NEW DIGITAL FORMAT – Ongoing Event
Inkjet Conference 2021
February 17 – December 15, 2021
Bimonthly Digital Online Conference Sessions
Announcement
As a leading provider of high-level, strategic digital print industry conferences and renowned courses, IMI has been instrumental in promoting and supporting the digitization of the printing industry and its expansion into manufacturing applications.
NOW the time has come to utilize the available digital tools and technologies and apply them to the conference and course formats to maximize efficient information transfer, facilitate relationship building, and stimulate continued growth and expansion for digital print and manufacturing technologies.
Having served as a primary strategic information source for the digital and inkjet print industries for over thirty years, IMI is pleased to commence with the first offerings of next generation information resources for this community.
IMI’s ongoing digital conference will include:
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Sessions on a scheduled basis every two months
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Three 30-minute presentations by recognized industry leaders for each session
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5 to10 minute commentaries on each session’s topics from consultants, end-users, researchers, etc. with different perspectives on the session topics
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Q & A opportunities via chat/live options
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Suppliers Forum presentations: 1 to 3 per session
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Downloadable handout materials including full participants list
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Recorded sessions available to conference participants following each bimonthly session
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Each session scheduled to last 2.5 to 3 hours
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If possible, a live-in person summary/update conference session will be scheduled at a later date. Updates on this will follow as we assess the ever changing concerns impacting health/safety, travel, and group gatherings such as conferences.
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Since the format will be evolving throughout the year, additional ideas for features, topics, speakers, etc. are welcome and solicited!
IMI will continue to offer its high-level strategic and timely digital & inkjet industry information resources via conferences and courses – incorporating both on-site and web-based components as dictated by the regulatory, societal, and industry needs.
IMI will also be adding significant new online content throughout the remainder of 2020 and beyond. We are very excited to be offering new options in the digitization of the information transfer industry.
IMI’s mission has always been to provide the latest digital print and inkjet technology, market, and applications information to the broadest possible cross section of industry participants. Based on the current world order of expanded virtual services; IMI will be broadening its information resources via multiple methods – Stay Tuned for More Announcements!
Our goal is to develop an expanded “digital print & inkjet community” focused on generating excitement about rapidly expanding technology developments, markets, applications, and opportunities - thus benefiting all industry participants and end users.
Conference Focus
With the rapid technology developments, applications expansion, and increasing market potential - it is all the more important for you to keep up to date to maximize your participation, success, and profitability in the inkjet industry.
IMI’s digital Inkjet Conference 2021 is designed to address the current and needed developments in inkjet technology necessary to realize the full potential for inkjet technologies in current and new applications as well as maximizing inkjet’s market potential.
The IMI Inkjet Conference 2021 is the flagship strategic conference for the inkjet industry, trusted as a primary source of high value information by senior executives and commercial managers for more than 25 years. The program addresses the most recent innovations, trends, and issues critical to continued adoption, growth, and expansion of inkjet printing applications and markets.
IMI’s Inkjet Conference 2021 provides high value information on innovations, trends, and issues for senior executives, commercial managers, development teams, end users, and others looking to expand their knowledge and understanding of inkjet technology developments and products shaping the future of inkjet as well as exchanging ideas with industry experts and peers
This year-long event will consist of 6 bimonthly sessions starting February 17, 2021 and concluding on December 15, 2021 and will include the following elements:
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Updates & views from industry pacesetters
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Market & opportunity perspectives from industry experts
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New technology needs & introductions
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Interactive Q & A opportunities
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Suppliers Forum presentation opportunities
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Sponsorship opportunities
Inkjet Conference 2021
February 17 – December 15, 2021
Bimonthly Digital Online Conference Sessions
Session 1 - February 17, 2021
Session 1 Speakers
Dr. Rich Baker, Integrity Industrial Ink Jet Integration
George Gibson, G2 Tech Acceleration
Mark Hanley, I.T. Strategies
COVID boosts inkjet
Mark Hanley, President, I.T. Strategies, Hingham, Massachusetts
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New flexibility around fluid supply chain
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Growing distrust of global planning
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Capital expenditures drawn away from analog investment
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The new five-year prospect
Inkjet evaluation for industrial applications
Dr. Rich Baker, President, Integrity Industrial Ink Jet Integration, West Lebanon, New Hampshire
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How to approach evaluating inkjet for your industrial application
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Properties and advantages of inkjet
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Value Propositions
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Getting started – Evaluation kits, resources, partnerships
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Developing industrial print systems
Inkjet technology’s role in additive manufacturing
George Gibson, President, G2 Tech Acceleration, Fairport, New York
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Taxonomy of additive manufacturing techniques
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What role does inkjet play & what are the CTQ’s
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Process deep dives
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Direct deposition
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Binder jet & related processes
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Multijet fusion
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Composite based additive manufacturing
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What’s needed to move from prototyping to the factory floor?
