We had the pleasure of interviewing Dino Pagliarello, vice president of product management and production print at Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America. What he and his team have done has brought the manufacturer into the game in less than 2½ years. That is quite a feat, and we are eager to see what Sharp will show at PRINTING United Expo 2026.
You received some positive comments from dealers about Sharp in production printing in our last Survey. Can you bring us up to speed on where you are currently?
DP: We’ve identified three key areas of positivity:
- Dealer Sentiment Is Improving—driven by real progress. IDC’s latest production marketscape calls Sharp a “major player.” There is a lot of excitement from the dealer community for what is coming next.
- Strong Foundation Built Quickly—products + programs + tools: sales tools, competitive guides, product positioning tools, print samples, training.
- Product Momentum Is Real—especially around new platforms. We’ve received strong product feedback regarding image quality and positioning.
For dealers who had no experience in production printing prior to taking on Sharp’s initial offering, how would you gauge their overall response to the challenges they faced, and are there any instances where you thought they did better than expected?
DP: There was a learning curve—production print is a more complex business—but what has been encouraging is how quickly many of our dealers adapted. The biggest challenges were around execution and process, not the product itself. And in several cases, dealers with little prior experience were able to ramp faster than expected, win competitive deals early, and even lean into more advanced applications like specialty color. That has been a positive sign for us. In several cases, dealers with little or no prior production experience were able to:
- Adopt application-based selling much faster than anticipated
- Leverage our training, demo programs, and experience centers effectively
- And, importantly, win competitive deals earlier than we would have predicted
How have you approached building the availability of EECs (executive experience centers) for Sharp dealers to exploit the business? (For the benefit of our readers who may not be aware of how important EECs are to facilitating closing, a dealer can take a prospect to a Sharp facility and demonstrate the product with the help of an SME who works there.)
DP: Strategic investment was key. We made a deliberate investment in our executive experience centers so dealers—especially those new to production—could immediately bring customers in and demonstrate real applications with the support of our experts. It has helped accelerate deal cycles significantly and, over time, we pair that with training so dealers can build that capability themselves.
There are many applications in production printing. Can you share with us which of those applications have been the most embraced and exploited by Sharp dealers?
DP: Production printing does have a diverse variety of applications and environments. Dealers have started with familiar applications, like in-plants and commercial print, but what has been encouraging is how quickly they have moved into higher-value areas such as specialty color and embellishment. That is where they are really starting to differentiate and win.
Pagliarello says Sharp will reveal some production surprises for visitors to PRINTING United Expo in Las Vegas this month. (A six-color digital press from the OEM’s BP-1200 Series is pictured in the OEM’s Montvale, New Jersey Executive Experience Center.)
Early on, the most embraced applications have been what I would call the ‘core production adjacencies:
- In-plant and CRD environments
- General commercial print/print-for-pay
- Marketing collateral and short-run color work
We are also seeing strong activity in verticals, like:
- Education and government in-plants
- Corporate marketing departments bringing work in-house.
We have heard that you have had some success with dealers who were not primarily Sharp dealers but successful in production printing with other manufacturers. What can you share?
DP: It is all about specialty color and profitability. We are seeing experienced production dealers gravitate toward our BP-1200 series and the 85/100 ppm platforms, primarily for differentiation—especially in specialty color—and for where those products fit in the lineup. In many cases, they are adding Sharp very strategically to address gaps they could not cover as effectively before.
PRINTING United Expo is in sight. Can you share anything about specific focus you will have at this year’s event?
DP: Surprises to come!
Frank’s takeaway
Sharp has made an excellent plan for getting up to speed with production printing. We attended one meeting where a team of experts delivered, in a brief period, a program on how to gain significant knowledge. Their employees provided excellent support for the entire selling process.
Kudos to Pagliarello and his team, who have helped make it possible for many dealers to diversify their businesses and develop a new revenue stream that will, if executed properly, negate any concerns about the future of the “dealers in the print business.” By adding production printing to its inventory, the OEM has also improved the ability of engaged dealers to improve profitability.
