Industry group Automate Print is bringing its knowledge sharing and networking platform to Europe, with its second session taking place in the UK on 21 June.

Automate Print has been established as a platform to foster cross-industry collaboration to further the streamlining of workflows, capitalise on personalisation and ‘significantly’ reduce overheads through the application of technology. The Automate Print collective consists of Infigo, printIQ, Enfocus and Esko. Having hosted its first session to coincide with the Printing United 2022 exhibition in Las Vegas, US, the group is now bringing Automate Print to Europe, specifically the UK.

Taking place at The Kia Oval in London on 21 June, the full-day event will include interactive sessions and demonstrations, as well as an evening of networking. A demonstration to show how an automated web-to-print workflow can be created when the partners’ platforms are fully integrated will be presented. Each of the partner companies is to host sessions across the day, addressing various topics related to workflow automation, integration and personalisation. A customer panel will highlight real-world examples of automation already in use. 

With personalisation to be one of the main benefits targeted by the Automate Print event, this session is to be hosted by personalisation expert Richard Askam, who was closely involved with Coca-Cola’s ‘Share a Coke’ marketing campaign. He said, ‘Personalisation is critical to consider as the print industry continues to evolve. Most consumers expect the ability to personalise their product or packaging, with the same turnaround time or faster. Automating your web-to-print workflow to accommodate this is imperative.’

The four supplier companies involved similar draw attention to such challenges. For example, Rachel Keenan, channel manager at Enfocus distributor DistributorX Solutions, noted, ‘The print businesses that have met the challenges over the last few years, have been the ones that have implemented and experimented with automation. When you have these different platforms that can be integrated, it reduces the need for rekeying information, cuts down on unnecessary phone calls and emails with clients, reduces errors across the workflow and speeds up the overall turnaround of jobs.’

George Folickman, sales director for Phoenix Software at Esko, said, ‘The key to any successful technology company is a keen awareness of the underlying challenges their customers face. More sophisticated automation and integration is required to enable the short runs and fast turnaround times being demanded of our industry, all while strictly managing their overhead. Yes, it takes investment, but when you integrate the right platforms, then all of this is possible.’

Greg Young, head of customer success at Infigo, added, ‘The fact that there is such a variety of sessions, run by those that are the forefront of developing and integrating the platforms and driving print automation, I think we are all going to learn a lot about the current and future opportunities around web-to-print and where the industry is going.’

Concluding, Rob Thurston, printIQ sales manager, commented, ‘The ability to be flexible with your offering, and your workflow, is imperative to growth. Not only does integrating these platforms help reduce overhead, streamlining the workflow and provide a quicker turnaround than ever before, but it also gives you better oversight and control of how efficiently your business is running.

‘With these different platforms you can really drill down into the products, sectors and geographies that are proving to be most popular – and the ones that aren’t – to take a more strategic approach and maximise opportunities.’

Read issue 4 (July) 2023 issue of Digital Labels & Packaging for more on software, web-to-print and workflow automation; register here to receive the magazine