It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like drupa

Published April 19, 2024

Frank has been to every drupa event since 1972. A visit to drupa is an investment in the future of your company. It is a peek into the future of the printing industry. Some introductions will not be ready for prime time, but they will eventually make a difference. It is worth the trip.

Frank's Book of the Month

Published April 12, 2024

Frank reviews “As If By Chance” by Kevin Reed Donley, a wonderful book about transformative technology from Gutenberg to Steve Jobs. Each short chapter is a gem that describes the people who changed print forever. Many you know; some you do not.

Remembering Don Goldman

Published April 10, 2024

Frank Romano remembers Don Goldman, who passed away recently.

Artificially Frank

Published April 5, 2024

Frank goes on a rant about artificial intelligence. He found a program called Moveabletype.ai that can write a book for you. As usual Frank projects this capability into the world of graphic design and even type design. Soon you may be reporting to your printing press.

Frank Gets Steamed

Published March 29, 2024

Frank begins by talking about the early steam-driven newspaper presses and the giant printing presses at the Los Angeles Times and segues into the decline of printed newspapers. They could be inkjet-printed but delivery to home or business could be the challenge.

Frank Gets Tested

Published March 22, 2024

Frank comments on the move of the SATs to electronic form. High school students will now take this test paperless and pencil-less. The SATs have been around since 1926 and are used for college admissions although some colleges no longer require them.

Frank Fontificates

Published March 15, 2024

Frank quotes a NY Times article about Microsoft’s new default font called Aptos, which sends Frank down a rabbit hole involving the beginning of PostScript type and the Arial/Helvetica situation.

Frank's Season in Hell

Published March 8, 2024

Frank is sitting at a gigantic Hell color scanner from the 1960s. It primarily scanned color slides and chromes. As photography went digital, flatbed scanners became smaller and smaller and were eventually integrated into digital printers.

Flongging Frank

Published March 1, 2024

Frank discusses one of the enabling technologies of the printing industry: stereotyping. It gave us faster reprints of books and allowed presses to print at high speeds from rolls of paper. Stereotype molds were called flongs. The modern print enabler is PDF.

Frank Moonlights as a Mime(ograph)

Published February 23, 2024

Frank has his mind on the Mimeograph. This stencil duplicator was once the primary reproduction device for schools, churches, and other organizations. It was replaced by the copier, the duplicator offset press, and now the printer/scanner. Most of office communication is now electronic.

Frank's Circular Thinking

Published February 16, 2024

Frank talks about ad circulars, also known as free standing inserts (FSIs), once inserted in Sunday newspaper editions but now mailed vis USPS. Increasingly, we go online to find items on sale by supermarkets and other retail stores.

Frank Makes Some Key Points

Published February 9, 2024

Frank talks about taking notes via computer rather than handwriting. He describes a book project called “Shift Happens” on the history of the keyboard. Lastly, he identifies several studies that say that taking notes by hand results in better retention of information.

The Revelation of Frank

Published February 2, 2024

Frank describes Bible translations for populations with no written language. Through such translations, missionaries helped to save many societies and cultures from extinction. Eskimo, Burmese, Hawaiian, Cherokee, and Navajo are a few. It was printing that made all this possible.

Frank's Fuzzy Logic

Published January 26, 2024

Frank is having second thoughts about the 2024 Pantone Color of the Year. It is “peach fuzz,” a yellow-orange. Graphic designers must balance the worlds of CMYK and Pantone and it may be time to seek new ideas about how we handle color for print. Come up with your own color for 2024 in the Comments.

Offset Sets Off

Published January 19, 2024

Frank talks about offset lithography in front of an AB Dick 360 offset duplicator. He holds up a 1904 math book, the first book printed by offset litho. From its invention just after 1900, offset took 50 years to become the dominant printing process. It is now being challenged by toner and inkjet printing.

All the News That Gives Frank Fits

Published January 12, 2024

Frank has a fit about news. He opines that once it was not what was fit to print but what fit in print. Now there is no limit and articles go on forever to provide more places to insert ads, popups, and more.

Frank's Comic

Published December 15, 2023

Frank talks about typeface jokes. Before there was Comic Sans, there was Souvenir, a typeface that Frank ridiculed for years. All of his Souvenir jokes are in “Types Best Remembered/Types Best Forgotten” (1993) by British typographer Robert Norton. Norton was the typographic advisor to Microsoft.

Frank's Little Piggie

Published December 8, 2023

Frank describes a 1919 book called “Piggie,” which was the first book typeset with a typewriter. Appleton Publishing was dealing with a typesetters’ strike and used a Hammond typewriter with proportional spacing.

Frank Remembers the Future

Published December 1, 2023

Frank fires up his Waiback Machine. He looks both back and forward in time to discuss how we predict the future of print. He looks at the evolution of technology and its effect on print volumes.

Frank Enters the Twilight Zone

Published November 17, 2023

Frank harkens back to 1963 and an episode of "The Twilight Zone" that deals with the devil and a Linotype machine. Anything typed on this “infernal machine” comes true. Frank combines nostalgia and trivia in one video.

Frank to the Power of Three

Published November 10, 2023

Frank has three pieces of good news. 1. From exhibitor feedback, it was a great PRINTING United exhibition in Atlanta. 2. Deborah Corn’s Printing Across America day was a great success. 3. Joanne Gore’s book “Thriving in Chaos” should be required reading for all printing companies.

Frank Finds Meaning

Published November 3, 2023

Frank recommends “The Dictionary People” by Sarah Ogilvie. It chronicles the literal army of people who contributed to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). It took over 30 years to produce the first volume (A-B).

Remembering Jill Roth

Published October 31, 2023

Frank Romano remembers “American Printer” editor Jill Roth, who passed away suddenly last weekend.

Frank Has a Point

Published October 27, 2023

Frank rants about the small print. He attributes the problem to poor knowledge about typographic x-height. The number used to express point size does not truly describe the actual size of the type being printed.

Frank's Show Must Go On

Published October 20, 2023

The major printing trade show of 2023 just took place in Atlanta. Frank harkens back to a time when there were 14 trade shows every year and has the show directories and badges to prove it. He hopes that the future of the trade show will not be in a museum.

Frank on Trading Spaces

Published October 13, 2023

Frank comments on the announcement that Xerox has withdrawn from drupa by tracing the company’s interesting history with trade shows and product introductions.

Frank Read the News Today, Oh Boy

Published October 6, 2023

Newspapers are getting smaller. The broadsheet newspaper of the past is now a fraction of its size as it went from a width of 15 inches to under 12 inches today. If this trend continues, your newspaper may soon be a newsletter.

Frank Goes to the Library

Published September 29, 2023

Frank opines on the future of the library. He sees libraries as access locations for Internet connection because the ultimate library is on the Web. People will still borrow books, but most research will be online.

Frank Talk on Type with Allan Haley

Published September 22, 2023

Frank interviews type expert Allan Haley, who has spent a lifetime with letters. From Compugraphic to ITC to Monotype Imaging, he has been involved in and reported on typographic developments. As the number of typefaces grows, his job is getting bigger.

Around Frank's Web

Published September 15, 2023

Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989, seeing it as a portal to a world of knowledge. His model was an 1856 British book “Enquire Within Upon Everything.” Of course, Frank had to have a copy...or two.

Frank and the Good Book

Published September 8, 2023

Frank discusses the most printed book in the world: the Bible. He talks about some of the rare Bibles at the Museum of Printing. There is one leaf from every Bible printed in Colonial America and complete originals of about 50 Bibles. A number of reference books are also available.

Frank Against the Establishments

Published September 1, 2023

Frank looks into statistics reporting the number of printing establishments. Government data for NAICS 323 does not include Staples and FedEx Office, about 3,000 U.S. sites. Very small printers may self-categorize. We need more accurate industry sizing.

Frank on Broadway

Published August 25, 2023

Frank reviews a show coming to Broadway for a second time called “Gutenberg! The Musical!” In the upcoming 20-week run, two actors pitch a proposed show to Broadway investors. The show ran off-Broadway eight years ago and is being heavily promoted for its encore performance.

Remembering John Warnock

Published August 21, 2023

John Warnock the American computer scientist, inventor, and technology businessman best known for co-founding Adobe Systems Inc died on August 20, 2023.

Frank Is Free-Standing

Published August 18, 2023

Frank talks about the free-standing inserts (FSIs), the promotions that were once inserted in newspapers. Because email addresses are not linked to specific ZIP-coded areas, the U.S. Postal System is now the major distributor of FSIs.

Frank Goes Back to School

Published August 11, 2023

Frank has collected most of the textbooks used to teach printing. For decades, they did not change very much as they taught hand typesetting and letterpress printing. Offset lithography was also relatively standardized—but new printing technologies make it difficult for schools to cover them.

Frank Goes Across America

Published August 4, 2023

Frank joins the chorus supporting Print Across America, a day celebrating print. Print Across America is the brainchild of Deborah Corn, who has done more to promote print than any other person. Mark your calendar for October 25, 2023. Get more information at www.printacrossamerica.com and join the party.

Frank in the Box

Published July 28, 2023

Frank thinks outside the box as he notes that we are all online and thus buying online and this requires shipping which requires boxes. Thus, he opines, packaging in all its forms is a growth market that all printers should consider, especially digital packaging.

Frank Saves Pennies

Published July 21, 2023

Frank discusses the world of the advertising shopper, also called a “pennysaver.” At one time, most small towns and cities had these newsprint publications filled with ads for local businesses. They competed with the Yellow Pages. Now their content is mostly on social media.

Frank Drops Some Knowledge

Published July 14, 2023

Frank recommends two new books on how knowledge is communicated, then shows off his collection of encyclopedias—that is, a volume from most encyclopedia sets. Diderot’s Encyclopedie in the 1700s and the Encyclopedia Britannica in the 1800s led the way in putting knowledge at your fingertips.

Frank's Impressions

Published June 30, 2023

Frank congratulates Printing Impressions magazine on 65 years of publication and especially its editor for 40 of those years—Mark Michelson. There are only a handful of printed magazines for the printing industry and we need to support them.

Frank Goes to School

Published June 23, 2023

Frank discusses printing education and the need for college-educated workers for the changing printing industry. He thinks that print scholarship money should be directed at printing education and that the amounts should be increased.

Frank Rules

Published June 16, 2023

Frank takes the measure of the printing industry by talking about rulers. At one time, every print worker had a “pica pole” with them to confirm type measure and specs. Aprons had special slots for the many versions of rulers.

Pulp Friction

Published June 9, 2023

Frank reviews a book called “Dead Tree Media,” which prompts a tale of how the invention of newsprint grew the newspaper industry. It also led to conflict between the Canadian papermakers and the newspaper publishers.

Frank Knows Jack

Published June 2, 2023

Frank is on a sugar high from Cracker Jack, or in this case, Cracker Jill. He traces the history of the prizes from metal to plastic to paper to virtual. He bemoans the fact that the prizes are being discontinued and users will be directed to a website.

Frank's Far-Flong NYT Editions

Published May 26, 2023

Friends sent Frank a copy of the national edition of The New York Times—with a page from the Wall Street Journal inside. This prompts a discussion about consolidated daily newspaper production, stereotype molds, flongs, and PDF files. Only Frank can find a connection.

Frank's Walk in the PARC

Published May 19, 2023

Frank reports that Xerox has donated its Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) to another research organization, ending decades of research into advanced communication technologies. The Graphical User Interface changed the way we worked on computer screens, but other companies, primarily Apple, commercialized it.

Frank in the Year 5000

Published May 12, 2023

In 1939, they buried a time capsule at the New York World’s Fair. Frank reviews the printed items that went into the capsule—and asks what we might save for the world that will exist in the year 5000, if there is a world in 5000.

Frank Gets Discursive

Published May 5, 2023

Frank starts by commenting on how typesetters handled the character in Moby Dick who could not sign his name and then segues into the fact that many people cannot sign their name because they were not taught cursive writing.

Frank King

Published May 3, 2023

Frank makes a rare Wednesday appearance to talk about today's coronation of King Charles III in the context of all the printed materials required for such an event. Today's coronation would have had as large a print requirement as that of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953. Frank walks through the Penrose Annual's documentation of much of it.

Frank's Staple Industry

Published April 28, 2023

Google cost-cutting has affected every level of the organization. In one report, Frank saw that they were cutting the use of staplers. Frank wonders what they are stapling in the company that exemplifies the concept of a paperless office.

Frank Phones It In

Published April 21, 2023

Frank pivots from the 50th anniversary of the first cellphone call to the effect of smartphones on print communication. The mobile phone is much more than a phone. It is a music and video player, a camera and video recorder, an Internet communicator, and a reading device.

(Point) Size Matters

Published April 14, 2023

Frank shows two small books from the 1800s set in 2- or 3-point type. He compares the type in them to the backs and sides of pharmaceutical packaging today. Even with bifocals, they are hard to read. Point size is based on x-height and the numbers are not really descriptive.

Frank On Libraries

Published March 31, 2023

Frank notes that many academic libraries are replacing real books with digital versions. At the same time there is a movement toward book banning in some communities. What will a library look like in the future? Answer: a big building with empty shelves.

The Roots of the Printing Industry

Published March 24, 2023

Frank takes us on an historic journey from the Mimeograph to offset duplicators to modern inkjet printing. He tells of Thomas Edison, the Mimeograph, and A. B. Dick. The result of all this was evident at Hunkeler Innovationdays 2023 where inkjet printing dominated.

In Local Parentis

Published March 17, 2023

Frank reports that the state of Massachusetts is thinking of subsidizing local newspapers, so long as they have at least one local reporter. Whether it goes through or not remains to be seen, but it's a reaction to the current state of the newspaper industry and the importance and value of local news.

Frank Reads the Riot Act to Reading

Published March 10, 2023

Frank bemoans the reading experience as it is today on electronic devices, compared with printed newspapers. Articles are longer because space is not a constraint and text is interrupted with a barrage of ads.

Start the Presses!

Published March 3, 2023

The Museum of Printing in Haverhill, Mass., has more than 30 different letterpress models. Six of them are in the museum's Studio, where members can use them to create letterpress projects. MoP Director of Operations Mitchel Ahern took up the challenge of printing on all six in under 4 minutes—a world record.

Frank Looks Out

Published February 24, 2023

Frank talks about the WhatTheyThink Printing Outlook 2023 report. He traces a continuum from a 2000 RIT report projecting the industry from 2000 to 2020 and notes that the industry is now on a trajectory that will see growth for the next 20 years. There is meaningful data and commentary about the industry.

Frank is Book Smart

Published February 17, 2023

Print books continue to outsell ebooks. Ebooks are not as impressive on a shelf as print books are. They make you look smarter. No one can see your ebooks. Plus, you can sell or donate or lend your print books.

Frank and Printing's Scrapheap

Published February 10, 2023

Printing presses used to last almost forever—typical of mechanical devices—and used presses always found a market, often overseas. Until recently; there is now such a glut of used equipment that for the first time in history, presses are going to scrap. At the same time, digital devices do not have the same life spans which is why most are leased.

Frank Wastes Paper

Published February 3, 2023

One benefit of a newspaper is the paper. Frank repeats himself as he bemoans the loss of newspapers and the paper that he gets as a residual benefit. He envisions a world in which we must purchase waste paper for packing, starting fires, and lining bird cages.

Frank Goes Back to the Future

Published January 27, 2023

Frank looks into the past of predicting the future. As the Internet began to grow and usurp printed products in 2000, a number of studies were undertaken to understand future impacts. There is no doubt that the Internet has had as profound effect on printing as printing had on human communication.

Frank Is Old School

Published January 20, 2023

Frank rants about the high prices of textbooks. Barnes & Noble built bookstores on or near college campuses in order to get the textbook business. Amazon also entered the market with e-versions as well as print versions. College kids pay the price.

Frank and the "Personal Librarian"

Published January 13, 2023

Belle Da Costa Green was the librarian for J. Pierpoint Morgan, the richest man in the world. He hired her in 1904 to help him build one of the greatest libraries in the world. She became its first director in 1924. She was one of the first women to succeed in a male-dominated world. The book “Personal Librarian” by Heather Terrell and Victoria Christopher Murray, tells the story.

Frank Indulges

Published January 6, 2023

Frank goes historic. Before Gutenberg printed the Bible he printed indulgences. These were “passports to Heaven” which allowed you to bypass Purgatory if enough money was paid. There were blank spaces for the variable data. The first thing that Gutenberg printed was a form!

A Printing Carol

Published December 16, 2022

Frank has a visit from the Ghost of Printing Past.

Frank Reads Like the Dickens

Published December 16, 2022

For your holiday reading pleasure, Frank reviews “The Man Who Invented Christmas,” a book about Charles Dickens and the creation of “A Christmas Carol” by Les Standiford.

Frank Is the Bearer of Bad News

Published December 9, 2022

Newspapers continue to move from atoms to bits. Frank uncovers more news about newspapers reducing or cutting their print editions in favor of digital editions. Within the next two decades, the printed newspaper will be a vestigial product.

Frank Gets Branded

Published December 2, 2022

European consultant Eddy Hagen has researched and produced an excellent report on brand colors: “Project BBCG: a Better Brand Color Guide.” It should be required reading for anyone working with Pantone and specialized color systems. Frank the discusses brand colors in the context of the Pantone system.

Frank Is All Charged Up

Published November 18, 2022

Printed batteries are an important part of printed electronics. Until now, the density of the inks required screen printing. Now, a breakthrough allows three inkjet inks to print a battery. This will provide new opportunities for security printing, direct mail, and packaging that literally sings and dances.

Frank's Font of Knowledge Part 2

Published November 11, 2022

In this second part of Frank's interview with digital font pioneer Joe Treacy of https://treacyfaces.com, Frank and Joe talk about the current state of typefaces. With more than one million fonts and 20 programs for making digital fonts, there is no end in sight.

Frank's Font of Knowledge

Published November 4, 2022

In this first part of two videos, Frank talks with Joe Treacy of TreacyFaces, one of the pioneers in digital fonts. He began making fonts in 1984, before PostScript and “desktop publishing.” His library now includes 500 fonts.

Frank Reads the Classifieds

Published October 28, 2022

Frank found a 1975 article about the New York Times’ first entry into cold type (aka photocomposition). They initially used an MGD MetroSet CRT phototypesetter to set the classified section (what used to take three days was cut to 20 minutes). John Werner, then Director of Prepress Operations, was in charge of that transition and is quoted in the article.

Frank Toots His Horn (Books)

Published October 21, 2022

Frank shows his latest acquisition: an 1896 "History of the Horn Book." Horn books date back to the 1500s and were used to teach the alphabet. They were very common during the American Colonial period.

Frank Talks Paper

Published October 14, 2022

Frank comments on paper shortages affecting the book industry. As mills close down, book publishers have been hard-pressed (no pun intended) to find paper. They have been applying narrower margins and negative letterspacing to squeeze more lines on a page to cut paper use.

Frank Stops the Presses

Published October 7, 2022

Frank bemoans the “electronic-ification” of American newspapers and traces the evolution that went from hot-metal type, to flongs, to curved plate cylinders for high-speed rotary presses, to offset printing with negative film and aluminum plates, and to CTP (computer-to-plate). He predicts that circulation drops will move some newspapers to rollfed inkjet and the only thing that might be displayed might be a PDF file.

A Frank Conversation

Published September 30, 2022

Frank is intrigued by a book produced in 1983 by graphic designers Milton Glaser and Jean Michel Folon called "A Conversation." The book is all images; one of the designers began an image and the other finished it. Seemingly printed on one long continuous sheet of paper, it folds out to over 19 feet long. (Frank and his detectives figured out how it was actually produced.) It, perhaps literally, stretches the definition of book.

Frank’s E Books

Published September 23, 2022

Frank tells a tale of three books, each with 50,000 words and none of those words use the letter e. Ernest Wright’s book “Gadsby” in 1939 was the first, followed by Georges Perec’s 1969 “La Disparition” in French and its English translation “The Void” translated by Gilbert Adair. Try writing a sentence without the letter e. It’s not easy. (Obviously the authors’ names didn’t count.)

Frank Gets Marked Up

Published September 16, 2022

Frank discusses mark up for typesetting. Once upon a time, typesetting began with a typewritten manuscript. Typographic format was communicated with marked-up instructions. The typesetting person then followed these instructions to provide the specified font, size, etc. He shows off the special copyfitting rulers and tools that were used to determine copy depth and page count.

Frank Remembers Bookbuilders of Boston

Published September 9, 2022

Formed in 1937, the Bookbuilders of Boston was an acclaimed organization that supported the book publishing industry. Sadly, it just closed down. Through its workshops, meetings, and annual events, it educated generations of book professionals. Frank has saved most of the annual catalogs from their annual book awards.

Frank is Powerpointless

Published September 2, 2022

Frank takes us back to a time before electronic presentations. He shows us an overhead transparency projector and a Kodak Ektamatic 35mm slide projector. These are from the time before Aldus Persuasion, MS Powerpoint, and Apple Keynote.

Frank Under the X-Ray

Published August 26, 2022

Frank discusses a project to X-ray pages from a Gutenberg Bible, Caxton’s Canterbury Tales, and a Korean Buddhist page from 1100 AD. The goal is to see if there is any relationship—in terms of ink, paper, or other properties—between European printing and earlier Asian printing. Maybe they will find Gutenberg’s DNA.

