The Dscoop community in attendance at this year’s Edge World Expo included a 22-person team from A/NZ, which joined HP and Currie Group for some extracurricular activities.

D scoop, one of the world’s largest and most collaborative digital print and design communities which provides its members with the latest news and education from HP innovators and industry experts, recently hosted its Edge World Expo in St. Louis, US.

A Dscoop community from 38 countries were in attendance, including a 22-person team from A/NZ, which joined HP and Currie Group for some extracurricular activities.

Dscoop Edge St. Louis Conference chair and an Arizona State University Print and Imaging Lab member Kyle Pendeley said, “The global Dscoop community has an impressive history of looking forward instead of backward. Even as our companies face big challenges, we do whatever it takes to continually learn, connect, and advance. That’s the awesome spirit of Dscoop”.

This year’s event programme did not disappoint those eager to learn about what the latest HP technologies offer in their production environment. It also featured two high-energy keynote speakers who set a positive mood across the three-days of the event and inspired attendees to exchange experiences, raise questions and collaborate to find answers to today’s market challenges.

Local A/NZ printers join the international community

For over 15 years, groups of printers from A/NZ have been travelling to the US to be part of this one-of-a-kind experience. This year was no different. Twenty-two representatives from the region travelled with Mark Daws and AJ from Currie Group and Craig Walmsley and Duncan Bray from HP Indigo.

Daws said, “We had more than 20 people from Australia and New Zealand attending the event, including ourselves and our partners from HP. There was a range of companies from all facets of the industry – from commercial printing to labels and packaging. Joining us from New Zealand, we had Matt Mills from Fuzed and Ruth Cobb from PrintNZ.

“From Australia, we hosted members of Photo Create, Rawson Print & Packaging, Next Printing, CMYKhub who sit across both commercial printing and more recently, in labels and packaging, Dflow, Courtney Brands, Peacock Bros. and Colemans Printing.

“Also in attendance was Kelvin Gage, who not only sits on the Dscoop board, but was also the emcee for the event. He certainly did us proud.”

The A/NZ team gathered a few days before the event to go on a road trip, which took them from Atlanta to St. Louis, stopping off at some of the world’s leading print manufacturers based in the US. This included packaging printer Fortis Solutions Group in Flowery Branch, Benson Integrated Marketing Solutions in Alpharetta, Tucker-based full-service commercial printer Bennett Graphics, and flexible packaging specialist PouchIt in Atlanta.

Colemans Printing director Magdaline Coleman said, “It was truly humbling to be in the presence of the industry’s key players, including representatives from some of the most respected family-owned printing companies in Australia and New Zealand”.

Next Printing managing director Romeo Sanuri highlighted the importance of the industry getting together during the trip, saying, “One of the most memorable aspects of this event was the opportunity to meet and spend some time with other business owners. It’s a very small community in Australia, and we often see each other as competitors. However, being in this collaborative environment broke down all barriers, and we were happy to learn and exchange our experiences”.

Sanuri was also very impressed with the factory tours during the A/NZ road trip, adding, “We visited several locations, but the trip to one of them – Fortis Solutions Group – impressed me and engraved itself in my memory. The site that we stopped at recently joined the group, and it was extremely inspiring to hear about how a small family business became a part of a multi million-dollar group”.

Coleman added, “During the overseas tour, we had the privilege of visiting three exceptional companies in the US and spending time at the HP Graphics Experience – Centre of Excellence. This training and learning experience proved to be a highlight of the program”.

Those that stopped by the famous HP Graphics Experience Centre, established as the only site in the Americas, got to see HP’s entire graphics portfolio in one place. Often described as the ‘Disneyworld of Print’, this leading-edge 65,000 square feet facility enables visitors to experience automated, end-to-end graphics arts solutions that can professionally print everything from postage stamps to building wraps.

Daws mentioned that it was an excellent opportunity to see everything HP Industrial offers – from signage to wide format and high-speed inkjet and see for themselves the capabilities of the HP Indigo and the Jet Fusion 3D printers.

Daws said, “What’s unique is not just the equipment that HP provides, it is the complete end-to-end solution, the workflow partners and finishing solutions provider that complements the entire production line”.

Collaborating and trending

After the three-day long road trip full of new inspiration, the A/NZ team joined over 1,100 HP users from across 38 countries for a feature packed Dscoop Edge at the St. Louis World Expo.

Over four days, Dscoop members came together with infectious energy and remarkable idea sharing. The ‘Gateway to Growth’ theme was fuelled by printers and partners eager to learn, connect and advance. In his welcome speech, Dscoop executive director Peter van Teeseling said, “It doesn’t mean anything if there’s no heart and soul – and that’s all of you. You are all part of a truly amazing global community”.

Dflow chief executive Doug Robey said, “We travelled as a team of four to the event, and for three of us, it was our first Dscoop. We had heard a lot of great things about it over the years. I was amazed by the openness, collaboration and ideas sharing. It was an embracing type of environment, which was motivating”.

Dscoop delivered inspirational content from celebrity guests as well. On the first evening, drummer Mark Schulman, who usually shares the stage with P!nk, touted gratitude and a positive attitude in business.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Lakers legend Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson delivered an inspiring presentation on business acumen and giving back to the community. Former NBA legend and chairman and CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises, Johnson made history in 2012 when he became co-owner of MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers. He also co-owns the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA, Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Football Club, and eSports franchise Team Liquid.

Coleman said she was filled with awe throughout this experience.

“Stepping into a packed auditorium, he received a standing ovation and proceeded to captivate a crowd of thousands of individuals for over an hour with his words,” she said.

