Flexibilität unter Beweis stellen. Das wollen wir aktiv unterstützen.

Dynamik bedeutet Veränderung. Womit müssen wir mittelfristig rechnen? Die drupa 2020 steht schon fast vor der Tür…

Mark Lawn: Pragmatisch gesehen, stellt sich die Frage: Womit beschäftigen wir uns heute? Aus meiner Sicht mit der Darstellung des Möglichen mit Hilfe von Print-Innovationen; es muss die Kluft geschlossen werden zwischen dem Stand der Technik und den Anforderung der Marken/Werbungtreibenden mit ihrer ‚digitalen’ Ausrichtung im Marketing. Hier wissen die wenigsten um den Nutzen von Print in einer vernetzten Welt. Die Print-Branche insgesamt muss sich in der Verantwortung sehen, das rasch zu ändern — vor allem auch mit Hilfe von Experten wie Ihnen als Influencer, im Social Media wie auch in Vorträgen.

Auf die Zukunft projiziert, heisst das, es findet ein Wandel statt vom Print Service Provider hin zum Business Solution Provider? Mit dem Focus auf ein neues ‚Ecosystem‘?

Mark Lawn: Da stimme ich voll zu. Das wird zwingend notwendig sein. Dazu müssen wir aber unser Silo-Denken in der Print-Branche aufgeben. Momentan ignorieren wir noch zu oft den Wandel, den ein Nachfrage-getriebenes Supply-Chain-Management provoziert. Neue Marktpotentiale werden so gut wie gar nicht zur Kenntnis genommen. Und: Wir erreichen mit unseren Botschaften noch nicht das richtige Publikum, um durch passende, neue Leistungsversprechen die tatsächlichen Innovations-Möglichkeiten, die sich mit Print, wie wir bei Canon es verstehen, überzeugend darzulegen. Denn nur so können neue Ideen durch konkrete Anwendungen in wertschöpfende Maßnahmen verwandelt werden. Die Branche muss sich zum ‚Problemlöser‘ transformieren, um jede Art von neuer Herausforderung nachhaltig mit zielführende Lösungen zu bedienen.

Vielen Dank für das Gespräch.

Mark Lawn beim Pressebriefing in Poing. Video: Andreas Weber

Mike Hilton’s Global News Review: It’s all about Imaging and Inkjet!

September 19, 2016

Digital Transformation, Trends @ Graphic Communications, Valuable Advice, Value Contributors, Value Innovation

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Graphic Repro On-line News Review to Friday 16 September 2016

Welcome to another roundup of 27 news articles posted during the past week, plus one new addition to Online Features from KBA in Nuremberg, with a new long perfector with coating and nine inking units at L/M/B Louko, which scooped this year’s ‘Top Innovator of 2016’ award in Germany.

Then we have Laurel Brunner back with her latest Verdigris environmental Blog, which this week looks at Plastic Dreams. Following which is Nessan Cleary’s very latest Wild Format Technology Guide which explains the basics of the printhead – the heart of an inkjet printer and directly responsible for placing each individual drop of ink on the substrate. This is the ninth article in this new series from by Laurel Brunner, Nessan Cleary, Sonja Angere and Paul Lindström at Digital Dots. All of which can be downloaded as PDFs, with almost 40 still to follow over the coming ten months or so.

On Monday we also announced the first in a new series from Andreas Weber at ValuePublishing entitled ValueTrendAnalysis: Transformation – ‘Beam me up Scotty’. The article is an overture to a series of trend letters and trend studies produced by ValuePublishing together with Muchcommunication.

Our news this week again comprises a completely mixed bag. We have tried to carry all of the current and imminent show-related articles for you which include announcements regarding Photokina in Cologne; from Labelexpo Americas and SGIA Expo which took place last week you will find announcements from EFI, Cerm, Ultimate, Durst, HP, Agfa, Presstek and Xeikon; then we have the agenda for the Inkjet Conference 2016 taking place in Neuss from 4 – 6 October; followed by ProImage, Scodix, KBA, Goss and Presstek at Graph Expo 2016, which opens this coming weekend.

Leading the news on Tuesday: Esko announced more than 120 free online training sessions to be available in a choice of five languages to help Esko’s global customers get the most out of their new software. You’ll find all the details in the article below with links to be able to register.

News leaders this week included Wallpaper Magazine with HP Indigo on Monday teaming up to create 220,000 unique posters for the publication’s 20th anniversary this month. On Wednesday we had HP Inc announce its acquisition of Samsung’s Printer Business, with the aim of disrupting the copier segment by reinventing and replacing service-intensive copiers with superior multifunction printing technology.

Recent sales and installations successes began on Monday with Manroland Sheetfed at Dongguan Xincai Packaging in China; Tuesday saw Heidelberg at Newnorth Print in the UK with the very latest Stahlfolder KH 82 combination model with Palamides delivery; then Esko in Brazil with the milestone 3000^th CDI – a CDI Spark 5080 for trade house Clicheria Blumenau – its fifth Esko CDI.

Among the various articles you will find quite a bit of new kit, including EFI with an enhanced Jetrion for labels; Mimaki with new wide-format inkjet direct sublimation for textiles, combining printing and heating for colour fixation into a single footprint; also HP with a new Latex Printer series at SGIA on Friday.

My tailender for the week from Tuesday’s headlines is the Blog Post relating to the K-Show (the world’s number one event for plastics and rubber) from 19 – 26 October in Düsseldorf: by Chris Winczewski at X-Rite Pantone. Not exactly printing as such, but extremely interesting and related – since X-Rite and Pantone and colour control are so closely related to our own industry, and the K-Show is becoming more relevant as production boundaries become blurred in our fast changing world.

That’s it until next time.

My best regards,

Mike Hilton

Registration inkjet conference 2016: theijc.com

Our e-News comprises: Headline News – Online Feature Articles – the Verdigris initiative and Wild Format Technology Guides from Digital Dots, as well as our Drupa and FESPA Newsrooms which can be accessed from the Index on our Home Page. We also have News in Review, which provides a weekly overview and listing of all news added to the site.

Headline News
Over 28,000 news items have now gone online since we launched our Website in September 2001. News for the past 24 months can still be accessed via the Home Page and its continuation news page

Mon 12 September…
Wallpaper* and HP customise commemorative posters
HP Indigo and Wallpaper* magazine team up to create 220,000 unique posters for the publication’s 20th anniversary this month…

ValueTrendAnalysis: Transformation – ‘Beam me up, Scotty!’
This article is the overture to a series of trend letters and trend studies produced by ValuePublishing together with the global expert…

Sawgrass: The Art of Sublimation at Photokina 2016
Sawgrass will showcase its full portfolio of sublimation solutions from 20 to 25 September 2016 in Cologne…

Contact Originators is now a Flint FlexoExpert in the UK
Based in Bredbury, Stockport, the beta customer has successfully passed through the FlexoExpert certification programme…

Dongguan Xincai Packaging adds 10-colour Roland 700
Forward-thinking Dongguan Xincai Packaging in China puts its faith in the Roland 700 with coating, UV and InlineFoiler…

Tue 13 September…
Esko launches global series of free training Webinars
More than 120 free online training sessions help Esko customers to get the most out of new software…

TheIJC 2016 in Neuss unveils extensive agenda
With just over two weeks to go, the The Inkjet Conference confirms the most involving agenda in the event’s history…