Frank On Paper

Published August 19, 2022

Frank discovers a study that says offices still run on paper, and harkens back to the predictions of a paperless office. Copiers and printers increased paper use just as personal computers and the Internet decreased the need for paper.

Invitation to Frank

Published August 12, 2022

Frank found two books of engraved invitations that graced the counters of small printers throughout America from the 1960s through the 1980s. For weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, confirmations, and other memorable events, you went to the printer down the street and ordered them from these books. Today, much of the printed engraved invitation world is ordered online. Unless you use Evite.

Frank: The Man in Black[letter]

Published August 5, 2022

Not since "Quark On Broadway"... The world may not be ready for this. Frank channels his inner Johnny Cash in a rendition of "I've Been Every Place Man" re-imagined as "I've Set Every Face Man." Rob Romano did the editing and his counseling bills have been paid.

Frank Zappar

Published July 29, 2022

Frank talks about the integration of print and augmented reality (AR) using your phone. A free app called Zappar lets museum visitors perform audio and video self tours of the exhibits by scanning printed codes. And a printed book reproduces those codes and gives visitors a virtual and portable museum.

Frank Looks at Dave Seat's US Linotype Tour

Published July 22, 2022

Master mechanic Dave Seat is one of the few specialists who keep Linotype and Ludlow type casters running. His recent visit to the Museum of Printing lasted three days, and was part of an extended tour where he will visit more than 20 locations in 11 states that still have this vintage equipment.

Frank Ad Nauseam

Published July 15, 2022

Frank opines about how advertising is following eyeballs from print to digital media. Within a year, digital media will exceed print media in terms of advertising revenue. Magazines and newspapers are moving to digital subscribers to keep their advertising base, as Facebook and Google monopolize advertising.

In Memoriam: Keith Davidson, 1936–2022

Published July 11, 2022

Frank Romano remembers Keith Davidson, founder and former president of Xplor International, who passed away on June 28.

Frank Is on the Alert

Published July 1, 2022

Frank talks about clipping services and Google Alerts—two methods that are used to find information that appears in print or digital media. He shows the alerts that he receives to keep up with industry news.

Frank Talks to Letterpress Printer Dan Wood

Published June 24, 2022

Frank interviews Dan Wood of DWRI Letterpress in Providence, R.I. Dan is one of the growing number of printers who use wood and metal type to print. Although he specializes in wedding invitations, the company produces a wide variety of letterpress-printed products.

Frank Goes Beyond Paper

Published June 17, 2022

Frank bemoans the digital displacement of print and describes new markets based on substrates other than paper. As the volume of printing on paper declines, printers must find new opportunities in new markets.

Frank Speaks in Tongues

Published June 10, 2022

Frank looks at the typesetting and printing of languages other than English. As usual, he takes us on a little trip through the evolution of type, with the history of Linotype, Monotype, and phototypesetting. He ends with the publication of the Unicode standard. He is the only WTT presenter to ever mention King Farouk.

Frank Rants

Published June 3, 2022

Frank goes off on two rants. First, he reports that some newspapers will not have sports scores from afternoon or evening games. Their front pages will contain commentary and little news. Then, he saw that printers were blamed for errors in ballots and asks who signed off on the proofs.

Frank's Slugfest

Published May 27, 2022

Frank talks about the Ludlow Typograph and the book he wrote about it. Introduced at the beginning of the 20th century, the active production lifespan of the Ludlow lasted just over 80 years, but its impact has continued. As typography evolved from metal, to film to digital, many of the fonts in use were based on hot-metal libraries, especially the Ludlow Typograph. He also demonstrates how to cast a type slug on it.

Frank's Paper Route

Published May 20, 2022

Frank found some official Boston Globe newsboy badges from the 1930s. With the transition from print to digital newspapers, especially weeklies, these “newsies” are now out of work.

Et Tu, Frank?

Published May 13, 2022

Frank bemoans the loss of local bookstores—and takes responsibility for some of it. He shows two books he bought online and one produced via on-demand printing. The changes in the way book buyers—like Frank—buy books has had a profound effect on the local bookstore.

Frank Goes Small

Published May 6, 2022

Frank bemoans the steady decline in the number of small printers—those firms having fewer than 10 and 20 employees. They have largely been replaced with web-based services, office supply services, FedEx Office (Kinkos), and even home printers. He presents a short history of the so-called quick printer.

Frank Gets Evocative

Published April 29, 2022

Frank discusses how typefaces evoke feelings. He shows a few examples and discusses how movies—especially on streaming platforms—TV shows, documentaries, and books use evocative typography to appeal to potential viewers. Each uses type and imagery and there are a multitude of choices. That is why we need a million typefaces.

Frank Kerns Over a New Leaf

Published April 22, 2022

Frank talks about kerning and how it evolved as we moved from wood type up through phototypesetting. A piece of rectangular wood type would be cut to allow tighter spacing with its adjacent character. Fast forward to the 1960s and the advent of the Visual Graphics Corp. PhotoTypositor which introduced the concept of tight spacing to typography.

Frank's Radio Days

Published April 8, 2022

Frank notes that WhatTheyThink now offers audio versions of its many articles. He harkens back to his early years and radio and how it competed with print advertising. It was television in the early 50s that took advertising away from print and the Internet that took even more.

Frank Reads Ben’s Mail

Published March 25, 2022

Frank uses a new book called “Poor Richard's Women” as a launching point for a discussion on how authors and others often saved their written correspondence, which could then be used as references and sources for historians and biographers. For example, most of Ben Franklin's correspondence is available in 47 volumes from Yale. But what of his emails? (Author Nancy Ruben Stuart will be at the Museum of Printing in Haverhill, Mass., on May 21 to give a talk about “Poor Richard's Women” and sign books. If you’re in the area, be sure to attend!)

Frank and Chris Obert on Self-Publishing

Published March 18, 2022

Frank talks with Chris Obert, who works with budding authors to publish their own books. Through his consulting and trade shows, Chris helps them navigate the world of publishing. On-demand printing and Microsoft Word have provided opportunities for anyone to be a book author.

Frank Looks Out

Published March 11, 2022

Frank finds a stash of old research reports on the printing industry and segues into the new WhatTheyThink PRINTING OUTLOOK 2022 report. Printing and communications executives were surveyed to ascertain the industry's print and service offerings. The results are always enlightening.

Frankly Speaking

Published March 4, 2022

Frank talks about Ben Franklin's 1789 codicil to his will, where he left money to the cities of Boston and Philadelphia. He focuses on Boston and the Franklin Institute, a vocational college, which does not teach printing. The tale takes 200 years to tell. (Don't worry, the video is not that long.)

All Frank's Almanacs

Published February 25, 2022

Frank talks about almanacs (or almanacks) and shows a collection of them from the 1800s to the 2000s. Almanacs became popular in England in the 1700s and were published in the Colonies by the likes of James Franklin and his brother, Ben. These were well-thumbed publications and few have survived fully intact.

Frank Makes Book

Published February 18, 2022

Frank talks to Adi Chinai, president of King Printing in Lowell, Mass., about the current state of book printing. This was apropos, as he delivered the second edition of Frank’s “History of the Phototypesetting Era.” The book industry is doing well and print books are outselling ebooks by a mile.

Frank Waxes Nostalgic

Published February 11, 2022

Frank takes a quick tour of the world of paste-up artwork in the days of offset printing. Using wax and rubber cement, we used to assemble type and line art on boards called mechanicals. These were shot in graphic arts cameras to film. It is now a forgotten world in the age of electronic page preparation on computer screens.

Frank Has Many Issues

Published February 4, 2022

Frank takes a trip down memory lane when he finds a stack of old printing industry trade magazines. At one time there were more than 20 monthly magazines for every aspect of the printing trade. Today there are only a handful.

Frank’s World of Colors

Published January 28, 2022

Frank acquired a recent reprint of a 1682 book showing color swatches. However, only one 300-page book was ever produced. It reminded him of how the Herbert brothers created the Pantone swatch book and how color is used for branding.

Frank's Ship Comes In

Published January 21, 2022

Frank was on Cunard's Queen Mary II recently, and what does he talk about—printing! Cruise ships run on paper. From the daily program, to daily newspapers, to menus, to promotional and informational material, passengers are bombarded with paper.

Ironmark Makes Its Mark

Published January 14, 2022

Frank was near Annapolis, Md., visiting Smithsonian warehouses (because of course he was) and stopped by Annapolis Junction to visit Ironmark, a local printer. He interviews president Jeff Ostenso, who has built his 150-employee company into a Top 500 printer through organic growth, mergers, and innovative thinking.

Edifice Rex

Published January 7, 2022

Frank found a number of articles about former newspaper and printing buildings being re-purposed for other uses. Print-related structures were sturdy in order to handle the weight of presses, Linotypes, and metal type. Now they are condos, apartments, or even new businesses.

Frank’s Time Bandits: 80 Years of Printing’s Past, Present, and Future

Published December 17, 2021

As the calendar brings us to the start of another year, Frank Romano reflects on the past in terms of printing achievements...as well as how science fiction predicted the future.

Frank’s Fake News

Published December 17, 2021

Frank read an article that said there was less fake news in printed newspapers and he disagrees. Hearst and Pulitzer built their empires on “yellow journalism” and many newspapers were founded specifically to be partisan and, to this day, have the word “Democrat” or “Republican” in the names.

The Apples of Frank's Eye

Published December 10, 2021

Frank celebrates the 45th anniversary of the founding of Apple Computer in a California garage. Frank received his first Macintosh in 1984 and shows a collection of almost every Apple product, including the handheld Newton.

Frank and a Tribute to Women in Print

Published December 3, 2021

Frank starts by reading the famous “Pause Stranger: You Stand in a Composing Room” poster by Beatrice Warde and segues into a book review for “Baseline Shift: Untold Stories of Women in Graphic Design History” by Briar Leavitt, Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Portland State University. She and others tell the tales of women who have advanced graphic design.

Inside Frank’s Type Vault

Published November 19, 2021

Frank takes us into one of the hidden treasures of the Museum of Printing: the type vault. Here you will find the drawings for every glyph in every typeface done by Linotype, plus type art from Photon, Intertype, and others.

Frank Goes Back to the Futura

Published November 12, 2021

Frank saw the latest James Bond movie and—naturally—all he could think of was the typeface used on the promotional materials. Futura Black came out in 1929 and had a stencil look to it. It was part of the Futura geometric sans serif family, the hottest typeface of its day.

Frank’s Tale of How the Pilgrims Pressed On

Published November 5, 2021

Frank tells the tale of how a printing press saved the Pilgrams and Thanksgiving. It involves an old Gutenbergian press, a less-than-seaworthy ship called the Mayflower, and Squanto, the one Native American who spoke English.

Tripping the Light Fontastic: We Just Hit the One-Millionth Digital Font

Published October 29, 2021

In this article and accompanying video, Frank celebrates the release of the one-millionth digital font, looks back at the evolution of typeface design and distribution, and provides a comprehensive list of sources of digital fonts.

Tripping the Light Fontastic: We Just Hit the One-Millionth Digital Font

Published October 29, 2021

Frank talks type in this video and accompanying article, as he calculates that we have reached the one millionth font in the 36 years since the advent of the digital type age. Beginning with PostScript in 1985, graphic designers have had access to a steady stream of fonts of all kinds from designers around the world.

Leveraging EFI Technology to Enter New Markets

Published October 22, 2021

Frank talks Ken Hanulec, VP of WW Marketing for EFI, at their recent “Ignite” press event. EFI inkjet printers print on plastics, ceramics, corrugated board, fabric, and other materials. These print systems—some of which are the size of a small house—allow commercial printers to enter new markets.

Frank Buys Textbooks

Published October 15, 2021

Frank talks about student preferences for printed textbooks and then segues into a mini history of textbooks for teaching printing. As the printing industry grew in size and technology adoption, its textbooks became bigger…and more expensive.

Frank's News Caravan

Published October 8, 2021

Frank found a number of news items that were too short for a full video and combined them into a faux newscast. He channels 1950s newscaster John Cameron Swayze as he reports on pricey antiquarian books and ephemera as well as technological developments. He especially likes the news that they can print brain cells, which leads to his latest mantra, “Print makes you smarter.” 

Frank Preaches to the Quire

Published October 1, 2021

A recent donation of paper samples, newsletters, and booklets leads Frank to wax nostalgic about how paper companies promoted their products in the “heyday of paper,” the 1960s to the 1980s. Considering that there are fewer paper companies and mills and some availability issues today, it is interesting to harken back to another time.

Frank Phones It In

Published September 24, 2021

April 3, 1973, a date that will live in infamy: the first cellphone call was made. “Cutting the Cord: The Cell Phone Has Transformed Humanity” by Martin Cooper inspired Frank to drag out some vintage telephones, from the vintage Bakelite phone, to the bulky first cellphones, to the Blackberry to the iPhone. Today, almost everyone on earth has a mobile phone.

Blown to Bits

Published September 17, 2021

Frank takes a trip through the graveyard of printed products. The electronic age has seen the virtual elimination of most road maps, annual reports, phone books, forms, and other products that can be replaced by electronic methods. We have gone from atoms to bits. As Benny Landa has said, “Whatever can go digital, will go digital.” 

Frank’s Book Club: “The Bookseller of Florence”

Published September 10, 2021

Frank reviews “The Bookseller of Florence” by Ross King, which tells the story of a world of beautiful handwritten books by Greek and Latin writers upended by the invention of printing. Printed books were not as beautiful, but much cheaper to produce. In fact, there were even instances of scribes hand-copying printed books. Still, within a decade, printing puts the scribes out of business.

Frank vs. History

Published September 3, 2021

Frank goes off on a rant about The History Channel series “Machines That Built America” because of one glaring omission: they did not include the Linotype. Frank contends that the American-made Linotype helped to increase literacy and facilitated documentation and helped the companies that made the machines that built America actually build them.

Frank Takes Stock

Published August 27, 2021

Frank talks about stock photography with Stewart Monderer, Principal of Monderer Design, a corporate graphic design and branding firm in Cambridge, Mass. What began as a black-and-white print became a slide or chrome and then a JPEG on a CD-ROM. Now stock photography is a website and a download.

Frank Talks to Dave Seat, Linotype Repair Expert

Published August 20, 2021

Frank talks with Dave Seat, one of the few Linotype repair experts. Dave and a few of his peers keep these mechanical marvels running. The 1886 Linotype revolutionized typesetting and many museums are struggling to keep them running.

Cherchez LaPlume: A Massachusetts Printer Thrives Despite Challenges

Published August 18, 2021

In the past three years, Lawrence, Mass.’s LaPlume & Sons Printing experienced a gas explosion and then the pandemic—but then this 85-year-old family business has faced its share of challenges over the decades and has managed to change with the times.

Frank Is on the Mark

Published August 13, 2021

Mark Michelson of Printing Impressions sent Frank a collection of materials for the Museum of Printing. (Or perhaps he was just cleaning out his office.) It is interesting what he saved after four decades in the printing industry. Each piece tells a story, and Frank adds his footnotes.

Frank Goes to War

Published August 6, 2021

Frank heard that American Airlines is discontinuing its inflight magazine. This prompts a discussion of the “war on paper” that began more than 30 years ago, which had led to many paper mill closures—a situation only made worse by the pandemic.

Frank On Platen Presses

Published July 30, 2021

Frank talks about very old printing presses, specifically, the evolution of the two-person hand presses into the single-user platen presses named for George Phineas Gordon of Salem, N.H. The advantage of the platen press was that it used a foot pedal, and thus could be operated by one person, unlike the older hand presses which required two operators. The platen presses were the workhorses of the 1800s and early 1900s, and many are still in use. 

Frank’s Highway to Hell

Published July 23, 2021

What the Hell? Frank talks about color scanners and emphasizes the granddaddy of them all, the venerable Hell Scanner, named for Dr. Rudolf Hell. Their use in the 1960s made color common in the printing industry, and trained scanner operators could pull in a decent salary. Soon, more than 10 companies had scanners and prices dropped so that every designer could have one. Now scanners are built into most desktop printers.

Frank Gets the Munchies

Published July 16, 2021

There has been a noticeable uptick in printing directly on food, such as cookies, cakes, and other comestibles. He still has his archival carton of printed (and deteriorating) Pringles from the 1990s, but with inkjet, you can print on anything—even foods.

Frank Would Like a Word

Published July 2, 2021

Frank learned that the Oxford University Press printing arm is closing after hundreds of years. He talks about their best known product, the Oxford English Dictionary, a monumental work that traced the derivation and first usage of every word in the English language. It took 30 years to produce the first volume—A and B. Simon Winchester’s “The Professor and the Madman” is an excellent book about the creation of the OED.

Frank Goes Postal

Published June 25, 2021

Frank bemoans the increases in first class postage and the proposal for 58 cent stamps. He goes back in time to the venerable Addressograph mailing machine that ushered in the era of mass mailings, especially catalogs. From the telephone, to the modem, to the Internet, we have changed how we communicate with each other—and mail has been the loser.

Frank Has Spirit (Duplicators)

Published June 11, 2021

Frank discovers an article that says that Jeff Bezos of Amazon prefers multi-page memos over Powerpoint and this prompts a discussion of office printing. Along the way, we are reminded of paper memos and phone call slips, some printed with Mimeographs, Dittos, Gestetners, and Xerox copiers. Today, almost everyone has a printer/scanner a few steps away.

Frank’s Enablers

Published June 4, 2021

A recent study shows that one-third of all newspaper subscriptions are for digital versions and that this could reach 100% between 2024 and 2027. But for digital subscriptions to be worthwhile, there needs to be an easy way to read them. Frank takes us on a quick tour of these digital enablers and how they evolved—from the Apple Newton, to the Powerbook, to the MacBook Air, and then to the iPhone and iPad.

Frank Takes Pictures

Published May 28, 2021

Photography and printing have always had a symbiotic relationship. Frank shows off the Museum of Printing’s collection of antique (and some not so antique) cameras. The challenge after the advent of photography was how to get photographs into a form that could be printed—hence the halftone and, eventually, scanners. Now images are digital from the start, since everyone has a camera with them and there is a glut of images.

Frank’s Paper Chase

Published May 21, 2021

Frank waxes nostalgic about the Compugraphic CompuWriter phototypesetter and how it helped expand the newspaper market. Working for Compugraphic at the time, Frank’s first book was all about how to start a profitable newspaper—with a CompuWriter that made typesetting easy. But now newspapers are trading paper for pixels and the traditional paper is sadly going away.

The Fabric of Frank’s Life

Published May 14, 2021

Frank excitedly recommends a new book called “The Fabric of Civilization” by Virginia Postrel. He learns that the words “text” and “textile” some from the same root, and the “Stone Age” is misnamed. He ties it all together with a letterpress press used by the Folly Cove Designers to print fabric.

Frank’s Tale of Two Books

Published May 7, 2021

Frank shows us two beautiful case-bound books. Both are histories of the Weyerhaeuser Paper Company produced in 1999. One was printed with offset lithography and the other with Xeikon toner-based printing at RIT using the same PDF file—and if not for a production note on the cover of the digital version, you’d never know it wasn’t offset. In the decade that followed Weyerhaeuser got out of the paper business and Xeikon flourished in digital printing.

Yes, We Have No Bodoni

Published April 30, 2021

Frank takes us on a quick tour of the only type specimen book done by type designer Giambatista Bodoni in his lifetime. Dedicated to Napoleon, it presents the “Our Father” prayer in 97 languages. The 1806 folio-sized book is now in the Romano Library at the Museum of Printing, as are the research materials that Valerie Lester drew upon for her definitive biography of Bodoni.

Frank Is on a Scroll

Published April 23, 2021

Frank pontificates about how we will see and interact with information as we move into the future. He goes from ancient scrolls, to the book, to the screen. How will information be presented in the future—and is there a future for text in the electronic age? 

Remembering Chuck Geschke, Co-Founder of Adobe Systems

Published April 19, 2021

Frank Romano looks back at the life of Charles “Chuck” Geshke, co-founder of Adobe, who passed away last Friday.

Frank on Display

Published April 16, 2021

Frank opines about museums that once had printing exhibitions and those that have them now, and it's a sad fact that major museums around the world no longer have printing on display. There are now specialized museums that emphasize printing—but they all have the same problems with space and public interest.

Frank Texts

Published April 9, 2021

Frank looks at vintage textbooks for printing and reviews how technology has changed graphic arts education. Early books covered letterpress but the change to offset and then digital complicated the teaching of print. Schools that are still teaching print are grappling with the problem of what specific digital equipment to teach, as there is no standardization the way there was with letterpress and offset. Frank also wonders who will run the printing devices of the future. 

Frank and the Ironic Praise of Scribes

Published March 26, 2021

Frank talks about Johannes Trithemius, the Abbot of Sponheim, Germany. His monastery had a large scriptorium of monks scribbling their way to Heaven hand-copying manuscripts. He wrote a book in 1516, some years after the advent of printing, called “In Praise of Scribes” in which he extolled the glory of handwritten books and urged monks not to give up the practice. But—in a great moment of historical irony—in order to get the book published in the quantities he needed, he had it printed. 

