Inside Dscoop: Trust, Growth, And Smart Print, with Peter Van Teeseling and Chris Hyde

If you think great industry breakthroughs happen on a show floor, think again. We sat down with Dscoop’s Peter Van Teeseling and Chris Hyde to unpack how a trust-first, member-led community is helping HP print businesses grow faster through intentional connections, candid playbook sharing, and events designed for action, not spectacle.

We trace Dscoop’s 20-year arc from a “crazy idea” to a global network of 23,000+ users across 100+ countries, then dive into what makes Dscoop Edge Rockies different from a typical trade show. Instead of hard sales, the Solution Showcase pairs running presses and software with consultative partners who focus on solving real production and marketing problems. The education slate is driven by member demand and what’s coming next: AI-driven workflows, automation, data-powered personalization, smarter pricing, and team culture. You’ll hear why hallways matter—and how DScoop now engineers that serendipity with the Explorer Circle, small-group “fire starter” sessions led by seasoned operators who guide first-timers and veterans toward the right people, faster.

We also look ahead to Edge Rockies and the return to Europe with Edge Slovenia in Ljubljana. Expect the same high-density networking, equipment on the floor, and region-aware sessions—plus a compact, walkable city that keeps the community in constant conversation. Along the way, we take on the tired “print is dead” narrative and explain why dumb print is fading while smart print surges. Think variable data with premium finishing, on-demand manufacturing, e-commerce integration, and sustainabilit

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Transcript

Erin Manning 0:00

The Dead Pixels Society Podcast is brought to you by Media clip, Advertek Printing, and Independent Photo Imagers. Welcome to the Dead Pixels Society Podcast, the photoimaging industry's leading news source. Here's your host, Gary Pageau.

Gary Pageau 0:18

Hello again and welcome to the Dead Pixels Society Podcast. I'm your host, Gary Pageau, and today we're joined by Peter Van Teeseling, who's the director of DScoop, and Chris Hyde, who's the marketing and creative director. Hi guys, how are you today?

Peter Van Teeseling 0:33

Great, Gary. Good to see you. Very good, Gary. Nice to see you again.

Meet DScoop And Today’s Guests

Gary Pageau 0:38

You've got a big conference coming up, but before we talk about the DScoop Edge Conference coming up in the Rockies, can you tell us a little bit about D Scoop, what it is, where it came from, and what it is you offer?

What DScoop Is And How It Works

Peter Van Teeseling 0:51

So basically DScoop started 20 years ago. We just completed have a have had our 20th anniversary, and it started as a bit of a crazy idea of HP and a group of customers to come up with really innovating the technology and gaining market share for digital print. And you know, fast forward now 20 years, it's essentially the essence is still there. It's pooling resources with HP customers, aka PSPs, converters, and the suppliers to the PSPs and converters. And you know, we connect them to people and ideas that help transform their business. And now it's grown from a small gathering in the US 20 years ago into a global movement, year-round engagement opportunities, learning opportunities in over 100 countries and 23,000, 24,000 users.

Gary Pageau 1:41

And is it a membership organization or a club? Is there a fee to join? What who is interested in becoming a member of DScop?

Peter Van Teeseling 1:50

That's a great question. A member of DScoop is a is a is a company that owns or operates a piece of HP uh industrial print equipment, aka indigo page wide, large format. And it's free for them to join. Anyone in anyone in the company. So the owners usually go to the in-person events, but also sales marketing operations, anyone in the company, they can join us free of charge. You said, you know, is it the member organization? Is it the club? I think it's all of the above. It's also been called a cult uh before, which I think also applies quite well. But essentially, you know, that that's that's the way to to engage. And the the second one is for our supplier community, the partners, you know, they they they support the community and they support also the members. And it's a you know, you would call it a pass-through organization. Yes, we are funded by sponsorships from HP and the suppliers, and the PSPs pay to attend the events, but we invest all of that back into the community, whether that is through creating content on our platform, hosting online events, or putting together big and small in-person events. Sure.