Bespoke training course for apprentice ink technician
Gilmour and Dean Limited work with Attain Training in the UK to expand and invest through apprenticeships…

Newnorth Print adds automated Stahlfolder KH 82
Newnorth increases its B1 folding capacity with combination model with Palamides Alpha 500hd delivery…

Mimaki’s new direct sublimation printer for textiles
The Tx500P-3200DS wide-format solution combines printing and heating for colour fixation into a single footprint…

Wed 14 September…
HP to acquire Samsung’s Printer Business
Aim is to disrupt copier segment, and to reinvent and replace service-intensive copiers with superior multifunction printing technology…

EFI unveils latest Jetrion 4950LXe LED inkjet and ERP
EFI debuts enhanced Jetrion label inkjet production and ERP Workflow innovations at Labelexpo Americas in Rosemont…

Cerm at Labelexpo Americas 2016
Inspiration and Collaboration will be a central theme for Cerm at Labelexpo Americas in Rosemont, from 13 – 15 September…

Ultimate TechnoGraphics brings AutoNesting to SGIA
Ultimate TechnoGraphics to showcase Impostrip’s latest AutoNesting in Las Vegas from 14 – 16 September 2016…

ProImage to launch latest workflow at Graph Expo 2016
ProImage has announced the launch of its new generation of newspaper production workflow: NewsWay-X…

Thu 15 September…
Esko’s 3000th CDI to Clicheria Blumenau in Brazil
The CDI Spark 5080 and software solutions package, and its fifth CDI, supports the leading trade shop’s plate production…

Durst uses Labelexpo to push its label capabilities
Durst uses Labelexpo Americas to announce important steps forward in the capabilities of its label products…

EFI Armor UVF clear coat on display at SGIA Expo
EFI non-yellowing Armor clear coat extends Avery Dennison textured wall films durability to five years…

X-Rite Pantone: Plastics focus for K-Show 2016
Blog Post relating to the K-Show 19 – 26 October: By Chris Winczewski, corporate strategy and innovation exec at X-Rite Pantone…

KBA’s new VariJET 106 sheetfed hybrid Powered by Xerox
New modular hybrid press for folding cartons integrates KBA Rapida platform with Xerox inkjet technology: intro at Graph Expo…

Fri 16 September…
Scodix drupa success to flow into Graph Expo 2016
Coming off drupa, where Scodix sold over 150 presses, adoption of Scodix digital enhancement is in full swing worldwide…

Goss International and Presstek at Graph Expo 2016
Goss, Presstek and Contiweb to showcase their latest product innovations and partnership success…

Agfa outshines competition in UV flatbed and hybrid
Agfa Graphics wins three Product of the Year awards for inkjet technology for second year in a row at SGIA Expo 2016…

HP unveiled its new Latex 300 Printer series at SGIA
New HP Latex 315, 335 and 365 printers help customers gain affordable access to more application opportunities…

EFI at the 2016 SGIA Expo in Las Vegas this week
A complete portfolio and new market opportunities highlight EFI’s mission and passion to fuel customer success…

Xeikon Laser Die-cut Unit at Labelexpo Americas
Self-adhesive label converting affordable as short runs made easy with Xeikon Laser Die-cut Unit (LDU)…

Presstek Zahara plates at Labelexpo Americas
Codimag demonstrated the benefits of chemistry-free, waterless offset live with Presstek’s Zahara plates…

Last lead articles from Friday in previous update…

AVT and HP Indigo at Labelexpo Americas 2016
Visitors will be able to see advanced integration between AVT and the HP Indigo 8000 and 20000 digital presses…

GraphicRepro.Net e-News (ISSN 1814-2923) is sponsored and made possible by:

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg), The world’s largest printing press manufacturer for the industry worldwide. Heidelberg customers enjoy the most comprehensive and extensive sales and service network in the industry for JDF compliant workflow, computer-to-plate, sheetfed offset, Web-to-print, digital printing, digital inkjet for labels and packaging, packaging and finishing, all with complementary consumables. Heidelberg has offices in around 170 countries. Visit the Heidelberg Website for more information.

drupa 2020 (drupa), the international flagship fair of the printing and media industry, responds to the challenges of the changing market and provides pioneering solutions for the future. This is highlighted by the new marketing and communication strategy where drupa claims its position as ‘No.1 for Print & Crossmedia Solutions’ with the slogan ‘touch the future’. The issues of ‘package printing’, ‘multichannel’, ‘green printing’, ‘3D printing’, and ‘functional printing’ will become increasingly important to the overall communication strategy. To find out more, visit the drupa 2020 Website.

Online Feature articles 2014 – 2016
Only 35 so far this year, with well over 70 last year, and over 90 in 2013 and in 2014 which can still be accessed via the Index on the Home Page, with prior years in our Archives.

Downloads 2016 Chapter 01

Previous…
Two Sides Global Research Survey 2016
Consumers still value print & paper, but environmental misunderstandings persist due to serious lack of awareness…

Technology-related Chapter 02

Online Features Sep/Oct Chapter 07

L/M/B Louko in Nuremberg adds long KBA Rapida 106
Print industry’s top innovator invests in KBA Rapida 106 with nine inking units, perfecting and coater…

Previous…
First Swing sponsored by Canon South Africa
The benefits of the South African Disabled Golf Association’s First Swing programme for disabled children, showcased in action at Zwartkop Country Club…

Verdigris – Environmental Initiative

Laurel Brunner’s weekly Verdigris Blogs 2016

Plastic Dreams
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 16 Sep

Previous…
Standards for Sustainability
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 26 Aug

Technology Guides – from Digital Dots

Technology Guides for Wild Format 2016
This is the brand new series for 2016 – 2017 of new guides. The first four can be found in this special section on the Website, listed in the Index on the Home Page. All have PDFs for downloading.

Latest No 9… The basics of printheads
In many respects the printhead is the heart of an inkjet printer, directly responsible for placing each individual drop of ink on the substrate. By Nessan Cleary

5… Where Do You Start your Wild Format Project?
The range of what’s possible with digital inkjet technology just keeps on growing. There are so many production options to choose from… By Laurel Brunner

6… Wide format Inkjet Basics
Wide format printing has grown at an astronomical rate over the past decade, mainly because it can cope with a growing range of applications. By Nessan Cleary

7… To Judge a Book by Its Cover
Despite the old proverb, humans are prone to judge their fellow man by first impressions, so appearances are important. By Sonja Angerer

8… Workflow Basics for Wide Format Projects
While the creative part of a printing project involving wide, or very, very wide-format production should be unrestrained and ‘wild’ (allowing yourself to think out-of-the-box). By Paul Lindström

FESPA Newsroom
The FESPA Newsroom can be found via the Index on our Home Page.

