Dscoop Plans Formal Launch of Global Activities at drupa

CHICAGO—March 19, 2012—The global board of directors for Dscoop (Digital Solutions Cooperative) will convene in Washington, DC this month to strategize education and content delivery for members around the world. Dscoop, an independent community of HP Graphic Arts customers, encompasses members across North America; Asia-Pacific; Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA); and Latin America.

“The global board brings three key areas of value. The first is the limitless expansion of the core of what Dscoop embodies. The sharing of experience, ideas and successes continues to grow and the effort of unifying our cooperative worldwide makes the value for our members tenfold,” said Chris Petro, global chairman of Dscoop. “We also have a responsibility to our Partners and HP to leverage their investment and support in the worldwide Dscoop community. Lastly, our goal as a board is to leverage our experience, community and resources worldwide to add value to our membership that just isn’t available anywhere else.”

As a global organization, Dscoop is launching a new face-to-face networking event called Dscoop at drupa. The event will bring together members from North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and EMEA to experience the major industry trade show together, lending a closer-knit community feel to what can otherwise be a solitary experience.

At Dscoop at drupa, Dscoop Asia-Pacific is taking advantage of the fact that it draws many HP Graphic Arts customers and hosting a two-day conference prior to the start of drupa. Approximately 800 Asia-Pacific members are expected to attend.

“The first two Dscoop Asia conferences have been incredibly successful,” said Yukinori Okamoto, chairman of Dscoop Asia-Pacific Regional Board of Directors. “We look forward to building upon that success with this year’s event held during drupa with the added benefit of being able to network with peers across other regions.”

For Dscoop EMEA, which has only existed for five months, the support of the global board and the existing organization in other regions is essential to spreading the word and increasing members.

“From forums on the website to Webinars to newsletters, it is immensely helpful to have a set of resources already available to our English-speaking members at launch, which occurred last November,” said Erwin Koerts, chairman of Dscoop EMEA Regional Board of Directors. “As we continue to grow our membership, I have no doubt that we’ll continue to tap into the global community to help us lay the foundation.”

The global board of directors brings together leaders from each region to oversee the actions and events that affect more than 6,000 Dscoop members worldwide. Their responsibilities include financial oversight of operations, education and content delivery, as well as control of the Dscoop brand and standards. In addition, the board works closely with each regional board to ensure sustained growth and independence.

Eric Hawkinson serves as the executive director overseeing the global leadership team. The rest of the board is comprised of:

• Chairman – Chris Petro, Global Soft Digital Solutions (U.S.)
• Alon Bar-Shany, HP
• Craig Curran, Nosco (U.S.)
• Erwin Koerts, Drukkerij Aeroprint (The Netherlands)
• David Minnett, Group Momentum (Australia)
• Yukinori Okamoto, FIS (Japan)
• Gary Peeling, Precision Printing (U.K.)
• Jan Riecher, HP
• Larry Vaughn, Seebridge Media (U.S.)

About Dscoop
Founded in 2005, Dscoop (Digital Solutions Cooperative) is an independent global community of graphic arts business owners and technical professionals who use HP equipment and related solutions, including HP Indigo, IHPS and Scitex. Dscoop is focused on educating and connecting its members with each other and with HP to improve members’ business growth, efficiency and profitability.