Red Sofa Interviews

Interview with Stefaan Vanhooren

  “Print will certainly survive, and print may have even more applications in the future than in the past.”
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Interview with Antonio Perez

  Red Sofa Interview with Antonio Perez, CEO Kodak Kodak has been undergoing a deep digital transition for several years and has invested heavily in digital technologies, including inkjet. With a strong marketshare in digital printing and in commercial printing and new upcommung partnerships, the company is well prepared for drupa 2012 and the future.
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Interview with Simon Sasaki

  We expect drupa 2012 to focus on ‘transformation’, as print service providers seek partners that will help them grow into the future.
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Interview with Koji Ishii

  „We believe that next drupa 2012 would the good opportunity to breakthrough the current slow printing industry.“ Just like any other printing press vendor, the Japanese manufacturer Ryobi looks upon the industry's fortunes with mixed feelings. Still, armed with a firm belief in their own abilities, the prospect of cooperative agreements and recently developed products, hopes are high for drupa 2012 to provide a new impetus.
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Interview with Bernhard Schreier

  Two years after the turmoil leading up to the financial crisis, which also dealt a heavy blow to investments in the printing industry, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG has found success in repositioning itself in the market. The preceding events proved to be a stressful time for the company, its employees and especially the CEO, Bernhard Schreier, who had lived through some of the industry’s periodic slowdowns before, but none that would entail the sort of wrenching changes as did the most recent. By Andrea Bötel
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Interview with Yunfeng Cui

  Publishing traditionally is the first sector to feel the sting of seismic shifts taking place in the Print and Media industries. Gruner + Jahr responded to the daunting challenges early on by integrating new approaches like multi-channel-marketing and cross-media campaigns into their service portfolio. The changing demands of a publisher’s clients and readers alike call for alternative forms of publication and the creation of novel advertising platforms. Internet services, iPad apps and new templates for display advertising in print need to be developed.
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Interview with Helge Hansen

  The nadir of the crisis seems to have passed, with markets settling down worldwide. Helge Hansen, CEO of Koenig&Bauer lived through two years of restructuring and realignment, the only printing press manufacturer among the big three that managed to stay in the black for 2009, and is now looking forward to an even better 2010. A banker and economist by trade, he talked with drupa.de about facing difficult decisions, the company’s strategic plans, the market’s prospects, the impact of media’s digital world on the industry and the future of print in general. By Andrea Bötel
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Interview with Gerd Finkbeiner

  „We will need time for a re-dimensioning and re-adjustment in order to set full sail again for drupa 2012.” The financial and economic crisis drastically accelerated structural changes, which were expected to come about in any case, in the printing sector. The move from classic to digital production has hit printer manufacturers and all peripheral suppliers particularly hard. Half-way to the next drupa, manroland Chairman Gerd Finkbeiner spoke about the challenges his company faces and its new orientation for the future. By Andrea Bötel
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Interview with Frank Romano

  Frank Romano, Professor at the Rochester Institute for Technology (RIT), is convinced that digital print solutions will reach the production level of offset printing and play a pivotal role in the long-term future of the print industry. He forecasts that offset printing will only enjoy a niche existence with just 30 to 40 percent of its printing volume by the year 2020. drupa report wanted to find out more about the latest findings from the digital printing expert and his predictions for the printing industry.
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Interview with Yoshiharu Komori

  For the first time in the company's history, the Japanese printing press manufacturer was forced to make deep cuts among its staff. Evidently, even the Far East is succumbing to the signs of the time. Yoshiharu Komori, head of Komori, talks about the printing industry's future in Japan and how it is impacted by the new media.
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Interview with Martin Weickenmeier

  Plenty of water has passed under the bridge during the last four years. On a positive note, plenty of time for the printing and media industries to have achieved a quantum leap in technology and market development. And with a little more than a year to go when drupa 2012 will put out the welcome mat, all signs point to the eponymous trade show’s unwavering commitment to embrace new technologies and trends that will come to define the industry’s new role around the globe.
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Interview with Benny Landa

  Driven by his digital vision, Benny Landa has for many years been championing technical developments in the graphic arts industry, thus constantly re-inventing its structures and processes. Even though the inventor of “digital offset print” has retired from the day-to-day business at Hewlett Packard, he still is an engine of innovation and a much sought-after representative for the company. On the Red Sofa, he talks about the industry’s future, digital printing and his latest projects in Israel. By Andrea Bötel
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Interview with Wolfgang Mildner, chairman of the Organic Electronics Association (OE-A) and managing director of PolylC Ltd.

  In search of perspectives for the future, the manufacture of storage instruments appears to present an increasingly interesting aspect for the printing industry’s service sector. New materials development, IT programming and the creation of new applications are closely interwoven. Reason enough for the founding of the “Organic Electronics Association (OE-E)”, which attracts representatives from across the IT spectrum to debate synergies and innovative solutions. For years, developments have been proceeding apace, as is now being confirmed by OE-A’s chairman, Wolfgang Mildner. By Andrea Bötel
Interview with Wolfgang Mildner, chairman of the Organic Electronics Association (OE-A) and managing director of PolylC Ltd. - read more...

Interview with Manfred Mandel, CMO of Real

  Retailers invest hundreds of millions of Euros annually in advertising inserts. The sums still represent a significant portion within the media’s marketing mix. Yet consumers’ changing shopping habits, together with new ways of communication and other types of advertising, are gaining in importance. Manfred Mandel, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President for the international operations of Real, talks about what he expects of print service providers and the new ad strategy of the hypermarket retail chain. By Anna Berg
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