FESPA Federation News in 2016

Most recent…
Let your imagination fly at FESPA Eurasia 2016
Speciality print exhibition returns to the CNR Expo in Istanbul, Turkey for the fourth year in December…

Exhibitors present latest technologies at FESPA Mexico
New products and technologies for wide-format, digital and screen print, garment decoration, signage, software and consumables…

Drupa Newsroom
Our Drupa Newsroom with news from Messe Düsseldorf and for Drupa 2016 can be found in the Index. It is divided into the following Chapters for your convenience and ease of use… but you must scroll down to view each Chapter when you visit the Newsroom…

drupa daily to download as PDFs
These eleven jam-packed drupa daily news issues are ready to read now. They contain hundreds of superb articles, interviews, features and news. You can download each one complete as a PDF…

drupa 2016 Exhibitors’ at show + post-show News
Latest additions of 86 in total are now in alphabetical order can be accessed in our drupa Newsroom.

drupa 2016 News from Exhibitors (now in alphabetical order)
The series of over 240 pre-show articles can be accessed in our drupa Newsroom in alphabetical order.

post-drupa 2016 News from Messe Düsseldorf

Decisive impulses for the global print industry at drupa
drupa 2016 was a resounding success with excellent business deals concluded in an outstanding investment climate…

drupa ante portas Blogs 2016
Includes the tenth and final article in this series from Andreas Weber in Mainz, Germany…

drupa 2016 Expert Articles – and more
Includes the eleventh and final article in this series from Claus Bolza-Schünemann, CEO and president of Koenig & Bauer (KBA) and drupa president 2016…

The Graphic Repro On-line Website is supported and sponsored by:

Antalis South Africa , Canon SA, Screen Europe, Drupa 2020, Esko, FESPA. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, HP Graphic So lutions, Kemtek Imaging Systems, Krause-Biagosch, Leonhard Kurz Stiftung, Manroland Web Systems GmbH, Muller Martini AG, Ricoh Europe, Sappi Limited, Thunderbolt Solutions, and UPM -Kymmene.

If you would like to send news for consideration for the Graphic Repro On-line Website (ISSN 1814-2915) or to submit comments, please e-mail Mike Hilton at: graphicrepro.za@gmail.com.

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GraphicRepro.Net e-News (ISSN 1814-2923) provides weekly updates from the Graphic Repro On-line Website and is compiled and published by Mike Hilton, graphicrepro.net, PO Box 10 Peterburgskoe Shosse 13/1, 196605 Pushkin 5, St. Petersburg, Russia. e-mail graphicrepro.za@gmail.com

Mike Hilton’s Global News Review: Focus on Packaging

September 12, 2016

Digital Transformation, drupa 2016, Multi-Channel Innovation, Trends @ Graphic Communications, Valuable Advice, Value Contributors, Value Innovation

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One of the top exhibitors: Leonhard Kurz at Luxe Pack in Monaco from 21 – 23 September

Graphic Repro On-line News Review to Friday 09 September 2016

Welcome to another roundup of news articles posted during the past week. You will find quite a nice selection below, including upcoming appearances at various events led by Leonhard Kurz at Luxe Pack in Monaco from 21 – 23 September (on Monday); Sun Chemical at K 2016 in Düsseldorf from 19 – 26 September (Tuesday); Toray at WAN-IFRA’s World Publishing Expo in Vienna from 10 – 12 October; EFI at Graph Expo in Orlando from 24 – 26 September; and then Industrial Inkjet (Konica Minolta) at Labelexpo Americas in Rosemont from 13 – 16 September (all on Wednesday). Then we have Fujifilm at InPrint 2016 in Milan, from 15 – 17 November; and Spandex at the Print Show from 11 – 13 October at the NEC, Birmingham (on Thursday); and finally AVT and HP Indigo with advanced integration to be shown live for the first time at Labelexpo Americas 2016 (leading the news on Friday).

One article in Online Features not to be missed this week came from Canon South Africa, highlighting the benefits of the South African Disabled Golf Association’s First Swing programme for disabled children, and showcased in action at the Zwartkop Country Club near Pretoria. Please don’t skip it. The four latest Wild Format Technology Guides are also complete, with links below. A key software announcement this week from Esko on Monday, with a new clean-sheet design of ArtPro+ which brings fresh innovation to packaging design and prepress with its native PDF editor. On Thursday you will find the latest additions to the new high performance Select flatbed inkjet series from Fujifilm; while on Friday, FFEI introduces both an extended colour gamut and linerless label production for its hybrid Graphium press, enabling converters to address new sectors digitally.

Of particular interest on an environmental note this week on Wednesday, is Brunel Print which claims to be the first UK printer to make all its production carbon neutral without customers incurring a charge for it. This article is by Gareth Ward at the Print Business. I thought those with an environmental interest ought to see it. This was followed by UPM and leading the news on Thursday, as it retains its industry leader position in the Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index for the fifth time in a row. Major sales and installations this week began on Tuesday with Sexton Printing, which expects a 40 per cent increase in productivity with its new Speedmaster XL 75-5+L from Heidelberg; from Healeys, as it meets increased demand for A4 property brochures with an investment in a Horizon landscape bookletmaker; and from York Repro-Graphic as it turns to Asahi’s AWP flexographic plates for fixed colour palette printing – all three are based in the UK. On Wednesday, KBA North America announced a flood of orders and installations for East Coast printing companies; while on Friday to finish the week in style, Fine Print UK is taking the LE-UV route with its latest £1m high-specification Speedmaster XL 75-5 LE-UV investment; while Rotolito Lombarda group has expanded its digital production capabilities with a new HP Indigo 12000 Digital Press in Milan, Italy; KBA announced a large-format Rapida 164 with coater and triple delivery extensi on for Printcenter Eesti in Maardu, Estonia; and lastly: Kase Printing in North America is set to install an automated Stahlfolder TH 82 6/6/4 (debuted at drupa) to complement its two existing Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 presses. There’s a lot more if you scroll down carefully including what SPGPrints is doing in Kufstein, Austria; but as my tailender for this week: Xeikon announced on Friday that it has promoted Filip Weymans who previously served as director segment marketing Labels & Packaging, to vice president marketing at Xeikon. Congratulations Filip on a nice reward for all the effort and hard work.

That’s it until next time.

My best regards,

Mike Hilton

Don’t miss to read “Transformation — “Beam me up, Scotty” by Andreas Weber. A brillant and inspiring ValueTrendAnalysis report.

Mon 05 September…
Leonhard Kurz at Luxe Pack Monaco 2016
Packaging trends and a host of ideas for current and future product finishing innovations, 21 – 23 September…

Esko’s completely redesigned ArtPro+ improves productivity
Esko’s new clean-sheet design ArtPro+ brings innovation to packaging design and prepress with native PDF editor…

EFI announces new DFE for Konica Minolta
New EFI Fiery Digital Front End provides higher performance for Konica Minolta bizhub press 1052e and bizhub press 1250e/P…

Apex to provide anilox service to KBA Cortina users
KBA and Apex start cooperation for the reconditioning of anilox rollers for waterless Cortina web presses…

SPGPrints to boost manufacturing capacity in Kufstein
SPGPrints invests in manufacturing expansion in Kufstein, Austria for production of the Javelin textile printer…

Tue 06 September…
Sun Chemical and Coates Screen Inks at K 2016
Sun Chemical to launch latest generation compliant ink at K 2016 from 19 – 26 October in Düsseldorf…

Manroland Web Systems hosts Mohn Media apprentices
35 apprentices from Mohn Media visited the production Manroland Web Systems’ site in Augsburg in August…

Sexton adds Speedmaster XL 75 with Prinect Inpress Control
Sexton Printing expects a 40 per cent increase in productivity with Speedmaster XL 75-5+L from Heidelberg…

