Why did you join Canon Production Printing?

I joined Canon Production Printing because of the high degree of freedom. You’re not given a task, you’re given a problem to work on. Since it is up to you how to solve the problem, you experience it in a broad manner, from theory to experiments. Besides the working methods, I also like the link between chemistry to a physical end-product.

What was your first impression of Canon Production Printing?

My first impression of Canon Production Printing was that it is a multidisciplinary work environment where it is easy to connect with others. You have a lot of freedom about where you work. Because of the open-plan office layout, it is easy to discuss ideas with colleagues that have expertise in a certain field.

What was your first project?

My first project was in the print process function for a Cut Sheet toner machine. Here I worked as a print process interaction researcher to increase the mechanical robustness of prints. In this project I mainly focused on print process parameters to solve the challenges we were facing. I liked the print process working environment because you have to involve multiple disciplines, such as mechanical design, embedded software and electrical engineering.

What does a typical day or week look like?

Now, I mainly focus on the development of inks for new industrial printers. My job is both theoretical and experimental. We do desk research, and we also test ideas in the lab. You get to define the experimental program and conduct the experiments yourself.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of your job? What makes you proud?

The most rewarding part of my job is the relevance of the research, and the appreciation of my colleagues. It makes me proud that by changing parameters on molecular level, we can really bring the chemistry to life in the macroscopic world with tangible prints. You can clearly see the effect of chemistry on print quality.