Dscoop Edge Rockies welcomed an enthusiastic group of print industry members to Denver, CO, USA, after 1,075 days separating Dscoop events. Attendees comprised of current and prospective HP users learned more about the latest and greatest HP Indigo and PageWide technologies while sharing new and innovative ideas with one another from March 6-8, 2022. Plus, Dscoop and HP laid out plans for a prosperous future for labels and packaging, folding cartons, security printing and more.

More than 800 Dscoop members joined numerous participating partners for a rousing welcome-back-to-industry-events in 2022. Dscoop Edge Rockies featured educational sessions, informative keynote presentations, extensive networking, and new technology highlights at the Solutions Showcase.

The total attendance figures included more than 350 different companies, about 200 of which were print service providers, from 22 different countries around the world. There were 64 Dscoop partners on-hand, including 40 featuring their products and services in the Solutions Showcase exhibition area.

“The best way for people to get together after such a long while is in a collaborative forum,” said Cesare Zavalloni, head of global marketing at HP.

Throughout the event, the words, “resilient, optimistic, and connected” were used frequently. HP digital print technology users gathered from far and wide to address the company’s newest technological capabilities and how they can be better leveraged with brands. Dscoop’s Kelvin Gage welcomed the group on Sunday, March 6, 2022, for the opening session. Gage emphasized the constant collaboration and sharing of ideas for making Dscoop a truly “unique event.” Gage also acknowledged the wide range of industry partners for making the event a success.

Meanwhile, Haim Levit, vice president and general manager of HP Indigo, illustrated HP’s plans for the future while also recapping the state of the business. “I’m super, super excited to be here in Denver,” said Levit. “Better together is not a slogan, it’s a way of life for us. It’s been a very long time since we met face-to-face. I really missed the event and the people, the hugging and talking to you.

“At the end of the day, it is all about our customers,” he added. “They are the center of our stage. We are still obsessed with our customers and their experiences, and we’re doing a lot of things to improve the experiences with our presses.”

Levit detailed all the challenges impacting the print and packaging industry, from the global pandemic to supply chain shortages to the war taking place in Ukraine.

“Covid was an opportunity for businesses to reimagine how they work,” explained Levit. “I’ve had people ask me what a normal supply chain will look like? We will probably not begin to see that until the end of 2023.”
Levit noted, however, that despite all the challenges impacting our industry, 88% of North American printers anticipate revenue growth.

From an HP standpoint, Covid-19 helped accelerate trends that were already happening within the company. “E-commerce, automation, sustainability, and personalization are all here to stay,” commented Levit. “We will focus on four pillars, continuing to invest and grow the commercial space while disrupting labels and packaging. We’ll go after new markets with security, folding cartons, and software, all with versatility and sustainability in mind.

“We have continued to invest over $150 million every year in R&D, and we are not planning to stop,” added Levit.

HP’s solutions are designed to use up to 30% less packaging waste, with a 65% lower impact on global warming. All of this is designed to enable circularity and empower brands, too.

HP has seen successful over the past 1,075 days, selling more than 1,300 presses in the last two years, as well as 100 press sales of the HP Indigo 100K since its launch. For labels and packaging, Levit stated that the HP Indigo V12 will go through beta testing this summer.

“The V12 will change the market, as it will feature 6-times more productivity of today’s digital presses, meaning this press will totally disrupt the market.”

Dscoop Edge Rockies also delivered a wealth of educational sessions. For instance, StickerGiant’s Jesse Freitas joined cmyk.’s Dustin Steerman, who was ePac’s first co-investor and affiliate operator, to address sustained growth in the age of digital label and package printing. Overall, there were 32 education sessions, 19 of which were led by Dscoop community members. Other sessions featured HP and business experts. A host of other education sessions focused on the road to automation, digital finishing, digital embellishments, and the further shift into a digital world.

