The Hunkeler Innovationdays, which reflected the good mood of optimism in our industry after the corona pandemic, exceeded all expectations. The Muller Martini stand was full of customers on all four days, who were enthusiastic about our end-to-end solutions.
"Finally!" wrote my colleague Adrian Mayr three days ago in this space on his blog, referring to the fact that Hunkeler Innovationdays (HID) was finally able to open its doors this year after being postponed twice due to the pandemic. Indeed, the fair in Lucerne fulfilled the high expectations – it even exceeded them. The HID with its ideal format – in a manageable space one gained a perfect overview and got a lot of information in a very short time – was a super event that reflected well the spirit of optimism in our industry after the corona crisis.
End-to-end solutions were in the foreground
What struck me in particular was that the vast majority of visitors to the show were key decision-makers from graphic arts companies around the world, who are either already in the midst of the digital theme or are engaged in digital transformation. For them, HID was particularly interesting because many end-to-end solutions were on display. This is a clear sign that finishing in digital printing is once again gaining significantly in importance. Whereas digital presses used to be the main focus of interest, today our customers want to know how they can produce end products with short (short) runs as efficiently as possible – in other words, using a touchless workflow with only a few manual interventions.
"It is precisely such production scenarios that make the HID so special – it is not individual, isolated solutions that are presented, but networked end-to-end workflows that also demonstrate the application potential," the Austrian trade journalist Knud Wassermann aptly wrote the day before yesterday in his guest blog for our website. In this respect, in my opinion, this year's HID once again underlined the paradigm shift.
With a broad chest, I can state that Muller Martini made a mega appearance in Lucerne. At our booth, which was well attended on all four days, we presented – together with the benefits of our MPOWER portal and our MMServices program – a complete customer journey with a seamless workflow. From PDF to impositioning and the machines, we used successful demos to show the creation process of a finished print product in a simple, understandable and well-visualized way.
Muller Martini drives the digital transformation
The demonstrations of our new Prinova Digital hybrid saddle stitcher and the De-Stacker and sorting solution added to the face sheet feeder/Vareo PRO/InfiniTrim line to increase efficiency in softcover and hardcover production of very short runs and optimize logistics were all well attended. The fact that they went off without a hitch was, of course, also a boost for our press operators. They did just as perfect a job at the HID as the entire Muller Martini crew.
I am therefore convinced that our successful trade show appearance and the good customer response also have an important internal effect and, after the pandemic period, will motivate us even more to develop solutions for our customers with even greater pleasure. The HID clearly showed that Muller Martini is playing a key role in shaping – and indeed driving – the digital transformation in the graphic arts industry.
Immerse yourself in the Muller Martini stand at the Hunkeler Innovationdays in Lucerne with this video.
This was also confirmed by the countless conversations I had with customers, with whom I discussed the wide range of topics relating to digital printing. In addition to several specific projects, one question was always at the center of attention: "How can Muller Martini help us to manufacture digitally printed products even more efficiently?" With the solutions presented at our stand, we provided the right answers.
Are you also planning to get into digital printing in the near future, but were unable to come to HID in Lucerne? Then don't hesitate to contact
me. I will be happy to help you!
Your
Volker Leonhardt,
Marketing & Sales, Member of the Executive Board, Muller Martini
Read in this blog by Volker Leonhardt why the corona pandemic accelerated digital printing.