Skandacor Hosts First Product Launch Inside the Taktisphere
Skandacor, a print finishing supplier focused on practical finishing and embellishment solutions for print shops, joined Taktiful inside the Taktisphere for the platform’s first product launch event.
Hosted by Kevin Abergel, CEO of Taktiful, and Eric Vessels, CXO of Taktiful, the event brought together printers, partners, and industry professionals for a hands-on look at digital embellishment. The event featured Skandacor Vice President, Jon Congdon, the Skandacor team, a live showroom demonstration, and a surprise reveal of a new large-format addition to the FINISHpro 3D line.
The session drew 70 registered guests, with 35 attendees joining the live broadcast.
A growing opportunity in Digital Embellishment
The FINISHpro 3D 1623 | Credit: Skandacor
Digital embellishment continues to be one of the fastest-growing opportunities in print. During the event, Jon Congdon shared preliminary figures from an industry study expected to be released later this month, pointing to a specialty embellishment market projected to reach around $45 billion by 2028.
The same research showed that the number of printers reporting increased customer demand for embellishment nearly doubled year over year, moving from about 29% to about 61%.
"All these figures underscore what we at Skandacor have been feeling all the way along our 25-year journey," Congdon said. "The industry for embellishment is rapidly growing, and investment in it is incredible to see. Print producers know they have to get into this space, and historically it has been so difficult to get into until now."
Skandacor reveals new large-format FINISHpro 3D
After walking attendees through the FINISHpro 3D 1623, Skandacor’s sub-B3 digital embellishment press. Congdon and Abergel revealed a new larger-format FINISHpro 3D model designed for 24x36" B2 sheets, the FINISHpro 3D 2346, while also accommodating sheet sizes down to roughly 11x17".
"We now have the 24x36 format," Congdon said. "A lot of shops running B2 for embellishment still had to make ready and mock up elsewhere — this checks that box, too."
He confirmed the new format runs at the same speed and micron capability as the 1623, with throughput scaling only with coverage area, "the same way gravity works." Skandacor is taking orders now, with availability estimated at roughly six weeks.
During the livestream, the first unit was reportedly sold to a Taktisphere community member.
A print shop perspective from AlphaGraphics Seattle
The event also included a “Voices of the Industry” segment with Chuck Stempler of AlphaGraphics Seattle, an early adopter of the FINISHpro 3D 1623.
Stempler shared how his shop had produced digital embellishment since 2011 on an older press that eventually reached the end. Within two weeks, AlphaGraphics Seattle had a FINISHpro 3D 1623 installed through Skandacor, allowing the shop to continue offering embellishment without outsourcing or relocating production.
According to Stempler, the machine helped the shop to regain floor space, improve the production environment, and maintain high-quality embellished work.
"It is a 'if you build it, they will come' kind of investment," Stempler said, offering advice to printers considering embellishment. "You have to embrace the opportunity to produce samples and fight your way upstream into the creative process — it's too late to talk about what you can add once someone's already sent you a file to print."
Stempler noted business cards, packaging, collateral, and variable-data/e-commerce fulfillment as key embellishment applications for his shop. These applications align with the larger opportunities Skandacor highlighted during the event, from direct mail and marketing to packaging and short-run premium print.
Live production from the Skandacor showroom
The event also brought attendees live onto the Skandacor showroom floor for a production demonstration.
The demonstration began on the LAMpro Cheetah S15 single-sided laminator, which has lamination and digital foil applications at speeds up to around 39-40 feet per minute, with an optional auto-feeder available.
The sheets then moved to the FINISHpro 3D 1623 for resin application. At the demonstrated setting, the machine ran at around 30 seconds per sheet.
The workflow finished on Skandacor’s FINISHpro digital die-cutting line, which includes models ranging from a 15x23” entry-level system to a 47 x 51" flagship unit. The line allows for kiss-cutting, through-cutting, scoring, and, on MAX models, an electronic oscillating tool for thicker materials like foam core and coroplast.
Skandacor also previewed an upcoming in-house label stock line for use with its digital die cutting equipment.
Making embellishment more accessible
Toward the end of the event, Congdon shared pricing for the FINISHpro 3D 1623, noting that the machine is available for under $70,000 floor-set and running.
Congdon shared that the machine is more accessible for print shops looking to add digital embellishment in-house. Using an example of a business card with holographic foil and dimensional varnish, he estimated that a shop could recover the cost of the machine in around 6,000 to 9,500 sheets of comparable work, depending on the job, pricing, and production assumptions.
"It's really not competing with anything else out there," Congdon said of the pricing strategy. "It's priced at a point that's going to crack the market wide open for everybody else — and create the kind of demand that eventually pushes people up to bigger units."
Event details
- What: Skandacor product launch inside the Taktisphere, hosted by Taktiful
- When: July 9, 2026
- Where: Live inside the Taktisphere online community
- Featured: FINISHpro 3D 1623 overview, new 24 x 36" B2 FINISHpro 3D format reveal, “Voices of the Industry” segment with Chuck Stempler of AlphaGraphics Seattle, and a live showroom demo featuring the LAMpro Cheetah, FINISHpro 3D 1623, and Skandacor’s FINISHpro digital die-cutting line
- Hosts: Kevin Abergel, CEO of Taktiful, and Eric Vessels, CXO of Taktiful, with Skandacor Vice President Jon Congdon
- Turnout: 70 registered guests; 35 live attendees
The preceding press release was provided by a company unaffiliated with Wide-format Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Wide-format Impressions.
