There is much excitement around the recent announcement for the third annual thINK Conference, to be held at the Boca Raton Resort & Club, October 9-11, 2017. 

thINK, established as the largest inkjet user event in the world, will bring together more than 400 production print professionals, analysts, partners and press at the third annual conference. Registered thINK members will receive more information and registration details in the months to come. 

While the thINK community is known best for the annual interactive, educational thINK conference, thINK extends beyond the conference to facilitate inkjet education year round. Are you tapping into the resources available to you as a thINK member?

Recent inkjet education and resources made available to thINK members include:

• Inkjet Paper Selector: thINK members can now easily find the right paper for the job with the new Paper Selector tool on thINKforum.com. Members simply select their inkjet press and narrow their search to the right media for the job. View the Inkjet Paper Selector.

• White Papers: 
  • Vertical White Papers: Six vertical white papers detail print opportunity in each vertical segment: Healthcare, Finance, Insurance, Non-Profit, Retail and Higher Ed. Download the vertical white papers.
  • Road Map 2017: Business Development Strategies This InfoTrends white paper explores the options and opportunities for print service providers that are focused on creating more profitable, high-growth businesses. 
  • Building the Right Salesforce in 2017 you can staff for success in 2017.
  • It's 2017... Are You Properly Compensating Your Sales Team? Print service providers are projecting sales force expansion efforts based on improved economic conditions, expansion of service offerings, and an increase in customer communications budgets. Read InfoTrends research on sales personnel compensation to set your strategy in 2017.

• Profitable Print Webinar Series: This monthly webinar series (March – July) will kick off March 15 and outline the importance of vertical marketing, the steps needed to successfully execute a targeted approach, and provide an overview of print opportunities in various segments. Follow-on webinars will detail targeted marketing approaches for specific high-growth verticals. Register for the upcoming webinar.

• thINK Member Case Studies: In the interest of creating a dynamic learning environment , many thINK members have shared their stories as articles in the monthly thINK eNewsletter, quarterly printed thINK Forward publication or as blogs on thINKforum.com. Recently shared case studies include: Core Publishing Solutions, Gasch Printing, Impact, OneTouchPoint, Pinnacle Data, The Mailworks. Read the stories in thINK Forward and on the thINKforum blog.

• Inkjet Media Catalog - Dye Inks: This dynamic tool is designed to help you select paper for a wide range of applications. Every sheet included is widely available in North America and has been optimized and qualified for Océ inkjet platforms. 

• Inkjet Media Catalog - Pigment Inks: See printed pigment ink samples of the same artwork on 79 different papers from 15 mills, allowing you to compare the unique qualities of each sheet. All of the papers included in the book are widely available in North America and has been optimized and qualified for Océ inkjet platforms.

• Inkjet Edge Resource - How to Transition Your Business to Inkjet: The definitive resource for those thinking about or preparing to make the switch to production inkjet technologies. Inside, you’ll find a wealth of information, recommendations, advice and best practices from Canon Solutions America customers, solution partners, leading industry analysts, and production inkjet experts. 

• Designers Guide To Inkjet: File preparation is different for inkjet, and it’s crucial for getting the best print results. This guide helps to educate thINK members and designers on preparing files for inkjet, ensuring satisfied customers. Inside are tips, tricks, and techniques they can use to make their designs shine – from understanding inkjet media and inks, to design software settings, file preparation, and questions they should be asking you, their print provider. 

• Informative Blogs: Industry experts share educational information in the thINK eNewsletter and as blogs on thINKforum.com. Recently shared: Inkjet Printing with Specialty Paper, thINK Color Management – Inkjet Color Basics, I Like Big Data, Production Inkjet: Path to Profitable Print. Read the blogs.

• thINK Communications: thINK members receive a monthly eNewsletter and the quarterly printed publication, thINK Forward. In addition, members can stay up-to-date by following thINK social media channels: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Register as a thINK member to ensure you receive these valuable communications!

• On-Demand Educational Sessions: More than 30 thINK 2016 conference sessions are available on thINKForum.com. View them now.

As a thINK member, you have immediate access to all of these great resources. Not a member? Membership is free – and exclusive – to Canon Solutions America production print customers and partners. Join now at thINKforum.com/join-think.

Tonya Powers is the Graphic Arts Segment Marketing Manager for Canon Solutions America, with a focus on marketing strategies across North America in the Commercial and Book print production markets. She brings with her a wealth of industry knowledge that enables her to lead field relevant go-to-market production print strategies and programs for Canon Solutions America that bring value-add to the production print customer and print industry. Previous to Canon Solutions America, Tonya spent several years at Hewlett Packard on the marketing team developing go-to-market strategies within the Graphics Solutions Business for their Wide Format and Digital Press & Inkjet divisions. Tonya has been in marketing roles identifying and implementing B2B marketing strategies since 1999.