Frank Talk with Print Historian and Collector Patrick Goossens

Published March 19, 2021

Frank found a video from a past trip to Antwerp, Belgium, where he interviewed Patrick Goossens, noted print historian and collector. Goossens’ 2,500-square meter facility holds a vast collection of ancient printing equipment which is unequalled in the world. 

Just Frank’s Type

Published March 12, 2021

Frank takes us on a whirlwind tour of the history of photographic typesetting. Starting with the 1949 Fotosetter and progressing through ATF, Compugraphic, Linotype, Itek, and ending with the laser-based Linotronic. By the mid 1990s, computer-to-plate and digital color printing negated the need for separate typesetting machines.

Frank Strikes Out

Published March 5, 2021

Frank shows rare newspapers produced during the 1923 New York City pressmen’s strike. There were 22 daily newspapers and they combined to print a morning and evening paper. The New York Times only printed a single page—and only for archival purposes (not distribution), as they were “the newspaper of record.” Newspaper strikes increased in frequency in the 1960s, usually involving new typesetting technologies.

Frank Says, “PS, I Love You”

Published February 26, 2021

Frank describes the advent of PostScript fonts with the Apple Laserwriter 1 and the Linotype Linotronic 300 photo imagesetter. PostScript allowed jobs to be typeset in PageMaker, proofed on a Laserwriter, and then output on film on a Linotronic. P.S.: Adobe has announced that support for authoring PostScript Type 1 fonts will be discontinued in 2023—although it’s not all that clear what exactly is being discontinued.

Frank’s “A Tale of Two Types”

Published February 19, 2021

Frank tells a tale of two types: the sans serif font called Arial (let’s be honest, Helvetica, really) and the serif font called Times (New) Roman. It is said that Times will cut your ink use when printing. Frank, of course, investigates further, and what follows is a twisting tale of mistaken point sizes and shady serifs.

Frank Takes Issue with Newspapers

Published February 12, 2021

Frank waxes nostalgic about newspaper issues from the past. He relates how many newspapers have cut back on the number of issues per week that are printed—and points out that we will someday no longer have iconic front pages announcing major events, such as the sinking of the Titanic or the death of JFK. He shows a copy of the NY Times from the day he was born, proving that print had been invented by then.

Frank Sees Little Justification in Early Newspaper Typesetting

Published February 5, 2021

Frank uses the retirement of a former Linotype operator at the New York Times as a jumping off point to trace the evolution of newspaper typesetting, from the advent of paper tape, to computerized hyphenation and justification (H&J)—and to the great New York City newspaper strike.

Frank Catches Up On Some Reading

Published January 29, 2021

Frank reviews “The Creation of the Media” by Paul Starr. His long, detailed, occasionally ponderous, but completely fascinating book touches on technology, literacy, capitalism, and other factors to ultimately explore what led to the news media that we understand today. The book was awarded a Pulitzer Prize.

Frank Provides a Backdrop for Book Sales

Published January 22, 2021

Frank comments on reports that 2020 was a great year for book publishing. Book sales were up, and some of them may even have been read. More often than not, Frank muses, they were bought to use as backdrops for Zoom calls.

Frank Catalogs Catalogs

Published January 15, 2021

IKEA announced that they will no longer print their catalog, so Frank takes a nostalgic look back at the history of mail order catalogs, from 1872 and the first Montgomery Ward catalog, to Sears, to JC Penney, to IKEA. While there are still printed catalogs, most marketing is online these days.

Frank Gets Lost in the Good Book

Published January 8, 2021

Here we get up close and personal with the Gutenberg Bible. Frank becomes part of the book and takes us on a walking tour of a typical page from the 1455 masterpiece. He comments on the type, layout, and illustrative material. 

Frank Romano Remembers John Peterson

Published January 5, 2021

John Peterson, a major figure in the typesetting industry, passed away last year. Frank Romano offers a remembrance.  

Frank to the Future

Published December 18, 2020

In this episode we meet “Future Frank,” a hologram from the year 2100 that reports on what life and technology are going to be like over our next 80 years. We get a glimpse of our future, but maybe we don’t want to know. (Hint: Start to look into printing food.)

Frank Goes In Search of The Lost World of Typesetting Services

Published December 11, 2020

The Museum of Printing has one of the largest collections of specimen books from typesetting services, a business classification distinct from type foundries. At their peak around 1990, there were more than 4,000 typesetting services in the U.S. They set type for ad agencies, book and magazine publishers, and graphic designers. When word processing came along, these businesses lost the income from keyboarding, and desktop publishing finally did away with this once-vibrant industry.

Frank Reads the Fine Print

Published December 4, 2020

Frank discovered these tiny editions of the Boston Herald that were printed in the mid-1940s. These were special editions that were reduced in size photographically for shipment overseas to members of the armed services during WWII to give them a slice of home—primarily for the headlines as the text ended up about four points. These editions were sponsored by the Jordan Marsh department store and printed using offset lithography at a time when letterpress was the dominant printing technology.

Franks Cabinet of Wonders

Published November 20, 2020

Frank showcases some items in an eclectic display case in the library at the Museum of Printing. Not fitting in anywhere else in the museum, these items range from an Indigo commemorative stamp issued in Israel; to the font for the first phototypesetter to set Chinese; to the pins that Boston Globe Newsboys wore; to a set of rescue doorknobs from the Printing Crafts Building in New York City.

Frank’s Rise and Fall of the Paper-Based Office

Published November 13, 2020

Frank talks about office communication and shows some of the vintage machines that helped offices run on paper. There was the Mimeograph, Gestetner, and Ditto machines. He then shows a clip from a speech he gave at the XPLOR event in 1993 that predicted today’s work-at-home world, the decline of the office per se, and perhaps the decline of the need for paper.

The Digital Trade Printer: A New Approach to an Old Idea

Published November 11, 2020

Harvard Pinnacle Group in Waltham, Mass., is a digital trade printer. Owner Greg Wallace started the company as a Macintosh training center, and his need for training materials moved him into printing. The company was born digital and has stayed digital.

The Elephant in the (Bath)room?

Published November 6, 2020

From Egyptian papyrus, to today’s handmade papers, to paper made from stone and hemp, Frank looks at the evolution of writing and paper—as well as one recent paper made from an…unusual but all-too-common material.

Frank’s Reading Rainbow

Published October 30, 2020

Frank reviews two books this week. The first is “A Place for Everything—The Curious History of Alphabetical Order” by Judith Flanders, which provides an interesting look at how the alphabet evolved. The second is the more technical “Printing-Process Control and Standardization” by RIT’s Robert Chung, whose students have become the "apostles of color" around the world. Every printer should have a copy.

Frank Plays with the Stones

Published October 23, 2020

Color printing began with Alois Senefelder, who developed the process we now know as lithography, printing using a variety of limestone. Before there was process color with offset lithography, there was chromolithography, color printing using litho stones which overlaid different colors. Frank provides a short history of chromolithography, Louis Prang, its most famous practitioner, and shows some beautiful samples of this colorful printing art produced from 1900 to 1910. After 1910, CMYK inks were formulated and offset began the path to color printing.

Frank Turns the Rules

Published October 16, 2020

Frank shows some newspapers with large, black inter-column rule lines. This was called “turning the rules” and was used to indicate mourning when a president or some other prominent personality died. The practice continued until the Kennedy era.

All the News That’s Fit for Someone Else to Print

Published October 9, 2020

Frank uses a giant 1880s Hoe rotary flatbed press—the machine that revolutionized the printing industry—as a jumping-off point to talk about how newspapers are getting out of their own printing. As newspaper circulation has gone down, newspapers can’t afford their own production, so newspaper printing—and often of rival newspapers—is being consolidated in a single production facility.

Frank's Training Video

Published October 2, 2020

Frank holds his version of the Holy Grail of newspapers, one of the rarest items you can find in the printing industry: an issue of “The Transcontinental.” This was a newspaper printed on one of the first passenger trains to go from Boston to San Francisco in 1870. It was typeset in the baggage car and was printed on a Gordon platen press installed on the train. Content for the 12 editions was essentially a travelog, as the train stopped in various cities during its cross-country journey. The issue Frank has was printed at the summit of the Sierra Nevadas.

Frank Gets Framed

Published September 25, 2020

Last week it was hardware, this week’s it’s software. A graphic designer donated some software to the Museum of Printing, and reviewing it was like a trip back in time. Extensis Suitcase? Adobe Type Manager? And then there was FrameMaker, the donated version of which dates back to circa 1995. Installed from 11 floppy disks (!) and coming with a two-inch-thick user manual and all kinds of other printed documentation, FrameMaker was the standard for the production of structured documents like manuals. FrameMaker was later acquired by Adobe and is still around.

Frank Goes Down Read-Only Memory Lane

Published September 18, 2020

The Museum of Printing gets tons of donations, and Frank shows some recent computer hardware equipment that the Museum recently acquired. There were three smaller-than-laptop computers and a host of plugs, cables, connectors, and converters to get you from SCSI to USB to even FireWire (if you need a cable, give him a call). A ZIP drive and even a CD-ROM unit were included.

Frank’s Mysteries at the Print Museum: Print and the Pandemic

Published September 11, 2020

Why did the Ludlow Typograph Company see an 800% increase in sales to printing companies in 1919, right in the middle of the Spanish Flu pandemic? While researching a book on the history of the Ludlow Typograph, Frank gains some insight into the 1918–1920 influenza pandemic and connects the dots between that pandemic and the printing industry.

Frank Visits Waltham’s HPGprint

Published September 4, 2020

Frank visits Greg Wallace at HPGprint in Waltham, Mass. HPGprint is a trade printer, a descendent of the “gang” printers of the past, and specializes in “value-added” printing, such as gold and silver, spot UV, etc. HPGprint is all digital and also acts as a dealer or reseller for equipment. Take a look.

Frank's Flashback: 1995

Published August 28, 2020

2020 marks the 25th anniversary of what was a watershed year for the printing industry. 1995 was the year that the industry was at its peak (65,000 commercial printing establishments!), but the advent of the first Web browser and the maturation of the Acrobat PDF combined in that year to change the very nature of communication. Meanwhile, a paper shortage—which led to the Paperwork Reduction Act—hastened a switch to electronic media, especially among government agencies.

Frank’s Back to the Future

Published August 21, 2020

Frank was perusing an issue of “Inland Printer” from June, 1973, and discovered an article that he had written. In it, he summarized many of the typesetting trends that were taking place at the time as hot metal was transitioning to phototypesetting. Many of the technologies emerging at that time would play increased roles in the printing industry—and lay the groundwork for today.

Frank’s Mysteries at the Print Museum

Published August 14, 2020

While poking around the Museum of Printing’s archive of more than 5,000 Linotype Company font designs, Frank discovered that they had once created a font for Cree, the only Native American language for which there was a Linotype font. Why Cree? The search for the answer takes Frank back to World War II and the US military’s use of Native American “code talkers” to convey classified military information.

Frank’s Summer of 68

Published August 7, 2020

When PIA and SGIA merged to form PUA, they donated a huge carton of memorabilia to The Museum of Printing. One of the items was the show directory for PRINT 68 (hardbound! signed!). So as we enter the era of the virtual trade show, Frank waxes nostalgic about PRINT 68, the first major in-person printing show of the modern era.

Frank Turns Over an Old Leaf

Published July 31, 2020

Frank shows several examples of print that have survived the centuries. Books, newspapers, and other documents from 1300, 1350, 1493, 1781, and 1901 show how print has endured and is still accessible and readable after 700 years—or more. Will today’s digital files be as accessible and readable in the future?

Frank Is Looking for Work in All the Wrong Places

Published July 24, 2020

Frank came across an article about the fastest shrinking jobs in the U.S. for each state, and he speculates on the causes for the loss of those jobs. Telemarketers in Colorado, Missouri, and South Dakota? Motorboat operators in Florida? Telephone operators in Illinois, Michigan, and Utah? Word processors and typists in Mississippi and North Carolina? Private detectives in New Mexico? Fortunately “WTT commentator” was not on the list.

Frank Digests Edible Paper

Published July 17, 2020

Frank tries out his new stand up (or perhaps sit down) routine as he tries to digest the concept of Edible Notepads—a Japanese company has introduced pads of paper that can be eaten. This will not save trees as they now become a food group. Frank then riffs on the potential for other kinds of edible office supplies.

It’s All About the Benjamins

Published July 10, 2020

In the course of Frank’s travels across America, he has tried to seek out every statue of and monument to Benjamin Franklin. Take your mind off the pandemic for a while and watch his “home movie” of Franklin memorials. More than once, he had to ask someone “Where’s the Ben Franklin statue?”

Frank and Fitzgerald

Published June 26, 2020

Frank discovered a book about the WWII publishing program for the military called “The Best Read Army in the World” which discusses how F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel “The Great Gatsby”—which upon its release got mixed reviews and sold poorly—became a beloved classic. Frank segues into a letter from F. Scott Fitzgerald to a cousin written during the 1919 Spanish Flu pandemic. Somehow it’s all related.

Frank Gets Lost in the Good Book

Published June 19, 2020

Frank previews an upcoming Museum of Printing exhibit showcasing original leaves from famous Bibles, including every Bible printed in Colonial America. The King James became the best known English translation—even if a printer’s error changed one of the Commandments to read “Thou shalt commit adultery.” The first Bibles printed in America were not in English—they were in Algonquin.

Just Frank’s Type

Published June 12, 2020

Frank discusses an old report he wrote in the 1980s called “The Evolving Markets for Type,” about changes in the typesetting industry. Typesetting used to involve dedicated typesetting companies setting metal type and delivering it to printers. Phototypesetting then allowed type buyers to do their own typesetting, and ultimately desktop publishing finished wiping out what had been an $8 billion typesetting marketplace. Technology changes everything.

Frank’s Alphabet Soup

Published June 5, 2020

This episode wins the award for most acronyms used at one time. Frank traces the evolution of American printing associations from UTA to GATF to PIA, from NPEA to NPES to APT, from SPA to SGIA to PUA. WHEW! (That’s not an acronym.)

Frank Catches Up On His Reading

Published May 29, 2020

Frank has lots of free time on his hands nowadays and is getting caught up on his reading. This week, he reviews two books. “Death of a Typographer” by Nick Gadd is a murder mystery with loads of typographic clues and gags. “Merg: The TRUE story of a WWII soldier's selfless act of valor and sacrifice that one town never forgot” by Peter Lion is the story of Ottmar Mergenthaler’s grandson George Mergenthaler, who joined the US Army during World War II, was sent to Luxembourg, and was ultimately killed by the Nazis.

Poll Position

Published May 22, 2020

Frank reviews a new book “This is What Democracy Looked Like: A Visual History of the Printed Ballot” by Alicia Yin Cheng, timely because of the current talk about mail-in voting and support for the postal system. Frank uses examples from the book to show how printed ballots evolved as printing technology changed over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Small Wonders

Published May 15, 2020

Since the Museum of Printing in Haverhill, Mass., is, at present, closed to visitors, Frank is showcasing some highlights of the Museum’s collection. This week, Frank explores the Museum’s collection of miniature books including what Frank contends is the smallest book in the world. Smaller than a Tic Tac, it was bought at the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, Germany.

All the News That’s Fit to Not Print

Published May 8, 2020

Frank comes to praise newspapers, not to bury them. Starting with the front page of a 1923 New York City newspaper—a time when there were more than 20 newspapers in NYC alone—he comments on the decline in newspaper circulation and readership, which started around 1954 with the popularity of television. The erosion of printed newspapers accelerated around the year 2000 with the massive growth of the Internet. But what is really sad about the decline is newspapers is that it really marks a decline in local journalism.

Raymond J. Prince, 1944–2020

Published May 4, 2020

Frank Romano remembers Raymond Prince, who passed away last week.

Frank Is Artless

Published May 1, 2020

Frank takes a trip back to a time before email and PDFs negated the need for in-person contact and old-time artwork and mechanicals, and waxes nostalgic for rubber cement. If there is one good thing about today’s self-quarantining, printers and their customers no longer need face-to-face contact in order to deliver artwork, see proofs, or deal with other issues. Special bonus: watch Frank email a file!

Frank’s Character Assassination

Published April 24, 2020

Before Comic Sans, there was Souvenir. Seeking something cheerful to say, Frank reminisces—with documentation—about the typeface that was the target of his “character assassination” back in the 1980s.

Frank’s March of Time (Magazine)

Published April 10, 2020

Newspapers. Periodicals. Directories. Books. Catalogs. Direct mail. Frank spans the print world and gives an update and overview of the printing industry by product category, and how the current COVID-19 crisis has impacted each—and the printing industry in general.

The Wrath of Frank

Published April 3, 2020

Frank argues vociferously that print is an essential industry and print businesses must remain open during this very difficult time in our history. Our trade associations have been active in contacting government representatives to plead our case.

Frank Goes Viral

Published March 27, 2020

Frank comments on the postponement of drupa and its effect on the printing industry. Vendors who were planning to introduce new technologies in Dusseldorf will now use fall events like Brand Print America and PRINTING United to do so—or, like HP, host their own virtual events. Regardless, the COVID-19 crisis is going to make this a challenging year for the industry, but hopefully we will come out on the other side.

Frank Sets a Line o’ Type

Published March 20, 2020

Frank takes us on a short tour of the venerable Mergenthaler Linotype machine, which Thomas Edison called “The Eighth Wonder of the World.” It revolutionized typesetting in the early 20th century and was only supplanted by the advent of phototypesetting. The Museum of Printing has a Linotype Legacy Program to help preserve this device, as well as provide training and education programs on its operation and maintenance.

Frank Speaks On the Record

Published March 13, 2020

Frank talks about the Government Publishing Office’s move to rollfed inkjet presses to print the Congressional Record and other publications. He goes back in time to review the history of the production of the daily, ~1,000-page Congressional Record and how the technology has changed over the years.

Frank Talks Type

Published March 6, 2020

Frank shows highlights from the Museum of Printing’s recent exhibit of “typographic ephemera,” specimen books and promotion pieces for typefaces. Researchers come from all around the world to delve into the MoP’s extensive type collection. The exhibit also included a 1930 magazine article from The Linotype Company called “Typographic Sanity,” bemoaning the fact that there were too many typefaces.

Frank Looks Out to 2020

Published February 28, 2020

Frank offers a recommendation for WhatTheyThink’s “Printing Outlook 2020" special report, providing some historical context for the challenges of getting good data about the industry. He also comments on the sense of industry optimism conveyed in the report.

King of a Changing Bookmaking Paradigm

Published February 24, 2020

There is a surge in demand for printed books, driven by two trends: self-publishing and on-demand printing, both enabled by digital printing technology. Of the 700 million books produced in the U.S. last year, about half were printed on demand using digital technology. Frank Romano profiles Lowell, Mass.’s King Printing Company, which takes on-demand book printing to the next level.

King of On-Demand Book Printing

Published February 21, 2020

Frank interviews Tom Campbell of King Printing in Lowell, Mass. King has been a pioneer in short-run book printing and now provides a major service for publishers big and small. Campbell discusses the trends in book printing and publishing today.

What’s In a Name? Printing!

Published February 14, 2020

Will apps replace printed show directories? Frank shows off his drupa 1972 show directory and some other recent directories—and an app that served as the directory for a recent show. He has had his drupa directory for 48 years. Will today’s trade show apps be readable in 48 years? He feels that any trade show with the word “PRINTING” in its name should have a printed directory.

Frank Doesn’t Cut the Apron Strings

Published February 7, 2020

Frank has a shout-out for a company called InkPixi, a company that produces on-demand, personalized specialty items. Most importantly, they have great customer service. He recounts his personal experience with a recent order for a Christmas gift. If you’re looking for weird gifts for your family—and who isn't?—they are a go-to company.

Frank Gets Real (Estate)

Published January 31, 2020

Newspapers are moving to electronic versions and cutting back on or eliminating their print editions. As a result, they don’t need large headquarters, especially if they no longer have to house a printing press. So, many are selling their often-iconic buildings, which are then converted into high-priced condos and luxury apartments. You can buy a condo in the classic Chicago Tribune building for a cool $7.6 million.

Frank Flexes

Published January 24, 2020

While at PRINTING United, Frank stopped by the Kodak booth and was impressed by Kodak and Uteco’s development of an inkjet technology that can print on flexible film. He was especially impressed by the quality of the fleshtones—one of the limitations of flexography was its shortcomings in being able to print photorealistic images. He thinks that inkjet is now able to challenge flexography for certain jobs. He is also predicting that drupa will be the “Inkjet On Anything” show.

Frank Makes Book(s)

Published January 17, 2020

Frank talks about his three latest books which essentially comprise a history of his years in the industry—a personal, yet encyclopedic trilogy that covers the history of hot metal, the phototypesetting era, and desktop publishing.

The Typewriter Revolution

Published January 10, 2020

Frank visits with Tom Furrier of Cambridge Typewriter in Arlington, Mass., one of the last typewriter repair services in New England. Over the past 15 years, he has seen a resurgence of interest in mechanical (but not electric) typewriters—in particular among young people. His business is booming; his repair services have a two-month backlog.

Frank's Reading Rainbow

Published December 20, 2019

Frank is in a colorful mood this week, reporting on some color-related stories that caught his eye. First, Opaque Couché is declared the World’s ugliest color, for some reason, and in 1692, more than 200 years before PANTONE, an artist described every color imaginable—and even assigned them numbers. He also exposes “The Secret Lives of Color” via a recent book by Kassia St. Clair that traces the history of every color.

