Insights from an Exclusive WhatTheyThink Interview
How do you manage tens of thousands of orders per day in a digital print environment where speed, customization, and accuracy are critical?
In an exclusive interview with WhatTheyThink, Andy Cooney, Senior Vice President of Global Manufacturing at RPI Print, shares how their organization approaches high-volume digital print production, finishing automation, and packaging efficiency.
Interviewed by David Zwang, Senior Editor at WhatTheyThink, the conversation provides valuable insights into how modern print operations are evolving — and why end-to-end automation is becoming essential.
High-Volume Digital Print Production for E-Commerce
RPI Print operates as a white-label digital print manufacturer for global online brands such as Canva and Blurb, producing: photo books, cards and calendars, business products, wide-format applications
All orders are driven by e-commerce platforms, requiring fast turnaround times (24–36 hours) and the ability to manage high-mix, low-volume orders.
This production model reflects the evolution of the digital print industry, where mass customization and on-demand manufacturing are now standard.
To support this, RPI processes hundreds of thousands of printed pieces daily, often with an average order size of just one or two items.
Why Automation in Digital Print Finishing Is Critical
In modern digital printing workflows, printing is no longer the main constraint.
As Andy Cooney explains, the real challenge lies in finishing and post-processing automation.
To maintain speed and efficiency, RPI relies on a combination of inline and nearline finishing systems, including multiple installations of Tecnau solutions across the United States and Europe.
These digital print finishing systems enable:
- Continuous production flow
- Variable data processing
- High-speed roll-fed and cut-sheet finishing
- Reduced manual intervention
Over time, this has created a strong and long-term relationship between RPI Print and Tecnau, focused on delivering scalable, automated finishing workflows.
The Next Bottleneck: Packaging and Fulfillment Automation
Even with advanced finishing in place, one critical challenge remains:
“The hardest thing to do is manufacture it and then get it into a box.” — Andy Cooney, RPI Print
In high-volume, e-commerce-driven print environments, packaging and fulfillment quickly become the most complex part of the workflow.
When thousands of small, individualized orders must be processed daily, manual packaging creates:
- Bottlenecks
- Increased labor costs
- Higher risk of errors
- Limited scalability
This is why automation must extend beyond printing and finishing into packaging and logistics.
From Digital Print Finishing to Pack-to-Size Packaging
With the integration of Sitma, Tecnau expands automation into the final stage of production: packaging and fulfillment.
For RPI Print, this represents a major opportunity to improve performance across the entire workflow.
Sitma solutions enable:
- Automated packaging with minimal human touch
- Pack-to-size technology, reducing empty space and shipping costs
- Increased accuracy and order handling efficiency
- Significant productivity gains
Pack-to-size automation is especially relevant in e-commerce print, where optimizing packaging dimensions improves both logistics efficiency and sustainability.
End-to-End Automation: From Print to Package
The RPI Print case highlights a fundamental shift in the print industry. Today, success is no longer defined by printing speed alone. It depends on the ability to create a fully integrated workflow:
- Digital print input
- Automated finishing
- Intelligent packaging
- Efficient fulfillment and shipping
This end-to-end automation approach reduces manual handling, increases throughput, and enables print providers to scale operations efficiently.
Watch the Full Interview with RPI Print
To hear directly from Andy Cooney and explore how RPI Print is leveraging digital print finishing and packaging automation, watch the full interview produced by WhatTheyThink.
SEE THE VIDEO HERE: https://whattheythink.com/video/129744-tecnau-sitma-help-rpi-print-produce-ship-thousands-jobs-day
Conclusion: From Print to Profit Through Automation
The experience of RPI Print shows that the future of digital print production lies in automation across the entire workflow. Producing high volumes of printed products is only part of the equation.
The real value comes from the ability to:
- Finish efficiently
- Package intelligently
- Deliver quickly
- Scale sustainably
Through the combined capabilities of Tecnau and Sitma, print service providers can move beyond isolated processes and adopt a fully integrated approach to production.
From digital PRINT, to automated FINISHING, to smart PACKAGING, to PROFIT.