“Johnson is a leader in basketball due to his exceptional skills, leadership, and ability to elevate his team. Similarly, I believe print to be a leader in the communications world. Like ‘Magic’, print possesses a unique power to engage audiences, inspire action, and enhance brand visibility. Whether through exquisite design, tactile finishes, or targeted messaging, print undeniably wields significant influence and will continue to thrive.”

Johnson’s philosophy on leadership also resonated deeply with Coleman, particularly when he emphasised the responsibility of management to empower staff.

Coleman added, “His insights on respecting competitors and colleagues were enlightening. I wholeheartedly agree that collaboration within the print industry can yield abundant rewards”.

HP Industrial Print senior vice-president and general manager Haim Levit said, “Dscoop is about harnessing the power of community to network, communicate, and innovate. This event is the opportunity for the entire Dscoop global community to meet HP leadership and engineers, to listen to each other and discuss current and future challenges, and to enable developing a joint roadmap to continued market leadership”.

The Dscoop Expo reaffirmed Colemans’ unwavering commitment to ‘Glocalisation’ over ‘Globalisation’. Coleman explained, “We take pride in being the local printer of the Northern Territory and eagerly anticipate ongoing discussions on sustainable printing practices, human resource costs, resource retention and advanced manufacturing techniques within the industry. Print remains as an essential and enduring communication medium, possessing a unique ability to engage and connect with audiences. This is precisely why we are deeply passionate about it at Colemans”.

Sanuri said he noticed many attendees and training sessions touching on automation. “It is a challenge of our industry at the moment across the globe. We all struggle to find the right people to hire, so by automating our processes, we can reach new levels of effectiveness and increase our productivity,” he said.

Dscoop Edge delivered over 60 education sessions over seven tracks, hosted by HP experts and top-level sales and marketing coaches.

Robey said, “We conducted an education session on automation and succeeding in that area. That was received by attendees really well. We had over 60 people attend our seminar. We did that in the spirit of Dscoop to give something back and share our insights and experiences.

“The digital print industry is alive and well; a lot of businesses are succeeding, a lot of business owners are growing, and they’re looking to take their companies to that next level. Combine this with the global skill shortage, automating repetitive, smaller tasks is the only way forward.”

Daws said the global trends and challenges discussed are no different from those the local printers face daily, adding, “Supply chain challenges, rising costs, automation and sustainability – these are all the hot topics of today. It is the sort of narrative that we hear at most industry events.

“However, A/NZ businesses in the industry should be immensely proud of what they can achieve and have achieved, given that, in many cases, we have much higher labour rates, inflation and supply chain challenges than those in the US.”

Face-to-face with the latest digital printing technology

HP is developing products and services intended to address current challenges and meet customer demand for the latest trends, including the labour crisis, sustainability, automation, and consumer buying behaviours.

Therefore, Dscoop has been a platform to host 75 partner companies in its Solutions Showcase. As part of the showcase, HP debuted its 200K digital press, engineered for flexible packaging.

Haim Levit commented, “We really want to unlock the label market. We are accelerating analogue to digital conversion in the label market. And for Indigo, we’ve announced the launch of the 200K press. It’s not just about the product; it’s about the complete solutions that we’re bringing to the market to help users grow their businesses.

“We are investing in labels and flexible packaging and starting to penetrate the corrugated and folding carton markets. This approach will enable us to bring the most comprehensive versatility and productivity to market.

“We have over 8,000 presses installed worldwide and over 5,500 customers located in 82 countries. Overall, our market coverage is very diverse.

“The markets we’re focusing on are valued at $28 billion – this is a big opportunity for us and where we invest is crucial.”

Following a record year of B2 sheetfed press volumes, HP Indigo also recently celebrated the installation of its 1,000^th HP Indigo B2 press.

The 1,000th B2 machine is an HP Indigo 100K Digital Press, which according to HP, enables true digital non-stop print capabilities at 6,000 sheets per hour and drives substantial, profitable growth.

To date, the 100K press has already set new standards, with more than 100 customers having reported output of 100K impressions in an eight-hour shift. Also, at Dscoop, HP Indigo announced the new HP Indigo 100K HD, with “smooth and razor-sharp image quality”, and its first two beta sites at Miller’s Professional Imaging Lab in the US and Orwo Net image processing and digital photo services in Germany.

The HP PageWide demonstrates innovations to the HP PageWide Advantage 2200 with high HDNA quality at full speed, up to 50 per cent faster prints, and a new version of PrintBeat within PrintOS that seamlessly provides HP users with a similar look and feel but makes it easy for them to work with across the HP portfolio of products.

HP PageWide Industrial global head and general manager Annette Friskopp said, “Customer growth is our top priority and our true north. This is why having a strong and engaged user group is mission-critical to our business. We were excited to share PageWide customer stories at Dscoop Edge”. Another debut at Dscoop this year was HP Large Format, with the company showcasing the HP Latex R2000 Plus Printer, a hybrid solution that is equally strong in rigid and flexible substrates.

The HP Large Format stand also showcased applications with thermoforming samples, short-run packaging and signage opportunities on a wide range of media, and a sustainability section explaining how print service providers can reach new levels of sustainability using the latest large format technology.

Levit concluded the event with a statement and commitment to the HP community, “We have the widest portfolio in the printing industry, bringing a solution to every market segment. We are investing $180 million annually to serve the printing market better. HP is committed to investing in and growing the business. We aim to ensure our customers succeed, be profitable, and have the best experience.

“‘Better Together’ is not just a slogan; it is our way of life.”

Click here to see highlights from Dscoop Edge St. Louis

Click here to see the interview with Currie Group’s Mark Daws

Click here to see the Dscoop Edge St. Louis Gallery