Celebrating 10 Years at thINK Ahead 2024
Reaching important milestones can be exciting, but a tenth anniversary deserves a special celebration. Canon Solutions America inkjet customers agreed at the 10th annual thINK Ahead event held at The Boca Raton in Boca Raton, FL last month. More than 250 customers spent three days together—learning, networking, laughing, and celebrating print.
The Power to Move
Francis McMahon, Canon Solutions America’s executive vice president, Production Print Solutions, opened the first full day of the 10th annual inkjet users conference by echoing the theme of Canon’s recent exhibit at drupa 2024.
"Print really has ‘the power to move,’" he told attendees. "Everybody in this room just loves print. There's this emotional impact you get from seeing printed communications, and it's unlike any other medium that's available today."
McMahon continued with a look at the state of Canon Solutions America today and where it plans to move the industry forward in the future. He shared key highlights from Canon’s new product announcements at drupa, including the ProStream 3160 web-fed inkjet press (available now), as well as the varioPRESS iV7 B2 inkjet press and the LabelStream LS2000, both slated for 2026 availability.
What really caught the attention of attendees was a series of statistics McMahon shared on expected growth trends for digital printing. Highlighting the combined annual growth rate for both web-fed and sheetfed production inkjet printing, the stats equated to significant potential for Canon inkjet customers to capture more opportunities in the coming years.
McMahon concluded his remarks by reiterating Canon's focus on its customers and on developing technology to meet the changing demands of the industry.
"Our business runs because all of you have confidence, and we're going to continue to earn your confidence," he said. "We're going to continue to innovate. We're going to continue to develop. We're going to continue to invest in service and, hopefully, earn being your partner of choice as we move into future weeks, months, and years."
Technology in Action
During thINK Ahead 2024, attendees got to see Canon’s commitment to continuous innovation in action. While touring the Canon Americas Customer Innovation Center, they were among the first to see demonstrations of the new varioPRINT iX1700 sheetfed inkjet press and LabelStream LS2000 label press. Attendees also had the opportunity to watch current models of Canon’s industry-leading ProStream, ColorStream, and varioPRINT iX inkjet presses running live and to get questions answered about their performance and capabilities.
Advancing Industry Knowledge
The opportunity to learn from industry experts, share best practices, collaborate one-to-one on solving specific issues, and get inspired is always a high point of thINK Ahead. Every year, the event offers a range of educational experiences, presentations, and knowledge sharing dedicated to helping attendees grow their businesses, improve their operations, and tackle today’s challenges. For example, this year’s breakout session topics ranged from selling inkjet, USPS news and promotions, trends in direct mail, important information about the Wayfair tax, how to price print products, and response optimization through AI.
Thought leadership for print business owners also plays a key role at every conference. On the final day of thINK Ahead 2024, closing keynoter Ben Nemtin focused on Leading with Purpose. A #1 New York Times bestselling author, co-founder of The Buried Life movement, and ranked #2 motivational speaker by Global Gurus, Nemtin dazzled the audience with personal stories from his travels. Then he translated many of the lessons learned from living with purpose into effective leadership strategies that empower teams, boost retention and engagement, and get results.
Celebrating Community
In addition to valuable education and inspiration, what really sets thINK Ahead apart from other conferences is the emphasis on connecting inkjet users with industry experts and partners, creating a dynamic and supportive community. True to its no-pressure approach to networking, the 2024 program offered ample time in the Partner Pavilion to engage with more than 30 different event sponsors and Canon partners, ranging from finishing, workflow and software, and paper vendors. Attendees explored solutions, saw innovative print samples, discussed challenges and new opportunities, as well as connected with colleagues old and new.
As executive sponsor of the independent thINK community and thINK Ahead, Canon Solutions America certainly affords its customers access to both valuable content and contacts. But it’s not all about business. Capping off this year’s special anniversary agenda was a festive poolside party featuring dinner, cocktails, a live DJ, and activities focused on the fun, laughter, and camaraderie the annual event is known for. The evening provided the perfect celebration of a significant anniversary and of Canon Solutions America’s continuing commitment to supporting and shaping the print industry’s next milestones.
