By Susan Cotter, Senior Program Manager/Analyst

Having returned recently from attending the thINK 2018 Conference held September 5th through the 7th in Boca Raton, I keep thinking how this conference once again demonstrated the power of bringing together a community of customers, partners and industry experts to share innovations and best practices in this growing market. With 600 attendees and 70 speakers, the fourth thINK Conference was the largest and, in our opinion, the best to date. There were 25 sessions, dynamic keynotes and worthwhile networking time. The conference is a valuable two-day event filled with top level education opportunities and hands-on learning for both newcomers and inkjet veterans.

Attendees to the conference were also introduced to new tools that further support networking and content sharing. For example, thINK’s partnership with klik, a provider of state-of-the-art smart technology wristbands that connect event-goers to people, places and content, showed all of us an innovative way to pass contact information and set appointments using the application.

This year, thINK’s education tracks focused on three key areas: Innovation in Inkjet, Workflows and Growth Opportunities. Topics included sessions that focused on hardware, software and paper selection. I was excited to have the opportunity to partner with Jason Fonner of HM Document Solutions (HMDS) to present how HMDS transformed its traditional in-plant print operation into a true customer communications delivery hub and Center of Excellence in the Workflow Track session, “The New Customer Communications Delivery Hub, Powered by Inkjet Technology.” Our session explored the challenges of digital transformation and a shift in corporate leadership and strategies to adapt technology to better meet customer communication needs in both print and electronic formats.

As inkjet technology continues to mature and utilization opportunities grow at a rapid pace, advancements in technology will foster continued migration of new applications to even more cost-effective color communications. These advancements, paired with strategic investments in customer communications management (CCM) technologies, are critical new growth opportunities that enterprise users and print service providers need to be aware of and eventually implement. That is the value the thINK Conference brings. It is a unique opportunity to discuss with like-minded professionals the rapidly growing inkjet curve, discover together new ways to capitalize on new inkjet applications—and best of all, share our experiences as pioneers in this new age of digital print.