CoCoCo, the pioneering open platform for print, was founded by Andreas Aplien, Karl Ciz and John Maxwell. They worked together at Zaikio, a company dedicated to connecting the printing industry, and brought everything they learned there to CoCoCo. Here’s how it all started.
How CoCoCo began
At Zaikio, Andreas, Karl and John were right in the thick of how the print industry works, and where it doesn’t. The mission to connect the industry through one unified platform stuck with them, and so did the lessons about what gets in the way.
Working hands-on across many projects showed them exactly what print businesses need from integration: which systems refuse to talk to each other, where data still gets re-keyed by hand, and what technology it takes to fix it.
Andreas Aplien: the integration expert
Andreas brings extensive experience in the sales and management of global integration and Industry 4.0 projects, and it shapes CoCoCo’s strategic direction. As product manager for software workflow solutions at Müller Martini, he scaled Connex into a worldwide leading post-press automation engine.
His deep industry knowledge and consulting background in Industry 4.0 and integration drive CoCoCo’s development, making sure the platform solves real problems on real shop floors.
Karl Ciz: the partnership builder
Karl was Partner Success Manager at Zaikio and Country Manager at UnitedPrint, building strategic partnerships and managing relationships right across the print industry. At Zaikio, he worked to bring printing companies, customers, brand owners, suppliers, and software and machine manufacturers together on one platform.
Before that, he developed and managed software and web-to-print solutions, and looked after sales channels and customer satisfaction at StoreFeeder (Royal Mail Group). His experience in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and business strategy has been vital to CoCoCo’s growth.
John Maxwell: the technical lead
John’s technical leadership and problem-solving sit at the core of how CoCoCo is built. As Division Head at Zaikio from 2022 to 2024, he set the technical direction. Before that, he was Chief Technology Officer at Music Glue, responsible for cloud computing, the engineering team and infrastructure.
With more than 20 years’ experience, including founding Cloudhaven Ltd and working as a freelance software engineer, John makes sure CoCoCo’s technology keeps pace with what the print industry needs next.
The birth of CoCoCo
The idea for CoCoCo came from a shared belief: the print industry runs on precision, but too often its systems don’t. The founders knew what the industry needed and what modern technology could do, so they set out to build an open platform for automation and integration.
The result is the CoCoCo Platform, designed to streamline workflows, lift productivity and help print businesses of every size grow.
Why CoCoCo?
Every print business is different, so the CoCoCo Platform adapts to yours. It connects your machines and business software into one single source of truth, from order intake to final delivery, so data flows where it’s needed without anyone re-keying it.
It’s built to scale, supporting small print shops and large operations alike. Our team provides expert support and training to make the move to automation a smooth one. And because the platform is open, it stays future-proof, while real-time reporting gives you the insight to optimise processes and make better decisions.
Ready when you are
We know that moving to automation is a big decision, and it might not be the right move for every business right now. That’s fine. Keep an open mind about what’s possible, and whenever you’re ready to take the step, we’ll be here with the expertise and technology to help.
Find the founders on LinkedIn
Andreas, Karl and John are easy to find, and always happy to talk print:
From Zaikio to CoCoCo, they’ve put decades of print and software experience into one idea: a print industry where every machine and system finally works together. Built by print people, committed to your long-term success.