Session 2 – April 28, 2021
(Rescheduled from April 21st to remove VIRTUAL drupa conflict)
10:00 am (Eastern US) / 4:00pm (Mainland Europe)
Session 2 Speakers
Dr. Alan Hudd, Alchemie Technology
Dr. Robert Ramirez, FUJIFILM Dimatix
Tom Roetker, Memjet Services Ltd.
Digital technologies drive ROI for cleantech disruptive industrial solutions
Dr. Alan Hudd, Chairman, Alchemie Technology, Duxford, Cambridgeshire, UK
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The value of protecting the planet
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A perspective of the COVID effect
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Drivers & technology advances needed for innovation
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Technology & IP protection is fundamental to credibility
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Building confidence & business value
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Lessons learned from successful industrial inkjet applications
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Managing chaos during fast global commercial growth & scaling for manufacturing
Jumping the technology chasm: Moving from islands of technology to an integrated solution
Tom Roetker, Vice President of Engineering, Memjet Services Ltd., San Diego, California, USA
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Commercial printing, corrugated, flexible packaging, folding carton, & specialty packaging manufacturers demand
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Excellent print quality
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A robust solution
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Cost effective, consistent product output
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Digital printing is strong need for analog to digital environment
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Risk: Full integration & ownership of digital systems often not clear
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How digital conversions can be improved & failure risk reduced
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Expertise to succeed spread over multiple technology providers
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Technology leaders’ strategic partnerships vs. supplier relationships
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Memjet inkjet technology platforms: Examples of system strategic partnerships
Benefits of unified Si-MEMS jet design between an industrial inkjet printhead and small-scale cartridge
Dr. Robert Ramirez, Chief Scientist, Materials Deposition Group, FUJIFILM Dimatix, Santa Clara, California
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Overview of R&D and prototyping activities with Dimatix Materials Printer (DMP)
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Challenges in transitioning inkjet from R&D to commercial production
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How DMP can serve as scale-up platform and evolve from a prototyping solution
Suppliers Forum Presentations:
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Epson
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Sun Chemical
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Global Inkjet Systems
Session 3 – June 16, 2021
10:00 am (Eastern US) / 4:00pm (Mainland Europe)
Session 3 Speakers
Rob Rogers, Epson America, Inc.
Eric Worrall, Global Graphics Software
How to integrate inkjet into the smart factory
Eric Worrall, Vice President of Products and Customer Success, Global Graphics, Cambridge, UK
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Inkjet will find new manufacturing applications
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Inkjet integration into smart factories requires software/hardware stack rethink
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Adding smart factory print subsystem requires smart digital front end that
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Uses AI to power its components
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Uses OPC UA-compliant interfaces (open standard for industrial communication exchange) to connect to production system
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Potential to provide retailers “Holy Grail” of mass-personalized/customized products at near mass-production prices
COVID impact on inkjet industry forum
Moderator: Alvin Keene, President, IMI, Carrabassett Valley, Maine
Short summaries from IMI Inkjet Universe Sponsors & conference participants
FMI or to reserve a slot, email al@imiconf.com
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Recovery or Reinvention?
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COVID as market stimulant & barrier in selected market sectors
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Will “remote working experience” accelerate industry digitalization?