Gary Pageau 2:54

I want to talk a little bit about those big and small in-person events, because that's really something I've noticed that has really been stepped up pretty much since COVID. I think maybe that was sort of a came in out the outgrowth of COVID. People were just so desperate to interact, right? That once a year a DSCO bed wasn't enough, and you kind of had to create these opportunities around the world. So you've got events almost, it seems like every month according to your calendar.

Chris Hyde 3:19

Oh, yeah. We we have a full calendar of events. And it's really driven by the needs and wants of our community. So we're constantly listening. We have community managers that are active daily, hourly, minute by minute, listening to our community members and finding out what topics and trends they're interested in. And then we react really quickly in putting together events to kind of meet those needs. And and our members are great at at being the ones that help deliver that as well. So that's a that's a beautiful part, is it's a sort of a full circle opportunity for us. We have people that are experts within our community that are able to deliver on those topics and to help satisfy the need in the community. So it's cool.

Gary Pageau 4:05

One of the things I've really noticed at the D Scoop events I've been through is just the massive amount of sharing between the members amongst themselves, yeah, in terms of being very candid and open about what's working and what's not working with their business. Why do you think that is?

Radical Sharing And Community Trust

Peter Van Teeseling 4:23

I would say that's that's that comes out of trust. And I mentioned this the other day to someone also. It's almost the the willingness to help is unconditional, so it's not transactional. Oh, I'm gonna tell you something that's gonna help you, and you're gonna tell me something that's gonna help me. That will happen naturally, but it's not sort of the precondition.

Gary Pageau 4:43

Right.

Peter Van Teeseling 4:44

And I think it's an environment that we're that our members create, and we're part of that as well, right? Us as a team, right? People like Chris and as Chris mentioned, we've caught another 12, 13 people operating this thing, but it's it's creating that environment that it's it's a trusted environment, meaning people feel safe and comfortable talking about those things. Right. And it's actually moving up even more, right? Initially, yes, it talked about specific things, maybe how they were doing something in their company or how they were operating the equipment or regular sales and marketing. It is now moving into how they're managing with working with their teams, how they you know build the people the company culture, which is a big important topic right now, how they do automation, and then they start to go and visit each other, which really helps because then oh, you're a DSCOP member, I'm a D Scoop member, so there's probably something that will that will that will connect between us, right? And we'll we'll figure it out. And I think that's really conducive to these conversations. If they meet each other at the bar, right, or or at an at the event, casually in the hallway or in a session, or they get introduced to each other, and then yes, we get we they talk to us on a regular basis. Chris said, we we have these this ongoing ability to to listen and hear what's what's what's cooking and what's happening, and we can respond to that. But there is, I think, the trust part that that our community is is building, and it's this it's funny, it's the same as it was almost 20 years ago, right? So we have this founding member Jack Lacken, we have an award for doing the right thing, and that still applies today. That we see this all the time uh happening by our community because the community decides that we have has to be supported by a core of leaders, people that can talk about it, but also lead by example.

Gary Pageau 6:36

You know, obviously with a 20-year history and the success you've had with your community, uh do you get many new people? Or if you have someone who's kind of new to the business or new to HP or new to print or whatever, what do you have to welcome those people on board?

Peter Van Teeseling 6:53

So, what do we have for those is is is really is the introductions because that's the the the main the first question we almost get asked. So, how how how do we get engaged, right? Or how do we plug into the network and we just you know ask us anything? We will help and guide you. Sure. And I think the number one thing that we try to do is connect the the the first timer with you know a more more seasoned member.

Gary Pageau 7:21

Sure.

Peter Van Teeseling 7:21

And that can lead to really in in in we see we saw this in in uh at the most recent event we did in uh in California. Someone was there for the first time, we sort of connected the her with a few other people, and you know that's led to conversations and interactions between her team and the other person's team that has accelerated their business that she wouldn't be able to do uh by herself in that short time frame. Right. And so it's it's that connecting into the fiber of the community, I think, is the most effective way. I had a meeting yesterday with someone that just installed a new HP Press and said, Okay, you know, how do we do this? And we said the same thing, you know, we onboard your team as many people as you can as you as you want, because they will get exposed and interacting at whatever their needs are, sure, and it gets you connected into the network.