Frank and the Future of the Printing Press (Part 2)

Published December 13, 2019

In part 2 of a two-part series on the future of the printing press, Frank visits Dallas, Tex.’s Summit Direct, which has one of the largest arrays of printing equipment—offset and digital—Frank has ever seen. He talks with president John Barber and VP of Business Development Mike Robinson, VP of Business Development, about their equipment portfolio, including the Konica Minolta AccurioJet KM-1 inkjet sheetfed press and the different kinds of work they are running on it.

Frank and the Future of the Printing Press (Part 1)

Published December 6, 2019

In part 1 of a two-part series on the future of the printing press, Frank visits AM Solutions in Egerton, Wis., and talks with Dean Gille, president, and Mike Henning, vice president, about their Konica Minolta AccurioJet KM-1 inkjet sheetfed press. AM had been an offset shop that had to make changes as they adopted inkjet, and the two technologies literally sit side by side.

Frank: One Tote Over the Line

Published November 22, 2019

Frank provides his eagerly anticipated 2019 Tote Bag Review, a critical evaluation of the branded tote bags that he has picked up at recent trade shows. He even picks a winner.

Frank’s Short Architectural Tour of Chicago

Published November 15, 2019

Frank visits the original Chicago location of The Oliver Typewriter Company, the edifice of which remains intact—even the logo of the company which appears about 40 times. Some of the architectural features of the structure are iconic and have long outlasted The Oliver Typewriter Company itself, which declared bankruptcy in 1928. In its heyday, the company was highly successful, as it was among the first to make typewriters that let typists see what they were typing as they were typing.

Frank at PRINTING United: RMGT “Commits to Print”

Published November 8, 2019

Frank talks to Chris Manley of Graphco as the company sets up the RMGT 9 Series, the only offset press on the show floor at PRINTING United. There are more than 70 of these presses installed in the US today. In 2014, when they first exhibited the press, there were only 3.

Frank in Dallas

Published November 1, 2019

Frank reports from PRINTING United in Dallas, one of the largest domestic trade shows he has attended since 1997. He talks about how big printing trade shows have changed as print and print technologies have changed.

Shoshana Burgett Launches Colorkarma, A Resource for Designers

Published October 25, 2019

Frank met up with Shoshana Burgett, who is launching Colorkarma, a new website for graphic designers. Today’s creative professional must combine design with production skills. Although there is an emphasis on color, many aspects of the creative process for print or pixel are included. There is also a "safe space" where designers can post their past "fails" to help others improve their design skills.

Frank's drupa 2020 Vision

Published October 18, 2019

Frank previews next year’s drupa 2020, taking place in Dusseldorf, Germany, June 16–25, 2020. It is his 12th drupa (you do the math). There will be 1,800 exhibitors from 50 countries, and 30% of them are new exhibitors. Frank offers his travel advisory.

Elegy for a Trade Show

Published October 11, 2019

Frank celebrates the life of PRINT, a show that had been a major part of his life for the past 51 years, and summarizes the print milestones that made their debut at McCormick Place over the years.

Frank Talks to Daniel Dejan at PRINT 19

Published October 4, 2019

Frank talks to the extremely famous Daniel Dejan of Sappi at PRINT 19 about his travels, educating people about design, graphics, print, and a new haptics book he and Sappi are launching. They also discuss the challenges of designing for variable-data printing.

Frank Charts the Industry’s Course

Published September 27, 2019

Frank animatedly looks at an old industry segmentation chart he created ~12 years ago showing the overlap in services from many printing industry sectors—and finds that it is still relevant. It appears that everyone is getting into everyone else’s business.

Frank Tours His Library

Published September 20, 2019

Frank takes us on a quick tour of his extensive library of books, periodicals, and other memorabilia at the Museum of Printing. If you are ever in the Boston area, be sure to visit Haverhill, Mass., and peruse this unique collection. Information about the museum and upcoming events can be found at https://museumofprinting.org.

Frank Surfs the Victorian Internet

Published September 13, 2019

Frank recommends a recently reissued edition of Tom Standage’s classic 1997 book “The Victorian Internet,” all about the telegraph, which had the effect of changing the world in very much the same way as the Internet. Fun fact: How did Samuel Morse develop the Morse Code? He went to a printing company and counted the number of letters in a typecase to determine the least number of dots and dashes needed for a letter.

All the News That Fits

Published September 6, 2019

Frank comments on the decline in printed newspapers and the rise of digital editions. He shows that printed newspapers have been changing in size and circulation for the last 100 years. He laments not so much the loss of paper newspapers as the loss of independent local journalism.

Frank on Industry Predictions from the 90s

Published August 30, 2019

Frank talks about two studies from the 1990s that attempted to predict the future of the printing industry. He predicts that predicting the future is not easy.

Frank Talks to Linotype Maintenance Specialist Dave Seat

Published August 23, 2019

Frank talks to Dave Seat, one of the few Linotype maintenance specialists. Dave travels America repairing the last group of working Linotype hot metal typesetters. He estimates that he repairs around 100 to 200 machines a year, a lot of them in museums eager to get them up and running as there has been a resurgence of interest in Linotypes in recent years.

Frank Goes In Search of Old Printing Equipment

Published August 16, 2019

Frank takes an archaeological excursion through a Charlestown, Mass., warehouse, built in the late 19th century in an attempt to compete for freight traffic with the Port of New York. Much later, when the Museum of Printing was searching for a home, the warehouse served as a storage facility for historic presses, metal type, typesetters, and early computer equipment—much of which still remains.

“New Print” Will Prevail

Published August 12, 2019

Where will printers make money in the future? Some say it will be from digital printing. But digital printing is usurping analog volumes and analog volumes are not growing. In order to grow, the printing industry must find new products and new services.

Frank Holds All the Cards

Published August 2, 2019

Frank tours the National Playing Card Museum in Turnhout, Belgium, located on the site of an 18th-century printing plant that produced the original playing cards for Europe and other parts of the world, such as China. The museum’s collection includes commercial and private brand cards, as well as antique presses from the plant’s history as it moved from letterpress, to lithography, and eventually film. The production process required special finishing equipment (to add rounded corners to the cards) and the company even produced its own packaging.

The Scariest Phrase Frank Has Ever Heard

Published July 26, 2019

Frank bemoans the loss of ebook access by Microsoft users who were told that “The books will stop working.”

Frank Is Singin' in the Purple Rain

Published July 19, 2019

Frank discusses a batch of miscellaneous items: the time we spend on mobile devices vs. TV, the new Pantone color in memory of rock star Prince, and the sale of the Barnes & Noble bookstore chain. As you would expect, he has opinions on all these items—and would even like his own Pantone color.

All the News That's Fit to Digitize

Published July 12, 2019

Many newspapers are seeing more digital subscribers than print subscribers. Frank bemoans the fact that printed publications are archived in digital form and the printed versions may be discarded.

Frank Has Some Choice Words

Published June 28, 2019

Frank goes off on a mini rant about the latest buzzword in the industry. The industry trend toward diversification of printing services is evident—we print on more than paper. We need a better term that describes that trend.

For Frank's Eyes Only

Published June 21, 2019

Hoefler&Co at www.typography.com just released a new “security” font that has all black boxes for do-it-yourself document redacting. They also offer a typographic citation book so you can shame those whose type use offends you.

Frank Talks Type with Paul Shaw

Published June 14, 2019

Paul Shaw is a noted designer and design historian. For three decades, he has researched and written about the history of graphic design with a focus on typography, lettering, and calligraphy. He recently gave a talk at the Museum of Printing in Haverhill, Mass. He talks with Frank about type and type trends.

Frank on PRINT Becoming Brand Print Americas

Published June 7, 2019

Frank comments on the merger of PRINT and Graph Expo into Label Expo and bemoans the lack of a shorthand way of referring to what will be Brand Print Americas.

Pumping Iron

Published May 31, 2019

Frank visits Howard Iron Works In Oakville, Canada (close to Toronto), and talks with Nick and Liana Howard. They have created an amazing printing museum. In many cases, they re-furbish historic letterpresses and make them operational. No one in the world is doing what they are doing to preserve the history of print.

The Evolution of Greek Fonts

Published May 24, 2019

Frank interviews Georgios from the University of West Attica in Athens who is researching the evolution of Greek fonts. He visited the Museum of Printing in Haverhill, Mass., to inspect the drawings for Linotype Greek fonts from 1908 to the 1940s.

Frank Talks to Women in Print

Published May 10, 2019

At the Canadian Graphic Arts show, Frank attended a panel of “power women” who work with others, or are active with their own companies. Their panel was just before Frank’s keynote.

In Logo Parentis

Published May 3, 2019

Frank has some comments on the new WhatTheyThink logo. The video speaks for itself.

I, Frank

Published April 19, 2019

Frank has robots on his mind. He talks about automation in general and how it has made organizations more effective, but bemoans the fact that such automation removes entry-level jobs from all industries. Will we see the movie “Planet of the Robots”?

Frank Looks at "Printing Outlook 2019"

Published April 12, 2019

Frank talks about the new WhatTheyThink “Printing Outlook 2019” report. There are no leading indicators for the printing industry, government data need a lot of interpretation, and yet printers need insight in order to make intelligent business decisions. This report will give printers meaningful information on where the industry is—and where it may be going.

Frank Takes the Cake

Published March 22, 2019

Frank talks sweetly about custom-printed cookies, cakes, and other comestibles and how this could tie into personalized packaging. Inkjet-printed icing and edible material can create type and photographic imagery for many delicacies.

Frank on All the News That's Fit to Tweet

Published March 8, 2019

Frank takes us from commuters reading newspapers to commuters reading mobile devices. He quotes a Pew study that indicates that that most of us get our news from television and social media.

Frank Talks About Print Down Under

Published February 22, 2019

The EFI Connect Conference in Las Vegas attracts the second largest contingent of media and analysts after drupa. Frank took advantage of this unique audience to get a brief insight into print trends in some overseas markets. In this interview, he talks to Wayne Robinson, Editor, Print21 in Australia and New Zealand.

Frank on the Penrose Annual

Published February 15, 2019

The Penrose Annual was published from 1895 to 1982. It was a time capsule that documented the evolving technologies that would transform the printing industry, from halftone printing to process color lithography. Frank visits the Kennedy Library at CalPoly which has in its collection the very rare first three editions.

Print Trends UK

Published February 8, 2019

The EFI Connect Conference in Las Vegas attracts the second largest contingent of media and analysts after drupa. Frank took advantage of this unique audience to get a brief insight into print trends in some overseas markets. In this interview, he talks to Editor and Publisher Darryl Danielli and Contributing Editor Jo Francis of PrintWeek UK.

Nigerian Prints

Published February 1, 2019

Frank found a press item from Nigeria bemoaning the fact that electronic filings would cost many jobs. We then go back in time and hear a little history about the SEC’s EDGAR.

Fiery Guy

Published January 29, 2019

As EFI moves forward with new leadership, Frank looks back at the tenure of Guy Gecht, who stepped down as EFI CEO last summer.

Frank Comes to His Senses

Published January 25, 2019

Frank is impressed by "Battle of the Senses," a calendar and book produced by Agfa Corp. Based on recipes for chocolate and champagne, both products are paragons of beautiful printing.

Out of Stock

Published January 18, 2019

Frank comments about shortages of printed books. At the end of 2018, bookstores— and even Amazon—ran out of inventory for certain bestsellers. Ebooks have not truly replaced printed books and we are still trying to find the equilibrium between ebooks, on-demand books, and long-run printed books.

Frank Books a Hotel Room

Published January 11, 2019

Frank discovers a hotel lounge that uses the printed encyclopedia as part of the décor. The Hilton Fanueil Hall in Boston has 40 or more sets of various reference encyclopedias in a small room off the main entrance.

Celebrating a Quarter-Century of Digital Color Printing Part 2: Indigo

Published December 21, 2018

Frank celebrates the 25th anniversary of HP Indigo. What began as Benny Landa’s groundbreaking technology is now a multi-billion-dollar worldwide business. It ushered in the era of on-demand color printing, and, more importantly, the use of variable-data printing for personalized promotion.

Frank Celebrates a Quarter-Century of Digital Color Printing

Published December 14, 2018

2018 marks the 25th anniversary of the introduction of digital color printing by Indigo and Xeikon. The atmosphere at IPEX in Birmingham, England, that week in September, 1993, was electric. This week, Frank looks at Xeikon, and will cover Indigo in a subsequent video.

Frank Visits Lead Graffiti, a Cutting-Edge Letterpress Shop

Published December 7, 2018

Frank visited Lead Graffiti in Newark, Del., and met with Jill Cypher and Ray Nichols who run a letterpress printing/publishing company. Their books and posters are works of art and they teach others how to print with wood and metal.

Glamour Goes Online Only

Published November 30, 2018

Frank comments about Glamour Magazine's recent announcement that it is ceasing its print edition. Most magazines have now gone online, which has adversely affected large printers who offered printing and logistics services.

Frank Clicks Paper

Published November 16, 2018

Frank reviews “Introduction to Graphic Communication” by Harvey Levenson and John Parsons. This is more than a book. Using Ricoh’s Clickable Paper technology, it becomes a professor on call. The text and graphics are amplified by great audio/video clips.

Frank Visits a Mailing Museum

Published November 9, 2018

JLS Mailing Services of Brockton, Mass., traces its roots back to 1918 when Elizabeth Joyce Braddock, one of America's first female entrepreneurs, founded the Joyce Letter Shop. She first discovered the benefits of communicating through direct mail while selling hay for her dad—and the company has grown to become one of New England’s largest direct communications companies. Frank—with Bill Hogan, a local historian—tour JLS's unique mailing museum.

Frank On "Creative Selection" and Apple's Design Process

Published November 2, 2018

Frank reviews “Creative Selection” by Ken Kocienda, who created the keyboard/Autocorrect feature of the Apple iPhone. Ken spent 15 years with Apple and worked on the development of the iPhone and other revolutionary technologies. His book looks at the Apple design process during the Steve Jobs era.

Friday with Frank: Enabling the Self-Published Book Revolution

Published October 26, 2018

Frank was wandering the floor at PRINT 18 and sat on a bench. There he met Angela Pinch, co-owner of D&L Press in Phoenix, Ariz., with her husband. This small company specializes in on-demand books. Their website is author2market.com and they are enabling the revolution in self-published books.

I Remember Charles Wang

Published October 23, 2018

Charles Wang, founder of Computer Associates (now called CA Technologies), passed away on Sunday at the age of 74. Frank Romano looks back at a technology—and VDP—pioneer.

Who's Making Money at Digital/Inkjet Printing?

Published October 19, 2018

Frank reviews “Who’s Making Money at Digital/Inkjet Printing...and How” by noted sales consultants Bill Farquharson and Kelly Mallozzi. They do a great job presenting useful information on markets and methods for selling digital/inkjet printing, and how selling digital differs from traditional print sales.

Frank-ception: Taking On a New Dimension at PRINT 18

Published October 12, 2018

Frank is beside himself over Augmented Reality (AR)-enabled print at this week's PRINT 18 event, which he demonstrates on an iPad.

Print: It's a Good Thing

Published September 28, 2018

Frank recently ordered a mini voice recorder to secretly record meetings at the White House, but was more interested in the packaging and package contents. Between the various boxes used to ship and hold the recorder and the plethora of instruction booklets, he liked all the printing that was involved.

Frank Visits the New England Author’s Expo

Published September 21, 2018

Frank attended the New England Author’s Expo, featuring more than 100 self-published authors. Frank opines that it was on-demand digital printing that made it all possible. He interviews Robert Uttaro, author of “To the Survivors.”

Frank Visits Faneuil Hall’s Edes & Gill: An 18th-Century Print Shop

Published September 14, 2018

Frank plays with his newest toy: a model of an English common press, a design that improved upon Gutenberg’s original. He then takes a field trip to Boston’s Faneuil Hall Marketplace, location of Edes & Gill, an 18th-century print shop that has a life-size English common press as well as other period printing equipment. There, he talks with Gary Gregory, executive director and master printer, and his assistant Tyler Kerr.

Judging a Book By Its Covers

Published August 31, 2018

The Museum of Printing in Haverhill, Mass., has published a book of 175 covers from The Inland Printer which began publication in 1883. The covers constantly pushed the envelope to show what printing could do in terms of imagery and color as the industry and technology evolved.

Unsolved (Document) Mysteries

Published August 24, 2018

What do the Voynich mystery document and End User Licensing Agreements have to do with each other? Watch on!

Fridays with Frank: Superior Opportunities in Finishing

Published August 17, 2018

Frank interviews Jay Smith at Superior Packaging and Finishing in Braintree, Mass. Superior recently acquired Acme Binding and now is one of the largest finishing companies in America.

Frank on 25 Years of PDF

Published August 3, 2018

Frank celebrates 25 years of Adobe Acrobat for printing workflows. Thanks to the Ghent Work Group and innovative suppliers like Agfa, PDF was adapted for the transmission of files for print in the 1990s and workflow has never been the same.

HOW Now: Frank Recaps HOW DESIGN LIVE

Published July 27, 2018

Frank opines about the recent HOW DESIGN LIVE conference in Boston. It has passed, but the memory lingers on about the changing nature of design and of designers and its move to the web and social media.

Frank Has Some Cross Words for Arial

Published July 20, 2018

Arial is Helvetica in sheep’s clothing. The subject came up because Frank was doing a crossword puzzle and the clue was “Popular sans serif font” and Helvetica would not fit.

Frank Interviews Echo Communications Owner Howard Hoke

Published July 13, 2018

Frank interviews Howard Hoke, COO and Owner of Echo Communications, a 14-employee print shop based in New London, N.H. Howard is an RIT grad who wound up owning his own printing company. Even though he has digital printing, he still uses offset presses, including a recently acquired used Heidelberg. Where did he find a press operator? Wal-Mart!

Spacing Out

Published July 6, 2018

One word space after a period, or two? Frank wades into the great debate. Word spacing conventions were often dictated by specific typing and typesetting technologies, and what was appropriate during the era of handset type, or even the typewriter, may not be appropriate today.

Frank Interviews Type and Print Historian Paul Shaw

Published June 29, 2018

Noted type and print historian Paul Shaw was recently at the Museum of Printing doing research on type and book designer William Addison Dwiggins (who coined the phrase "graphic designer"). Paul has identified many pieces designed by Dwiggins during his 1900–1950 productive life.

Duplo Event at the Museum of Printing Mixes the Old with the New

Published June 22, 2018

Duplo, the digital finishing company, usually runs customer events at hotels. This time they set up various pieces of equipment at the Museum of Printing in Haverhill, Mass. Their theme was “Old Print New Print” as modern finishing equipment was mixed in with older printing machines.

Frank Loves Lisa

Published June 15, 2018

Frank has always wanted an Apple Lisa. He finally got one, but now it's in a museum. The 1983 Lisa was the forerunner of the Macintosh with its Graphical User Interface, but it had a high price at about $10,000.

A Little Place for Your Stuff

Published May 25, 2018

Frank is distraught because the last US Blockbuster Video Store is closing. He does a quick review of recorded media, from tape cassettes, to video tape, to CD, to video disc, and even USB sticks.

EFI Opens Massive New Inkjet Facility

Published May 11, 2018

The EFI ribbon-cutting ceremony for its quarter million square foot facility in Manchester, N.H., was a grand affair. More than 100 media, dignitaries, and other guests filled the main demonstration room. They were surrounded by gigantic inkjet printers and toured one of the most advanced facilities for the development, manufacture, and operation of advanced inkjet systems. These systems are installed in plants in every hemisphere.

Digital Platemaking

Published May 4, 2018

One state is making your driver’s license digital. It will now become an app on your phone. Law enforcement can now ping you. Kansas is also incorporating electronic data into your license plate. Forget speed cameras. Now they can track us electronically.

Cold (Type) Case

Published April 27, 2018

The Prime Minister of Pakistan was brought down by a font, and it was not Comic Sans. They discovered that a contract that was dated 2006 used Calibri, a font that was not released until 2007.

If You Were a Printer, You'd Be Home By Now

Published April 20, 2018

Those wonderful old buildings that housed printing and typesetting companies in the downtown areas of many cities are now being converted into condos and apartments. From Boston to New York to Chicago, those iconic buildings are becoming someone’s home.

Frank On Friday: The Binds That Tie

Published April 13, 2018

Frank receives a challenge from Professor Frank Cost at RIT. Frank Cost discovered the McMaster-Carr catalog at 4,040 pages and wants to know if there are any bound books with more pages. Frank is up to the challenge.

Wish You Were Here

Published April 6, 2018

Frank loves post cards and waxes nostalgic about them. He shows some historic cards, as well as some procured on a recent trip.

TAGA 2018 and the Future of Graphic Arts Research

Published March 30, 2018

Frank Romano reports from the 70th TAGA Annual Technical Conference, held March 18–21 in Baltimore, Md.

RIT Students Showcase Their Printing Prowess at the Annual TAGA Conference

Published March 30, 2018

At the 70th Annual TAGA Conference, held earlier this month, Frank Romano talks to seven students from the Rochester Institute of Technology who participated in the student chapter journal competition. The journals demonstrate the students’ printing prowess, and use creative design as well as Augmented Reality and QR codes to highlight their academic research.

