How do you explain EFI Connect to an outsider? In truth, if you're not there it's not easy to describe; suffice to say it's a bit like the Glastonbury of digital print. Being a repeat visitor has huge benefits, and it probably helped that I took a turn on stage last year, because this time around I was greeted by all sorts of customers world-wide who remembered me. This gave me the advantage of being able to ask them what had changed for their businesses in the past twelve months – and two years.

That's the strength of Connect. Yes, this year there was a surprise announcement (more on that later), plus a full update on what's happening with productivity software, ink technology, print engines and more. Yet at the heart of this extraordinary gathering at The Wynn, Las Vegas is an audience of more than 1,500 people from around the globe, all with their specific reasons for wanting to be there. I've been bumping into Jeanne Carisch from CPI Card Group, for example, for the past three years, catching up on her Monarch MIS/ERP installation, and this year I discovered her company has acquired a UK business. Then there were my chums from Spicers in Australia, keen EFI resellers who I first met during my visit to Melbourne, where VUTEk printers were flying off the stand at PacPrint.

Learning, gathering information, soaking up what everyone is talking about and just networking generally are all important aspects of Connect. But alongside its more social dimension runs a serious theme. This year, of course, Guy Gecht's grand reveal - and the ingenious build-up - has to take pride of place. Although Benny Landa remains memorable for his responses in last year's fireside chat, I doubt at that stage anyone would have anticipated a formal agreement between EFI and Landa being declared. This means that EFI will develop a DFE (digital front-end) specifically designed to take on the speed parameters that play a major role in Landa's forthcoming Nanographic presses. It's an obvious choice, really; four- to eight-colour jobs being output at lightning rates need a workflow that can keep up without compromising on quality, proofing, colour control and other aspects, including VDP and EPID, throughput.

Fiery as a DFE needs no introduction. Talk to Connect visitors and almost as one voice they will comment that it is the fastest out there. While speed is essential to Landa, it's also increasingly a de facto requirement for anyone wanting to ramp up workflow into an efficient, integrated productive environment, with its integrity for colour and JDF compliance complementing its ability to generate fast turn-round.

Connect gave me the opportunity to catch up with Ken Hanulec, vice-president for marketing, ink-jet solutions at EFI, who looks after VUTEk, wide-format (formerly Rastek), Jetrion and, now, Cretaprint. The area of greatest interest is where EFI is going next with its LED 'cool cure' technology. Doubters who feel that mercury arc is still the better option for wide-format applications should think again, even on roll-fed devices; I spent time with the recently introduced VUTEk GS3250LXr roll-to-roll, which uses LEDs in conjunction with a special UV-curable SuperFlex ink that provides 3M's MCS warranty. Greyscale print-heads give great quality, but what impressed me in particular were the curing capabilities on stretchy and thin materials with no cracking or flaking.

Giving LED technology a tough test in a roll-fed device, and seeing it pass with flying (and wonderfully vivid) colours, quite rightly consolidates EFI's confidence in this curing methodology. It comes as no surprise to learn that the company is rolling out additional engines which incorporate this alternative to mercury arc lamps, given that adhesion is excellent, a greater range of materials can be used and power bills can be reduced.

This allegiance with LED isn't just restricted to wide-format devices. An update on Jetrion reiterated its use in the 4950LX which, as its name suggests, incorporates full curing using this technology. The intention is to enable more materials to be used, resulting in a broader and more versatile range of application possibilities. I will be surprised if there's not a greater take-up of this resourceful narrow-web unit during 2014.

For me, Las Vegas offers a fabulous networking opportunity and a place to learn all about EFI and what it does for print companies. For the customers who attend, there's a wealth of opportunities for discovering more and sharing knowledge.