Healeys creates new production landscape with Horizon
Increased demand for landscape A4 property brochures prompts Ipswich printers to invest in SPF-FC/200L bookletmaker…

YRG adopts Asahi water wash AWP flexographic plate
York Repro-Graphic Group in the UK turns to Asahi’s AWP flexographic plates for fixed colour palette printing…

Wed 07 September…
Toray Industries at World Publishing Expo 2016
Toray to show new newspaper waterless offset printing plates, plate chemistry and processors in Vienna in October…

EFI leads the industry in the Must See ‘Ems awards
Eight Graph Expo awards again reflects EFI’s dedication to making customers more competitive and profitable…

Industrial Inkjet Limited at Labelexpo Americas 2016
Label customisation to take a quick step forward for IIJ at Labelexpo with world’s fastest UV inkjet print system…

Brunel makes Carbon Neutral the only way it prints
Brunel Print claims to be the first UK printer to make all its production carbon neutral without customers incurring a charge for it…

US East Coast explodes with new KBA press installations
Key print titans choose KBA for design, intelligent technology, automated solutions, and meticulous engineering…

Thu 08 September…
UPM listed as the forest and paper industry leader
UPM retains the industry leader position in the Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index for the fifth time in a row…

EFI appoints GSW South Africa for inkjet portfolio
EFI wide- and superwide-format printers now available from Graphix Supply World in South and Southern Africa and more…

Fujifilm Inkjet technologies at InPrint 2016 in Milan
Fujifilm to demonstrate extensive range of industrial inkjet applications at InPrint 2016, from 15 – 17 November…

Spandex to exhibit at the Print Show 2016
At the NEC in October, visitors will find a wide range of wide-format and sign making equipment and materials…

Fujifilm announces new Acuity Select HS 30 series
Latest addition to the new high performance Select flatbed inkjet series is yet another step up in performance and quality…

Fri 09 September…
AVT and HP Indigo at Labelexpo Americas 2016
Visitors will be able to see advanced integration between AVT and the HP Indigo 8000 and 20000 digital presses…

Filip Weymans named Vice President Marketing at Xeikon
Xeikon has promoted Filip Weymans who previously served as director Segment Marketing Labels & Packaging…

FFEI Graphium hybrid: Enhanced media handling and finishing
FFEI’s extended colour gamut and linerless label production enables converters to address new sectors digitally…

Fine Print Services elects to go LE-UV with Heidelberg
Fine Print is taking the LE-UV route with its latest £1m high-specification Speedmaster XL 75-5 LE-UV investment…

New HP Indigo 12000 at Rotolito’s Nava Press in Milan
Rotolito Lombarda group has expanded its digital production capabilities with HP Indigo 12000 Digital Press…

Record export from Germany to Estonia for KBA
Rapida 164 with coater and triple delivery extension for Printcenter Eesti in Maardu, Estonia…

Kase to double production with new Stahlfolder TH 82
Kase Printing set to install automated Stahlfolder TH 82 6/6/4 to complement its two Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 presses…

Last lead articles from Friday in previous update…

KBA North America at Graph Expo 2016
KBA to share its dynamic technology, Drupa introductions and new partnerships in Orlando this month…

Digital Information at Graph Expo 2016 in Orlando
Digital Info to launch InkZone Inline fully automated colour measurement and colour control for web offset from 25 to 28 September…

GraphicRepro.Net e-News (ISSN 1814-2923) is sponsored and made possible by:

drupa 2016 (drupa), the international flagship fair of the printing and media industry, responds to the challenges of the changing market and provides pioneering solutions for the future. This is highlighted by the new marketing and communication strategy where drupa claims its position as ‘No.1 for Print & Crossmedia Solutions’ with the slogan ‘touch the future’. The issues of ‘package printing’, ‘multichannel’, ‘green printing’, ‘3D printing’, and ‘functional printing’ will become increasingly important to the overall communication strategy. To find out more, visit the drupa 2016 Website.

Online Feature articles 2014 – 2016
There were again well over 70 last year, 90 in 2014, and over 90 in 2013 which can still be accessed via the Index on the Home Page, with prior years’ via Search Archives (option 2).

Downloads 2016 Chapter 01

Two Sides Global Research Survey 2016
Consumers still value print & paper, but environmental misunderstandings persist due to serious lack of awareness…

Technology-related Chapter 02

Online Features Sep/Oct Chapter 07

First Swing sponsored by Canon South Africa
The benefits of the South African Disabled Golf Association’s First Swing programme for disabled children, showcased in action at Zwartkop Country Club…

Online Features Jul/Aug Chapter 06

New installation for Druckerei Münch in Bayreuth
Further KBA Rapida 105 for the postcard and greetings card specialist in Bayreuth, upper Franconia, Germany…

Verdigris – Environmental Initiative

Laurel Brunner’s weekly Verdigris Blogs 2016

Previous…
Standards for Sustainability
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 26 Aug

Technology Guides – from Digital Dots

5… Where Do You Start your Wild Format Project?
The range of what’s possible with digital inkjet technology just keeps on growing. There are so many production options to choose from… By Laurel Brunner

6… Wide format Inkjet Basics
Wide format printing has grown at an astronomical rate over the past decade, mainly because it can cope with a growing range of applications. By Nessan Cleary

7… To Judge a Book by Its Cover
Despite the old proverb, humans are prone to judge their fellow man by first impressions, so appearances are important. By Sonja Angerer

8… Workflow Basics for Wide Format Projects
While the creative part of a printing project involving wide, or very, very wide-format production should be unrestrained and ‘wild’ (allowing yourself to think out-of-the-box). By Paul Lindström

FESPA Newsroom
The FESPA Newsroom can be found via the Index on our Home Page.

FESPA Federation News in 2016

Most recent…
Let your imagination fly at FESPA Eurasia 2016
Speciality print exhibition returns to the CNR Expo in Istanbul, Turkey for the fourth year in December…

Exhibitors present latest technologies at FESPA Mexico
New products and technologies for wide-format, digital and screen print, garment decoration, signage, software and consumables…

drupa 2016 Exhibitors’ at show + post-show News
Latest additions of 86 in total are now in alphabetical order can be accessed in our drupa Newsroom.

drupa 2016 News from Exhibitors (now in alphabetical order)
The series of over 240 pre-show articles can be accessed in our drupa Newsroom in alphabetical order.

post-drupa 2016 News from Messe Düsseldorf

Decisive impulses for the global print industry at drupa
drupa 2016 was a resounding success with excellent business deals concluded in an outstanding investment climate…

drupa ante portas Blogs 2016
Includes the tenth and final article in this series from Andreas Weber in Mainz, Germany…

drupa 2016 Expert Articles – and more
Includes the eleventh and final article in this series from Claus Bolza-Schünemann, CEO and president of Koenig & Bauer (KBA) and drupa president 2016…

The Graphic Repro On-line Website is supported and sponsored by:

Antalis South Africa , Canon SA, Screen Europe, Drupa 2016, Esko, FESPA. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, HP Graphic So lutions, Kemtek Imaging Systems, Krause-Biagosch, Leonhard Kurz Stiftung, Manroland Web Systems GmbH, Muller Martini AG, Ricoh Europe, Sappi Limited, Thunderbolt Solutions, and UPM -Kymmene.

