Views from drupa: Automation to Address Ongoing Challenges

Last week, Printing Impressions traveled to Düsseldorf, Germany, to attend drupa 2024. While on the show floor, we caught up with a few U.S.-based print service providers to find out what brought them to the show, how they viewed the event, and what technology or applications they were most excited to see. This is just one of those stories.

Printing Impressions: What markets/segments does EZ Mailing serve?

Kevin Bennet, president, EZ Mailing

Kevin Bennet: We are a standard commercial printer but we specialize in direct mail. We do a lot of postcards. We run a RMGT 9-Series eight-color perfector. That was new last June.

PI: How many drupas have you been to?

KB: This is my first drupa. I was going to come during COVID, but it was cancelled. So, this is this is my first.

PI: What are your thoughts so far?

KB: It's a huge show. It's a lot bigger than anything that happens in the U.S., and it's really different. Because all the companies are putting presses out on the floor. So everything's here

PI: Have you seen any technology or applications here that have excited you?

KB: This is my first day, but I want to go to the Standard booth and look at some of the different bindery equipment. I want to check out how to automate some bindery. I mean automation is going to be big in printing.

PI: Where do you see like future investment potentially in your company?
KB: In automation, we put Litho Flash on [the RMGT] press, we want to add automatic register, things like that, to ease the operation.

You know, the workforce is a lot less skilled than it used to be. We're actually starting to hire younger. ... We've hired a couple kids that we're going to bring on.