Episode 357 - Single-Pass Inkjet Built For Industry, With Thomas Amrein, CEO, Matti Technology
Single-pass inkjet can sound like a technical detail until you hear what it unlocks: speed, repeatability, and a realistic route to industrial automation. We sit down with Thomas Amrein, CEO of Matti Technology, to talk about how a 20-person, engineer-heavy team in Switzerland designs and manufactures custom-built printing machines that are anything but off-the-shelf. Along the way, we get an honest look at what customers actually ask for, how ambitious ideas stretch engineering limits, and why making the customer’s life easier is the only metric that matters.
A big thread is modularity and the mindset behind Thomas’s talk title “Think Product, not Project”. Instead of treating each build as a one-off, Matti develops reusable technology components, from ink delivery to data handling, that can scale from a single printhead to thousands. We dig into the trade-offs: no module survives every edge case untouched, but a solid foundation reduces risk, shortens delivery, and helps machines mature quickly from prototype to production.
We also widen the lens beyond traditional printing into functional printing and energy-related manufacturing. Thomas shares why the USA is especially strong right now, with momentum around batteries, fuel cells and the infrastructure driven by data centres, AI and shifting energy needs. That growth only happens through partnerships, so we discuss working across multiple printhead manufacturers, co-developing inks for drying and energy use, and integrating UV curing and plasma treatment to make systems reliable in the field. If you care about industrial inkjet, modular machine design, and where digital printing innovation is heading next, subscribe, share the episode, and leave us a review.
