More Profitable New Opportunities · Francois Martin · Consultant · Open House
At Koenig & Bauer Durst’s variJET Open House in Radebeul, I had the pleasure of speaking with Francois Martin, and this is one of those conversations that puts everything into perspective.
Because when someone who has spent more than two decades in digital print says that what we are seeing today is the realization of ideas from 20 years ago, you listen.
Francois has seen the shift. From a time where digital was questioned, challenged, and often dismissed, to a point where it is now understood. Not as a replacement for offset, but as an enabler. And that distinction matters more than ever.
What he explains very clearly is that the conversation has changed. Years ago, digital had to defend itself, quality discussions, cost discussions, compromises. Today, those conversations are largely gone. Quality is expected. What matters now is how technologies work together.
And that’s exactly what we see here.
Offset and digital are no longer competing. They are part of the same production logic. The same workflow. The same decision-making process. Some jobs belong on offset, some belong on digital, and some sit in between. The difference today is that converters have the tools to choose.
That wasn’t the case before.
He also touches on something that is often overlooked. It’s not just about shorter runs. It’s about more jobs. More SKUs. More complexity. The volume hasn’t disappeared, but it has fragmented. And without digital, handling that complexity becomes extremely difficult.
That’s where the real value is.
I particularly liked his analogy with transportation. You don’t send a large truck into a narrow street if a small vehicle does the job better. It sounds simple, but that’s exactly how converters need to think today. Use the right tool for the right job, not the same tool for everything.
We also touched on finishing, and this is where things get interesting. Printing is becoming more flexible, more digital, but finishing is still largely conventional. Die-cutting, folding, gluing, these are areas where innovation still has room to grow. Francois is convinced that the next wave will come here, somewhere between traditional tooling and fully digital processes.
And that makes sense.
Because if digital print is about flexibility, then the entire workflow needs to follow.
Another point he raises is the value of integrated ecosystems. When one supplier can deliver printing, workflow, and finishing in a coherent system, it simplifies operations. It doesn’t mean customers are locked in, but it does mean they are building long-term relationships. And in an industry where equipment lives for 20–30 years, that matters.
This is not a transactional business. It’s a partnership.
What I take from this conversation is simple. Digital is no longer the future. It’s part of the present. The challenge now is not whether to adopt it, but how to use it effectively alongside existing technologies.
Watch the interview with Francois Martin, this is a perspective shaped by experience, and it explains very well why the industry is where it is today, and where it’s heading next.
No Software No Print · Michael Deflorian · Director Business Unit Software & Solutions · DURST
At Durst Group’s joint Open House with Koenig & Bauer in Radebeul, I speak with Michael Deflorian, and it’s a reminder that no matter how impressive a press looks, it doesn’t run without software.
And in many cases, that’s exactly where the real value is created.
Michael explains how Durst has built its software business from the ground up since 2018, scaling to thousands of installations and a dedicated team of around 100 people. That’s not a side project anymore, it’s a core part of the business. And when you look at it, it makes perfect sense. The bottlenecks in production are rarely the presses themselves. They sit before or after, in data preparation, workflow, integration, and how jobs move through the system.
That’s what the “pixel to output” strategy is about.
Not just delivering machines, but connecting everything around them, automating processes, integrating workflows, and ultimately removing friction. Because if you don’t, even the most advanced press won’t perform as it should.
What’s interesting is how this ties into the broader Durst story. A company that has reinvented itself multiple times, from photography to digital printing, now also moving into areas like additive manufacturing. There’s a mindset here of constantly challenging what you do and where you go next.
And that mindset shows in software.
We also talk about something very practical, the growing complexity in production. More jobs, more variation, more data. Especially with digital, where variable data becomes part of the value proposition. Without the right software, handling that complexity becomes almost impossible. With the right software, it becomes manageable, even efficient.
That’s a big shift.
Another point Michael raises is people. Skilled operators are harder to find, and the next generation expects something very different from the tools they use. If the interface isn’t intuitive, if the workflow isn’t logical, you’re creating friction not just in production, but in recruitment and retention. That’s why user experience is becoming just as important as functionality.
And then there’s the technical side, which often goes unnoticed. A machine like the variJET 106 processes enormous amounts of data, especially when you talk about variable content. The way Durst approaches this is through scalable architecture, distributing the workload across multiple systems, so performance matches the application. More variation, more power. Simpler jobs, less demand. It’s flexible, and that’s exactly what digital production requires.
What I take from this conversation is simple. Software is not an add-on. It’s the enabler.
If you want to get the most out of a digital press, this is where you should probably start.
Watch the interview with Michael Deflorian, this is the part of the story that doesn’t always get the spotlight, but without it, nothing really works.
The VarieJET is a platform · Tom Sander · Product Manager · Koenig & Bauer Durst · Open House
At Koenig & Bauer’s VariJET Open House in Radebeul, we speak with Tom Sander about the variJET platform—and how it is moving from promise to production.
The question is simple: is the variJET platform finally ready? The answer is not about a launch moment, but about maturity. With installations running and more machines being deployed, this is where development meets reality. Koenig & Bauer is no longer talking about potential—they are focusing on what works.
And that focus is tight. B1 format. Folding carton. Proven configurations like double and triple coater setups. Rather than pushing every possible hybrid combination, the strategy right now is to bring stable, validated solutions to market—and build from there.