If you would like to send news for consideration for the Graphic Repro On-line Website (ISSN 1814-2915) or to submit comments, please e-mail Mike Hilton at: graphicrepro.za@gmail.com.

Mike Hilton’s Global News Review: Heideldruck’s CEO Dr. Linzbach will leave August 2017

July 25, 2016

Digital Transformation, drupa 2016, Trend Analysis (in brief), Trends @ Graphic Communications, Valuable Advice, Value Contributors, Value Innovation

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Photo @2016: Andreas Weber, ValuePUBLISHING, Mainz/Germany.

Graphic Repro On-line News Review to Friday 22 July 2016

Welcome to this week’s roundup of another 30 selected news articles for the week, plus five new additions to our drupa Newsroom from Elitron, KBA-Flexotecnica, Manroland Sheetfed, and SEI Laser; as well as a new entry in Online Features Downloads from Two Sides, as it publishes the findings of its Global Reach Survey 2016, where you will find the introductory article complete with link to download the complete 15-page findings and report as a PDF.

There will no Verdigris environmental Blog for the next couple of weeks as Laurel Brunner is taking a short break. She will be back during the second half of August. I shall also take a break as news is in very short supply due to the main holiday season in Europe and it has been difficult this past week or so to put together a reasonable selection of good newsworthy stuff each day. As with last week’s key news announcements (Xaar on Monday and Screen Europe on Tuesday) I have drawn on the assistance of Gareth Ward at Print Business UK for two key articles again this week, for the Anton Group and Kodak Inkjet announcement on Wednesday; and then for Xerox and RR Donnelley on Friday, in order to bring you up to date with that.

Other news leaders this week came from HP on Monday, with its plans for Photokina 2016 in Cologne in September. Tuesday was led by Canon Europe as it ships Goloseo children’s books produced at drupa 2016 to South Africa to support the Room to Read Literacy Programme. On Thursday, Two Sides took the lead as it announces availability of its Global Research Survey 2016 in PDF format; and while consumers still value print and paper, there are numerous environmental misunderstandings that persist due to a serious lack of awareness, says Two Sides. Please don’t skip it. The 15-page Report is well worth studying for anyone involved with publishing, print and paper wherever you are.

On Friday, management board chairman and CEO of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Dr. Gerold Linzbach, announced that he will not renew his contract which runs until August 2017. Following a successful turnaround of the company, he will not seek to extend his contract and aims at pursuing new professional challenges and will continue to serve the company until the end of his contractual term, to enable the Supervisory Board time to find a replacement.

Side kick for Graphic Arts: The curtain rises – Cologne’s PHOTOKINA, the world’s leading trade fair for photo and video this year presents itself in new colours, with a new look and feel and a fireworks display of new ideas.

You will find some new sales and installations announcements below from Andi Druk in the Netherlands, as it invests in the first Canon Océ and Müller Martini integrated continuous feed inkjet and digital finishing lines for magazine and book production; and also for Manroland Sheetfed in Brazil with another Roland 700 – both on Monday. On Tuesday, Witherbys in London increases automation and output with a new Speedmaster XL 75-6 and automated Stahlfolder CH 56; Inci.Flex in Italy becomes the first to automate its flexo platemaking process with Esko’s new CDI Crystal 5080 XPS flexo platemaker, debuted at drupa. We also have Toppan Forms, which is now the biggest Kodak Prosper Inkjet customer in the world, as it adds a fifth Prosper Stream Inkjet press – a Prosper 6000C; while German commercial printer Nino-Druck made its first steps into the personalised photo market with Taopix at drupa.

On Wednesday we announced that Anton Group UK will be the first in the world to work with the new Kodak Ultrastream printhead shown in tests at drupa. This was followed by corrugated packaging printer Grupondunova in Catalonia, which becomes the first Spanish company to invest in the Inca Onset X large-format inkjet flatbed press, complete with ClinchTech Robotics. Then we had Park Communications in the UK, which has added a four-clamp Horizon BQ470 PUR perfect binder to deliver cost effective fast turnarounds. Thursday saw IBW Industrial Binding in Belgium increase its investment in Muller Martini kit with a new Diamant MC 60 bookline, and an Alegro perfect binder with extremely short changeover times, to use with the new hard-cover line.

On Friday, to round off the week, we included Xerox with early adopters at drupa 2016 snapping up no less than 120 Xerox Production Inkjet presses, including continuous feed and more. Then we have Seaway Printing in the U.S., which expects a 50 per cent increase in productivity with its new Speedmaster XL 106-4+L from Heidelberg USA. You will find lots of new kit this week if you check out the news announcements carefully. These include Canon SA on Monday as it launches its new imageRUNNER Advance C5500 series, intelligent multifunctional devices aimed at today’s modern working environment. Xitron on Tuesday. KBA-Flexotecnica on Wednesday, as well as SEI Laser. On Thursday, EFI released Packaging Suite 4.0 debuted and shown at drupa; and then we have KBA with the Varijet B1 Xerox-powered digital press (also from Gareth Ward, Print Business); and then Elitron with three new digital cutting machines which were shown at drupa.

On Friday we have Fujifilm with its new processless plate, the Superia ZD, which is UV-compatible and designed for longer runs. Lastly, from Ricoh South Africa with new wide-format multifunction printer which it is aimed at the CAD/GIS and graphics markets in EMEA.

The tailender for this week: On Monday, Manroland Web Systems opened the doors of its new digital web STORE. So, now you have a 24-hour, fast shopping ability on-line.

That’s all until next time.

My best regards,

Mike Hilton

Read Andreas Weber’s #drupa2016 multimedia reports as well to get the full picture: “#drupa2016 Review: Print wins! If…”

Our e-News comprises: Headline News – Online Feature Articles – the Verdigris initiative from Digital Dots. Our Drupa and FESPA Newsrooms can be accessed from the Index on our Home Page, as well as News in Review, which provides a weekly overview and listing of all news added to the site.

Mon 18 July…
HP’s new business growth opportunities at Photokina 2016
Photo finishers and professional Photo labs will experience the new HP Indigo 12000 and new applications from the HP Latex 570…

Sun Chemical at GlassTec 2016 in Düsseldorf
Sun Chemical to present its latest SunVetro offerings at GlassTec 2016, taking place at Messe Düsseldorf, from 20 – 23 September…

The new Manroland web STORE opens its digital doors
The time has come: Having been announced over the past two months and having been greeted enthusiastically…

Fully automated digital inkjet for Andi Druk Netherlands
Andi Druk invests in first Canon Océ and Müller Martini integrated continuous feed inkjet for magazine and book production…

Brazilian book publisher achieves goals with Roland 700
Multi Marcas Editoriais Ltda (Editora Construir) promotes education and literacy through innovative books…

Canon’s new imageRUNNER Advance C5500 series
Canon SA launches new flagship, intelligent multifunctional devices for today’s modern working environment…

Tue 19 July…
Canon Europe and Goloseo support Room to Read
Canon to ship Goloseo children’s books produced at drupa 2016 to South Africa for the Room to Read Literacy Programme…

Xitron begins shipments of USB/SCSI Interface
Replaces obsolete SCSI cards in Trendsetter CTP installations with an economical alternative and provide an extended ROI…

Witherbys invests in Heidelberg automation and productivity
Witherbys in London increases automation and output with new Speedmaster XL 75-6 and automated Stahlfolder CH 56…