Not only did the event feature educational insights, it promoted inspiration in the form of keynote sessions. Dscoop presented four keynotes, from Jesse Cole, David Burkus, Verne Harnish and Rorke Denver. The association’s goal was for attendees to leave with useful strategies and tools to implement in their businesses.

The Solutions Showcase featured many of the possibilities of digital print – alongside a multitude of industry partners. HP’s label and packaging solutions were on display, illustrating how brands can benefit from the technology. Meanwhile, partners, including A B Graphic International, Hybrid Software, Label Traxx, Matik, Wausau Coated Products and many others were on-hand to demonstrate how their products can support HP’s digital printing technologies.

Envisioning a digital future for print

During the opening keynote session on March 7, Jesse Cole, founder of the Savannah Bananas, a name that he remarked, “will not be confused with a label printer, stated, “The way it’s always been done is not always the best way to do things.”

Even though Cole founded a baseball team in the Southeast United States, he worked diligently to separate his business from those of his competitors. That mantra of “finding a new way to conduct business” was on display throughout Dscoop Edge Rockies.

Cole touched upon themes that were present throughout this HP users group event. Overcoming friction points, making a lasting impression, and constant experimentation were among Cole’s talking points that resonated throughout the sessions and the Solutions Showcase.

With digital printing continuing to emerge as a key industry trend, experts detailed just how companies can institute this technology successfully within their own book of business. Jesse Freitas of StickerGiant and Dustin Steerman of cmyk. explored this very topic in the insightful session, “Designing Your Digital Printing Business for Sustainable Hypergrowth.”

When entering digital printing, Steerman said printers should ask themselves, “Are you investing in a digital asset to serve a current customer base or a future customer base?”

StickerGiant, for example, was established in 2000 and has pivoted significantly three times since its inception. “We knew one thing – we wanted to be quick turn,” explained Freitas. “We were printing in one day and shipping. But we also knew early on we had to have fun, magic moments in our journey. We’re always looking for ‘fun, fast, friendly,’ which is our brand mantra.”

Both Steerman and Freitas emphasized the need for a strong culture when changing a business or adding new capabilities.

“I got into digital printing because it’s attractive to people who want to build,” noted Steerman. “We’re building the future each and every day. You have to performance coach your team, too. In a high growth to hyper growth business, you need to make sure everyone is aligned. If you need to part ways with someone who’s not on board, make the move.”

“Culture is everything to a business, especially in a fast growth business,” said Freitas. “A lot of what you do as a business is you teach values and vision. Culture is not what’s in your breakroom but who is in your breakroom. The 26th hire is as important as the 145th, so how do you continue to grow and adapt? Because the one constant in this world is change – so is your culture.”

For StickerGiant, it’s critical to be transparent and genuine. A group must have concrete goals and a galvanized team, but individuality and creativity must also be fostered. “It’s really cool to witness when you see culture done right,” added Freitas.

Steerman, who was instrumental in the success of ePac, and Freitas, whose company relies on HP Indigo to service their short-turn orders, noted that technology is more important than it’s ever been before – especially with the wide range of challenges facing businesses today. When investing in new technology, it’s key to invest in new software and ways to process artwork, as well as staying in front of challenges.

One such challenge will be sustainability, and Steerman believes digital is the perfect answer to that question. “The market is going in that direction, and we need to have a strategy for sustainability,” he said. “We’re seeing that demand from all different sides, too. Large CPGs are doing that, and we’re seeing that with the supply chain. Digital has been proven to be a more sustainable process. The market is going to measure it, and you need to start building for where the market is going.”

“We’re small-business oriented, so the market is asking about sustainable product offerings,” said Freitas. “A lot of education still needs to happen. People know what they want until they don’t like the answer – such as with the durability of a material. We have to keep educating and focusing on what you can do with plants, energy consumption, shipping and more. None of us will be 100% perfect, but being transparent and telling people what you’ve done is the best thing you can do.”

