Episode 340 - Making Printing One Less Thing to Worry About: The Story Behind the launch of the Linx 9000 Series
In this episode of the FuturePrint Podcast, we are joined by Edd West, Business Unit Manager for Continuous Inkjet (CIJ), Emma Anderson, Global Marketing Manager, and Charlotte Baile, who supported the launch of the new Linx 9000 Series at Interpack.
The conversation explores a refreshing approach to industrial product development—one that begins not with technology, but with understanding the people who use it. Rather than asking customers what new features they wanted, Linx undertook a global Voice of Customer programme to understand the everyday pressures faced by production managers. The result was "Steve", a customer persona that became the guiding principle behind both the product's development and its launch strategy.
We discuss why uptime, reliability and operational simplicity often matter more than technical specifications, how customer insight shaped innovations including automated cleaning, battery-backed shutdown protection and integrated code verification, and why removing anxiety from the production line can be a powerful form of innovation.
The episode also examines the marketing strategy behind the successful Interpack launch, where Linx built its exhibition presence around real customer challenges rather than product specifications. From live demonstrations and immersive storytelling to partner engagement and PR, the discussion offers valuable lessons for any business launching technology into competitive industrial markets.
More broadly, this conversation highlights a growing shift within manufacturing: engineering excellence remains essential, but the companies that truly stand out are those that invest just as much effort in understanding their customers as they do in developing their technology.
Whether your focus is industrial printing, manufacturing, product development or B2B marketing, this episode provides practical insights into how customer-led innovation can become a genuine competitive advantage.