Inci.Flex first with Esko’s CDI Crystal 5080 XPS
Gravure quality with flexo plates coming from an integrated unit that simplifies and automates flexo platemaking…

Japan’s first Kodak Prosper 6000C Press for Toppan Forms
Toppan Forms is now the biggest Kodak Prosper customer in the world with a fifth Prosper Stream Inkjet press…

Nino-Druck targets personalised print with Taopix
The German commercial printer made its first steps into the personalised photo market with Taopix at drupa…

Wed 20 July…
Anton to become world’s first with new Kodak printhead
Anton Group UK will be the first in the world to work with the new Kodak Ultrastream printhead shown in tests at drupa…

Ricoh SA appoints head of Production Print Business Group
Ricoh South Africa has appointed Frank de Afonseca to head up its Production Printing Business Group…

The new KBA-Flexotecnica NEO XD LR ‘Hybrid’
First fully hybrid extremely innovative machine for all popular flexo technologies drew the crowds at drupa…

SEI Laser: Digital die-cutting and creasing a reality
SEI Laser impressed the industry with the models PaperOne 5000, 3500 and with Packmaster OEM WD at drupa…

Inca Onset X1 with ClinchTech Robotics for Grupondunova
Corrugated packaging pioneer Grupondunova becomes the first Spanish company to invest in the Onset X…

Park further invests in digital department with Horizon buy
Park Communications adds a four-clamp Horizon BQ470 PUR perfect binder to deliver cost effective fast turnarounds…

Thu 21 July…
Two Sides Global Research Survey 2016 available
Consumers still value print & paper, but numerous environmental misunderstandings persist due to a serious lack of awareness…

EFI releases Packaging Suite 4.0
EFI Packaging Suite 4.0, shown at drupa, offers new value for label, folding carton and flexible packaging converters…

KBA takes the modular approach to inkjet
The Varijet was not shown at Drupa, but is KBA’s pitch for the B1 digital press market has its eyes focused on carton printing…

Elitron’s drupa hat-trick with a focus on automation
Elitron has significantly increased its product range, and chose the drupa stage to launch three new digital cutting solutions…

IBW enters Hardcover Segment with Diamant MC bookline
IBW Industrial Binding in Belgium increases its investment in Muller Martini kit with a new bookline, and a perfect binder…

Drytac Europe announces enhanced Emerytex
An improved textured anti-slip laminating film for indoor and outdoor applications, including floor graphics…

Fri 22 July…
Dr. Gerold Linzbach to leave Heidelberg in 2017
Management board chairman and CEO, Dr. Gerold Linzbach will not renew his contract which runs until August 2017…

Deal too far as Xerox rebuffs Donnelley’s approach
RR Donnelley believed there was potential in combining with Xerox’s technology, but Xerox found it an offer they could refuse…

Xerox at drupa: More than 120 initial sales successes
Early adopters at drupa 2016 snapped up Xerox Production Inkjet presses, including continuous feed and more…

Seaway adds Speedmaster XL 106 with Inpress Control
Seaway Printing in the U.S., expects a 50 per cent increase in productivity with Speedmaster XL 106-4+L from Heidelberg…

Fujifilm releases the Superia ZD processless plate
Fujifilm announces the addition of new processless plate – Superia ZD – compatible with UV and for longer runs…

Ricoh’s new A1 production printer for CAD/GIS
Ricoh’s new wide-format multifunction production printer aimed at the CAD/GIS and graphic markets in EMEA…

Last lead article from Friday in previous update…

Last issue’s Friday lead article…
Sappi sustainable packaging solutions at FachPack 2016
Latest innovative sustainable products are designed to minimise the use of fossil-based plastic packaging…

GraphicRepro.Net e-News (ISSN 1814-2923) is sponsored and made possible by:

Downloads 2016 Chapter 01

Two Sides Global Research Survey 2016
Consumers still value print & paper, but environmental misunderstandings persist due to serious lack of awareness…

Technology-related Chapter 02

Previous…
e-Commerce, automation and cloud for print
The Internet and World Wide Web have opened up new opportunities for printing, but new challenges too. By Simon Eccles…

Online Features Jul/Aug Chapter 06

Previous…
L’Imprimerie looks back at its waterless printing strategy
The French daily newspaper Le Figaro has grown its business, thanks to waterless printing and the switch to Toray MX10 plates…

Verdigris – Environmental Initiative

Laurel Brunner’s weekly Verdigris Blogs 2016

Most recent…
Green fashion
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 15 July

Technology Guides – from Digital Dots

Technology Guides for Wild Format 2016

Wild Format Technology Is All About You
This is the first in a new series of articles explaining how you can use wide-format digital printing technology to produce…

Into the Great Wide Open
Harvesting the powers of modern wide-format digital printing, it is possible to elicit a nod and a smile from even the most…

Industrial Revolution
Printing has always been an industrial process. Done right, productivity continues to rise and costs to fall. But…

Why ink matters for Wide-Format Digital Printing
Choosing the ink and pigments to use in printing has always been a crucial decision, one that is very much related…

FESPA Newsroom
The FESPA Newsroom can be found via the Index on our Home Page.

FESPA Federation News in 2016

Previous…
FESPA Mexico 2016 content-rich educational programme
FESPA Mexico educational programme ‘Seek New Horizons in Print’ set to inspire printers from Mexico and Central America..

FESPA to host Digital Textile Conference in Milan
Programme developed with FESPA Italia and leading Italian fashion & textile associations: 30 September 2016…

Drupa Newsroom
Our Drupa Newsroom with news from Messe Düsseldorf and for Drupa 2016 can be found in the Index. It is divided into the following Chapters for your convenience and ease of use… but you must scroll down to view each Chapter when you visit the Newsroom…

drupa daily to download as PDFs
These jam-packed drupa daily news issues are ready to read now. You can download each one complete as a PDF…

drupa daily issue No 1 on 31 May 2016
Includes drupa President and Koenig & Bauer chief executive Claus Bolza-Schünemann’s Red Sofa chat with Thomas Fasold…

drupa daily issue No 2 on 1 June 2016
Includes Kodak chief executive Jeff Clarke talking to Darryl Danielli about the business’s evolution and how it’s getting back to its roots…

drupa daily issue No 3 on 2 June 2016
Includes Canon EMEA president and chief executive Rokus van Iperen’s talk with Darryl Danielli about the importance of merging cultures…

drupa daily issue No 4 on 3 June 2016
Includes Landa Digital Printing founder and chairman Benny Landa as he tells Darryl Danielli how he has been retired for 50-plus years…

drupa daily issue No 5 on 4 June 2016
Includes Enrique Lores, HP president of Imaging and Printing talking to Darryl Danielli about growth…

drupa daily issue No 6 on 5 June 2016
Includes Olaf Lorenz, GM of Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe, as he discusses the KM-C with Darryl Danielli…

drupa daily issue No 7 on 6 June 2016
Includes Jean-Pascal Bobst, chief executive of Swiss manufacturer
Bobst talking to Darryl Danielli about the importance of family…

drupa daily issue No 8 on 7 June 2016
Includes Eijiro Hori, president of post-press kit manufacturer Horizon sharing his thoughts on the importance of partnerships with Darryl Danielli…

drupa daily issue No 9 on 8 June 2016
Includes Massivit chief executive Avner Israeli emphasises to Darryl Danielli that printers should embrace the 3D opportunity sooner rather than later…

drupa daily issue No 10 on 9 June 2016
Includes Marabu chief executive York Boeder talking with Thomas Fasold about digitisation in printing and the strengths of screen printing…

drupa daily issue No 11 on 10 June 2016
Includes Wolfgang Kroplunik, head of business development & Western Europe, Uncoated Fine Paper at Mondi, talking with Thomas Fasold about paper and changing requirements in the digital transformation…

drupa 2016 Exhibitors’ show + post-show News
Latest additions – and counting – can be accessed in our drupa Newsroom.

