By Patrik Knutsson & Morten B. Reitoft

My name is Patrik Knutsson with a background in the printing industry, mainly in Norway and internationally. I currently work in Tangerin, which today functions as a development and investment company, where I try to figure out what I will focus on in the future. In practice, this means that a new project is on the horizon, so there is a lot of thinking, reading, listening to podcasts, etc., all to learn and understand things I did not know about. 

Morten B. Reitoft: When I reached out to you, you said you are in quarantine - but this is not the COVID quarantine, right? You left CopyCat as owner and CTO - why did you choose to leave the company? 

Patrik Knutsson: No, it was not Covid. It is one year of quarantine from doing competing business after leaving CopyCat. The easy way to put it is that everything has its time. I've been with CopyCat for many years, and now, I have got the chance to look for new and exciting opportunities. 

Morten B. Reitoft: You also wrote that you are now analyzing the printing industry - that's always fun and interesting. Are you analyzing the Norwegian industry, or are you looking internationally as well? 

Patrik Knutsson: I am analyzing transformation in the global print industry. Few industries have developed so much during history as the printing industry. Printers have been pioneers from analog to digital technology for more than 50 years, and today the big impact of the digital shift is everywhere and also driven by the pandemic.

Morten B. Reitoft: Analysing the industry - what are you particularly looking into? 

Patrick Knutsson: There are so many aspects to look into, just to mention some examples:
What are the industry's real headaches, and is it possible to solve some of them?

How new web technology change the game and the end-users behavior

Why do so few in our industry use clear strategic objectives and methods like lean, OKR, and KPI for better management and performance?

Which printed products will still be popular in the next ten years?

How is awareness of sustainability impacting the print buyers?

Which future platform economy models are winning in the market?

How new ordering patterns arise and how we then relate to them

How printing companies can adapt to the digital shift

Which e-commerce platforms are being used and why?

How will 3D-print change our lives and production workflows?

How could we deal with better knowledge and learning?

And how to find the best value base?

I stop there, but the list is much longer in a complex and fragmented industry. 

Morten B. Reitoft: Your new company 'Tangerin' - does the name have a deeper meaning? I like it, and it reminds me of the German band Tangerine Dream, which pioneered electronic music, but it also led me to look up the meaning of Tangerine, which, of course, is the fruit but symbolizes wealth - so why Tangerin?

Patrik Knutsson: Yes, Tangerine is just another fruit company. Haha .. no, the company was started many years ago as a holding company with my last name as the company name but was later changed when my wife joined. The new name refers to the color of our beloved Landrover Defender in tangerin red, which was also the color of the year by Pantone at the time.

Morten B. Reitoft: Your office is located in a building with other "rebels" - if I say innovation, disruption, change, what comes to mind?

Patrik Knutsson: So true, Rebel where I am sitting, is an arena for knowledge sharing in the heart of Oslo. Seventeen floors building with different tech companies and 1500 wise IT heads worldwide makes this place quite unique. You find martech, fintech, proptech, edtech, programmers, startups, collaboration, communities, and expo arenas. All looking for innovation, new business, and disruption. Bootstrapping and meetings with investors and venture capital frequently happen at Rebel. There are also food places, a garage pub, a beer brewery, and an Italian wine cellar. It should be fun to work and meet people ;-)

All business leaders should spend 100 days in such a place. Learning is an essential key to success and progress.

Morten B. Reitoft: When you are not under quarantine anymore, do you expect a future career in the graphics arts industry?

Patrik Knutsson: Hopefully, yes, absolutely! I was born into this industry, which I like working in.

Morten B. Reitoft: Co-founder and CTO of CopyCat - what did you learn from the many years working there?

Patrik Knutsson: You can achieve great things with a good idea as an entrepreneur. I learned many things and worked with great people, exciting customers, and suppliers. Of course, there were also experiences and mistakes during that journey I would be without, but you can not always predict everything. And sometimes, you have to fail to learn the right way to do things.

As co-owner and CTO, every day was filled with exciting challenges and developments. Never be afraid to try new ideas, technology, or even start up your own business if that's what you are dreaming of. In my time at CopyCat, we started 16 production sites from scratch and reached one billion NOK (Approx. 100 million Euro) revenue since the startup, but remember it's a lot of work to be done, and being an entrepreneur is not suitable for everyone.

Morten B. Reitoft: With your background and knowledge, how do you see the future of print?

Patrik Knutsson: I think the future of print still is bright but quite different from what we see today, and much more online and digital, of course.

Printing brought us from the dark ages through the industrial revolution and helped educate the world. Print still impacts everyday people's lives worldwide, and I believe print will also have that impact in the future, but in more variants of materials, surfaces, structures, and objects. The only thing for sure is that we need to continue adapting to new technology, embracing the digital shift, and keeping up with knowledge. 

Morten B. Reitoft: Where do you see yourself in 1, 5, 10 years?

Patrik Knutsson: Hm… to answer with a question – Is it possible to shake up an industry? If the answer turns out to be yes within this year, I would love to start up a new tech company and hold on to that project for the next ten years.

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