When Richard Askam looks back at the iconic "Share a Coke" campaign, one thought immediately comes to mind: Today's printers have tools he could only dream about. The workflow automation, AI, and connected production he saw at Edge Slovenia would have transformed a campaign that once required enormous manual effort. Yet despite all the technological progress, Richard believes the most important lesson has remained remarkably consistent.
"It's not what personalization is," he said. "It's what it does."
For Richard, personalization has never been about putting someone's name on a product. It has always been about creating a conversation, and helping brands communicate in a more human way.
That philosophy became the foundation of his upcoming book "Your Name Here," which unexpectedly grew out of notes he started to assemble about personalization projects and lessons learned over time. Scheduled to be released soon, it's a reflection on the strategies, successes, and takeaways learned throughout a career spent helping brands create memorable experiences.
Richard is also growing the rapidly growing media entity Print Island, a global content platform he describes as a place where the print industry can learn from itself. The channel features interviews, discussions, and behind-the-scenes conversations from across the world, creating what he hopes will become an ever-growing library of practical knowledge. "The sun never sets on Print Island," he said, noting that there will always be new stories, new innovations, and new people willing to share what they've learned.
That spirit of openness is one reason Richard feels so at home within the Dscoop community. He believes the industry's greatest progress happens when printers exchange ideas freely instead of treating knowledge as a competitive advantage. "I don't know anywhere else in the industry that feels so open to the possibilities that somebody else might bring you," he said. "When you come into these rooms, the single goal is to work with everybody."
As Richard points out in this interview, technology will continue to evolve, automation will become smarter, and AI will reshape workflows. But the companies that stand out won't simply be those with the newest equipment. They'll be the ones that remember what personalization — and the print industry itself — has always been about: helping people connect to ideas and each other.
