Have you noticed just how many companies in this industry now go under names made up of just three initials? At the recent GraphExpo I counted forty-four such companies exhibiting. I had a quick look at the drupa catalog of exhibitors for 2008 and there were certainly a great deal more than forty-four such companies whose names were made up of just three initials. I think that this is generating a real problem in giving companies an identity that differentiates them from other companies.

Let me quote an example of a discussion I had with a leading UK direct mail printer this week. We were discussing the operation of their business and I was told that three of their key suppliers were CMC, GMC and GMG. I’m supposed to be an expert, but I have to admit that while I’m familiar with of these companies, I could not exactly recall what each of them. I could pretend to be like Frank Romano and have a question for everyone. That would tell me which of these companies is the enterprise software company, which is the color proofing company and which is the finishing equipment company. Unlike Frank though, I am not offering prizes! I have to say it is lucky they were not getting their ink from XSYS , which is owned by CVC.

What is my gripe about three letter initial companies? Well, it is just that there are too many of them for their names to have any real meaning. Many years ago a three-letter company was unusual, like back in the days of dedicated word processor suppliers when one of the market leaders was NBI. This was unique and we all asked what NBI stood for and we were told it was “Nothing But Initials.” In those times there were few three-letter companies and the few included computer companies IBM and ICL. Today there are so many of these companies that it is difficult to remember them, and definitely to associate each set of initials with what the company does. Some do stand out, like EFI. I know that EFI stands for Electronics for Imaging, but those of us who have been around for some time know it really stands for Efi, and it was named after its founder, the industry visionary Efi Arazi. However for most of these companies I really have no idea what they stand for. Just one example of how confusing this can be, I have just looked at a page in the drupa catalog and find GMA, GMC, GMG and GMP. That means there is still opportunity for twenty-two other companies in this industry to use the initials GM in their three-letter name. It is lucky General Motors does not make printing equipment.