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Trends for short runs, customization, digital manufacturing, etc.
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Most important “take-a-ways” from COVID pandemic experience
Print Quality: Sources of drop placement errors that affect print quality
Rob Rogers, Product Manager, OEM Printheads, Epson America, Inc., Los Alamitos, California
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Detailed look at specific error sources that affect drop location on substrate
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Potential mitigation strategies to improve print quality
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Printer design and substrate handling
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Operator adjustments
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Temperature changes
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Printhead
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Session 4 – August 18, 2021
10:00 am (Eastern US) / 4:00pm (Mainland Europe)
Session 4 Speakers
George Gibson, G2 Tech Acceleration
Tom Grinstead, 240 Tech-OvalJet
Ralf Schlözer, About Ralf Schlözer - Ask the digitalprintexpert.de
Inkjet transforming corrugated printing
Ralf Schlözer, Consultant & Technology Analyst, Berlin, Germany
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Inkjet making rapid inroads into corrugated board printing
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Many players are entering the market
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Technologies & devices available
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Adoption rates and drivers
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Opportunities & limitations for major market impact
Printed electronics evaluation & inkjet’s opportunity
George Gibson, President, G2 Tech Acceleration, Fairport, New York
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Printed electronics applications, challenges, and vision
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Application specific critical parameters
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The many-legged stool: Substrates, inks, heads & post-processing
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System design & system engineering concerns
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Current research directions & futures
Direct to garment digital revolution
Tom Grinstead, Chief Operating Officer, 240 Tech-OvalJet, Santa Ana, California
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DTG market overview
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Drivers & challenges for digital print
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OvalJet as a solution
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Technology
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Performance & cost parameters
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Implementation results (Brief information on some current users)
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Future trends
Session 5 – October 20, 2021
10:00 am (Eastern US) / 4:00pm (Mainland Europe)
Session 5 Speakers
George Gibson, G2 Tech Acceleration
Craig Greenwood, Xerox
Dr. Rich Woudenberg, Inkbit
Printed electronics evaluation & inkjet’s opportunity
George Gibson, President, G2 Tech Acceleration, Fairport, New York
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Printed electronics applications, challenges, and vision
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Application specific critical parameters
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The many-legged stool: Substrates, inks, heads & post-processing
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System design & system engineering concerns
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Current research directions & futures
Inkjet and vision controlled jetting (VCJ): Industrialization of additive manufacturing
Dr. Rich Woudenberg, Principal Inkjet Engineer, Inkbit Corporation, Medford, Massachusetts
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Additive manufacturing: Introduction & challenge
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Adaptive additive manufacturing, vision controlled jetting
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Material properties for production industrial parts
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Chemical & physical possibilities
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Targeting the factory of the future
An easier path of integration
Craig Greenwood, Senior Sales Executive; OEM Printheads, Xerox, Wilsonville, Oregon
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Printhead technology journey
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2021-2022 printhead offering: W Series & M Series
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How we make it easier to adopt for integrators & OEM market: Electronics,
software & SDK, stitch motors, ink supply systems, maintenance, support, print bars, ink
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Helping the integrator & OEM: Printhead evaluation, system development
support, engineering resources
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Development timeline 2021/2022
Session 6 – December 15, 2021
10:00 am (Eastern US) / 4:00pm (Mainland Europe)
Session 6 Speakers
Alec G. Couckuyt, Fujifilm Canada & AGC Consulting
Kevin Roman, Canon Solutions America
Graham Vlcek, Industrial Inkjet Ltd USA
Inkjet printing in the security space: Trends & Opportunities
Graham Vlcek, President, Industrial Inkjet Ltd USA, Golden, Colorado
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Security applications overview
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Market segments
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Market size for inkjet
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Market trends
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New opportunities
Four irreversible trends & the strategic value of inkjet
Alec G. Couckuyt, National Sales Manager – JPress, Fujifilm Canada & Managing Director/Chief Business Strategist, AGC Consulting, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Inkjet print production process evolution
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Technical comparison
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Business strategic value
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Decision criteria
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Entering a new era in “offset vs. inkjet”
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Four accelerating trends
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Rising paper costs & supply challenges
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Increasing shortage of skilled offset press labor
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Growing importance of the circular economy
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Increasing number of short run jobs
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Will inkjet lead commercial production print’s recovery?