Gary Pageau 8:14

Because, you know, let's set move on to the upcoming event, which is uh DSccoop Edge Rockies coming up in early March. And for a first-time attendee, that's probably that's a bit of an overwhelming event, right? Can you talk a little bit about what what an edge event is versus a local event, how different they are?

Chris Hyde 8:34

It's different than uh almost any kind of event, honestly.

Gary Pageau 8:37

That's for sure. That's for sure.

Onboarding New Members And Mentors

Edge Events Versus Trade Shows

Chris Hyde 8:39

I mean, if you compare it to some of the bigger industry events, it's not it's not like that. I mean, you not that it's there isn't equipment and software, right? But the it's not a it's not you're not going shopping at at the edge. You're you're going there to connect to grow your business, which is yes, of course you go to any event to do that, but this one's it's different. Um even the way our partner in talking about equipment and software, there the partners are there to help grow your business. There it's not hard sales, it's showing, hey, you're doing some really cool things in your business, and this is how we can enhance that. The conversations are different, right? And then when it comes to uh other attendees, it's not passive. You're not just all attending a trade show, you're all going collectively to try to grow your businesses, and that and that's the mindset difference. You I mean Peter touched on it earlier. You had you asked the question about, you know, why are people sharing? It it's a mindset. You know, we don't bring 10,000 people.

Gary Pageau 9:43

Right.

Chris Hyde 9:43

It's not it's not it's not a mass event, it's a it's an intimate event. It's 12, 13, 1400 people, but they're all coming with a mindset to grow. And they're coming not to just passively, you know, take in the education, they're there to really, you know, poke and prod and be aggressive in in learning and growing their business. This, you know, they're not getting away for a few days just to be away from their business, they're going away to be really, you know, ready to come back.

Gary Pageau 10:11

Yeah, you're working in the business while you're there.

Chris Hyde 10:14

Exactly. Exactly.

Gary Pageau 10:15

Tell us a little bit about this year's edge Rockies in terms of you know the venue, the schedule, maybe some of the speakers that somebody might be familiar with.

Edge Rockies: Venue, Format, Keynotes

Peter Van Teeseling 10:26

It's always been part of our almost DNA, as Chris talked about mindset, the Gaylord properties as a venue of of the D Scoop community. We've been there in the past 20 years many times. And so we're excited it'll be at a Gaylord, a Gaylord Rockies, which was also the venue when we did our first event post-COVID in 22. So that's a that's a really cool thing because it's an all in you're all in one space, right? So whether you are coming down the elevator in the morning, you're gonna bump into someone with a badge. When you are at the sports bar, you're gonna bump into so in all these different locations, you're gonna bump into each other. So there's this high density of people that are interested and keen to to talk to each other. There's gonna be the usual, like the the core pillars of the event. So we've got a fantastic solution showcase. HP and partners will bring equipment, they'll be running during the event. But as Chris said, it's not like a typical trade show because we have fun activities happening in the same space. We've got the networking, we've got everything is built around getting people connected in different ways. Then we've got an education program with you know 30 plus sessions that are you know really driven by member interest. So, as Chris said, we talk to our members and understand, hey, what are your needs, what are things you want to know, but also we have to sort of read a little bit in the in between the words in that case of what is it that they don't know yet that we think they would need to know in the next couple of years. Sure. So we try and identify that as well, and then you know, some great keynotes to sort of you know inspire them, sure, uh, trigger or address you know immediate core needs. So we're bringing back an economist that was very successful in in Long Beach is coming back by popular demand, uh, inspirational speakers, but also people that speak to company culture and how people work together. I think that's the the additional layer of what this community is talking about is is how they're working together as humans, as people, how they you know manage their company culture, how they'll nurture that culture, and also talk about much more things like vulnerability and and how they're doing as a as a human being in that space.

Gary Pageau 12:37

Yeah, because I mean it is a people business, right? I mean, I mean, like every business, yeah, you know, every business is a people business, right? Even though it's obviously digital print is very, very high technology, especially with AI, especially with data, and all these other things are being used. It's still a people business. And and that's one thing I always thought was great about the DSCO Bedge events was the way the people side is emphasized. It's not just technology, it's not just look at this wire pattern on this print object I'm making, right? It's it's really about uh how to connect with people and how to make more of that.

