Joe Tirschfield has a simple way of explaining inkjet. The press is the engine. The real advantage comes from everything built around it. The workflows. The data infrastructure. And the operational discipline that allows it to perform. As Tirschfield sees it, the real competitive advantage lies in a printer’s ability to manage complex data and automate the entire value chain.
That distinction matters because many printers approach inkjet the wrong way. They focus on the equipment—speed, resolution, automation—and assume the rest of the operation will adjust around it.
In reality, the opposite is true. Inkjet success is engineered long before the press ever begins producing jobs. It starts with disciplined workflows, aligned sales strategies and leadership willing to rethink how the business operates. The printers that thrive are not simply adopting a new technology, but transforming the way print production works. While the press may be the catalyst, the system behind it determines the outcome.
“The hallmark of a successful early adopter is strategic foresight,” says Tirschfield, VP/GM of Roberts Printing in Clearwater, Florida. “These organizations don’t view inkjet as a hardware acquisition. They view it as a pivot toward a high-margin, data-driven future.”
At Roberts Printing, the shift toward inkjet began not with a purchase order, but with a strategic question: What kind of company did they want to become? Founded in 1968 with a single press in a Dunedin, Florida storefront, Roberts Printing has spent decades evolving alongside the industry.
Tirschfield says inkjet represents another chapter in that evolution—but one that requires deeper organizational change than many printers initially expect. “The winners recognize that the press is simply the engine. Their real competitive advantage lies in their ability to manage complex data and automate the entire value chain.”
“Treating inkjet as a press upgrade ignores the systemic shifts required in prepress, finishing and supply chain management. True transformation requires an end-to-end overhaul of the business model.”
— Joe Tirschfield, VP/GM, Roberts Printing
This philosophy reshapes how companies think about infrastructure. Prepress, workflow automation, data management and finishing must operate as a coordinated ecosystem capable of supporting the speed and flexibility inkjet introduces. Without that preparation, operational bottlenecks can quickly undermine the benefits of the technology. “The most significant risk is institutional inertia,” Tirschfield says. “There’s a tendency to apply legacy analog mindsets to a transformative digital technology.”
When companies treat inkjet as a faster version of offset or digital toner, legacy assumptions begin to collide with reality. Prepress systems may struggle with data-heavy applications. Finishing departments may not keep pace with production speeds. Supply chains built around traditional run lengths can become inefficient.
“Treating inkjet as a press upgrade ignores the systemic shifts required in prepress, finishing and supply chain management,” Tirschfield says. “True transformation requires an end-to-end overhaul of the business model.”
One of the most important changes occurs between sales and production. Historically, those departments often operate independently. Sales brings in work, and production determines how to run it. Inkjet requires a far more integrated approach. “We’ve moved beyond selling print as a commodity,” Tirschfield says. “We’re selling business outcomes like reduced time-to-market and inventory optimization.”
Achieving that shift requires leadership to align incentives across the organization. Sales teams must pursue high-value opportunities such as variable-data applications, while production teams develop automated workflows capable of executing those jobs efficiently. “Success happens when both teams are measured by the same metric,” Tirschfield says. “Client-centric innovation.”
Leadership evolves in an inkjet-driven environment as well. The pace of change requires companies to develop employees who think beyond equipment. Roberts Printing shifted its focus toward empowering its talent to become process architects rather than just machine operators. In this environment, data drives decisions and legacy habits quickly fall away. “‘The way we’ve always done it’ becomes a barrier to growth,” Tirschfield says.
Strategic partnerships also play a central role. Roberts Printing works closely with OEMs, substrate manufacturers, and finishing providers to stay ahead of new applications and production demands. “We view our vendors not as suppliers but as strategic ecosystem partners,” Tirschfield says. “Our ROI is directly tied to the synergy we share with those partners.”
A New Production Lane
At Vedda Printing, the decision to invest in inkjet was driven by a changing market. As more of its work shifted toward lower quantities, faster turnarounds and increasing personalization, inkjet just made strategic sense. “The market is demanding shorter runs with more variation, and we needed equipment built for that reality,” says Phil Vedda, Director of Sales at the Cleveland-based printer.
Vedda Printing, a third-generation family-owned company founded in 1956, already had built a reputation for adapting to industry shifts. Inkjet represented the next step in that evolution. But like many printers adopting the technology, the team quickly realized the investment required a broader strategic shift. “Our investment wasn’t about adding another machine,” Vedda says. “It was about expanding our capabilities and improving our profit profile.”
Inkjet created new opportunities for higher-margin applications, particularly in data-driven and personalized print. But capturing that value required the company to rethink how it positioned its services. “Internally, we had to remind ourselves that profit is not a dirty word,” Vedda says.
For years, many printers competed primarily on price, driving margins down across the industry. Inkjet allowed Vedda Printing to shift the conversation toward value. “It gave us the opportunity to rethink how we price, how we sell, and how we position value—especially around speed, flexibility, and data-driven applications,” Vedda says.
“Our investment wasn’t about adding another machine. It was about expanding our capabilities and improving our profit profile.”
— Phil Vedda, Director of Sales, Vedda Printing
Paper trends also played a role in the decision. Uncoated stocks are making a strong comeback, with designers intentionally choosing them for their tactile, authentic feel. “The AJ 30000 prints beautifully on uncoated stocks while maintaining that true uncoated look and feel,” Vedda says.
Operationally, however, inkjet introduced a new level of complexity. Where production once meant choosing between offset or digital toner, the press added a third lane—one that brings both flexibility and responsibility. “Now we have a third lane,” Vedda says.
Jobs no longer follow predictable paths. In some cases, the smartest move depends less on theoretical optimization and more on keeping production flowing. “If a job was quoted digitally at a 35% margin but that equipment is tied up, it might make sense to move it to inkjet at 30%,” Vedda says. “Keeping production flowing sometimes matters more than theoretical optimization.”
That flexibility demands tighter coordination between sales, estimating, purchasing and production. Estimates now determine not only pricing but the entire production path, from paper ordering to scheduling. “It’s made us better, but it demanded discipline quickly.”
One lesson quickly became clear: Inkjet must be treated as its own production category. “It may resemble offset and digital in different ways, but it’s truly its own category of press,” Vedda says.
Inkjet success, in the end, is less about the machine on the floor and more about the system built around it. The companies engineered to perform are the ones willing to rethink workflows, align teams, and build the operational discipline that allows the technology to deliver on its promise.
5 Ways to Engineer Your Inkjet Operation to Perform
- Build the Workflow First – Automation and data management determine profitability before the press ever runs.
- Align Sales and Production – Inkjet thrives when both teams pursue high-value, data-driven applications.
- Treat Inkjet as Its Own Platform – It is not offset and it is not toner. Respect its unique workflow and economics.
- Develop Process Thinkers – Modern pressrooms need workflow architects as much as machine operators.
- Invest in Strategic Partnerships – OEMs, substrates, and finishing partners help accelerate innovation and reduce risk.
Source: Joe Tirschfield, Roberts Printing; Phil Vedda, Vedda Printing
