Printing United 2024 and beyond: The beginning of a print industry shift

When I received an email from Gelato Founder and CEO Henrik Muller-Hansen last December saying he would like to set up a meeting to chat, I assumed it was just to catch up like we have many times over the years since we first met in the early 2010’s. I’ve always been fascinated with Henrik’s story, first with Optimalprint, and then with Gelato’s production on demand network. During my days at Blurb, we were a global company from day one, and the idea of a global print group that could support my business was always top of mind.

Little did I know that this conversation was really about Gelato’s next big evolution, and that I would become part of the team announcing the next chapter to the world.

During initial meetings in January of this year with the Gelato team in Oslo, I was brought into the plans for GelatoConnect—the world-class software platform beyond just supporting GelatoCreate, their well-known production on demand network. I learned that GelatoConnect was an enterprise software solution that optimizes the entire print production process — from procurement and workflow to logistics​. I quickly understood this platform had the power to become the de facto standard of the global digital printing industry. While Gelato was well known in industry circles for their B2C offerings and their production on-demand network, this new platform for print producers was a major step. Now, it was up to us to find the best way to share this opportunity broadly to the printing industry.

The road started in Indianapolis at Dscoop Edge in March. There, we set meetings with industry leaders to begin sharing the vision of GelatoConnect and learn about pain points printers are experiencing and how we could continue iterating the software to best meet those needs. 

Then, our eyes were on drupa in May—easily the biggest print show on earth for 2024. Our introduction to the print community in attendance was a great success, but now we were challenged with delivering on the promises in a real way.

Our final target for the year just wrapped in Las Vegas at Printing United. Leaving drupa with many commitments from print producers, we knew in the three months between the events we needed to deliver these proof-of-concept customers in a real way. To say the Gelato team was successful is a huge understatement. The success metrics and positive testimonials that flowed in from the early adopters showed the power of Gelato’s engineering team and the benefits of “one platform/one software,”, as ESP Colour CEO Simon Smogur points out.

As with drupa, the GelatoConnect booth stood out as being different from the common exhibit you often see at print shows. Bright, airy, and with gelato (the edible variety) in the afternoons, the GelatoConnect experience showed how an experienced software company can bring world-class solutions to the printing industry using methods and concepts that are gleaned from the top performing companies in the world.

When I was at Blurb, we developed the concept of “Partner Summits,” where we brought together our print network providers as well as common suppliers globally to review and plan together. At Printing United, this concept was used by several large B2C brands to take advantage of the industry assembly. At these events, GelatoConnect was a major point of discussion. GelatoConnect’s success with the early adopters had grown the commitments to include many well-known printers in North America – among others Bennett Graphics, Hudson Printing and Quantum Graphics – and the word was spreading widely.

Also of note at Printing United was the growth in the textile market. For many digital printers, this is a new opportunity and a way to break free of the holiday-based cycles that make the B2C market difficult. GelatoConnect is on the forefront there as well, solving the issues of inventory via the Procurement module that is part of the software suite. Walking through the South Hall, there was a buzz of new technology and opportunity. GelatoConnect customer TidyMerch is a great example of this market, and our time spent with companies like Kornit and Brother only underscored how the textile market is evolving and improving rapidly.

The past nine months have been key for the growth of Gelato as a company and GelatoConnect as a software solution. Seeing first-hand how the team takes input from customers and rapidly transforms and iterates the platform has been an energizing process. I truly believe that GelatoConnect’s purview to become the leader in print industry software solutions is not only attainable, but inevitable. And thanks to events like Printing United for enabling us to tell that story.