Episode 346 - Beyond the Lamp: Rob Karsten on Building the Integrated Manufacturing Systems of the Future

In this episode of the FuturePrint Podcast, Marcus Timson speaks with Rob Karsten of Excelitas Technologies about the evolution of industrial inkjet and why its next revolution will depend on the complete manufacturing system—not any single component.

Drawing on more than two decades of experience in UV LED curing, Rob explains how the technology has developed from a specialist proposition into a reliable industrial platform. He also explores how Excelitas’s wider capabilities in UV, infrared, microwave and excimer technologies are helping the company support increasingly complex printing, drying, curing and surface-treatment applications.

The conversation examines where digital print creates the greatest manufacturing value, from packaging and direct-to-shape decoration to wood, building materials, printed electronics and functional coatings. Rob argues that digital technology is most compelling when it changes production economics by removing tooling, reducing inventory, enabling customisation and bringing manufacturing closer to demand.

Rob and Marcus also discuss the importance of reliability, total cost of ownership, measurable sustainability and the challenge of qualifying new industrial processes. They consider the growing influence of AI, machine vision, robotics and process data, alongside the need for connected curing and drying systems that can respond intelligently to changing production conditions.

Above all, Rob makes the case for greater collaboration between OEMs, ink developers, printhead manufacturers, substrate suppliers, automation specialists and end users. Customers do not buy isolated components; they buy reliable outcomes. The future of industrial inkjet will therefore be shaped by intelligent, connected and energy-efficient systems in which printing, curing, drying and manufacturing operate as one.

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