thINK, an independent community of Canon Solutions America production print customers, has announced that thINK 2017 registration is now open to both current Canon inkjet customers and those looking to invest in the growing market for the first time. thINK executives also announced today that Mark Kelly, commander of Space Shuttle Endeavour’s final mission and Space and Aviation Contributor for NBC News/MSNBC will serve as a General Session keynote speaker.
Joining Kelly during General Session is Greg McKeown, author of New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, and CEO of THIS Inc. The third-annual user conference will again be held at the Boca Raton Resort & Club on October 9-11, 2017. The inkjet event expects to bring together over 400 esteemed industry guests and educate members on the rise of inkjet and its continued transformation.
“This vast and [still] growing community of customers has come to expect a robust level of informative sessions and engaging inkjet topics from the thINK event, but also the opportunity to hear from great leaders outside the industry,” said Victor Bohnert, thINK Executive Director. “Combining expert minds from the print industry with our engaging keynote speakers, led by Mark Kelly, seamlessly illustrates the confluence of inspiration and education that thINK promotes.”
With an extraordinary career of service to our military, our nation and humanity, Kelly has secured his place in history as a role model, modern-day pioneer, and leader of distinction. Drawing from his experience as a former NASA space mission commander and icon, Captain Kelly will demonstrate to thINK attendees how focus, dedication, and persistence can help tap into the potential to succeed in any competitive setting—a common goal representative of the thINK community.
Together Kelly and McKeown highlight the initial lineup of thINK 2017 keynote speakers, and are sure to exemplify the educational and forward-thinking nature of thINK events with presentations detailing years of unique experience and success in their respective industries.
What’s New at thINK 2017?
Generating industry-wide buzz has become a staple at thINK events for the last two years—and building on that reputation, attendees at this year’s event will be a part of the first U.S. showing of Canon’s new Océ ProStream continuous feed inkjet press. The latest breed of fast, highly productive inkjet technologies from Canon combines the vibrant colors of offset with the variable-data versatility of digital printing.
Adding another dimension to this year’s edition, guests who want an in-depth look at a particular line of inkjet presses will have access to production print inkjet sessions for the sheetfed Océ VarioPrint Series and Continuous Feed Inkjet, designed to raise awareness of inkjet capabilities and technologies’ leading the inkjet surge.
Additionally, Business & Marketing, Technical, and Profitable Print tracks will be included as part of more than thirty sessions developed to expand the scope and breadth of information for thINK 2017.
Also new to thINK 2017 is the first ever pre-conference Inkjet 101 Session. Taking place the day of arrival, the focus of the exclusive gathering is to help support those on the verge of making an inkjet decision. Guests can expect to hear from Canon Solutions America executives, industry analysts, and, perhaps most importantly, customers who have recently made the transition to inkjet.
“We are gearing up for what is poised to be our biggest year yet, in terms of scale, size, and influence,” said Mark DeBoer, thINK President. “As we have stated firmly in the past, none of this would be possible without the community that makes up this great user group. We’re proud to say that more than ever, the thINK community is focused not only on enhancing the present, but on shaping the future of inkjet and the industry at large.”
thINK 2017 Speakers
With a comprehensive, all-encompassing agenda in place and more than seventy speakers, thINK 2017 will offer more candid accounts and spur more knowledge-based inkjet discussions that can help longtime and new inkjet adopters make the most profitable decisions moving forward. Driving some of those conversations are the following presenters:
Matt Swain, Keypoint Intelligence – InfoTrends
Swain is a Group Director for Keypoint Intelligence – InfoTrends, the leading worldwide market research and strategic consulting firm for the digital imaging and document solutions industry. He is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the company’s Business Development and Customer Communications services and is a frequent speaker at industry events on emerging services, technologies, and trends.
Marco Boer, I.T. Strategies
As recognized and trusted a consultant as there is in the digital printing industry, Boer, vice president of I.T. Strategies, has more than twenty-five years of experience in advising and guiding senior executives of Fortune 1000 and smaller innovative companies to successful business solutions in emerging digital printing markets.
Kemal Carr, Madison Advisors
Kemal Carr leads Madison Advisors, an independent analyst firm that provides project-based advisory services designed to assist clients with technology selection and business process decisions. Under his direction, Madison Advisors is establishing its market niche addressing the needs of the electronic and print customer communications marketplace.
These are just a few of the many forward-thinking and innovative presenters set to take the stage and provide guests detailed inkjet education during thINK 2017.
Registered thINK members should have received their email invitation to thINK 2017, and can visit thinkforum.com to register now. More information and details about thINK 2017 will follow in the months to come. As in the past, thINK membership is free and exclusive to Canon Solutions America production print customers. thINK members can access thINK 2017 Conference materials and other resources by joining the thINK Community. To join, register at thinkforum.com.