Show and Tell

Published March 23, 2018

As the current industry trade show landscape changes, Frank Romano looks back at how the trade show landscape has always been changing.

Ad Nauseam: Frank on Pop-Up vs. Print Ads

Published March 23, 2018

Frank goes on a mini rant about pop-ups. Print ads are not annoying and do not interfere with the reading experience.

Frankly Reading

Published March 16, 2018

Frank recommends two books, one on sales training and one on applying online print. They are “25 Best Sales Tips Ever” and “Keep Calm and Print On.” This one would be funny if you had pop-ups throughout it.

Frank Tells the Plane Truth About Paper

Published March 9, 2018

Frank discovers that a major airline saves fuel by using lighter weight paper in their inflight magazine

Nothing for Money: Forgery On the Desktop

Published March 2, 2018

Frank talks about fake money and how one forger used a desktop printer to counterfeit 10 and 20 dollar bills.

Frank: Book Publishers Turn the Page

Published February 23, 2018

Frank opines about offset vs. digital printing for books and variable art for packaging. Book publishers are changing their warehousing and distribution strategies as a result.

The Good Book: A Tour of Baskerville's Bible

Published February 16, 2018

It was an atheist who created a beautiful Bible: John Baskerville was an artist who came to printing late in life. His 1700’s Bible is truly a work of art and Frank fingers it lovingly.

The Bold (But Not Italic) Plan to Save on Ink

Published February 9, 2018

It is said that the font you use can affect your inkjet ink cost. They have tried putting holes in the type and very light weights to reduce ink consumption. Next they will tell us to print in 4 point type.

Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Published February 2, 2018

Frank shows the exhibit at the Museum of Printing that produced some of the props for the movie “The Post.” You will learn new terms like turtle, flong, lockup, and more

Frank: High Quality Printing Still Exists!

Published January 26, 2018

Frank looks at some high-quality advertising publications and opines that fine printing still exists. He uses some ad pubs inserted in the NY Times and Wall Street Journal.

Frank on "Paper Shamers"

Published January 19, 2018

Frank goes on a mini rant against those folks who shame us for using paper. He calls them “paper shamers” as he takes them to task for creating guilt trips for those who use paper.

Frank's Favorite Books about Paper

Published January 12, 2018

Frank is an unabashed paper lover and is into trees. He describes some of his favorite books about paper that are on paper. He also manages to mention Zip disks.

Frank Tours the Museum of Printing

Published December 15, 2017

Frank tours the Museum of Printing in Haverhill, MA - in an unusual manner. You have to see it to believe it.

Frank Flashback: Marketing4Digital Report on Selling Digital Print to Specific Markets

Published December 8, 2017

Frank found a copy of a report from a decade ago on selling digital print to specific markets. It was called Marketing4Digital and distributed via the Digital Printing Council.

Frank on the Monotype Imaging Font Survey

Published December 1, 2017

Monotype Imaging recently polled the industry about fonts. There are over one million fonts available today and this study provided some insights into purchasing habits.

Frank Talks about a Slowdown In Ebooks And An Upsurge In Printed Books

Published November 17, 2017

Frank found an article in the Wall Street Journal about print books and ebooks. One graph showed a slowdown in ebooks and an upsurge in printed books. This warranted commentary, of course.

Frank Visits Gamse Lithographing Co

Published November 10, 2017

Gamse Lithographing has been around since 1894. Production Manager Mark LeDonne took me on a whirlwind tour of a super label plant that uses almost every printing process. But Frank found Mark’s personal history more interesting.

Frank Learns about PrintReleaf at Print17

Published November 3, 2017

Frank meets Jordan Darragh of PrintReleaf which helps printing organizations nullify the effect of print on forests. Printers use online tools to calculate print job effects and trees are planted in five forests around the world to compensate for the tress used for printing. Over 500,000 trees have been planted.

Frank Talks to Dave Henkel of Johnson & Quin

Published October 27, 2017

Dave Henkel is president of Johnson & Quin, a pioneer in variable data printing. J&Q has long been a major force in direct mail and integrated marketing. Dave was into digital printing since it has been in its infancy.

Frank Talks to Shaw Carpeting about Label Printing on the Konica KM-1

Published October 20, 2017

Dwight Blackwell of Shaw Carpeting in Georgia just installed a Konica KM-1 to print labels that are glued to the back of carpeting. The Konica KM-1 prints 6 pages on one sheet and Shaw will replace a number of smaller printers with this new unit.

Frank Visits Strategic Factory

Published October 13, 2017

Keith Miller took a small print shop and grew it into an $18 Million super shop called Strategic Factory. He changed the concept of what a printer is. Call the company what you wish but they still put imagery on all kinds of substrates for marketing applications.

Frank Visits K&W Finishing

Published October 6, 2017

Kathy Holmes at K&W Finishing offers the traditional die cutting, coating, and other bindery services. But this 2nd-generation binder has taken the company into the 21st Century with laser diecutting.

Frank Vists manroland web systems

Published September 29, 2017

Frank caught up with Greg Blue is President & CEO of manroland web systems in the US to get an update on the venerable offset press manufacturer. Offset presses are still being sold as printers replace a few older presses with one new press to achieve more productivity.

Frank Visits KBA

Published September 15, 2017

Eric Frank of KBA brought us up to date on KBA. The company celebrates its 200th anniversary this year. Frederick Koenig invented the first steam-driven cylinder press for the London Times and his company continues to innovate after two centuries.

Random Automation at Print 17

Published September 15, 2017

On day 3 of Print 17 Frank Romano pitched the most random idea for a show floor tour video. Frank said, "I want to do something that has never been done before." We said sure. Next time, we'll ask more questions.

Frank takes a look at Canon's Océ i300 at Print 17

Published September 14, 2017

Sander Hendrix of Canon talks to Frank about the newest member of the Canon Océ digital printing family. Canon has a new sheetfed inkjet press that is finding acceptance in the commercial printing market.

Frank Reviews Duplo's New System for Digital Embellishment

Published September 8, 2017

Frank meets up with Si Nguyen, VP of Sales for Duplo, a company famous for its finishing equipment. Duplo’s new coating system makes imagery jump off the page. It embellishes print and adds value to it.

Frank Interviews Greg Wallace at HPG Print

Published September 1, 2017

Frank has known Greg Wallace for over 30 years. At HPG Print Greg has harnessed digital printing, wide format printing and every kind of finishing you can imagine. Recently, he discovered a new printing market that goes way beyond paper.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about QWERTY

Published August 25, 2017

Frank has QWERTY on his mind and shows us a number of typewriters. He mentions Maltron and Dvorak and their attempts to supplant QWERTY. It did not work.

Frank: British Attack on Apostrophe Must Be Stopped

Published August 18, 2017

Frank bemoans the British attempt to eliminate the apostrophe in place names. So far, only Frank has spoken out against this perversion of orthography as misguided souls take a hammer to our grammar.

Frank Catches Up with John Werner

Published August 4, 2017

Frank caught up with John Werner, past editor and publisher of the Green Sheet, an industry newsletter. For 12 years, John attended every show, conference, and seminar and reported it in Graphic Communications World, which is still published.

Frank on the History of Recorded Information

Published July 28, 2017

Frank takes us on a whirlwind tour of the history of recorded information and caps it with new discoveries that record information on bacteria DNA.

Frank Finds A Museum of Interesting Things at EastPack

Published July 14, 2017

While visiting EastPack, Frank is unsurprisingly drawn to a booth called "The Museum of Interesting Things" and talks to Denny Daniel who shows him some of the cool things in their collection.

Frank Visits EastPak 2017

Published July 7, 2017

Frank provides a guided tour of EastPak 2017, complete with 3D printing, robotics, and invisible stealth companies.

Frank Twitters

Published June 29, 2017

Frank contends that he created the term “TWITTERS” and except for an S would be owed a lot of money. He shows examples from 1980 copies of TypeWorld.

Romano Review of Books: "Brand Luther"

Published June 23, 2017

Frank reviews a book called “Brand Luther” that tells the true story of an unknown monk who used printing to challenge the mightiest force on earth at the time.

Everything You Wanted to Know about the Bang & Interrobang

Published June 16, 2017

From the Latin for joy to the screamer, we are using exclamation marks for much of our communication. The interrobang is not used as much.

Kids and Their Computers.

Published June 9, 2017

Frank opines about kids and computers. He even interviews an actual kid who is using a typewriter.

The Great Handwriting Over Printing Debate

Published June 2, 2017

Frank opines about irony in the modern world and also harks back to 1516 when a monk praised handwriting over printing.

Frank on QuarkXPress and Adobe InDesign

Published May 26, 2017

In a frank video, Frank confesses that he still uses QuarkXPress, in a world dominated by Adobe InDesign. He is unapologetic.

A Mailer That Grows Wildflowers. A Tree That Grows Books.

Published May 19, 2017

Thinking he's got something special, WhatTheyThink Senior Video Editor Jon Emmerich does a little show-and-tell and asks for Frank's response. In true Frank fashion, Frank quickly and efficiently crushes Jon's dreams.

Frank Catches up with Print Evangelist Daniel Dejean

Published May 12, 2017

Frank catches up with Daniel Dejean of SAPPI Fine Paper at the Digital Printing event in Toronto. Daniel is a great evangelist for print.

Frank on our Emotional Attachment to Books

Published May 5, 2017

Frank looks at some old books produced as part of student projects and a host of memories are evoked. This never happens with e-books or PDFs.

Frank on Digital Textile Printing

Published April 28, 2017

Frank bumps into David Manning, his oldest friend, at the Print Canada show. After high school, David went into the textile industry and Frank went into printing. Now their worlds have come together as printers use inkjet devices to print on fabric.

Carl Dantas, former head of Compugraphic, dead at 83

Published April 26, 2017

A lifetime is filled with many people. In 1971, I joined Compugraphic Corp. as their first marketing communications manager. Carl Dantas was then the VP of Operations. As the two founders, Bill Garth and Ellis Hansen, became less involved, Carl moved up the ranks to head the company.

Frank Visits Cal Poly's Shakespeare Museum

Published April 21, 2017

Frank goes back in time as he visits the Cal Poly Shakespeare Museum. Surrounded by modern printing technology, this collection is a time warp of how printing was in the past.

Printing with E-coli and Charging Students to Print Homework

Published April 7, 2017

Frank has a potpourri of items to rail against, especially printing with e-coli bacterium. He also rants against charging students for printing homework assignments.

Frank Romano Memorial Bookshelf at CalPoly

Published March 30, 2017

Frank tours the Student Resource Room at Cal Poly and points out his books (because no one else will). Cal Poly has received many donations of research publications over the years.

CalPoly Students Create Book about Printing Pioneer Michael Bruno

Published March 24, 2017

Frank’s class at Cal Poly produced a 300-page book on the life and work of printing pioneer Michael Bruno. Mike was one of the major researchers who made offset lithography a viable process.

Frank on Newspaper Business Practices

Published March 17, 2017

We need newspapers and they need us. But some of their business practices could be improved. With declines in ad revenues, newspapers are raising subscription rates to stay in business.

Frank Visits Delphax

Published March 10, 2017

Frank visits Delphax in Missassauga, Canada to take a look at the elan 500 digital printing system. It is interesting that many of the original Delphax ion deposition printing systems are still in use. The elan is their first foray into inkjet printing.

Frank and Konica Minolta's Gavin Smith "Connect" on Book Cover Embellishment

Published February 17, 2017

Frank talks to Gavin Smith of Konica, which distributed 800 copies of “The New Print Industry” book at EFI CONNECT Conference. We discuss the cover embellishment by MGI.

Frank on Industry Research and WhatTheyThink's Printing Forecast

Published February 10, 2017

Frank reviews WhatTheyThink's latest research and "Printing Forecast 2017". This insightful report captures the mindset of the printing industry at this time and presents both Federal data and projections.

Frank Talks to EFI's Holly O’Rourke about Connect 2017

Published February 3, 2017

Frank talks to Holly O’Rourke of EFI about the latest EFI CONNECT Conference held in Las Vegas. This was one of the most successful of the 17 CONNECT Conferences in terms of content and attendance.

Frank on RIT Professor Frank Cost's Contact Print Book

Published January 26, 2017

Once again, RIT professor Frank Cost has preserved his family’s memories. It all started with a contact sheet of six Black & White prints of Frank’s mother from the 1950s.

We lost Derek Kyte and Lucien De Schamphelaere

Published January 23, 2017

A Rememberance by Frank Romano

Frank on Pre-VDP Personalized Direct Mail

Published January 20, 2017

Frank Romano keeps EVERYTHING. This week he shares his collection of pre-VDP personalized direct mail when everyone was a winner. Direct marketers tried every trick to get you to open the envelope.

Frank Looks Back at Early Variable Data Printing

Published January 13, 2017

Frank talks about some of the earliest Variable Data Printing from when digital color first came into play in 1994. He shows the now classic Alphabits piece and many others.

Back to the Future of Print

Published January 6, 2017

Frank and his students have been predicting the future of print for over 20 years. He shows us five books that students have produced as class projects, with one done in two weekends.

Frank's Chest of Gutenbergian Junk

Published December 20, 2016

Frank shows his collection of Gutenbergian souvenirs. He may be keeping the Gutenberg Museum souvenir shop in business single handed. If you're looking for a holiday gift to give Frank, may we suggest two tickets to "Gutenberg: The Musical."

Frank Rant Alert: Inkjet Printer Ink Packaging

Published December 16, 2016

Frank goes on a rant about desktop inkjet printer ink packaging. He is so upset he does not notice the light, although it could be the heat emanating from his head.

Mural Wall Printing by Zeescape

Published December 9, 2016

An Australian company has developed an inkjet printing system that prints on walls — right, walls. Zeescape has created a new category of inkjet printer: wide format, flatbed, 3D, and now vertical.

Frank is Entranced by Pop-up Cards

Published December 2, 2016

Frank is entranced by pop-up cards from opencardnow.com. Former typographer Julie Brumlik has a new career with pop-up origami. Frank even shares his pop-up Gutenberg book.

Frank is Intrigued by 3 Unrelated Technology Items

Published November 23, 2016

Frank is intrigued by three unrelated technology items: food made from wood, energy made from urine, and and paper made from waste paper in the office.

Frank Talks to Color Management Consultant About Tracking Color During Production

Published November 18, 2016

Frank meets up with David Hunter who has developed a system that tracks all color activity in a plant for all devices with feedback and data that aids in the management of production.

Frank on Unique Augmented Reality Application Created by RIT Students

Published November 11, 2016

Frank meets with Professor Elena Fedorovskaya at RIT School of Media Sciences to get a demonstration of a unique augmented reality smart phone app created by students. Any image, print or art or more, can activate a link to a website for video or audio presentation.

Frank is a Hoarder

Published November 4, 2016

We know that Frank is a hoarder but we did not know that it extended to hats. You got that right. Frank has saved hats. He wears most of them in this video.

Dot-com Printers. Where are they now?

Published October 28, 2016

Frank found a copy of one of his old books that covered the dotcom boom of the late 1990s. It is interesting to see who was who then and who is still around now. (Watch this one in full screen)

The Largest Printers in 1992. Where Are They Now?

Published October 21, 2016

Frank found a list of the largest printers from 1992. It documents the significant changes in the industry through merger, acquisition, and bankruptcy.

Frank on the Time Magazine Archive

Published October 7, 2016

TIME magazine moved its entire archive from its New York City headquarters. This archive represents the history of most of the 20th Century.

Frank Explores Graph Expo 2016

Published September 29, 2016

Frank Romano is sweet on Graph Expo, but it's not all sunshine and roses. Follow along as he explores his favorite and not-so-favorite highlights on the trade show floor in Orlando, Florida.

Brad Flagge of Push Solutions Talks About Recent Offset Investments

Published September 22, 2016

Frank Romano talks to Brad Flagge President and CEO of New Berlin, WI based Push Solutions. Push Solutions recently installed a new offset press from RMGT with LED UV. The press allows the to print on both paper and, a new market for them, plastic substrates.

Frank Visited Patrick Goosens' Bakery & Antique Press Warehouse

Published September 16, 2016

Frank visited Patrick Goosens who owns the oldest bakery in Antwerp. What does this have to do with printing? Patrick has filled a large warehouse with 100s of antique presses and typesetting machines and saved a large part of printing history.

Frank's New Book: The New Print Industry

Published September 9, 2016

This will be Frank's 44th GraphExpo/Print event and attendees at his two seminars will receive a free book on The New Print Industry. Graphco in Solon, Ohio produced the books at a recent open house.

Around the World with Frank: Two Sides UK

Published September 2, 2016

Frank always takes the long way to Drupa on a ship that goes around the world. From Israel to China and Antwerp to London, he files reports that we will run over the next few weeks. In this week's episode Frank is having a pint with Jonathan Tame from Two Sides UK to talk about Two Sides and its mission to promote sustainability of print communications.

Around the World with Frank: London Book Sale

Published August 26, 2016

Frank always takes the long way to Drupa on a ship that goes around the world. From Israel to China and Antwerp to London, he files reports that we will run over the next few weeks. In this week's episode Frank is at a book sale in London.

Around the World with Frank: Lost in the Hallways at HP Indigo

Published August 19, 2016

Frank always takes the long way to Drupa on a ship that goes around the world. From Israel to China and Antwerp to London, he files reports that we will run over the next few weeks. In this week's episode Frank is still at HP Indigo.

Around the World with Frank: HP Indigo

Published August 12, 2016

Frank always takes the long way to Drupa on a ship that goes around the world. From Israel to China and Antwerp to London, he files reports that we will run over the next few weeks. In this weeks episode he stops at HP Indigo in Israel.

Around the World with Frank: Artron Printing

Published August 5, 2016

Frank always takes the long way to Drupa on a ship that goes around the world. From Israel to China and Antwerp to London, he files reports that we will run over the next few weeks. In this weeks episode he stops at Artron Printing in Shenzhen, China.

Frank's Hot Type Time Machine Travels Back to Time of Paste Ups

Published July 29, 2016

Frank time travels back to the days of rubber cement, wax, rubylith, non-repro blue, and the “magic knife.” We think he is sniffing rubber cement.

Frank on Company Slogans and Taglines

Published July 22, 2016

Frank looks back at slogans and taglines from printing industry suppliers at drupa 2016.

Frank on Counterfeiting and Promotions that Suck

Published July 15, 2016

Frank comments on counterfeiting in a hotel room, a golden anniversary for an industry icon, and e-mail “promotion promotion” that sucks. All are totally unrelated.

Frankentype: Growing Type in a Petri Dish

Published July 8, 2016

Growing type in a petri dish. Yes, scientists in Israel have created frankentype in the lab. This may be how Comic Sans was created.

Frank on Print Publications Declines

Published July 1, 2016

As the number of print publications declines, the number of places where you can buy them declines as well. We may be running out of places to buy printed pubs.

Frank Visits Scodix at drupa 2016

Published June 24, 2016

Once again, Frank waxes poetic about a machine. We think he likes machines more than people. This time it is the B1 Scodix press for embellishment of all kinds.

Frank Gives an Overview of Landa at drupa 2016

Published June 17, 2016

Frank climbs to the top of the Landa booth to give both a verbal and visual overview of the hottest ticket at drupa.

Frank's drupa Notebook: Kodak 3.0

Published June 3, 2016

The yellow box is glowing again. You sense it as soon as you enter the Kodak booth at Drupa 2016. It is the most creative booth I have seen in my eleven Drupas. Every product and service is showcased. Customer samples abound. It is Disneyland for printing geeks.

Frank's drupa Notebook: Important themes of drupa

Published June 3, 2016

Frank covers 12 important themes of drupa 2016 that he thought worth sharing, including new inks, corrugated digital presses, digital approaching offset speeds, and more!

Frank Visits Massachusetts College of Art & Design in Boston

Published May 27, 2016

Frank visits with Al Gowan at the TJ Lyons antique font collection at Massachusetts College of Art & Design in Boston.

Frank: The Future of Photography is Print!

Published May 20, 2016

Frank shows a unique book of beautiful photos by Eddy Hagen of VIGC in Belgium. The future of photography is print because that is the way we will preserve them.

Frank on Retail Magazine Prices

Published May 13, 2016

Retail prices for magazines are going up as sales are going down. Frank paid over $10 for a magazine and still has not gotten over it.

Ink Ado: Frank Visits with Benny Landa

Published May 6, 2016

Benny Landa drives fast. I think he is in a hurry to reach the future. We had been on a whirlwind visit to the several Landa facilities in Tel Aviv, Israel and we were heading to a secret lab buried in the bowels of a non-descript industrial building.

Frank Loves Coupons

Published April 29, 2016

Frank loves coupons. They save money and they are in print. Or they are online and you print them out with your paper and ink. Or they are on your mobile device and you do a pixel pass at checkout.

Frank: Print Still the Best Way to Share Memories

Published April 15, 2016

Frank talks about another Frank who just published a book on his family history. Print is still the best way to share memories and Frank Cost does it very well.

Frank: What's the Matter with Kids These Days?

Published April 8, 2016

Kids. What’s that matter with kids today? Kids. Who can understand what they say? Kids. Get them to say one word to me. Kids. That’s ‘cause they text and talk electronically.

