SCREEN Europe Appoints Deon Wepener as Inkjet Innovation Center Manager
SCREEN Europe has appointed Deon Wepener with nearly three decades of experience in printing technology as Manager of its European Inkjet Innovation Center (IIC) in the Netherlands
Aalsmeer, the Netherlands – SCREEN Europe has appointed Deon Wepener as Manager of its European Inkjet Innovation Center (IIC), its headquarters, showroom, and collaboration hub in the EMEA market.
Originally from South Africa, Deon has been part of the printing sector since 1991, holding roles spanning equipment and software development, technical support, and country management across the EMEA region. He returns to the European market with a particular enthusiasm for new opportunities that advancements in digital inkjet technology are now creating.
Technology that Serves Printing Businesses
Deon’s approach to the role is shaped by a conviction that the full value of printing technology is only possible when the development behind it is driven by the practical and commercial realities of daily production. “The focus has to stay on what customers really need and want,” he explains, “not on what we the printing press manufacturer believes they want.”
That outlook drew Deon to SCREEN, whose products he has followed for many years and with whom he has collaborated with frequently to develop new software and solutions integrations across the printing workflow. He points to EQUIOS, SCREEN’s internally developed workflow management software with its extensive list cross-partner pre and post-press integrations and subsequently extensive user base across the EMEA region as evidence of a team deeply engaged with real production environments.
He was also drawn to the Japanese commitment to exceptional quality, seeing SCREEN as the most advanced and exciting avenue to explore advances in digital printing among Japanese suppliers, and an organisation whose work he wanted to be a part of.
Building On and Expanding the SCREEN Inkjet Innovation Center
Deon takes over a team of inkjet press operators and solution experts who he has found to already be highly experienced, diverse, and driven by a real desire to innovate and succeed in printing. This made his first priority to look outwards creating a wider awareness of the exceptional work the IIC team is currently doing and the opportunities that they are opening for printing houses, from enabling new products on existing equipment, to optimising the quality and cost-per-print of partners’ individual applications, or streamlining maintenance to reduce downtime and improve turnaround.
He is also looking to deepen the Center’s technology integration and relationships with solution partners, improving existing pre- and post-press integrations and collaborating on the development of new ones. This commitment to SCREEN’s inkjet users’ success extends to existing partners as well, with plans already in motion to strengthen both initial inkjet operator training and a new refresher programme inviting back experienced SCREEN press operators to bring them up to speed on all the latest innovations while receiving their feedback on how to guide the development of SCREEN’s digital printing technology.
“My goal is to provide business owners looking to invest in inkjet a ‘one-stop-shop’ for everything they need to know regarding pre-press, printing, and finishing in order to make either their very first step into digital printing or expand with new inkjet workflows. When they arrive at the IIC we’ll have their samples printed and fully client ready with all the data needed to have a complete picture of the long-term ROI of partnering with us” says Deon. “They should leave just as confident as I am that SCREEN is, and will continue to be, an innovative force for the commercial, label, and packaging printing sectors.