But ultimately, people will still be the most important part of a printing business. “You can have the best assets in the world, but if you don’t have the people to run them then the assets are meaningless,” commented Freitas.

In addition to adding digital printing to label and package printing facilities, businesses are continuing to invest in automation. The pandemic has accelerated the need for it, as automation can provide value-added applications, less waste, and more productivity with lower headcount. Plus, automation reduces the number of manual touches, from receiving an order to getting it to the press.

Looking for a problem before it fails is key, as automation enables a company to predict what will happen and identify more efficient processes – like G7 certification, for example. Whether it be through baseball or printing labels, Dscoop provided the platform to plan for the future. “The future of business is not based on how many customers you have but how many fans you have,” exclaimed Cole. “It’s about creating an unforgettable experience. It’s the moments that matter.”

HP Indigo and Hershey celebrate women

The Hershey Company has been leveraging the power of digital printing technology to transform its iconic chocolate bar packaging into a celebration of women. Now in its third year, and coinciding with International Women’s Day, the #HerShe campaign sees Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar packaging being used to promote and honor female talent across the world. The project was highlighted prominently at Dscoop Edge Rockies.

First launching the campaign in 2020, Hershey collaborated with HP Indigo and used a productive, cost-effective HP Indigo 20000 digital press to complete this task. HP’s goal is to create technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere.

Brazilian print service provider Camargo Cia de Embalagens Ltda, developed 320,000 limited edition #HerShe chocolate bars. The campaign, which featured artwork to celebrate the talent of female musicians, illustrators, photographers and poets throughout Brazil, saw huge success. In Brazil, the parallel social media campaign reached close to two billion impressions.

Fast forward to 2022, the campaign is being run in collaboration with HP Indigo digitally printed packaging for a third time and will help make “invisible women, visible” by supporting gender equality through a global movement that celebrates female achievements in science, business, sports, activism, and music. This year, the Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars feature a QR code, also printed with an HP Indigo 20000 digital press, that will open consumers’ eyes to the many contributions of women, beyond each bar. In addition, HP will be unveiling a film with Hershey, amplifying how HP Indigo’s digitally printed packaging can be used, but also to elevating brand engagement through the co-creation of user generated content, to become the ultimate vehicle for cultural relevance and on-pack storytelling.

The HP Indigo 20000 digital press was selected for the campaign, designed with diverse labels and packaging applications in mind. “Empowering women, and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion is a business priority for us. We invite new perspectives, ideas, and experiences in everything we do to reflect the diversity of consumers around the world. Throughout the campaign, HP has helped us to open our eyes to the power of digitally printed packaging, allowing us to engage with our audience in a creative and unique way while celebrating women and their achievements globally,” comments Santhi Ramesh, CMO International, The Hershey Company.

The HP Indigo 20000 digital press boasts a 29" image width, which can capture the majority of packaging applications such as  flexible packaging, shrink sleeves, wrap-around labels, and in-mold labeling, and contains the only digital color printing process that HP says matches gravure printing, delivering high resolution print and perfect registration.

This technology helped Hershey meet its strict brand color needs using seven ink stations, while also bringing the female voices and stories to life.

Commenting on the campaign, Jose Gorbea, global head of brands, agencies and sustainability, HP Indigo, says, “I’ve loved seeing how the #HerShe campaign has evolved over the past three years, and I’m excited to see what other personalized storytelling opportunities HP’s digital print technology can achieve in order to make tangible connections and further engagements with consumers.”

Recent research carried out by WARC (September 2021) on the Marketing Effectiveness of Digitally Printed Packaging, in which more than 9,000 marketing campaigns were analyzed and benchmarked, highlighted that brands have the potential to double their sales and marketing ROI when they utilize personalization and most importantly, user generated content in their packaging.

“This can be achieved through digital print, and it is why now 70% of digitally printed packaging campaigns, like Hershey’s, are being used strategically as the lead communication touchpoint of the marketing mix to build brand equity,” concludes Gorbea.