Landa and the Soul of a New Machine

Published April 4, 2016

Landa has announced that its lineup of Nanographic Printing presses at Drupa will include sheetfed presses running at 13,000 B1 sheets per hour as well as one meter-wide (41 in.) web presses printing on plastic packaging films. The company will also unveil Landa Nano-Metallography, a zero-waste metallization technology that will halve the cost of metallized printing compared to foil transfer processes.

Yeah…Well…You Know…That’s Just Like Frank’s Opinion, Man

Published April 1, 2016

In a break from his typical format, Frank Romano gives us a peek into his mind as he dives deep into hard-hitting, sometimes taboo topics and issues such as politics, religion, and even nutrition. He even somehow manages to relate all these things back to the printing industry in a way that only Frank Romano can. So sit back, enjoy, and watch the master at his craft.

The Death of the Card Catalog and the New World of Search

Published March 25, 2016

Frank bemoans the loss of the venerable library card catalog but celebrates the new world of search. The analog cards and the Dewey Decimal System were fine in their day but the world has changed.

Frank: America Must Close its Font Gap

Published March 18, 2016

Canada 150 is a national font for our friends up north. Basketball players now have their own typefaces. America must close this “font gap.”

Frank on Independent Bookstores

Published March 11, 2016

The number of independent bookstores is up as the total number of bookstores is down. Frank talks about new and used books. He sees no future in used e-books.

Frank: Converting Printed Books to Digital Form

Published March 4, 2016

Converting printed books to digital form is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Information is more accessible than at any time in the history of the world. Fat good it does.

Frank: E-Book Sales versus Print Book Sales

Published February 26, 2016

E-books are up and print books are down. Print books are up and e-books are down. What’s going on? Just a reflection of the contradictory nature of the book consumer.

Frank: Beautiful Printing from Puerto Rico

Published February 19, 2016

Frank found another example of beautiful printing. It is from Model Offset in Puerto Rico and was sent by Suzette Jimenez, a former RIT student.

Frank: Election ballots, Martha Stewart, and letterpress printing

Published February 12, 2016

Frank found two unrelated items that piqued his interest. One was pre-marked election ballots and the other was not. Find out how Martha Stewart and letterpress printing are related.

What Happens if Amazon Dies

Published February 4, 2016

Frank opines on what happens if amazon.com dies? Think of all the data that it has stored and its long tentacles that extend into every nook and cranny of cyberspace—and our lives.

Frank: Ad Inserts Are A Call To Action

Published January 29, 2016

Free standing inserts may be annoying but they are an important part of commerce. Ad inserts are a call to action. They give you a reason to visit a store and maybe buy something.

Frank on QR Codes and Ad Blocking

Published January 22, 2016

Frank opines about the elimination of QR codes and how ad blocking may lower advertising industry revenue.

Chatbooks Drives Print Demand Using Digital Content, Frank Comments

Published January 15, 2016

WhatTheyThink's Eric Vessels asks a video question of Frank Romano about a new service he discovered called Chatbooks. The app let's you take your digital photos from Instagram, Facebook, or your phone and make a photobook. The killer app, though, is the subscription model. Frank is impressed!

Frank Romano on what to expect at drupa 2016

Published January 12, 2016

Frank is heading off to his 11th drupa -- 44 years of drupa since 1972! He characterizes the show as inkjet on steroids -- from teaser inkjet drupa to real inkjet drupa to inkjet on steroids. He also expects to see many more innovations, including workflow. More Americans should go to get a glimpse of the future -- so says Frank Romano!

Frank Romano on Counting Trees

Published January 8, 2016

There are 3.04 Trillion trees on the planet. Someone counted them. They should now start counting the grains of sand on the planet. That will draw their attention away from tress for a while.

Why Do Many Libraries Hate Books?

Published December 18, 2015

Why do many libraries hate books? Libraries are spending more money on electronic access and meeting pods and cutting back on access to the printed book. The root of library comes from the word book. What do we call them now: Interneteries?

Jack Klasnic Passes

Published December 14, 2015

My friend and partner, Jack Klasnic, is gone. We met in the 1970s and partnered to perform audits of inplant printing facilities.

Frank Romano Explores the New Google Logo

Published December 11, 2015

Google changed their logo. Six letters got a lot of attention. Only three of the letters are unique enough to allow some level of creativity. The three letters that are overly simplistic spell the word “loo.”

Frank Romano on the Printing of the Declaration of Independence

Published December 4, 2015

Someone asked why the Declaration of Independence was not printed. Frank answers the question with a “Yes, it was printed. That’s how most people learned about it.”

Frank Spends Some Time with the New Xerox iGen 5

Published November 20, 2015

Frank spends some time on the show floor at this years' Graph Expo with the Xerox iGen 5. One of three Must See 'Em winners for Xerox, the iGen 5 adds a fifth printing station extending the color gamut giving more brand color flexibility to printers.

Frank Talks Shake Shack Font

Published November 13, 2015

The folks at Shake Shack have selected a sans serif font that goes beyond the umpteen sans serif fonts that already exist. Neutra is a geometric sans serif designed by an architect.

Frank Takes a Walk Around SGIA Expo

Published November 6, 2015

Frank took a walk down one aisle at the Atlanta SGIA show and saw every kind of inkjet printer. Just walking from one end of the show to the other could take 30 minutes. The array of equipment was overwhelming.

Frank Visits LogoJet and Is Amazed by the Range of 3-Dimensional Materials and Objects

Published November 6, 2015

Frank saw a whole tray of golf balls being printed at SGIA and this got his attention. He discovered LogoJet which prints on a wide range of 3-dimensional materials and objects.

Frank's "Promote Print" Mini-Rant

Published October 30, 2015

The paper industry is about to launch a campaign to promote print. Frank goes off on a mini rant about previous attempts to promote print. It's Frank. It's a rant. You'll want to see this.

Frank Talks KFC and Polaroid Cameras (Not Separate Topics)

Published October 23, 2015

Those chicken people at KFC have placed a Bluetooth Polaroid printer at the bottom of a bucket of legs, thighs, and breasts. Frank shows his 30-year old antique Polaroid and tries to plug a Firewire cable into a….You don’t want to know.

Frank on Roycrofters and Elbert Hubbard

Published October 16, 2015

Frank talks about Elbert Hubbard and the Roycrofters of E. Aurora, NY. Hubbard began the American arts and crafts movement and sold printed material via mail order at the turn of the last century.

The Day Frank Romano was Born: In Print!

Published October 9, 2015

Frank collects printed material from and about the day he was born. He has never gotten over it. Frank likes the printed record that follows all of us through life.

Frank Romano talks printing Wikipedia, Counterfeiting, and Harper Lee

Published October 2, 2015

Frank comments on printing out the gazillion pages of Wikipedia, which you can buy for $500,000. You would need an equal amount for the building to house it. He also comments on “printing errors” and amateur forgery.

Frank and Cary Wrap up Graph Expo 2015

Published September 25, 2015

Frank Romano and Cary Sherburne give their wrap up on Graph Expo 2015.

Frank Loves Offset Printing Presses

Published September 18, 2015

Frank kisses a printing press. Words are inadequate. Watch the video.

Frank Talks Inkjet from the Inaugural thINK Conference

Published September 11, 2015

Frank Romano attends the first ever thINK user conference sponsored by Canon Solutions America and talks about the importance of such an event to the industry.

Frank Talks Double Spaces, Comma Exclamations, and Interobangs

Published September 4, 2015

Frank talks about his favorite subject: type—double spaces after a sentence period, the weird combined comma-exclamation point, and the very famous Interobang from 1967.

Frank Talks Fonts with Facebook, Kindle, and Einstein

Published August 28, 2015

Frank talks about the new Facebook logo, the new font for Kindle readers, and a font of Einstein’s handwriting that allows you to write like a genius. Thinking like a genius is something different.

Frank Finds a Bible That Fits on the Head of a Pin

Published August 21, 2015

Frank finds a Bible that fits on the head of a pin. And still has room for angels. He also found recent commentary on the 1632 Wicked Bible that left the word “not” out of one of the commandments.

Frank: Check Out the Graph Expo 2015 Seminar Program!

Published August 14, 2015

Graph Expo is right around the corner and Frank encourages everyone to consider the seminar program when you plan your visit. As you see him wandering the show, say hello.

Frank on Digitally Printed 3-D Images

Published August 7, 2015

Frank is visited by another Frank whose class has made a set of 3-D images with a camera mounted on a drone. Just like your old Viewmaster or even older Steropticon.

Frank Compares Print and Electronic Edition Advertising

Published July 31, 2015

Frank opines on ads in print magazines compared to ads in digital magazines. He likes the impact of the print advertisement compared to the screen-sized version on the computer.

Frank Secret Shops for Greeting Cards

Published July 24, 2015

Frank visits three major drug store chains and buys greeting cards. He discovers the split between US and Chinese production. Frank ends with his own pop-up card that was made in America.

Frank on Mobile Trends' Impact on Print

Published July 17, 2015

New York Times print circulation is down while revenue is up and Frank uses this fact as a springboard to talk about mobile trends.

Frank on Candidate Logos and Typography Choices

Published July 10, 2015

Frank is running for president—just like everyone else. He examines the typography of some of the candidate logos, which are mostly sans serif. Only two are serif fonts. Lots of Avenir and almost no Helvetica.

Frank on Equipment Graveyards, Pre-1919 Full Color Baseball Cards, and Other Potpourri

Published June 26, 2015

Frank has a potpourri of commentary, from a TV typo to equipment graveyard to a print video to pre-1919 full-color baseball cards. Only Frank would find these to be relevant.

Frank: What the Helvetica?!

Published June 19, 2015

What the Helvetica?! Frank goes on a mini-rant when some typographic experts say that Times New Roman is a bad choice for resumes.

Remembering Hermann Zapf

Published June 12, 2015

Frank remembers Hermann Zapf (1918-2015) as one of the world’s great type designers. He shares some personal stories and shows some of Zapf’s works. Includes commentary from Richard Romano.

Frank on Saving Photos, Reading Retention, and Print Catalogs

Published May 29, 2015

Frank has three items that cover saving photos, reading retention, and catalogs. He starts with a Google executive saying that we should print more.

Frank Talks to Color Guru Ed Grainger on the Development of a New Color System

Published May 22, 2015

Frank meets up with color technology legend Ed Grainger at Taga Conference in Albuquerque. Ed was the inventor of the Kodak Approval proofing system and the Colortron. Frank gave him 3 minutes to describe a new system he is developing.

Frank Tours Cal Poly Graphic Communications

Published May 15, 2015

Frank tours the shelves of the Cal Poly Graphic Communications resource room and waxes nostalgic about books, especially his own books

Frank visits Mackenzie & Harris Typefoundry

Published May 8, 2015

Frank visits Mackenzie & Harris on their 100th anniversary. M&H is a hot metal typecaster and letterpress printer based in San Francisco.

Frank: Students Are Paying Too Much For Textbooks

Published May 1, 2015

Frank goes on a mini rant about textbook pricing. Students are paying a small fortune for textbooks because of student loans, government subsidies, and, perhaps, greed.

Frank on a Multi-Drop Approach To High Quality Inkjet Imagery

Published April 24, 2015

Frank talks about technology developer Mitch Bogart and his multi-drop approach to high quality inkjet imagery. Attention: inkjet suppliers—you should watch this.

Frank on JC Penney and its Catalog

Published April 17, 2015

When JC Penney killed their catalog, Frank opined that was the beginning of the end of the retailer. Things did get bad and now they are bringing the catalog back.

Frank on HP's High Definition Nozzle Architecture

Published April 10, 2015

Frank reviews samples from the new HP High Definition Nozzle Architecture for their popular Web Inkjet Press. Spoiler alert: he likes it.

Frank Gets a 3D-Printing Demo from 3D Systems

Published April 3, 2015

Frank gets a demo of 3D printing from Will Sturgeon, 3D Systems' retail training manager. With units as small as a mini-refridgerator, you too can be into 3D printing.

Frank Finds A Way To Save The Printing Industry

Published April 1, 2015

Frank Romano highlights industry news from the past 500 years. Some boring history lesson Zzzzz. Other major announcements include a way to “save the printing industry”.

Frank talks to Patrick Kerr from Kodak about Prepress Workflows

Published March 27, 2015

Frank talks to Patrick Kerr, Technical Product Manager at Eastman Kodak about prepress workflows at the EFI Connect conference in Las Vegas.

Frank Interviews Jim Niemiec of Verso on Papers for Digital Printing

Published March 20, 2015

Frank interviews Jim Niemiec, Product Innovation Manager at Verso, which recently acquired NewPage, on papers for digital printing. As the paper industry contracts, it is still seeing growth in paper for toner and inkjet printing.

Frank on Typewriters and Erasers

Published March 13, 2015

Remember those round red erasers with a brush on the end? Frank is at the Museum of Printing to talk about typewriters and erasers. Plus a game of “what is it?”

Type has been in the news because of # and @ and more

Published March 6, 2015

The renaissance in letterpress printing has been stymied by a shortage of the metal hashtag # and the @ sign. We are running out of typewriter symbols to usurp,

Frank Talks to Larry Zusman about Personalized Promotion

Published February 27, 2015

Larry Zusman is a pioneer in variable data printing and has a lot to say about personalized promotion. Frank caught up with him in Boston in a dark hotel corridor.

Frank spends a few minutes with designer Lance Hidy.

Published February 20, 2015

Frank interviews renowned graphic designer Lance Hidy at the Museum of Printing, who was one of the first creative artists to apply Photoshop.

Frank Begins with a Doorknob and Opens to Doors to an Entire Building

Published February 13, 2015

Frank talks about a unique building in New York City that is part of printing history. It was the first building built for multiple printing tenants.

Frank Visits X-Rite

Published February 6, 2015

Frank visits X-Rite and talks about new color workflows with Shoshana Burgett. X-Rite/Pantone has done a great deal to help brand owners communicate brand colors.

Sweden has its own typeface. Frank says America should have one too

Published January 28, 2015

Frank discusses several options for an all-American font. Helvetica is not an option. After all, it means Switzerland. ATF Americana comes to mind.

Frank has two new Books on the History of the Industry

Published January 23, 2015

In a shameless plug, Frank discusses his two new books about the history of the Linotype company and the phototypesetting era. All proceeds go to education.

Frank on The New Print Buyers: Who They Are, What They Want, and What You Should Do

Published January 16, 2015

Frank Romano reviews a recent report from Margie Dana and John Zarwan on the "New Print Buyer".

We Remember Robert Howard

Published January 12, 2015

Robert Howard, the genius behind the dot matrix printer and the direct imaging press, among many other technologies, passed over the holidays. He was 91. Chairman Bob, as he was called, was surrounded by his wife Kit and family

Frank on Screen Truepress Jet UV and Color-Logic Process Metallic Color System Technology

Published January 9, 2015

Frank shares a print application from Screen using its Truepress Jet UV digital printing platform with Color-Logic's Process Metallic Color System technology. Spoiler alert: He loves it.

Frank on the Changing Nature of Newspapers: Is It Inkjet Time?

Published December 19, 2014

Frank takes a look at the size change of newspapers over the course of 100 years by comparing news of the Titanic with news of current day and posits that newspapers are reaching a size that is coming close to inkjet's sweet spot.

Frank on a New Model for MFP Inkjet Sales

Published December 12, 2014

This week Frank talks inkjet printer ink - the kind you use in your personal office. He discusses Epson's recent announcement to begin offering refillable ink tanks and how this differs from previous sales models.

Frank Reviews the Highcon Technology (Spoiler: He Likes It)

Published December 5, 2014

Frank reviews the Highcon technology - a simple approach, yet very complex. He shows us several examples of what is possible, from packaging, to die cut cards, to stickers, and (coming soon) embossing.

Frank Highlights the New Screen Truepress Jet520HD

Published November 21, 2014

This week, Frank joins us from just outside of Chicago for the introduction of a new roll-fed inkjet press, the Screen Truepresss Jet520 HD.

Frank Talks Color Management (In a Purple Shirt)

Published November 14, 2014

This week, Frank revisits color management, first by thanking the many people involved in a recent comment thread on one of his videos, then by re-stating his opinion that color management is a mess. He also calls for a "Color Summit".

From RIT to Staples, Frank Interviews a Former Student

Published November 7, 2014

RIT graduate Justin Searles joins Frank Romano and talks about his career path since graduating and how he ended up at Staples as Production Manager.

Frank Romano's Media Storage Types Exhibit

Published October 31, 2014

This week, Frank shows off an exhibit he put together consisting of all different forms of media. From jacquard looms, to punch cards, to floppy disks, to DVDs. Frank has the history of storage media covered!

Frank Discovers a Wood Type Revival in New York

Published October 24, 2014

Frank visits Geri McCormick of Virgin Wood Type in Brighton, New York. They discuss how the company is reviving wood type and dig in to the process she uses.

Do Book Covers Still Matter?

Published October 17, 2014

Frank joins us this week with Holly Rollins from RIT as she discusses her thesis on e-books. The question she had was whether book covers were important for e-books as well as physical books. The answer: Yes!

Frank Romano on Color Management

Published October 10, 2014

This week, Frank talks color. Color management, specifically. Today, with all the innovation and years of dealing with it, color management is still an issue. The main problem? No consistent standard.

Another Round of "What's on Frank's Desk?"

Published October 3, 2014

We end a busy Graph Expo week with a lighthearted look at some things that wind up on Frank's desk. A printer in Mexico prints breaking news on hand towels. In Sri Lanka, a special newspaper prints with ink that has mosquito repellant. A "phone book looking booster seat" and Russian security officers trying to sell a stolen Gutenburg bible rounds out the desk pile.

Frank on Graph Expo: Size Doesn't Matter

Published September 30, 2014

Frank Romano joins us from his 41st Graph Expo and discusses the size of the show and why that's the wrong thing to focus on. There is more new stuff at this year's show than he's seen in a long time. In the end, it's not the floor size, but the new solutions changing the industry that matters.

Things That Come Across Frank Romano's Desk

Published September 26, 2014

Frank's back with commentary around things that come across his desk, including an ironic New York Times article about print, the Qwerky Writer keyboard that emulates a typewriter for digital devices, nanoparticles, and printing...humans!

Frank Visits Former RIT Students and Partners at VariDirect Solutions

Published September 19, 2014

Frank joins us from the New York offices of VariDirect Solutions, a company started by two RIT graduates. We learn about the history of the new company and their expansion into wide format printing.

The Printed Collateral of Frank's Cruise Ships

Published September 12, 2014

Frequent readers of WhatTheyThink are aware that Frank Romano does not fly commercially - he plans ahead and takes cruises. This week, we get a unique look into one of his cruises as he shows us the printed collateral that comes with a cruise.

Frank Finds Out How a Printer Became a Publisher in Canada

Published September 5, 2014

This week, Frank interviews Troy McKenzie of Kwik Kopy Printing in Prince Edward Island, Canada. We learn about how KKP went from doing print work for a customer to hiring him and creating a publishing business.

Frank Romano: Three Unrelated Things

Published August 29, 2014

Join Frank from his desk at RIT as he talks about 3 unrelated things that across the desk at the same time. From the first author to use a word processor to a pot printing printer, Frank has you covered to end your week.

Frank: Saving Money Through Typeface Choices

Published August 22, 2014

This week, Frank talks about typefaces that save ink. A teen recently told the federal government that he could save them $400 million by switching from Times New Roman to Garamond.

Frank Looks at the Motioncutter Digital High-Speed Laser System

Published August 13, 2014

Frank visits with Wim Koning of Screen Europe at Ipex and they look at the Motioncutter laster cut system, reviewing many samples that show off the capability.

Frank on the Oxford English Dictionary

Published August 6, 2014

This week, Frank talks about the Oxford English Dictionary. It's the largest dictionary in the world and 20 years behind schedule. It possibly won't be published in print again.

Frank on the Life Cycle of Data on CDs

Published July 30, 2014

This week, Frank talks about the lifespan of the CD/DVD. Your burned discs are dying. What material holds up over time? You guessed it. Paper!

Frank Romano's Mailbox: Frank Shows Off Wood Type Font Prints

Published July 23, 2014

This week, Frank Romano joins us again with things people send him. This time, it's from Appleton Coated who support the Hamilton Wood Type Museum. Frank shows prints made with some of the type.

Frank Romano: Traditional Engraving is Still Around!

Published July 16, 2014

This week, Frank shares a book he received from the International Engraved Graphics Assocation: "Design to Touch" and talks about the traditional engraving techniques used to print the book. More information at iega.org

Frank Romano Talks Trade Shows at Ipex

Published July 9, 2014

Frank Romano joins us from Ipex in the Komori booth - where he finds an actual printing press! He uses this opportunity to not only comment on Ipex, but industry trade shows in general.

Frank Romano on the History of the Typewriter

Published July 2, 2014

Back at the museum, Frank gives us a rundown of the many typewriters that he's saved over the years - including the one that got him through college. Yes, they had college back then! Frank also gives a good history of the device.

A Peek Into the Printing Library in Salem New Hampshire

Published June 25, 2014

Frank joins us from the library he's putting together in Salem, New Hampshire. He explores the different examples of historical steel engraved plates including several examples of Intaglio.

Frank Visits Newpage at Dscoop

Published June 18, 2014

Frank visits the Newpage booth at Dscoop and talks to Dennis Essary, Director of Digital Papers, who shows him a new booklet that employs layer technology for interactive print as well as unique paper usage in printed applications.