Elitron’s drupa hat-trick with a focus on automation
Elitron has significantly increased its product range, and chose the drupa stage to launch three new digital cutting solutions…

KBA-Flexotecnica’s new NEO XD LR ‘Hybrid’
First fully hybrid extremely innovative machine for all popular flexo technologies drew the crowds at drupa…

Manroland Sheetfed ‘The Evolution of Print’ at drupa
‘The Evolution of Print’ at the heart of Manroland Sheetfed’s drupa showcase and encapsulating its vision…

They are print: Manroland Sheetfed at drupa
A whole new world of inline print finishes met visitors to the Manroland Sheetfed GmbH stand in Hall 14 at drupa 2016…

SEI Laser digital die-cutting and creasing at drupa
SEI Laser impressed the industry with the models PaperOne 5000, 3500 and with Packmaster OEM WD at drupa…

Previous…
Agfa Graphics shone with breaking new technologies at drupa
With its strong showcase of offset and wide-format inkjet solutions, Agfa Graphics underlined its commitment to the print industry at drupa 2016…

KAMA: Efficient short run finishing success at drupa
KAMA successfully launched world’s first folder-gluer for short-run folding cartons at drupa 2016…

Manroland Web Systems’ Digital Workflows at drupa
Continuous improvement in performance with perfectly integrated hardware and software is convincing customers worldwide…

Sun and BASF: ‘Packaging for a more sustainable world’
Sun Chemical and BASF present the potential of their latest solvent-free ink solutions to deliver more sustainable flexible packaging…

drupa 2016 News from Exhibitors (now in alphabetical order)
The series of over 240 articles can be accessed in our drupa Newsroom in alphabetical order.

post-drupa 2016 News from Messe Düsseldorf

Previous…
Decisive impulses for the global print industry at drupa
drupa 2016 was a resounding success with excellent business deals concluded in an outstanding investment climate…

drupa to stick to its proven 4-year cycle
The No. 1 trade fair for print and cross-media solutions to be held in Düsseldorf again from 23 June to 3 July 2020…

drupa ante portas Blogs 2016
Includes the tenth and final article in this series from Andreas Weber in Mainz, Germany…

drupa 2016 Expert Articles – and more
Includes the eleventh and final article in this series from Claus Bolza-Schünemann, CEO and president of Koenig & Bauer (KBA) and drupa president 2016…

Previous…
E-commerce, automation and cloud for print
Touch the future. Drupa Expert Article No 9 by Simon Eccles, who over the years he has been editor of eight industry publications. Today he writes white papers and technical reports and contributes regular technical features to many publications…

The Graphic Repro On-line Website is supported and sponsored by:

If you would like to send news for consideration for the Graphic Repro On-line Website (ISSN 1814-2915) or to submit comments, please e-mail Mike Hilton at: graphicrepro.za@gmail.com.

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Mike Hilton’s Global News Review: Unleash #drupa2016 again and again…

July 18, 2016

3D printing, 4D Printing, Basic Topics on Innovation, Digital Transformation, drupa 2016, Trends @ Graphic Communications, Valuable Advice, Value Contributors, Value Innovation

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Canon’s drupa 2016 campaign #unleashprint became a big success and a #1 topic via Social Media.

Graphic Repro On-line News Review to Friday 15 July 2016

Welcome to this week’s roundup of 36 selected news articles for the week, plus four in our own drupa Newsroom from Agfa, KAMA, Manroland Web Systems, and Sun with BASF, bringing the total to 420. You’ll also find two new entries in Online Features from French daily newspaper Le Figaro, which has grown its business, thanks to KBA waterless printing and a move to Toray MX10 plates. The second article in Chapter 02 highlights e-Commerce, Automation and Cloud for print by Simon Eccles. You will also find it in the drupa Newsroom as well. Somehow this Expert Article in the pre-drupa series failed to reach us and I guess became lost somewhere in the ether. Anyway, now you have it and it is worth reading – as Simon’s articles invariably are. You can also download an optional PDF of the article if you so wish.

Laurel is back with her Verdigris Blog after a short break, which this week looks at ’Green fashion’ and its possible implications for the environment. A further reminder of the new series of Wild Format Technology Guides from Digital Dots. The first four of 48 can be accessed below and downloaded as PDFs. News has been a bit patchy this week due to the main holiday season in the UK and Europe, but you will find some good stuff among this week’s articles. I borrowed Monday and Tuesday’s leaders from Gareth Ward at the Print Business, the UK’s pre-eminent publication and Website for management in print. Monday features Xaar and its most recent acquisition in the United States; while Tuesday features Brian Filler, president of Screen Europe, who has announced plans to retire in September after 35 years with the Japanese prepress provider. Brian has also become well-known to many in South Africa following his trips over the years in support of Screen at Kemtek and more recently Ipex Machinery and Rotocontrol. I had the pleasure of spending time with Brian during drupa and learned of his plans prior to his most recent trip.

Wednesday’s leader featuring Xerox became a non-story by the end of the week; while Thursday was given to Canon and Océ, as Corus in France embraces high quality inkjet with world’s first Océ ColorStream 6500 Chroma continuous inkjet presses. On Friday, Sappi took the lead with its plans for FachPack 2016, where it will showcase its latest innovative sustainable products designed to minimise the use of fossil-based plastic packaging. You can also find a related article to this latest announcement in Online Features Chapter 02 from April this year, which you might have missed, when Sappi introduced Algro Guard OHG, its new high-barrier paper-based packaging solution with integrated barriers and heat sealing properties, which make the paper ideally suitable for a multitude of flexible packaging applications.

You’ll find a handful of nice installations this week, led by Zero Plus in Pretoria on Tuesday with South Africa’s first EFI H1625 wide-format LED printer, from Bytes; then Duplo in the UK at Brunel Print in Bristol. On Wednesday EFI at Multi-Color, followed by Esko Kongsberg at Resolution Imaging in Melbourne, Australia; and then Heidelberg USA at Colonial Printing with a Versafire CV digital press. Thursday, and already mentioned above came from Canon and Océ at Corus in France; then we had Muller Martini with a new soft cover system at Grafica Veneta in Italy; this was followed by Heidelberg UK at Folio Print Finishers in Bristol as it adds two Stahlfolders, a BH82 and a BH66; followed by Digital Colour Centre, a digital print and design shop in Cape Town South Africa’s CBD, which has added a Xerox Versant 80 Press; Fujifilm with CEWE, the Web-to-print heavyweight in Germany, which has added a Jet Press 720 S digital inkjet B2 sheetfed press; and then Manroland Sheetfed with a Roland 700 for Vietnam. Lastly, on Friday to round off the week: Sun Chemical at Delaroche Publicité in France, with its Streamline alternative solvent inkjet inks for the company’s HP Scitex TurboJet flatbed inkjet press.

