INKISH.NEWS -

My name is Zoltán Kanovits, I live in Dunajska Streda (Slovakia), and I work with digital printing and outdoor advertising. My company's history, Kanovits print atelier, dates back to 2006. I started by selling outdoor advertising in and around Dunajska Streda, then I gradually expanded my portfolio by adding big- and megaboards to billboards and then citylight surfaces to my offer.

I built up a pretty extensive network of this with my colleagues, but we didn’t stop on that and focused on how we could be even more helpful. Later, I set up a graphics studio to offer our clients a complex service. This meant that the design for the billboards was also produced in-house. After a few years, I equipped the company with special digital printing machines supporting small and large format printing.

Another significant milestone in my company's history was the purchase of two laser cutting machines to go with the high-end digital printers. They can cut and engrave complex patterns and designs on paper, wood, plastic, plexiglass, textiles, leather, and other materials. Combining these technologies can produce unique printed products such as business cards, invitations, brochures, and catalogs with a unique design. We operate as a complex digital printing studio where the idea is the surplus. In addition to high-quality digital printing, we also offer graphic and corporate design.

Morten B. Reitoft: The first time I heard about you was when we were brought together via a LinkedIn message years ago, but I don't think we have written or spoken with each other, right? The reason was that you've specialized in REALLY nice printed products using the Xerox Iridesse - tell us how you got into this segment of the industry?

Zoltan Kanovits: I've always been interested in digital printing; I had a feeling that most printing companies did not use this stunning technology to its full potential. And I decided that I will learn everything to get the most out of it.

I watched hundreds of videos, went to exhibitions, looked for contacts with people who could bring me closer to the solution. That's how I got in touch with Xerox representatives, which led to us becoming a Xerox Business Partner in 2013 with the purchase of the then state-of-the-art Xerox Color 1000 digital printer. This printing press is 8-10 meters long and consists of several modules; it can print with colorless varnish, i.e., in partials, or produce each product with variable data.

In 2018, we were granted membership of the Xerox Premier Partners club with the purchase of the company's Iridesse press, which opened up new horizons. The Iridesse can print white, gold, silver, and mixed metallics.

Over time, hundreds of hours spent designing and printing exclusive-looking printed products have given me more to say. And because I was given the opportunity, I could share some of them at Xerox conferences in Vilamoura, Vienna, Milan, and Tokyo - sometimes in person, sometimes online, as the epidemic allowed. Last year, we entered the Xerox Best of the Best Print Award international printing competition, where one of our invitations cards won the top prize in its category. At the same time, we also took home the special award "Best of the show".

Morten B. Reitoft: The gallery on your website shows truly stunning work - if you should judge, what is more important - technology or people?

Zoltan Kanovits: Both are equally important. Experience has shown that cutting-edge technology is worthless without skilled people because only creative people with innovative ideas can take advantage of these modern technologies. I feel that the two are in a happy balance in our company.

Our graphic design studio is not set up for industrial-scale production - of course, we can do that too, if we need to - but for finding off-the-beaten-track solutions, we put a lot of person-hours into making a product unique and inimitable. At the same time, we put a lot of effort into ensuring that we have the most up-to-date equipment to implement our ideas. Our clients, especially the larger ones, trend-setting agencies, appreciate that.

Morten B. Reitoft: On your website, you also list equipment; why is that important?

Zoltan Kanovits: Because of the agencies who already have a certain amount of experience. They know what to expect from these printers and equipment to make their ideas a reality. We have structured our website so that laypeople can find information in the Products section and the professionals in the Technology section.

Morten B. Reitoft: Customers - you are located in Slovakia; what about customers, what markets do you serve?

Zoltan Kanovits: Basically, we serve two segments, residential and corporate customers.

The demand from the residential customers is mainly for the design and printing of small format printed products. These include wedding and other announcements, wine labels, small print runs of books, albums, or calendars for individual editions.

Most of our corporate clients are creative agencies who commission us to produce bespoke products such as custom-designed laser engraved advertising and gift items, catalogs, and brochures. Business owners typically come to us for specialty business cards, menus, and large format printed products such as banners, stickers, and custom packaging.

Morten B. Reitoft: Being a printing company today - what is the most important KPI in your opinion? Price, Quality, Delivery time, or?

Zoltan Kanovits: This is very customer-dependent. For some people, the most important thing is to get the product as cheaply as possible, and therefore they are willing to make certain compromises. Others insist on quality, while others expect a full service, including fast delivery. We have opted for the latter, not competing to drive down the price. It happens that graphic design takes up a large part of the time and cost of producing a product, and you have to pay for it.

Morten B. Reitoft: Growth. Most companies have a wish to grow. To be profitable, how important is growth to you?

Zoltan Kanovits: We have automatically set ourselves on a growth path by entering the digital print market because we must keep up with technological developments and follow trends. Like any company, we are always looking for more profit, of course, but in our case, it's far from an end in itself - we invest in new technology. You have to have a particular obsession; you can't do it without it. However, we are in the fortunate position that the advertising space rental part of the company is making a good profit, which for the time being, will cover the ongoing modernization of the printing studio.

My view on growth is that we can't compromise growth over quality.

Morten B. Reitoft: The Slovakian printing industry. We have filmed a few printing companies in Slovakia - what is your opinion about the local industry, and how do you see the future development?

Zoltan Kanovits: I think that the printing industry in Slovakia has been well profiled over the last decades. Since the regime change, enough time has passed for the unviable printing companies that were "inherited" from socialism to disappear from the market and enough time for the newly established ones to flourish. There is a strong specialization within the industry. For example, we have high-tech printers that print only offset the whole EU market. Then some have moved into high-volume packaging, and others print billboards and signs. The majority of medium-sized businesses have remained in the golden triangle of souvenir-photo-printing-diploma-work. A few continue to use traditional, manual technologies. Print studios offering high-quality graphic design and printing are few and far between.

The future is personalized, short-run printing with added value or digital print enhancements. To take one example, even the most prominent companies today will not take on the task of ordering several pallets of catalogs because they might be out of date by the time they reach their target audience. They would instead order a few with better design, then change the content if necessary, re-order, and so on.

Morten B. Reitoft: When you develop your company, where do you find inspiration - I mean trade shows, media, vendors, or?

Zoltan Kanovits: Digital printing is a unique little universe where everything is connected like in the real world. An unusual request from a client can inspire us, as can a product we see at an international trade show.

And then there's the internet and social media, where you can always find something useful. The key is never to lose interest, never to lose the desire to learn. If you approach things with the knowledge that it's OK, we've come this far, but we can do better, you're bound to improve. That's how it works in our company.

Morten B. Reitoft: Finale question - where do you see Kanovits in the future?

Zoltan Kanovits:

The primary purpose of our studio is to make sure that the printed products we bring to the market are always stylish, tasteful, and reflect the customer's personality.

I am proud to say that Kanovits atelier is now a respected design&print studio in Slovakia, but at the same time, there’s always room for improvement and learning.

My next step is to share experiences and collaborate with colleagues in this field, and contribute to the big picture as much as I can.

I am sure that my skilled creative team and my innovative equipment will be seen as a valuable asset for collaborating with other international print providers and will help enrich their portfolios.