Frank talks with nekoosa on their unique digital substrates

Published June 11, 2014

This week, Frank talks with nekoosa about their digital substrates including coated sheets and magnetic materials.

Frank Visits the West Main Artist Collective

Published May 28, 2014

Frank visits the West Main Artist Collective in Spartanburg, South Carolina where he gives a small tour and shows some of the equipment used by artisans to do printmaking.

Frank Romano Gets an Inside Look at Greenville Press

Published May 21, 2014

This week Frank visits The Greenville News and talks to Steve Caldwell, Press Operations Manager. They take a look at two Goss presses on site. They talk page count and newspaper subscription trends and the result on their offset newspaper press business.

Frank Visits GPA's Booth and Gets a Tee Shirt

Published May 14, 2014

Frank stops by GPA's booth and learns more about the company and what they offer in addition to getting a free tee shirt. He speaks with Laura Weber, Marketing Communications Specialist at the company.

A Tour of Frank Romano's Mergenthaler Memorial

Published May 7, 2014

This week Frank joins us from his library where he shows us a new memorial to Ottmar Mergenthaler and the The Mergenthaler Linotype Company. As always, it's an opportunity for us to learn.

Frank Romano's Potpourri (Pile of Stuff Laying on His Desk)

Published April 30, 2014

This week, Frank brings us a potpourri of material. We think Potpourri is French for "Pile of Stuff Laying on Ones Desk". Newsweek returns to print, the 1984 Betamax decision, print trumps digital in the attention economy, Chicago bypasses postal service for distribution, and print book growth.

Frank Romano: All These 1991 Products Now on iPhone

Published April 23, 2014

This week Frank (still wearing that shirt), shares an article about a 1991 Radio Shack ad featuring products that were deprecated by the introduction of the iPhone.

Frank Romano on Printing Wikipedia

Published April 16, 2014

This week Frank talks about a project aimed at printing all 4.3 million Wikipedia articles in 1,000 volumes. He also talks about how to get a single page from a Gutenberg bible for a cool 85 grand.

Frank Discusses Strange 3D Things Happening in the World

Published April 9, 2014

This week, Frank talks about discovering strange things that are happening in the world. A Hershey Chocolate 3D printer, a 3D robot, and futurology are all included in Romano's crazy mixed up world! Oh...and there's the shirt. What's up with the shirt?

Frank Romano Shows Off His Collection of Early Macintosh Computers

Published April 2, 2014

This week Frank shows us a library of items he's put together related to the printing industry. Among them are early Apple computers.

Frank Romano at Ipex 2014

Published March 28, 2014

Frank joins us from Ipex to talk about the show. He picks a spot to shoot the video with an actual printing press (Komori) behind him. We get his opinion of not only the Ipex show, but industry trade shows in general: yes, we still need them!

Just What IS on Frank's Wall?

Published March 26, 2014

This week, Frank answers a much asked question: What is all that stuff on the wall behind you? Viewers have long noticed when Frank is shooting his weekly video in his RIT office, there is a wall of stuff behind him. This week, we finally get a tour of "the wall".

From the Desk of Frank Romano

Published March 19, 2014

Frank discusses several things this week as they come across his desk. Helvetica perfume? Your likeness in chocolate? A 3D printed book cover? A rant on the decline of the Christmas card? All this and more from the beloved curmudgeon emeritus.

Frank on 3D Printing and Printed Electronics

Published March 12, 2014

Frank talks about all the news out there related to 3D printing and printed electronics. His google news alerts for "printing" is now 90% about 3D printing. Printed audio speakers, printed electricity, paper batteries. Frank has the future covered.

Frank Discusses Both Print Past and Print Future

Published March 5, 2014

Frank talks about the crown jewel of American Printing fetching $14.2 million, meeting a hectograph user on a train (whose daughter mentions him in an article), and the changing nature of "print is dead" articles.

A Potpourri of Material from Frank Romano

Published February 26, 2014

Frank skims the Internet and finds several items to comment on. Among them is what he calls "the dumbest idea ever" and "the most brilliant move a printing company could make". Want to know jobs about to be extinct? Frank knows!

Preserving the Art of Letterpress Printing

Published February 19, 2014

This week, Frank discusses the renaissance of letterpress printing and other historic craft printing and paper making techniques. Recently, RIT acquired an historic press that will allow them to teach students the art of letterpress printing.

Frank Gets Mail - Some of it He Really Likes!

Published February 12, 2014

This week Frank highlights mailers he's received that caught his attention. One by Canon - a thick three dimensional piece from Wired magazine, and one by EFI - an older piece he misplaced but saved because it has a video component. Yes. Video in a mailed marketing piece!

A History Lesson on the Birth of the Modern Phone System and the Internet

Published February 5, 2014

Frank gives a history lesson on the birth of the modern phone system. He focuses on a letter written to President Wilson from the President of AT&T. The end result of the coming regulated monopoly? The Internet!

Frank Helps Celebrate Kodak NYSE Re-listing

Published January 29, 2014

Frank joins us from the New York Stock Exchange floor where he was invited to celebrate Kodak being re-listed on the exchange. He talks about the job Antonio Perez did in guiding the company through bankruptcy and re-inventing itself.

Frank on Isaac Asimov, Backward and Forward

Published January 22, 2014

Frank reminisces about using a word processor (via cassette) in 1972 and meeting Isaac Asimov. Frank chases down an article by Asimov that mentions the use of the word processor and talks about some of Isaac's predictions. How close did he come?

Frank: Will Kiosks Replace Print?

Published January 15, 2014

This week, Frank catches a "blurb" in a local newspaper and as always uses it as a jumping off point for a rant for print. Will kiosks be the downfall of print? Of course not! See why.

Kindle, Schmindle...Paper Lives!

Published January 8, 2014

Frank gets sent an article which gets his attention. The title: "No, Paper Isn't Dead". The title got his attention, but what gets his focus is the article's claim that paper making hasn't changed much since it was invented in China. The final solution to the digital challenge? Chocolate paper!

A Visit by the Ghost of Printing Yet to Come

Published December 20, 2013

Predicting the future is easy; predicting what will happen next month is almost impossible. Prediction is especially difficult in the printing industry because we adapt technologies from other disciplines.

AARP Inkjet Messaging and the SarcMark

Published December 18, 2013

This week Frank uses his issues of AARP to highlight something new he noticed - inkjet messaging. He then talks about an unrelated story involving a new emoticon to express sarcasm. Yes, he's serious.

Frank Talks About the Future

Published December 11, 2013

This week, Frank talks about the future. A recent article he read discusses books that predicted the future and he uses this as a jumping off point to discuss the fact that nobody ever predicted the Internet.

Frank Reviews the Lumejet Printing Technology

Published December 4, 2013

Frank gets a sample from Lumejet and is compelled to research the methods and share them with us. He calls the output the highest quality printing he has ever seen.

Frank Gets the Scoop on the PDF/VT Standard from CalPoly's Howard Vogl

Published November 27, 2013

Frank talks to Professor Howard Vogl at CalPoly about the PDF/VT standard. Professor Vogl explains what the format is and talks about student samples on PDFA.org. They also discuss what's next with the standard.

Big Changes at Printing Industries of America

Published November 25, 2013

Last week, with no public announcement, the Printing Industries of America dismissed 15 employees with little or no notice, according to sources. Some had over 30 years of service to GATF, with whom PIA merged in the late 1990s.

A Look Inside a Label Printing Operation with Frank Romano

Published November 20, 2013

Frank visits InTouch Labels and talks to Lauren Hayes about their label production and how she got into the business. They also cover the digital label finishing that follows the label printing.

Frank on the Rise of Demo Centers and the Impact on Trade Shows

Published November 13, 2013

This week Frank addresses the changing nature of how larger industry vendors are displaying their products using technology and demo centers and the impact that has on shows that are essential for smaller vendors to reach the market.

Frank Dumps His 1999 Catalogs

Published November 6, 2013

Frank takes us on another journey - this time to a warehouse where he shows us some things he's been accumulating that he is parting ways with. All the catalogs that arrived at his house in 1999, a total of 490 catalogs! He used them to do analysis at the time of the types of paper used, size, and number of pages. Today he uses them to explain the changing nature of the printed catalog.

Frank and His Miscellaneous Things

Published October 30, 2013

This week Frank sweeps up around the office and gathers some "miscellaneous stuff that's been hanging around". From Mr. Romano romano cheese graters to thumb drives that look like thumbs, Frank has you covered.

Frank Romano: People Send Me Stuff!

Published October 23, 2013

This week, Frank talks about things that people send him. The latest (personalized) edition of American Printer magazine is among the items as well as HP Indigo printed samples, and a direct mail piece with a nickel in it.

What is it with Governments and Printing?

Published October 16, 2013

The government may be shut down, but that doesn't stop Frank from talking about them. From the GPO name change, new public printer, federal printing plants, to Canada wanting to move to "e-printing", Frank tries to figure out "what is it with governments and printing".

Frank Visits HP's Demo Center

Published October 9, 2013

Frank visits the HP demo center in Alpharetta Georgia and gives us a tour along with commentary on what he calls "the most amazing demo center I have ever visited". The 68,000 square foot space houses virtually the entire HP printing product line.

From the Mouths of Babes: Books are Still Fun!

Published October 2, 2013

This week, Frank visits St. Jude School in Waltham Massachusetts and talks to three wonderful young ladies about books. What do we learn? We find out that despite their having electronic devices, these youth still read books and will continue to do so. This one's cute factor goes to 11.

Frank Romano at the Printing Arts Fair (Part 2)

Published September 25, 2013

Frank joins us again from the 10th Annual Printing Arts Fair in North Andover, Massachusetts. This time he shows us printing with a steamroller! (Yes, he even rides the steamroller)

Frank Romano at the Printing Arts Fair

Published September 18, 2013

Frank joins us from the 10th Annual Printing Arts Fair in North Andover, Massachusetts. He shows us all the great equipment running and demonstrations of classic printing techniques.

Frank Romano with J.S. McCarthy Printers

Published September 11, 2013

Frank visits with Jon Tardiff of J.S. McCarthy Printers in Maine and reviews their work and their business. As expected, there are samples!

Frank Talks Labels and Brings Samples!

Published September 4, 2013

This week Frank discusses inkjet label printing and the various different types of labels seen in our daily life (more than we think). As usual, Frank has samples and isn't afraid to use them.

Frank Romano is Back at the Pencil to Pixel Exhibition

Published August 29, 2013

Frank joins us again from the Pencil to Pixel exhibition and gives us a tour of the things on display. Frank risks being shushed to bring us a glimpse of the exhibition.

Frank Romano at the Pencil to Pixel Exhibition

Published August 21, 2013

Frank talks to Dan Rhatigan at the Pencil to Pixel Exhibition and learns more about Monotype and the development of the exhibition.

Frank Romano from the 56th Annual Book Builders Book Awards Show

Published August 14, 2013

Frank joins us this week from the 56th Annual Book Builders Book Awards Show as he gives us a tour of the many different books on display - including ebooks!

Frank Romano: Navy Capitalisation Capitulation, RFID, and Pizza Printing

Published August 7, 2013

Frank reviews several items from the news, including the US Navy no longer using all caps anymore, RFID on plain paper and the implications of that, and a library with no books.

Frank Romano talks to David Spencer about a cloud-based solution for digital press productivity

Published July 31, 2013

David Spencer, President of Spencer Labs, talks to Frank Romano about a new system that measures the productivity of digital presses. The system measures only sellable output and not simply uptime.

Frank Romano on Newspaper Production in the New Age

Published July 24, 2013

This week Frank talks about visiting the America East Conference where he meets three gentlemen and talks about newspaper production in the new age. As usual, Frank has samples!

Frank Romano and Wearable Raspberry Pi

Published July 17, 2013

Richard Cichelli, President of Software Consulting Services, talks to Frank Romano at the Seybold Reunion about wearing a Rasberry Pi personal server around his neck.

Frank Romano Visits Artist Tom Zotos

Published July 10, 2013

Frank Romano visits Tom Zotos, a noted pioneer in the licensed art movement and talks about his new work with dimensional printing using Scodix technology.

Frank Romano on the Value of Print

Published July 3, 2013

In this week's video, Frank discusses the value of print by highlighting some rare printed items that recently sold for high dollar. In other news, Adobe releases a blank font you can't see and MGI installs a press in the Vatican print shop.

Frank Romano on the Personal Printing Revolution

Published June 26, 2013

This week, Frank talks about an article in the Wall Street Journal about "The Personal Printing Revolution That Never Happened" and how consumer's transition to digital impacted it.

Frank Romano on Phonebooks

Published June 19, 2013

This week, Frank talks about getting not one, but TWO phonebooks and questions why he would even get one.

Frank Romano Hopscotches the World for Headlines

Published June 12, 2013

This week, Frank hopscotches the world for headlines - or brings us short news clips with his always witty commentary at a rapid pace. Frank is always looking for interesting tidbits and delivers them to us in a way only he can.

Frank Romano is Amazed by Laser Engraving Demonstration

Published June 5, 2013

Frank talks about seeing a Tripp Company demonstration of laser engraving at a New England Graphic Communications Club that impressed him greatly.

Frank Romano Explains Why Print Cannot Die

Published May 29, 2013

This week, Frank finds a personalized mailing from a local bank and uses it as a jumping off point in explaining why print as a marketing medium will prevail.

Frank Romano Discusses Very Little Things

Published May 22, 2013

This week, Frank finds small things including the world's smallest gas engine that goes in the world's smallest smart car (don't worry it's a joke). He also finds news of the world's smallest printed book and reveals the escalating war going on to lay claim to the world's smallest book.

Frank Romano on the History of Phototypesetting

Published May 15, 2013

This week, Frank talks about the history of phototypesetting while doing a photo shoot for a book cover on the subject.

Frank Talks Die-Cutting from the Museum of Printing

Published May 8, 2013

Frank joins us from the Museum of Printing in North Andover Massachusetts where he talks die-cutting on old letterpress presses.

Frank Reviews Beautifully Printed Magazines He Receives

Published May 1, 2013

This week, Frank shows us some beautifully printed magazines he receives in the mail (probably because he has a certain credit card). In one, he finds an ad for a printing company!

Frank Talks Changes in Newspapers at America East

Published April 24, 2013

Frank Romano joins us from America East Technology and Operations Conference and talks about the changes in the newspaper industry while walking around booths at the show before it opened.

Frank Romano on Tapping New Markets with Digital Printing

Published April 17, 2013

Frank joins us again from Graphics of the Americas where he discovers some cool stuff, including a premium that helps you locate where stars are in the night sky at a given time. Frank uses it as a jumping off point to talk about tapping new markets.

Frank Romano Shares Thoughts on Packaging from GOA

Published April 10, 2013

This week, Frank shares his observations from the Graphics of the Americas Show in Orlando earlier in the year and highlights the packaging segment of the industry and why it's a growth area.

Frank Romano on American Printer

Published April 3, 2013

This week Frank talks about the first magazine for printers, American Printer (formerly The Inland Printer) and discusses its history and continuation as a quarterly by OutputLinks. Frank takes a look at the personalization features of the new incarnation.

Frank Romano Does 3D Effect Finishing at EFI Connect with MGI

Published March 27, 2013

Frank Romano joins us from the EFI Connect Conference in Las Vegas earlier in the year where he talks to Giselle de la Morineier of MGI about their JETvarnish product. We get a feel for their ability to add up to 100 micron raised 3D effects.

Frank Romano...Er Um...Doug Wilson on his film "Linotype: The Film"

Published March 20, 2013

Doug Wilson, Director and Producer of "Linotype: The Film" hijacks Frank Romano's office to tell us about his documentary and how he traveled the world to preserve the history and modern day use of Linotype.

Frank Romano Highlights Bunting Magnetics from EFI Connect

Published March 13, 2013

Frank joins us from the EFI Connect Conference where he encounters the folks from Bunting Magnetics and wonders "what the heck they do". Frank learns about reusable die rollers and shares it with us viewers.

Frank Romano at EFI Connect

Published March 6, 2013

Frank joins us from EFI Connect in Las Vegas with his thoughts on the event as well as EFI, the company.

Frank Romano on Super Thumb Drives

Published February 27, 2013

This week, Frank talks about the new Kingston thumb drive that holds 1 terabyte and uses the news as a way to comment on the ever increasing consumption and use of data.

Frank Romano on receiving 2013 GOA GALA Award

Published February 27, 2013

Frank Romano talks about winning the 2013 GALA Award just after the awards dinner and also shares being named the "Last Standing Industry Curmudgeon Award".

Frank Romano Tours Print World in Canada and Comments on the Industry

Published February 20, 2013

Frank Romano joins us from Toronto Canada at the Print World show where he gives us a tour and talks about small shows in the modern age of the printing industry and what these new dynamics mean for the commercia printer.

Frank Romano on Bi-Textuality

Published February 13, 2013

This week, Frank uses the last print edition of Newsweek magazine as a jumping off point to talk about the print and digital mix and argues for "bi-textuality" - or that we need both print and electronic media.

Frank Romano at the Museum of Printing in Andover

Published February 6, 2013

Frank Romano joins us from the Museum of Printing in Andover, Massachusetts where a letterpress workshop is happening and we get a front row seat to expanding interest in the craft.

Frank Romano Showcases a Great Direct Mail Piece from Jaguar that Incorporates Dimensional Printing

Published January 30, 2013

Frank joins us from Boston where he shows some interesting direct mail pieces that feature dimensional printing that makes them more compelling. The point? You can't do this kind of thing and get this kind of impact on The Internet!

Frank Romano Goes Back to the Future of Inkjet Printing

Published January 23, 2013

This week, Frank gets his hands on an old issue of Graphic Arts Monthly and finds some interesting early information on inkjet printing including what the 1979 industry thought about the applications.

Frank Interviews RIT Student Nick Gawreluk

Published January 16, 2013

Frank talks with Nick Gawreluk, a 4th year RIT student, about his upcoming degree in Media Sciences, where he sees the industry going in the future, and his experiences doing co-ops with industry vendors.

Frank is live and direct from Kodak in Rochester

Published January 9, 2013

This week, Frank joins us live from the Kodak demo center in Rochester New York where he reviews samples printed on the Nexpress that demonstrate new features and capabilities available.

Yes Virginia, there is a printing industry

Published December 14, 2012

The skeptics have all but writen us off The pundits call us a sunset industry Misguided marketers think electronic substitution replaces print But print will prevail

Frank Romano: An Ode to the Thumb Drive

Published December 12, 2012

This week Frank Romano gives us an ode to the thumb drive, that ever-present device now seen at most media events. He has many and they keep getting smaller - just like his real memory.

Frank Romano on the changing nature of magazines and the impact on printing

Published December 5, 2012

This week, Frank talks about the changing nature of magazine printing by showing his latest edition of AARP magazine and BusinessWeek. He covers inserts, promotions, and the emerging digital version.

Frank Romano talks about his first trade show

Published November 28, 2012

This week Frank Romano talks about attending his first industry event - The 7th Educational Graphic Arts Exposition at the newly built New York Coliseum in 1959. (Yes, he still has the flyer)

Frank Romano at the XMPie Users Group Conference

Published November 14, 2012

Frank Romano joins us from Boston at the XMPie User Group Conference and speaks with Dr. Jacob Aizikowitz about listening to users, social media, and personalized video.

Frank Romano on the future of books

Published November 7, 2012

Frank Romano opines about the future of books and tells us they'll be read both electronically AND in print. That's good, right?

Frank Romano on the changing printing industry

Published October 31, 2012

Frank Romano comments on two news items that caught his eye: Scholastic discontinuing the printing of Weekly Reader and The Daily Press selling off it's printing press. He uses this news as a jumping off point to comment on the changing nature of the printing industry.

Frank Romano reviews some creative pieces from Belgium's Dioss

Published October 24, 2012

Frank Romano talks about Dioss from Antwerp Belgium who are doing some interesting marketing pieces with digital printing.

Frank Visits the Site of John Caslon's Foundry in London

Published October 17, 2012

This week, Frank Romano visits the site of the former foundry started by John Caslon in London and talks about the history of type and Caslon's contribution to it.

Frank Romano's Two Interesting Things from Graph Expo

Published October 17, 2012

Frank Romano wraps up Graph Expo 2012 on the last day and gives us his two special things that he found interesting at the show.

Frank Romano interviews David Zwang and talks standards

Published October 10, 2012

Frank Romano talks to David Zwang about the benefits of standards and standards organizations as well as the importance of vendor support to develop standards incorporated into today's products and systems.

Manuel Trevisan talks to Frank Romano about the Italian Printing Market

Published October 3, 2012

Frank Romano continues his international series by speaking with Italian printing consultant Manuel Trevisan and gets insight into the Italian printing market as well as the larger European market.

Frank Interviews the Editor of Middle East Printer in Dubai

Published September 26, 2012

Frank interviews the editor of Middle East Printer Alex Jahanbani and gets his take on the state of the industry there.

Frank Romano on Graph Expo 2012

Published September 26, 2012

Frank Romano talks about the importance of live events to the industry and encourages everyone to join him at this year's Graph Expo show in Chicago.

Frank Romano gets a tour of the print shop on the Queen Mary 2

Published September 19, 2012

This week Frank gets a tour of the printing operation aboard Cunard's Queen Mary 2 from Rosemary Keough, Chief Printer.