Peter Van Teeseling 13:13

Well, and then Chris, maybe you can add something specific we're doing, knowing that you know what members really enjoy are those hallway conversations, right? And how do we how do we elevate that?

Designing Serendipity: Explorer Circle

Chris Hyde 13:26

Yes, yes. I'm gonna bring up a word happenstance. So um happenstance, happenstance is something I brought up before and it's sort of become an inside joke when I use that word. Is it as the marketing and creative director for this event, it's and the the idea that it is it is like drinking Kool-Aid. It's it's really when when we're always saying the education is great, but you know, the most important things are gonna happen in the hallways. Right. And it's always true. People always after they after they come to an event, they always say that. It's the lunch, it's it's where I met the people that are doing the same things, struggling with the same things, you know, succeeding at things that I'm trying to succeed at. Those are the those are the conversations that have been most valuable for them. Sure. But to promise that they're gonna have those has always been hard. Yeah. You know, you can't say, oh, you're gonna find somebody in the hallway that's gonna really help you out.

Gary Pageau 14:23

Exactly. Every conference struggles with that, right? Everyone wants to know who they're gonna meet, but you can't promise an introduction. You can't promise a great conversation at a sports bar.

Chris Hyde 14:32

Right. So this year we we we're instituting something totally different called the Explorer Circle. You can sign up when you register, and it's basically just saying, hey, I want to raise my hand and intentionally meet other people. Right. So it we're gonna curate some experiences when people sign up for the Explorer Circle, and we have trail guides, basically ambassadors of the T-Scoop community that have already raised their hand and say, Yeah, I definitely want to guide others. I want to have some, we're gonna have fire starter sessions, which are smaller, more intimate events, so that these people that are have signed up to be part of the Explorer Circle can jump in and and not by hand stance, actually intentionally meet some of the other community members.

Gary Pageau 15:13

Sure.

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Peter Van Teeseling 15:14

Again, back to the listening and understanding what a member say, you know. I'm just gonna read out a couple of something that a member wrote to us uh the other day about attending the Edge con a DScope event or the edge conference. I think this is something that not many people actually articulate, but I think it's what what we hear is the undercurrent. He basically says, I'm always a bit paranoid that something is happening in the market, new products emerging, new ideas being developed, and then I'll miss it if I'm just sitting behind my desk. This is the big thing, right? So you have to spend time away from your business, you have to invest to actually go. But how how value is it? And for for this person, he says getting out into the world and meeting colleagues and people across the industry, you know, back to this explorer circle, gives me the clearest insights and the fastest understanding of what truly matters. I think this is the core of why people actually um show up and not just attend as we talked about before, but show up and raise their hand. And it's you know this concept that Chris came up with is just fantastic. And I don't think we've had anyone that we've asked to be a guide to say no. Everyone says yes. Well, they say no if they if they have other pressing businesses, they they then they have a family trip planned during the conference or they can't come. Right. But if they're there, they're willing to do this. And I think this creates again this environment of trust and you know, people coming together and saying, okay, we're not just here to sort of sit back and and and consume because we are part of what to consume, right? The people are the content, they are making those uh those differences for each other.

Expanding To Europe: Edge Slovenia

Gary Pageau 17:10

And like you said, you've kind of built that up over the course of you know online communities, local events, so you can kind of keep the spirit of edge throughout the year. Now, speaking of edge, you're now doing a second one this year in June in Slovenia. Can you talk a little bit about that as how it compares to the traditional edge? Is it a similar format, similar style? It's clearly not at a Gaylord hotel. So there's gonna be a difference.

