Harrier LLC business development consultant Julian Marsh was appointed Dscoop EMEA 2016 chairman yesterday and the organisation, short for Digital Solutions Cooperative, also announced free membership for HP’s install base from now on – a saving of €595 (£420) per company on the previous cost.
This includes access to all of Dscoop’s online content, including forums, reports and newsletters.
A premium membership of €299 will be available and will give members access to exclusive services, such as educational and conferencing material. These members will also benefit from offers, events and training, including a €100 discount on the upcoming Dscoop EMEA5 2016 conference in Tel Aviv on 5-8 April 2016 under the banner of ‘Connect to Grow’.
Marsh said he remembered when he bought the company’s first HP Indigo press. “I can remember being told about Dscoop and thinking that it was a strange name and not really knowing what it was all about. It was very North American based but in 2011 Dscoop EMEA was launched.
“From a business point of view it’s been brilliant. If I think about the print industry, we all used to compete with each other, we all had the same equipment. It was a fairly established market. Now we’re in a fast-moving market and there are so many facets to it we don’t really perceive each other to be competitors.
“One of the best things about Dscoop is that community. We work with and for many of the Dscoop members. I can chuck something into the pot and say ‘we’ve done this and it was brilliant’ or ‘it didn’t work’. I might be giving one thing away but I’m going to come away with a lot more than I give away.”
An increased membership will also mean a wider pool of potential attendees at the Dscoop conferences, which continue to be paid events.
“Clearly the membership fee was a barrier to some companies and we felt that we were always selling membership. There’s a cost to that and it takes time. We’ve got 400 members now and the potential is three times that," Marsh added.
He said the last Dscoop EMEA conference in Dublin, which he chaired, was a brilliant event and got excellent feedback.
Marsh took over from managing director of Prime Group, Jon Tolley, whom he called “a brilliant chairman”.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” he said of his appointment. “I’m really excited that I can contribute to the community and I’m looking forward to the year.”
Gido van Praag, vice-president and general manager, HP Graphics Solutions Business, EMEA said Dscoop was the ideal platform for print professionals to uncover the latest industry developments, share best practice and take inspiration from HP’s cutting-edge digital print technology.
Next year’s event will take place at the same time as the 2016 Solutions Showcase in HP’s home town of Tel Aviv – allowing it to be nine times the size of last year’s offering at around 36,000sqm
“The 2016 Solutions Showcase will be packed with inspiring HP Indigo, Latex and Pagewide printing technologies, as well as partner workflow, finishing and substrate innovations,” van Praag said. "The Dscoop community will be one of the first to see what will be presented at Drupa.”