The variJET platform is, at its core, a modular concept. Built on the Rapida ecosystem, it allows integration of offset units, flexo stations, coatings, and digital inkjet in one line. But modularity only matters when it translates into real applications—and that’s exactly what we are starting to see.
A key step has been the development of new ink sets, rolled out in 2025. According to Tom Sander, this has significantly improved quality and expanded the application range—particularly into demanding segments like cosmetics and luxury packaging, where expectations are unforgiving and results are visible on the shelf.
What stands out in this conversation is also the mindset. This isn’t a “sit back and wait” phase. It’s hands-on. Customer visits. Real-world feedback. Continuous refinement. Because platforms don’t succeed in theory—they succeed in production.
There’s also a realism that matters. Development cycles are long, and the market has changed dramatically over the past decade. But instead of chasing every opportunity, Koenig & Bauer is staying disciplined—focusing on folding carton, on B1, and on delivering a platform that works.
The variJET platform is no longer just a concept. It’s becoming a production reality.
Watch the full interview with Tom Sander to understand how the variJET platform is being positioned for the future.
VariJET is more than packaging · Pierre Hertzel · Business Manager · Schelling · Open House
At Koenig & Bauer Durst’s Open House in Radebeul, I speak with Pierre Hertzel from Schelling AG - the first company to install the variJET 106.
Let’s get one thing out of the way. If you look at the variJET as a “digital alternative to offset,” you’re already missing the point.
What Pierre explains—very clearly—is that this isn’t about moving short runs away from conventional production. It’s about doing things you couldn’t do before. And when you listen carefully, you realize that the real conversation isn’t about print at all. It’s about value.
He shares a case with a large confectionery brand. They didn’t ask for cheaper packaging. They asked for insight. They wanted to understand what happens in retail, store by store. The answer wasn’t price per sheet. It was variable data. Unique QR codes. Packaging as a data carrier.
That’s a different business.
And that’s why the usual discussions about cost don’t really apply. Because when a brand owner sees an opportunity to connect with customers, track behavior, or create something that stands out, the conversation changes. It becomes marketing. It becomes strategy.
Not print.
What I also like here is that Schelling doesn’t treat the variJET as a “folding carton machine,” even though that’s the label. They print what makes sense. Posters. Calendars. Promotional work. They test the limits. They explore.
That’s exactly what you should do with new technology.
Of course, it’s not perfect. It’s new. There are things to learn, things to improve. But honestly, that’s not the issue. The issue is whether you approach it with the right mindset.
Because if you install a machine like this and run it like an offset press, you’ve just made an expensive mistake.
Digital is not about efficiency. It’s about possibility.
Watch the interview with Pierre Hertzel. This is what it looks like when a customer doesn’t just buy technology, but actually uses it.
From Project to Product · Maik Laubin · VP Digital Solutions · Koenig & Bauer Durst · Open House
At Koenig & Bauer Durst’s variJET Open House in Radebeul, I sat down with Maik Laubin, and the conversation confirmed something I’ve been thinking every time I’ve seen the machine over the past couple of years.
The variJET has moved from development into production.
That may sound like a small distinction, but it isn’t. Anyone who has followed digital print knows how long that transition can take. You tweak inks, adjust software, improve handling, expand substrate compatibility, and every time you think you are close, something else needs to be solved. What Maik explains here is that we are no longer in that phase. There are still improvements, there always will be, but the machine is now operating as a production platform, not as an ongoing experiment.
One of the biggest hurdles has been substrates. Digital packaging has historically come with compromises, special materials, pre-coating requirements, limitations that made integration into existing workflows more complicated than necessary. The ambition with the variJET has been to remove that friction and allow converters to run the same materials they already use in offset. According to Maik, that ambition is now largely fulfilled, and that is probably one of the most important steps toward real adoption.
Because the real story here is not “digital versus offset.” It is how the two technologies work together. The variJET 106 and the Rapida 106 are built around the same format, the same production logic, and the same finishing environment. This is not about replacing one with the other, but about understanding where each technology makes the most sense. And that comes down to cost and application.
Short runs are central to that discussion, but not in the way many people still think about them. We are not talking about a few hundred sheets. We are talking about several thousand B1 sheets, where setup time, flexibility, and versioning start to outweigh the efficiencies of conventional production. That is where digital begins to make economic sense, and that is where this platform is positioned.
Color has also been a point of discussion for years, particularly in packaging where brand consistency is critical. With a seven-color configuration and extended gamut, the results coming off the variJET are now at a level where comparisons with offset are not theoretical anymore. They are practical. Whether one is “better” than the other is less relevant than the fact that both can now deliver what the market expects.
What I find more interesting is how the perception changes once people see it running. There are still customers who approach digital with skepticism, and there are others who immediately understand the implications. Some come with years of digital experience, others have none. That variation is still very present, but it is also clear that the direction is moving toward shorter runs, more complexity, and a need for greater flexibility in production.
That is exactly where this type of platform fits.
The mistake would be to look at it through an offset lens. If you do that, you reduce it to a slower version of something you already understand. If you instead look at what it enables, how it can be integrated, where it changes the economics, and how it opens up new applications, then the discussion becomes far more relevant.
This interview with Maik Laubin is not about future potential. It is about where the technology stands today and how it is being positioned in real production environments.
