Episode 361 - The Next Growth Curve: Ken Stack from EPS on DTOS and Industrial Inkjet’s Expanding Opportunity
Can digital direct to object printing compete with analogue on speed and cost, even when producing hundreds of thousands of identical objects? Ken Stack, Executive Chairman of EPS, believes it already can, and that the next growth phase for industrial inkjet is taking shape.
In this episode of the FuturePrint Podcast, Marcus Timson speaks with Ken about the technologies and commercial pressures accelerating production of digital direct-to-object printing.
Drawing on more than three decades in industrial inkjet, Ken explains how single-pass systems are moving digital decoration into high-volume manufacturing. We discuss why customers buy complete automated decoration cells, incorporating product handling, surface treatment, printing, inspection and sorting, and why labour savings and reduced setup time are central to the investment case.
The conversation then explores EPS’s XD-AQ system, announced at the FuturePrint Packaging, Labels and DTS Summit in Valencia. Using high-viscosity water-based inks and Xaar Aquinox printheads, the technology addresses the challenges of printing strong colour and fine text on porous substrates, including moulded fibre packaging.
Ken outlines the branding opportunity in a market where molded fibre packaging remains undecorated, and how direct printing could reduce reliance on additional labels and sleeves. We also examine printing on pre-die-cut blanks, enabling manufacturers to customise packaging closer to dispatch.
Finally, Ken shares his view of industrial inkjet’s maturity curve, explaining why direct-to-object printing and functional manufacturing applications could offer significant growth opportunities.
An insightful discussion about automation, materials innovation and the economics of bringing digital printing deeper into manufacturing, with practical implications for brands and producers.
