Printing Industry Commentary & Analysis

The Media Matrix: Rampant Opportunities for Printers, But Not Necessarily for Print

Published September 21, 2009

The matrix, not of the movie kind, puts it all together. The New Printer has New Opportunities, but requires the insights of the entrepreneur to dive into this confusing, changing, and ultimately rewarding marketplace.

Price Changes in Paper, Commerical Printing, Computers, Cellular, ISPs

Published September 21, 2009

Public Relations Employees as a Percentage of Total Advertising Agency Employment

Published September 14, 2009

Dr. Joe Answers Xerox Opportunity Questions

Published September 10, 2009

E-Commerce as a Percentage of US Total Retail Sales and Inflation-adjusted US Commercial Printing Shipments

Published September 7, 2009

Caution = Inertia; Cautious Optimism Still Steps Forward

Published September 6, 2009

Reading Past the First Paragraph Seems to be a Rare Skill

Published September 2, 2009

Print's New Entrepreneurial Opportunities

Published August 31, 2009

Last week, I discussed how the common wisdom benefits of print as enumerated as recently as 2006 and 2007, were crumbling because of several trends: l consumer Internet volume had passed business volume in 2008

Capital Expenditures as a Percentage of Shipments by Printing Industry Segment

Published August 31, 2009

Cleaning out Dr. Joe's Inbox

Published August 25, 2009

In the Current and Emerging Era of Rampant Connectivity and Social Media, Where Do Print's Benefits Stand Now?

Published August 24, 2009

Back in 2006 I discussed the benefits of print as they stood at that time. Just think: last year, consumer Internet traffic surpassed business traffic; the iPhone was introduced in mid-2007 and the Kindle in 2008; social media did not exist for all practical purposes, and it now is 10 minutes of every hour consumers spend online. Add the downdraft of a worldwide recession, and you have listed every reason for every B2C, B2B, and all other organizations to re-cast their media plans and expectations. Here is where those some of those benefits now stand and the impact these forces have had on them; this is followed by some discussion about what this all means to our industry:

Capital Expenditures by Printing Industry Segment

Published August 24, 2009

Don't Tweak, Pre-build Instead

Published August 19, 2009

Shipments of Secondary Products & Misc. Receipts by Printing Industry

Published August 17, 2009

I Told You This Was Going to Happen

Published August 17, 2009

The news reports were so predictable. “The government's index of prices paid by consumers was unchanged in July from the previous month, but the closely watched inflation gauge recorded its largest over-the-year decline in 59 years.” That's the way CNN said it on Friday.

Why Micro-, Small, and Mid-size Businesses are Essential to Commercial Printing Success, and Why that Disrupts the Foundations of Our Business

Published August 12, 2009

Hyping a Recovery Doesn't Help Anyone, Until You Actually Have One

Published August 10, 2009

There is such a desire for good economic news that the press and others plant the good news at the top of the story and then hide the details in plain sight in paragraph 3, where they know no one will find it.

Change in Number of U.S. Commercial Printing Employees Per Establishment

Published August 10, 2009

This Bottom is Bumpy

Published August 5, 2009

Doctor, When Will I Feel Better?

Published August 3, 2009

As far as excitement goes for economy watchers, the first full week of any month is as good as it gets. That's what dull lives we economists lead.

Change in Number of U.S. Commercial Printing Employees

Published August 3, 2009

A Philosopher Once Said

Published July 30, 2009

Dr. Joe Speech at IGAEA, Eastern Kentucky University

Published July 27, 2009

It's About Time We Got Smart About Chaos

Published July 27, 2009

On August 3, Advertising Age columnist Bob Garfield's book, Chaos Scenario, will be released. The content has been previewed for a quite a while, and I cited it a few years back. Since the time of his first column about it, titled “A Look at the Marketing Industry's Coming Disaster,” much of what he projected has come to pass.

Change in Number of U.S. Commercial Printing Establishments

Published July 27, 2009

The E-Book Business is Back for Barnes & Noble: Now What?

Published July 22, 2009

US Commercial Printing Annual Payroll Per Employee

Published July 20, 2009

When Demand Rises, Prices Rise; When Demand Falls, Prices Fall

Published July 20, 2009

That's the basic law of economics when the supply of a good or service is constant. There's been some discussion of late about the scarcity of print workers and the need for many thousands of them. One of the clues as to whether or not there is true demand for or a shortage of workers is the change in wage levels that the marketplace offers. If wages are up, there is greater demand for workers; and if wages are down, there is obviously not. Wages are the prices set by the interaction of workers and employers in a marketplace for long-term work. Higher wages attract workers who had previously been outside the industry; lower wages inside one industry send discouraged workers elsewhere.