ARNHEM, the Netherlands—During the first edition of Labels Connected, held on Feb. 28 at the MPS headquarters in Arnhem, the Netherlands, 60 invitees learned more about the benefits of systems connectivity in the label industry and how to implement this in their business.
The event, organized by MPS, Esko and CERM and supporting partners AVT and Domino, attracted over 60 professionals from the European label industry. This was much more than anticipated, said Fredric Vanvinckenroye, field marketing manager EMEA at Esko: “The event revealed that truly understanding connectivity and embracing a new mindset is clearly a need in the industry. MPS and its partners are leading the way in innovation—together addressing label printing requirements and challenges with connectivity integration.”
Labels Connected started with the partners presenting a framework of drivers behind the need to connect people, processes and systems, as well as reviewing trends and innovations in the label industry. Peter Overbeek, CEO of the Dutch printing company Eshuis, concluded the plenary session with a compelling story sharing Eshuis’ experiences with the implementation of connectivity to the printshop.
The program continued with three interactive workshops during which the attendees could witness live demonstrations of system and workflow connectivity:
- Integrating MIS systems and automating prepress
- Digital, hybrid combination printing
- Extended color gamut printing with in-line inspection
Geert Van Damme, managing director of CERM, said, “We live in a world that is evolving permanently, which means we all have to keep on learning permanently. The differentiator between competitors when it comes to applying connectivity in a label business, will be the ability to adapt to change.”
The presentations and workshops were well-received by the international guests, of which over 60 percent were printing companies.
During the workshops, there was enough time for one-on-one discussions with the organizing suppliers.
Because of the success of this first edition of Labels Connected, the organizing partners decided to host a second edition mid 2019. The date, location and program will follow.
Bert van den Brink, MPS co-founder, said, “We believe that connectivity is the way to go in the label industry. It takes some steps to fully automate and connect your entire printing process. Start with small steps, but start now!”
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