The impact of inkjet & digital workflows in today’s world
Kevin D. Roman, Director Professional Service & Software Solutions, Canon Solutions America, Tampa, Florida
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Inkjet & digital workflow as communication enabler in today’s new reality
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Personalized/relevant communications acceleration in multi communication world
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Customer communication must have print in the mix
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Customer communication preferences change frequently
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Data on customer communication preferences landscape
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Where digital inkjet fits in the mix
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COVID-19 pandemic has
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Had deep impact on brands/businesses customer communications
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Accelerated digital print adoption over e-communications
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Positioning digital inkjet as new communication enabler
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Forces in play like AI & AR
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Variable data & digital workflows driving newfound relevance for customer satisfaction & brand loyalty in multi-channel communication world
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Why an Ongoing Digital Event Format?
Since March, we have spent a great deal of time evaluating alternative digital approaches to providing effective and timely information, content, and contact development to the digital and inkjet industries.
We’ve arrived at our ongoing digital event format with bimonthly presentation sessions to enable a more cohesive and snappier option to build an involved community in the critical area of inkjet materials which are an essential element for the industry’s continued application expansion and market growth.
One major element in our decision that after participation in numerous online events, we have observed that participants attention spans and concentration are “challenged” by sessions ranging from 1/2 day to multiple days.
Thus, our goal is to provide a versatile ongoing resource which will benefit all those in the inkjet materials field.
We welcome your thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc. as we are sure our concept will be an evolving one over the course of the upcoming year.
Welcome aboard!
Speaking Opportunities
If you have a potential topic for presentation at this or another IMI conference, please submit your proposed presentation topic and a brief outline to Al Keene at IMI (al@imiconf.com) for review.
IMI is always looking for potential speakers for upcoming conference programs and will be pleased to discuss your ideas for potential presentation topics.
Suppliers Forum
Ten Minute presentations related to materials technologies, capabilities, services, new product introductions, etc. We will schedule one to three live Suppliers Forum presentations for each bimonthly session and the recorded presentations will be made available online for participants. The Suppliers Forum is open to all conference registrants. For additional information or to sign up, contact Al Keene al@imiconf.com or check off box on registration form. Suppliers Forum presentations will be on a first come/first scheduled basis.
Conference Sponsorship
IMI is excited to announce a sponsorship opportunity to enable inkjet industry participants to position themselves “front and center” before a key group of inkjet industry business leaders including executives, product developers, technologists, major users, etc. PLUS distributing their message to IMI’s global database of over 20,000 relevant contacts.
Our goal is to develop a “community” focused on the conference program and the Sponsors to generate excitement about inkjet materials technology, market, and application developments - benefiting all industry participants and end users.
For additional information on sponsorship opportunities, click here OR contact Al Keene al@imiconf.com
IMI
IMI sponsors conferences to assist in understanding emerging technology developments, markets and applications requirements. IMI conferences offer attendees unique opportunities for leading hardware, technology development, materials, manufacturing, software, and user companies to network and develop a more comprehensive understanding of current as well as future developments impacting successful product implementations, market entry/expansion and technology utilization. Since 1990, IMI has held over 600 programs attended by well
over 25,000 technical, marketing and management personnel from companies around the world.
IMI conference programs are designed to enable attendees to obtain the latest technical, market and application information while allowing time to network with other attendees in a time and cost-efficient manner. Attendance at an IMI conference enables attendees to meet with an industry’s leading experts in a single location over a short period of time thus maximizing information transfer efficiency and minimizing travel and time expenses.
Details on all of IMI’s activities can be found on our web site www.imiconf.com or by contacting us:
IMI
1106 Valley Crossing
Carrabassett Valley, ME 04947
USA
Phone: +1-207-235-2225
Fax: +1-207-560-9119
Email: imi@imiconf.com Web Site: www.imiconf.com