Fiery CEO Toby Weiss on Why Epson Is the Perfect Fit for Fiery’s Future

Dressed in a simple blue button-down shirt in his home office, Toby Weiss appears remarkably at ease for a CEO whose company just entered into a $591 million acquisition agreement from Epson. Nonetheless, I’m grateful that Fiery has invited Packaging Impressions to talk with its CEO to learn more about his take on this strategic acquisition and what it means for the label and package printing community.

Fiery CEO Toby Weiss not in his home office but clearly ready to unlock the superpowers of this upcoming acquisition. | Credit: Fiery

If the details of the announcement are a little fuzzy for you. Let me quickly recap the highlights. Last month, Fiery LLC announced that it has entered into an agreement with Seiko Epson Corp. to buy Fiery from Siris Capital Group. After being acquired by Epson, Fiery is expected to continue to operate as an independent provider of DFEs and workflow solutions.

Partners First: A Shared Philosophy

This commitment to independence addresses one of the primary concerns that naturally arise during such acquisitions: How will it affect existing partnerships? Weiss is quick to emphasize that maintaining these relationships isn’t just a priority — it’s fundamental to Fiery’s business model and success.

“Epson is aware that they’re buying a partner-based business,” Weiss says. “Our successful business model is dependent upon partners. We only make money when our partners sell printers. So, we are super aligned to our partners and want to enable them.”

The Fiery CEO explains this partner-centric approach aligns perfectly with Epson’s history of supporting independent business units while fostering innovation across the broader industry. The synergy between the companies’ philosophies became increasingly apparent to Weiss as discussions progressed. This ultimately convinced Weiss that Epson would be “the right home for our company, for our customers, for our employees, and for our partners.”

Accelerating the Digital Revolution

According to Weiss, this future acquisition by Epson is not only the right home for Epson, but the acquisition, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2024, is also coming at the right time. Weiss says the timing of the acquisition coincides with a critical phase in the package printing industry’s digital transformation journey.

Compared to many of their counterparts serving the commercial printing market, Weiss explains, label and package manufacturers face significant hurdles when transitioning to digital printing systems today. Some of these problems come from a frustratingly long innovation pipeline for digital printing equipment for labels and packaging.

“From my standpoint when I talk to companies who make large industrial inkjet systems — a lot of them have started those projects like ten years ago,” Weiss notes. “They’re very big investments, and it takes a long time. We believe that we can help people make those industrial inkjet printers faster to market — obviously with great quality and performance — but also just enabling them to do it and go to market in a much faster way.”

In fact, Fiery recently introduced a collaboration with Esko and Global Inkjet Systems that aims to speed up not only innovation for digital front ends but across the inkjet production printing landscape. You can read more about that collaboration on Packaging Impressions’ website at https://www.packagingimpressions.com/partner/revolutionizing-packaging-with-digital-print-solutions

More Than Theoretical

Weiss emphasizes that Fiery already has a long history of enabling innovation. One innovation that Weiss described with particular pride was the X5 Nozomi system, developed in partnership with Packsize and EFI. “I don’t think anyone has ever seen a machine like that,” Weiss exclaims. “It can on-demand make an upright box with a different image than will be on the next box.”

Mentioning this kind of breakthrough innovation is clear foreshadowing. Weiss is alluding to the possibilities ahead for Fiery, particularly in industrial printing sectors such as label and package printing. “We have our traditional narrow-format, cut-sheet business, which we do pretty well in and expect some growth in,” Weiss says. “Then we have this industrial business, which we believe we’re just at our early innings of what could really happen.”

A Natural Fit, A Clear Vision

While unknowns have to exist because the acquisition hasn’t happened yet, Weiss emphasizes the compatibility between Epson and Fiery will enable Fiery to keep its raison d'̂etre. “We don’t have any planned changes to our vision,” Weiss states firmly. “When we met with Epson, they seemed to share our vision. ... They believe in what the growth can be in industrial print, and that’s where our focus is — on making our existing customers delighted with new innovations, keeping our partners happy, and winning new partners in the industrial space.”

The way Weiss sees it, their shared vision, combined with Epson’s resources and Fiery’s expertise, will create a robust foundation for driving innovation in digital printing. For label and package printing companies, he contends, the acquisition could further accelerate the evolution of digital printing tools specifically for custom label and package manufacturers.

As our conversation winds down, Weiss’s earlier ease makes perfect sense. Despite the magnitude of the announced acquisition, the alignment between Fiery’s mission and Epson’s vision for the future suggests a natural evolution rather than a dramatic departure.