The tailender this week goes to the BPIF, which was awarded Event of the Year for the British Book Design and Production Awards at the 2016 Trade Association Forum Best Practice Awards which were held in London on 6 July. Congratulations to the team who were pictured in the article on Monday.

That’s it for another week.

My best regards,

Mike Hilton

Read Andreas Weber’s #drupa2016 multimedia reports as well to get the full picture: “#drupa2016 Review: Print wins! If…”

Our e-News comprises: Headline News – Online Feature Articles – the Verdigris initiative from Digital Dots. Our Drupa and FESPA Newsrooms can be accessed from the Index on our Home Page, as well as News in Review, which provides a weekly overview and listing of all news added to the site.

Headline News
Over 28,000 news items have now gone online since we launched our Website in September 2001. News for the past 24 months can still be accessed via the Home Page and its continuation news pages

Mon 11 July…
Printhead company Xaar is buying US company EPS
Xaar makes Engineered Printing Solutions acquisition to step down stream with print machine producer…

BPIF triumphs at Trade Association Best Practice Awards
The BPIF awarded Event of the Year for the British Book Design and Production Awards held in London last week…

A Positive day for UK Print in Westminster
BPIF Members’ Day was held at One Birdcage Walk, Westminster last Wednesday, beginning with a conference on Negotiation…

KAMA: Efficient short run finishing
KAMA successfully launched the world’s first folder-gluer for short-run folding cartons at drupa 2016…

Meech launches its most powerful ionising bar
Debut of Hyperion 971IPS-30 extra-long range pulsed DC ionising bar at FachPack in September, and K in October…

Design Meets Technology – for Taipei Design Expo
Highcon and Eco Concrete achieve the impossible in contemporary design, using Highcon’s 3D modelling technology in Israel…

Tue 12 July…
Filler plans to step down from Screen Europe’s top job
Brian Filler has announced plans to retire in September after 35 years with the Japanese prepress provider…

Xerox: More automation, integration and value-add
Bytes Document Solutions South Africa explores Xerox innovation at drupa 2016 following a successful event in Düsseldorf…

GSE Dispensing at Labelexpo Americas 2016
GSE Dispensing showcases waste-free ink logistics for label and packaging workflows at Labelexpo Americas 2016…

Signbox performs for the London Fire Brigade
Signbox given the ‘blue light’ for London Fire Brigade’s station rebuild signage project across London…

Zero Plus unveils first EFI LED printer in South Africa
Leading one-stop communications, printing and design company Zero Plus has unveils the first EFI H1625 LED printer in SA…

Brunel Print returns to Duplo for high value finishing needs
Bristol-based firm visited drupa and felt inspired to invest in its future with slitter/cutter/creaser and Booklet system…

Wed 13 July…
Xerox reportedly NOT set to buy world’s biggest printer
Xerox has NOT begun negotiations to buy the world’s largest print group, US-based RR Donnelley & Sons, according to Bloomberg.com…

Manroland Web Systems’ Digital Workflows
Continuous improvement in performance with perfectly integrated hardware and software is convincing customers worldwide…

e-Commerce, automation and cloud for print
The Internet and World Wide Web have opened up new opportunities for printing, but new challenges too. By Simon Eccles…

Multi-Color adds dynamic scheduling to EFI Packaging Suite
MCC takes advantage of EFI’s scalable workflow architecture to add dynamic scheduling and resource optimisation…

Esko Kongsberg backs a strong Resolution
Esko Kongsberg XP cutting table helps Melbourne, Australia signage specialist Resolution Imaging…

Colonial Quality Printing adds Versafire CV
Colonial Printing finds new business opportunities with the Versafire CV digital press from Heidelberg USA…

Thu 14 July…
Corus adds two Océ ColorStream 6500 Chroma lines
Corus France embraces high quality inkjet with world’s first Océ ColorStream 6500 Chroma continuous inkjet presses…

Muller Martini Alegro for Grafica Veneta
The Alegro softcover system is the solution for greater market flexibility for shorter runs with shorter setup times…

Folio orders two new buckle folders from Heidelberg UK
Folio Print Finishers Bristol adds two Stahlfolders, a BH82 and a BH66, which will move directly into 24-hour production…

Digital Colour Centre goes uptown with Xerox
Digital Colour Centre, a digital print and design shop in Cape Town South Africa’s CBD adds a Xerox Versant 80 Press…

CEWE Web-to-Print invests in Fujifilm Jet Press 720 S
German web-to-print heavyweight CEWE extends Fujifilm partnership with investment in Jet Press 720S at drupa 2016…

Roland 700 for leading Vietnamese packaging printer
Agricultural Printing adds a brand-new six-colour Roland 700 with double coater to grow its market share…

Fri 15 July…
Sappi sustainable packaging solutions at FachPack 2016
Latest innovative sustainable products are designed to minimise the use of fossil-based plastic packaging…

Agfa Graphics shone with breaking new technologies at drupa
With its strong showcase of offset and wide-format inkjet solutions, Agfa Graphics underlined its commitment to the print industry…

pdfToolbox 9 extends functionality into job finishing
Callas pdfToolbox 9 introduces Power Processing with a focus on packaging and large-format production…

L’Imprimerie looks back at its waterless printing strategy
French daily newspaper Le Figaro has grown its business, thanks to waterless printing and the switch to Toray MX10 plates…

Ricoh’s MarcomCentral empowers non-professionals
MarcomCentral’s JobDirect Plus, a tool that helps non-print professionals submit jobs to workflows…

A place in the Sun for Delaroche Publicité
Sun Chemical’s Streamline alternative solvent inkjet inks deliver trouble-free, high quality output…

Last lead article from Friday in previous update…

Last issue’s Friday lead article…
FESPA to host 2016 Digital Textile Conference in Milan
Programme developed with FESPA Italia and leading Italian fashion & textile associations: 30 September 2016…

GraphicRepro.Net e-News (ISSN 1814-2923) is sponsored and made possible by:

Online Feature articles 2014 – 2016
There were again well over 70 last year, 90 in 2014, and 92 articles in 2013 which can still be accessed via the Index on the Home Page, with prior years’ via Search Archives (option 2).

Technology-related Chapter 02

New…
e-Commerce, automation and cloud for print
The Internet and World Wide Web have opened up new opportunities for printing, but new challenges too. By Simon Eccles…

Online Features Jul/Aug Chapter 06

L’Imprimerie looks back at its waterless printing strategy
The French daily newspaper Le Figaro has grown its business, thanks to waterless printing and the switch to Toray MX10 plates…

Previous…
KBA presented a first in laminate flooring at drupa 2016
At drupa, KBA demonstrated how its RotaJET VL inkjet web press can produce a unique laminate floor product…

Design Meets Technology – for Taipei Design Expo exhibit
Highcon and Eco Concrete in Israel achieve the impossible in contemporary design, using Highcon’s 3D modeling technology…

Permapack teams with Esko for seamless process management
Swiss firm achieves security, speed and flexibility in its overall workflow with Automation Engine and WebCenter…

Verdigris – Environmental Initiative

Laurel Brunner’s weekly Verdigris Blogs 2016

Green fashion
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 15 July

Previous…
Waterwash flexo plates
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Fri 01 July