Strategic Partnership enables print providers to deliver Amazon-like customer experiences through Durst Smart Factory
Digital Ink, a print marketing agency based in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, has announced a strategic partnership with Durst Software and Solutions to bring e-commerce and web-to-print capabilities to print service providers across the GCC, Middle East and North Africa region. The goal is to drive print-on-demand smart print factories, manufacturing, and growth across the territory.
Digital Ink says the partnership leverages Durst Smart Factory, a digital ecosystem designed to modernise printing workflows and enable customer experiences from pixel to output. The modular software suite spans web-to-print, production, ERP/MIS, and prepress automation, and is built to work with any printer and any brand. The company says the Middle East and North Africa region represents a significant growth opportunity, with diverse print requirements spanning large and wide-format applications, labels, packaging, and commercial print production.
The market opportunity
Chris Minn, Founder of Digital Ink, says, “The region is expanding and growing at a fast rate. There is such excitement around digital signage, AI, software automation, and robotics. Bringing lightning-fast, streamlined print purchasing processes with minimal touchpoints to the territory is exactly where we see the opportunity. Digital Ink looks forward to working with companies like Durst to unlock this potential for our market.”
Market demand for digitalised procurement and web-to-print capabilities is accelerating across the region. Print providers increasingly need to offer their customers the personalised experience they expect from major e-commerce platforms, a model Digital Ink and Durst call the “Amazon-for-Print” model.
Open software, local knowledge
Durst Software and Solutions provides software to optimise the printing process from pixel to output. The Durst software suite is modular and flexibly adapts to individual needs, from a standalone solution to a fully integrated ecosystem covering web-to-print, prepress automation, production management, and ERP/MIS, working with any printer and any brand. Durst Lift ERP is a print-specific cloud-based system that automates processes within a printing company, providing a transparent, paperless, and interactive experience for operators and their customers.
Digital Ink brings expertise in print industry marketing, digital transformation, and channel strategy across the GCC and broader MENA region. The firm specialises in helping technology vendors and service providers understand and reach the diverse printing ecosystem, from small independent shops to large commercial operations.
The company says its Smart Factory approach embodies the principles of Print 4.0, integrating technologies to optimise printing processes, enhance data-driven insights, and foster efficiency across the entire production lifecycle. Durst is evolving its software platform, and a new direction, identity, and positioning are coming very soon.
Matthieu Delessard, Sales Manager and Business Developer at Durst, concludes, “The printing industry is changing, and software needs to be as flexible as the production itself. We launched the Open Software Initiative to give the industry exactly that: a modular, cloud-ready software ecosystem, open to any printer, any brand and open to connect to other systems. This open environment built on proven Durst technologies, combined with the deep understanding of local market conditions from Digital Ink, will highly benefit the printing companies in the Middle East / GCC.”