Peter Van Teeseling 17:39

There is many differences. I can speak to that a little bit, Gary, because I was my history with DSCO goes back to when a group of Mavericks in in Europe collaborated, you know, well, colluded with HP, not colluded, it's not the right word, but collaborated with HP and said, let's see if we can do this thing in in Europe, because it was working well in in North America, it was starting to work in Asia Pacific, and then what about Europe? So we have languages, we have cultures, we have lots of things that would say this doesn't work, but it took off, right? We started doing events as of 2012, and then even in 2018, we did three big edge-like events. We did one in the US in March, we did one in Korea and Seoul in in May, and we did one in Vienna and Austria in in June. And it's been since COVID that we haven't been back to to mainland Europe or or Imea, right? Because it covers all the way from Norway to South Africa and Ireland to Poland in this case, or Ukraine. And so it's so we're bringing it back. And I think it's a lot of demand by our members because we have Europeans coming to the US event, but you know, let's bring it back to the European mainland. The essence it's the same as a typical North American edge. It is a a big size event, it is about networking, it is about connections, it is about driving the industry forward. And it'll have a showcase with equipment. HP will bring their presses, we have partners that will bring their equipment, we'll have education sessions like at Edge, we'll have keynotes, but more you know, based on on that region. Topic-wise, I think the the European, the Imea industry is very similar to to the North American one or the Americas one. So there is there's a lot of overlap in in content, and you'll see a lot of cross-pollination. We have Europeans going to the US event, we have US people going to European events, even our smaller events get Americans to or Canadians to fly over and attend those events, or or even in Asia.

Gary Pageau 19:37

Yeah, because that is one of the things I think is interesting about well, the North American edge events I've gone to is that the number of Europeans, people from the Asia Pacific region, certainly Australia has a big contingent that tends to come in. So you do get that international flavor at the edge event.

Peter Van Teeseling 19:54

I mean, it's a global industry, right? And the connectivity is is there. Again, a member from Australia, he always sort of wants to maximize his trip to the U to to a US edge event because market dynamics are similar in Australia versus the US.

Gary Pageau 20:08

Sure.

Peter Van Teeseling 20:09

But always able to connect him with other members that he's not met or seen before, and they open their doors and he, you know, can can show up and and talk to each other and build a relationship.

Gary Pageau 20:19

Yeah.

Peter Van Teeseling 20:19

And then, you know, start collaborations moving forward.

Gary Pageau 20:23

Can you talk a little bit about the Slovenia event specifically in terms of like the venue and the time frame we you know when it takes place and maybe some of the education that might be, you know, keynotes that might be there.

The Future Of Smart Print

Chris Hyde 20:36

Chris, you want to talk about the destination? Yeah, it's in Ljubljana. There's some letters in there that don't seem to make sense, but it sounds beautiful, and it is it's absolutely gorgeous. The downtown Ljubljana along the canal that runs through the the city is just it's lovely with the the castle on the hill. I mean, it's idyllic. The location is beautiful. It's gonna be at the convention center there, the Ljubljana uh convention center right there. 10-minute walk from the hotel, the main hotel that we're gonna have there in downtown. If you're gonna go, you're gonna want to see the a little bit of the the country as well, because we we had the chance to go out to a 45-minute ride from from downtown is Lake Bled, which is just another stunning location. So if you're gonna make the trip there, you you're gonna want to see a little bit of Slovenia as well. So keynotes to be determined. Um the location, the location is just it's stunning, very exciting, a very young city. There's a university downtown, so you get a lot, there's a lot of energy. So, and for me as an American coming in, the coffee is it. I'm sure other countries can can buy buy for a better for better coffee, but anytime I go to to Europe, every city I've been to has been amazing with coffee, and Ljubljana is no exception.

Gary Pageau 21:52

And it's also the European green capital, from what I understand. So it's very sustainable.

Peter Van Teeseling 21:57

Yes, it used to be part of Eastern Europe, it was part of Yugoslavia, but it's way wedged in between from the convention center. If you look up north down the street, you can see the Austrian Alps in the distance. They're about an hour away. There's the castle, the lake is in between. If you look west, you get to see Italy, which is an hour away. So Venice is maybe I think two hours' drive, two and a half hours, and to the south, you've got the uh the Adriatic Sea, right? Croatia and the and the and the coast. So it's got, as Chris said, great coffee culture, food culture, wine. It's very sophisticated. And in indeed slov Ljubljana is the is has been for a number of years nominated as the most sustainable, the green capital of Europe. It's the capital of Slovenia. It's got direct flights to Munich, to Paris, to London, to Amsterdam. Lots of different easy connections to make. And yeah, it's it's just a fantastic venue. We've seen this in other European events where you're in a city, but you know, if there's a thousand people that that you recognize in the same area, or in this case, the same downtown area, there's a lot of again those interactions that are going to take place. And as Chris said, key keynotes to be determined, we've got a short list, so we'll be announcing those pretty soon. But then all the typical ingredients, the disco party, the education sessions, the solution showcase, and obviously the networking will be will be on par with the US, with the North American event.

