chasing aft er existing applications and
business with inferior solutions, they
are ultimately hurting themselves and
the market as a whole as it becomes a
race to the bottom from a profi tability
standpoint.
PN: What do you consider
the greatest asset to be for the
industry right now? Why?
Colak: Changing and investment
in technology is very exciting in the
industry right now. Having been in the
print market for more than 30 years,
we have gone from putting little black
marks on paper in the toner fusion
space, to being able to print on various
unique substrates like thick synthetics,
fabrics and metallics—on top of
that, to do it in color with options
for personalizing and versioning.
Our industry is continually adding
unique ways of making print fresh and
distinctive so we can provide solutions
to our customers by adding value and
solving problems, which is what it is
all about.
PN: In your opinion, what
have been the biggest changes
to the way we communicate
with one another in the past few
years? How would you recommend
this industry take advantage
of that?
Colak: Communications over the last
few years have become more indirect.
We used to have more meetings where
we could more easily collaborate and
come up with solutions in front of each
other. We moved towards more phone
communication and then we talked
even less, communicating primarily
through email and other electronic
means and applications. Th ere certainly
is a need to communicate more
eff ectively and quickly but without
more direct communication it will be
much more diffi cult for value added
organizations to provide new solutions
to customers.
PN: Looking ahead, what
major innovations or technologies
do you believe will shape
the future of the industry? Why?
Colak: Th e merging of data and print
technologies has and will continue to
revolutionize our market. Our print
market needs to continue to evolve
and understand we can continue to be
relevant without having to only look at
how many images we’ve printed and
sold. Print is communication and how
we fi gure a way to deliver our customers’
messages to their customers in
unique and forward-thinking ways will
determine our fate.
PN: What is the biggest
piece of advice you would give
to printers and others involved
in this industry?
Colak: We all need to fi nd ways to
add value and solve problems for our
customer’s everyday. I believe my fi rst
responsibility is to make customers
happy, in fact our motto is “kill them
with kindness”. Th e more complex the
problem we can solve for our customers,
the more I know we have a chance
of helping them now and keeping them
in the future!
PN: Is there anything else
you would like to share with our
readers?
Colak: We are in an industry that
is changing quickly and while many
people see it as static and slow all that
is for certain is that change is constant.
We know that it will be a struggle, so
we need to use our skills, creativity, and
intelligence to adapt to changing needs,
solving problems, and providing our
customers with products and solutions
that save them time and money; this
will help us all succeed in the ever
evolving print world.
For more information, visit PrintingNews.com/10004688
PrintingNewscom October 2017 Printing News 21