At Colordyne, we believe in the power of American manufacturing to drive innovation and strengthen our communities. As a proud American manufacturer, we want to share how we came to be the inkjet solutions provider we are today. In this Q&A, Andy Matter, President of Colordyne Technologies, shares his journey and insights about the company.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I was born and raised in the suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where I still live with my wife, Cari. I'm a serial entrepreneur, having built three technology companies over the past 20+ years. I began — and still pursue — my career with a passion for the advancement of technology that solves practical problems. My wife and I have two adult children, both dedicated to their positions within the medical field. My hobbies include music as an accomplished pianist.
What motivated you and your business partner to start Colordyne?
The motivation was based on a need my business partner, Gary Falconbridge, experienced in his previous company. As a label provider, the company struggled with the lack of print solutions that could incorporate full color and variable print production capabilities in an efficient and affordable way.
With the arrival of high-speed digital inkjet in the early 2000s, converters' needs could finally be addressed. The ideal solution would be a pathway for label converters to jump into digital printing — reducing production costs and dramatically improving production time.
Colordyne was born from the realization that affordable process color printing, late-stage customization, and faster turnarounds were going to become critical assets for converters and print providers. Our mission was — and continues to be — to provide high-quality inkjet solutions that allow label and packaging converters to affordably leverage digital printing.
What are some of the challenges Colordyne has overcome as an engineering and manufacturing company?
In the early years, the technology had not yet reached a level of practical integration into a converter business. Despite initial challenges with color management, ink laydown, durability, and water fastness, the industry persevered. With our team's vision and dedication, we've overcome those obstacles and are now able to implement advanced technology in a highly effective manner. Today, Colordyne has 600+ successful installations around the world.
How has Colordyne evolved over the last 12+ years?
In our early days, Colordyne's focus was on the development of turnkey systems that operated based on other technology providers. After a few years, we determined that offering an inkjet print engine that can be integrated into an analog press or converting equipment provides customers with the most efficient and lowest-cost pathway to inkjet printing.
Colordyne's core business today is developing and manufacturing inkjet print engines scaled to fit almost any application — leveraging dye, pigment, and UV inkjet technology. Our goal is to rejuvenate existing equipment through the integration of process color inkjet technology, providing a low-capital-cost inkjet solution for single-pass digital and hybrid converting.
Since our beginning in 2010, we've tripled our assembling, testing, and manufacturing area. We operate with 20+ employees, some located around the country, but the majority working out of our headquarters in Brookfield, Wisconsin.
Examples of Colordyne's commitment to American manufacturing?
Colordyne is a small business located outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We take pride in and prioritize utilizing our own in-house resources to assemble our print engines and everything related to our retrofit technology. In addition, we work closely with many domestic companies that provide additional components for our business — always with the aim of delivering the best quality products in the industry.