Gary Pageau 23:22

There's always this sort of weird thing turn into the like industry perspectives, right? Where you know people are talking about, you know, print is dead or whatever. And I've I've really grown to hate that phrase. When if you go to an edge event or get involved with the DSCube community, clearly everyone is growing and doing well because print has really expanded beyond just you know simple, you know, ink on paper sort of environment. And sort of with digital printing, still not even taking up, I don't even think it's half of the marketplace, right? It there's still a lot of plenty of growth there. So overall from your perspective, DScope has to be pretty bullish about the future of print.

Chris Hyde 24:04

I think we're bullish on creative print. You know, I think print has become smarter in in the digital age. I think the the our members are finding unique ways to use print to solve communications problems versus you know the volume to the personal personalization, that shift has changed the mindset. And the people getting involved with print and getting into print are coming in without a lot of the baggage of large runs. They're looking at they're looking at solving things in really unique ways.

Gary Pageau 24:44

Right.

Chris Hyde 24:45

And and I think I'm bullish on that. I'm bullish on people finding creative ways to use print and leverage print versus the you know again. I want to keep saying the old way. I mean, yes, and the print is dead thing can be said to you know dumb print. Print that isn't solving, you know, it's not. I like how you said that dumb print is dead. Dumb print is dead. I think smart print is going to live on forever.

Gary Pageau 25:11

Yeah.

Chris Hyde 25:12

Awesome.

Peter Van Teeseling 25:13

And you see this with new, new people with, as Chris said, without sort of the you know, the the 20, 30 years of print history. I'm not saying that they're not there is a lot of creativity in that space because they've evolved, right? But they've also shed that uh that that that say dumb part. But also there's people coming into the industry because there is an opportunity for them, right? I talked to one of our members the other day, they acquired a new business partner, right? And new investors, but they they're in it to win it, right? They they're seeing opportunities with in the industry that is making them decide from a tech background to invest in print. Yeah, and I think that's where I I agree with Chris, right? So I think one is we're seeing the members that are active in our community are are more optimistic and more positive and more driving that direction and really taking those opportunities and being more successful in that space. Um and that also attracts others as well to to to come in and not just wait for what the future of print looks like, but define it.

Gary Pageau 26:16

And if so people wanted to find out what the future of print is, where can they go to find out more about dScope?

Where To Learn More And Join

Chris Hyde 26:24

Did you want to give your telephone number, Peter? Oh, I'm having to give my telephone number.

Peter Van Teeseling 26:29

That's uh 31681369008, uh, which is in the Netherlands, but I think it's public somewhere anyway. So I'm not so worried about that. No, I'm giving where they can go is they can go to dscop.com, right? And that's their gateway to uh to learn more about what we do, uh how we do it, um, you know, and and uh and jump in and ask us anything.

Gary Pageau 26:54

I mean, and even let's say, for example, you just want to explore that as something you're interested in, you can join the community and explore it for free and and just you know get your feet wet and figure out how you want to be involved. So dscoop.com is where you want to go and set up that account.

Chris Hyde 27:11

Yep. Yep, yep. And then if you're interested in our upcoming uh edge events, you just go to dscoopedge.com.

Gary Pageau 27:19

Okay, great. And that's in March in the Rockies and in June in Slovenia.

Peter Van Teeseling 27:27

And I said online every day of the week.

Gary Pageau 27:30

Online every day. Well, thank you, gentlemen. It's great to see you. Best wishes for you in March and in June, and in every single day on the DScoop platform. Thank you so much.

Peter Van Teeseling 27:40

Thanks, Gary. Thanks for having us, Gary. Great to be here.

Erin Manning 27:46

Thank you for listening to the Dead Pixel Society podcast. Read more great stories and sign up for the newsletter at www.theadpixels society dot com.