Printing Needs at Sea

Published September 12, 2012

Chief Printer Rosemary Keough shares with Frank some of the printing and processes done abord the Queen Mary II cruise liner, the first cruise ship to digital printing.

Frank Romano is in Dubai and gives us a tour of Masar Printing and Publishing

Published September 5, 2012

This week, Frank gives us a look at Masar Printing and Publishing in Dubai. He calls it the most modern printing plant he has ever seen, encompassing over 500,000 square feet of space with presses as far as the eye can see!

Frank Romano reviews the news and talks about where the industry is headed

Published August 29, 2012

Frank Romano, WhatTheyThink's Curmudgeon Emeritus, reviews some recent news items and discusses where he thinks the printing industry is heading - a popular question posed to nowadays.

Frank wraps up his China printing series with Newbold and Pasky

Published August 22, 2012

Frank Romano is in Hong Kong with Joe Pasky and Gary Newbold with the last of his Chinese printing series. They discuss the major trends in Chinese printing in both offset, flexo, and digital.

Frank is back from Hong Kong with Gary Newbold and Joe Pasky

Published August 15, 2012

Frank is back from Hong Kong with Gary Newbold and Joe Pasky where they discuss the different print processes in the Chinese market where offset lithography still dominates.

Frank Romano interviews Gary Newbold and Joe Pasky in Hong Kong

Published August 8, 2012

Frank is back in Hong Kong with Joe Pasky and Gary Newbold, two seasoned consultants familiar with the Chinese printing industry and American print buying and he gets them to share their "horror stories".

Frank gets insight about the difference in American and Chinese printing from industry consultants

Published August 1, 2012

Frank visits with two industry consultants in Hong Kong and gets insights into how the Chinese printing industry compares to that of the United States. This week, Frank speaks with Joe Pasky of Cathay Consulting Services and gets his insights.

Frank Romano Gives His Thoughts on the Current State of Type

Published July 25, 2012

Frank Romano visits the Museum of Printing and discovers original artwork for Linotype typefaces and it launches him into a commentary on the state of typography in the industry today.

Frank Romano talks about a "few little things"

Published July 18, 2012

Frank reviews some recent things that caught his eye. Cashless society, digital wallet, Bill Gates giving printing presses props, photo-conductive printing, flashing beer. Frank has a little bit of everything in this one!

Frank Talks About How to Make Print More Interesting

Published July 11, 2012

Frank shares some print samples from a recent trade show that he thinks make print more interesting and talks about how they were produced using newer inkjet and dimensional technologies.

Frank Visits Ben Franklin's Grave in Philadelphia

Published June 27, 2012

Frank visits Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia, the site of Benjamin Franklin's grave. He talks about why Franklin is a personal hero and in true Frank fashion gives us some little known details about his life.

A New Finch Paper Product Helps Frank Romano Make a Point About Innovation

Published June 20, 2012

Frank uses a new product from Finch called "Enviroboard" that is designed to open up new markets for printers including signage, point-of-purchase, and more. This product helps Frank make the point that innovation and new markets is what will drive future growth for printers.

Frank Romano on the Post PC Era and Impact on Print

Published June 13, 2012

Frank on the evolution from the PC to post PC era with introduction of tablet computers and how it's impacting print.

Frank Romano at the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, Germany

Published June 6, 2012

Frank visits the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz and gives us a tour of some of the areas accessible with recording devices and clears up some misconceptions about the man himself.

Andy Tribute and Frank Romano take time out at drupa to discuss future trends

Published June 1, 2012

Well known WhatTheyThink contributors Andy Tribute and Frank Romano go back and forth on trends seen at drupa and give their take on what will and won't work. Get key takeaways from drupa by Andy and Frank.

Frank Romano on 10 middle class jobs that will vanish by 2018

Published May 30, 2012

This week, Frank discusses and rants a bit about a recent report about 10 middle class jobs that will vanish by 2018. Desktop publishers caught Frank's eye on the list and he takes a bit of an issue with it!

Frank Romano gives us his "two hottest things at drupa"

Published May 23, 2012

Frank answers the "two hottest things at drupa" question with a couple vendors that aren't generating as much buzz as others but are doing amazing things - Scodix and Highcon. Both are adding value to print in different ways, which Frank says is "a good thing".

New words for a new print world

Published May 22, 2012

The vocabulary of print is changing. Our language in the printing industry is now beset with many new concepts and technologies. We need a common lexicon to help define and communicate.

Frank Romano on the mottos he sees at drupa

Published May 16, 2012

Frank runs down his list of interesting show mottos that he observed during drupa.

Franks Advice for Press Conferences

Published May 9, 2012

This Special Report from drupa covers Franks recommendations for improving press conferences.

What's Keeping Hardcover Books Alive

Published May 2, 2012

This week Frank goes over an interesting article that came across his desk twice about how the look of a book can still sell physical books.

Stone Age Designers

Published April 25, 2012

Frank gives us another roundup of news this week including a primitive art studio, the bookless bookstore, museum reopening, and the never ending battle of QR codes.

Technology Goes Old School

Published April 18, 2012

Just as fashion trends circle around, technology has caught up with itself to repurpose older technology trends. This week Frank highlights two of his favorite new/old school tech.

Goverment issued iPads

Published April 11, 2012

This week Frank details an article about how legislatures should not make the iPad transition.

Variable Printing needs more Variation

Published April 4, 2012

Latz Personal Printer has been doing personalized printing since 1937. Not much has changed in personal printing space since that time. Frank Romano urges printers to go "beyond" the name.

Linofilm grids and all that

Published April 3, 2012

Be a part of history. Frank is seeking some of the font masters and paraphernalia of the old phototypesetting era. He knows there are a few oldtimers who read WhatTheyThink while drooling in their oatmeal. Film, glass, and plastic fonts are requested.

Fake Resort, Real Results

Published March 28, 2012

This week Frank discusses the mix of digital and offset presses in most printing facilities and highlights a great example of a total promotional package created by Heidelberg showcasing the ability to create a seamless, color matched campaign.

Frank Traverses the World in Search of Print

Published March 21, 2012

Frank showcases a fraction of his collection of commodities that will always need print.

Frank's Label Treasures from Recent Years

Published March 14, 2012

Frank shows us some of his more nostalgic labeling moments as labels got more sophisticated overtime.

Frank's Quick Cuts

Published March 7, 2012

Frank brings us several quick anecdotes this week, an old vision of the future, the one of the worlds most expensive binding, and a growth in stationery.

Frank Shakes His Can for the Camera

Published February 29, 2012

As Frank Romano reviews Packaging Design Magazine he compares current can printing to the custom printed cans from nearly 20 years ago.

The schizophrenic printing industry

Published February 27, 2012

As the number of printing services declines; the number of printing services increases. You read that correctly.

Frank's Fine Finishing

Published February 22, 2012

This week Frank dives deep into a finishing example, Swarthmore by the Numbers.

Growth for Print on the Streets

Published February 15, 2012

This week Frank goes over the promotional flyer market and why it will never go away.

Cary Sherburne's drupa Outlook

Published February 9, 2012

Frank Romano switches it up and interviews Cary Sherburne for a change. He asks her what makes her most excited about drupa season and what she hopes to see this year.

Linotype the Film

Published February 8, 2012

Frank Romano discusses his recent work with Doug WIlson helping him create the in-depth expose of Linotype the Film and maybe Frank will finally get his 15 minutes of fame on the silver screen.

Frank Shares the Historical Timeline of Lithography

Published February 1, 2012

Frank rediscovers an old favorite of his, the Lithographer's Manual from 1940 and shares a historical outline of how the lithography technology has changed throughout the years.

Frank Goes Back to His Linotype Roots

Published January 25, 2012

Frank gives us a historical tour of of the type stetting capital in Brooklyn, his first foray into the printing industry. Who knew it would stick?

Handwriting: It's Not Just for Humans Anymore

Published January 18, 2012

Any fan of Frank Romano knows his love of printing gadgets. This week Frank showcases one of the more unusual gadgets he found during his recent trip to DMA, a handwriting machine.

Frank's View at Direct Marketing Association Conference

Published January 11, 2012

Frank was recently at the Direct Marketing Association Conference and Exhibition in Boston to showcase how much the once great trade show has adapted.

The day the typesetting industry died

Published December 16, 2011

There will always be a printing industry, but it will be different than it used to be. Typesetting did not go away; it just moved to a different place.

Print vs Pixels

Published December 14, 2011

This week Franks talks about the advantage pixels have over large bulky manuals and how online shopping saves the mailing industry while it kills off show floors.

Who can Stand the Test of Time?

Published December 7, 2011

Frank digs an old invitation to the 35th annual NAPL convention out of the archives and strikes up an interesting question, Who is still around? Find out in This Week with Frank Romano

Frank: The Money's in the Printing Business

Published November 30, 2011

QR code wrapped, Printer's bags of cash, and wooden clothing... yup, just another typical This Week with Frank Romano.

Frank's Room with a View at LDI

Published November 16, 2011

Frank reports this week on location at LDI, dealer for a plethora of digital printing equipment to give customers the choice of not being locked into one vendor. More organizations, like LDI, are moving their meetings away from big industry trade shows to a more intimate venue and Frank loves it.

The future of graphic communication education

Published November 11, 2011

The Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, PA just discontinued their Graphic Communication Technology major. The decline in enrollment began in 2001 and only four new students entered the major in the more recent term.

Some Samples for Frank

Published November 9, 2011

Frank Romano gets some samples from Canon's Dreamlabo inkjet (Frank was recently critical for the lack of samples) that makes him reconsider his original critique.

One of the Most Interesting Places on Earth... to Frank Romano

Published November 2, 2011

This week Frank Romano reports on location at the Cary Collection at the Wallace Library at RIT to proudly show off one of his favorite collections of print.

A Look Back at Today's Office Automation

Published October 26, 2011

Frank Romano gets nostalgic on us this week with a look at an ad for one of the original photocopying machines aimed for offices and business in the late 50's and a discussion on how it all started.

Xante Goes Beyond Wide Format

Published October 19, 2011

Last month at GraphExpo Frank Romano stopped by the Xante booth and was blown away by a machine that he thinks will change the industry.

Frank's Finally Impressed with Digital Printing

Published October 12, 2011

Frank goes over some of the samples that wowed him at GraphExpo.

A Schooling on Making Paper the Old School Way

Published October 5, 2011

Frank Romano reports live on the scene at the Boston Paper Collective to demonstrate how paper was originally made.

The Day of the All-In-One Device Nears

Published September 28, 2011

Philadelphia newspapers are changing to tablets and some percentages on unique smart phone applications all this week with Frank Romano.

Frank's at the 8th Annual Printing Arts Fair at the Museum of Printing

Published September 21, 2011

Frank gets a demonstration of offset lithography's early start by from Carolyn Muskat showing how to print on stone lithography at the Museum of Printing during the 8th annual Printing Arts Fair.

A Few Trends that Got Us to Where We Are

Published September 16, 2011

Printers are providing more value-added services that go beyond paper. They are evolving into new kinds of companies. Here are some of the steps that got us to this point.

September is National Coupon Month?

Published September 14, 2011

The President of the PIA mails the President of the USA and apparently September is National Coupon Month; just another typical week on This Week with Frank Romano.

Printing Problems in 1938 VS 2011

Published September 7, 2011

Frank goes over some very interesting bullet points from The Book Industry in Transition and discovers some very interesting similarities between printing's past and now.

QR Codes are Going Strong! Also, Google Killed the QR Code!

Published August 31, 2011

This Week with Frank Romano (because Frank doesn't seem to know the name of his own show) features two opposing articles about the much loved/hated QR code.

Paper is Part of the Printing Process

Published August 24, 2011

This week Frank shares an interesting patent that could make one paper to rule them all and the dangers of print manufacturers holding the keys to paper, ink, and equipment.

The bookstore at the end of the universe

Published August 19, 2011

Frank takes a trip down memory lane reminiscing the days of the bookstore and what the future may hold.

Now You See It, Now You Don't, But Print It Anyways

Published August 17, 2011

Frank comes across "A Practical Way to Make Invisibility Cloaks" and theorizes the huge impact invisible printing will have on color management.

Yearbooks on demand

Published August 10, 2011

Frank talks about where the future of the modern high school yearbook with the rapid decline of yearbook orders over recent years.

Photography has truly gone digital

Published August 3, 2011

With the rapid decline of photographic film Frank takes a look at some recent photo book samples from digital presses showcasing the range of digital printing today and most people would never know the difference.

U.S. Postal Service, oh how you've fallen

Published July 27, 2011

Frank shares a touching story from the Postal Service's past and how today's USPS operations are completely unacceptable for small printers.

Frank's going to Graph Expo, are you?

Published July 22, 2011

Frank tells you why he endorses Graph Expo and why now more than ever it is important to make the trip to Chicago this September 11-14.

Frank collection of unusual devices

Published July 20, 2011

This week Frank brings us some odd devices this week including a book charger (seriously) and what he thinks is a genius idea for corning the ice cube market (again, not kidding.)

Printing on the High Seas

Published July 15, 2011

The Rochester Institute of Technology and Cunard Lines have a unique work-study program. Students are trained in Rochester and then begin a multi-month stint running the ship's print shop. Andy Berghauser describes his experience with the program.

Frank invents a NY Times conspiracy

Published July 13, 2011

The New York Times adjusts printing on-the-fly, sells a warehouse to a server farm, and Kindle editions that magically disappear. Conspiracy? Frank certainty doesn't think so.

Leave our trees alone (so we can cut them down)

Published July 6, 2011

Saving the trees may sound good on paper, but soon that could hurt the food supply. Food supply? Frank shares some interesting tidbits about how trees work in our food supply.

Frankly the facts about digital printing

Published June 29, 2011

Google has been vigorously searching and scanning out of print and out of copyright books. All of those books become searchable bits thanks to Google Ngram Viewer. So what does Frank do with all that data from books? He uses it to search for emerging print terms, that's what!

Press event follies and failures with Frank

Published June 22, 2011

Frank doesn't really go out much to attend press events so it's a rare occasion to see his presence at one. Frank highlights his experiences from two recent events.

Frank goes book shopping

Published June 15, 2011

Frank goes over some of his more recent finds from various bookstores around the world. Proof that printing is better than hand printing, teaching the lost art of print to kids, and that two cultures can actually get along just fine.

Frank Thoughts

Published June 10, 2011

All communication will some day be reduced to tweets -- small bursts of information 140 characters in length. They are the bumper stickers of the 21st century. Here are some of mine.

Frank's inside look at Concord Litho

Published June 8, 2011

Frank gets a private tour of Concord Litho to see their latest innovations that keeps them ahead of the printing curve.

A history lesson with Professor Frank

Published June 1, 2011

This week Frank goes over the accomplishments of another great father and son in printing history, the Bentons.

Frank's Mail Call

Published May 25, 2011

Frank shows off some of the items he gets in the mail. Frank now knows he can annoy people in yet another language, a promo piece that's too good to throw away and paper you can really feel all up ahead in This Week with Frank Romano

Millions of books, one at a time

Published May 20, 2011

In 2008, the production of non-traditional print-on-demand books exceeded traditional book publishing for the first time. Since then, its growth has been overwhelming. The market is now closing in on 10 times the output of traditional titles. What is more amazing is that this growth has been one book at a time.

We can print if we want to

Published May 18, 2011

The heated discussion about saving trees continues. Frank's opinion? Printing is good and actually SAVES trees while the modern computer is a pile of toxic energy waste.

The death of the tax form

Published May 11, 2011

Today's agenda, no more tax forms, checks bounce (back) and maybe Frank could one day see his lifelong dream come true, directing Helvetica the Musical. All ahead in This Week with Frank.

Frank loves the smell of notes in the morning

Published May 4, 2011

Here's the short of it, Kelly Services hires Xerox to reduce print, Cliff Notes Shorts, and Scented Digital Print.

Frank's 15 minutes of fame

Published April 27, 2011

This week Frank's hamming it up for another camera! Frank's back in the Museum of Printing working on a movie for PBS called 'Rebel' helping recreate authentic copies of a book from the Civil War Period

Frank looks at recent industry events

Published April 22, 2011

We’ve asked if the print industry can still support multiple trade shows. Now Frank is wondering about trade associations. He went to a couple recent events and he’s reported back to us on what kind of year we’re having on the event circuit.

Frank on promoting print

Published April 20, 2011

Frank's very excited to see some new looks on ways to promote print. Promoting print is going beyond what print IS to showing what print can DO.

Frank: Go Print Yourself

Published April 13, 2011

This week Frank Romano shares some interesting studies on efforts to print human skin and the practical applications, such as skin grafts for burn victims, to the bizarre.

Book Incubators and Espresso Books, Distribution of Tomorrowland

Published April 6, 2011

This week Frank talks about how vending machines are being used to cut back on retail staff which made him reminisce the old days of book vending and the modern equivalent printing on demand.

Frank shows off a M-Press in Canada

Published April 4, 2011

Frank was invited to Canada's Middleton Group to see one of the first installations of Agfa's M-Press. Could this be the edge printers are looking for?

Frank: WiFi KILLS trees

Published March 30, 2011

Frank reviews a shocking study that appeared in the LA Times showing that Ash trees closest to WiFi networks may be dying.

$100 says Frank knows how his phone bill is made

Published March 4, 2011

Frank makes a rare observation about his phone bill and shares an old story about the $100 bill and how it could have created jobs.

Frank vs The Advantages of Modern Letter Press

Published January 28, 2011

This week Frank revisits some literature published in 1957 on the modern letter press and how it fought the changing times to offset lithography.

Frank's Ode to Printers

Published December 17, 2010

Frank wraps up the year with a gift celebrating the great material known as print. Download Text Reprint (PDF)

Frank visits Print's Past

Published December 15, 2010

This week Frank visits the Mount Washington Hotel's Print Shop to see a bit of print history.

Frank reminisces the days of Linotype

Published December 8, 2010

This week Frank takes us back to the days of old with Linotype's promotional pamphlets over the years.

Frank outlives the phonebook

Published December 1, 2010

Reading a recent study by analysts trying to study the data of the available pages for printing bothers Frank because they don't consider long run projects that won't go digital. This week Frank gives a eulogy for the imminent demise of the phonebook.

Frank at the Bootcamp for Print Designers

Published November 23, 2010

In this special episode of This Week with Frank Romano, Frank is at the Bootcamp for Print Designers. He surveys a group of print buyers in attendance about what's happening with print in their organizations and the trends they foresee. Happy Thanksgiving!

Frank's newest social media craze

Published November 17, 2010

This week Frank reveals a call to social media: FontFaceBook! NYC street signs and the Gap logo get fresh fonts and new looks, and what's the deal with all this Helvetica?

Frank takes a look at when the tipping point for digital printing may be

Published November 10, 2010

Digital Printing is decades away? Frank says it's almost here. He looks at a recent NPES publication that says the tipping point for digital printing is decades away.

Should Frank move to China?

Published November 3, 2010

This Week with Frank Romano welcomes a special guest to talk about the printing industry in China, where offset looms large, and digital is on the outside looking in. Join Frank and Joe Pasky in front of an antique printing press for a little Pacific rim rap.

Frank pumps some iron

Published October 27, 2010

What do paper, printing, and Star Trek have in common? Frank, of course! This Week, Frank talks about the TBD end of the New York Times print edition, the demise of another magazine's print edition, and the return by popular demand of the "What Is It?" segment, featuring large metal things. That are heavy.

The new world of print buying

Published October 22, 2010

For the majority of us lay people print buying seems like a trick for the anointed few who can piece together a much larger puzzle of production parts. Frank Romano looks at the new world of the print buyer, how it has changed, how they do their jobs, and where congregate to share their secrets.

Low returns on investment abound This Week With Frank

Published October 20, 2010

Email marketing versus printed mail - guess which one Frank likes. Data backs him up, too. Plus some love for franchising small print shops, and a look at a printing business model that one day Frank thinks will yield an industry-wide revenue of precisely $7.50.

Frank wonders what printer manufacturers will sell after print

Published October 13, 2010

Let's see...bottled water? Food? Frank wonders where the big printer companies might go after taking the print out of their bottom line. Plus another tour through more print that's going the way of the dodo. But take heart...all is not lost!!!

GraphExpo 2010 as Frank saw it

Published October 6, 2010

When you do ten presentations at a trade show, you get a feel for the thing. When you do 20, you're Frank. GraphExpo 2010 winds down, and Frank gives us his take. Bottom line - optimism is the word of the day.

Frank reminisces about typesetting

Published September 29, 2010

There used to be an entire industry dedicated to setting type. Frank used to go to their trade events, and stumbles upon a program from 1969. It jogs Frank's memory. Frank waxes philosophic. Just another week with the curmudgeon emeritus.

Join Frank on the train

Published September 22, 2010

Take a lovely scenic tour of the approach to the Rochester, NY train station. See the skyline, a lawn, a pole, even some cars. Plus an attempt by Frank to show us the old Eastman Kodak headquarters! It's a journey only Frank can take you on.

Frank's new iPad app - iGovernment (and other stories)

Published September 15, 2010

Frank discovers that Moses used a tablet, graphic design degrees don't pay, a city intends to save $18,000 on print, and a 105 year old antiquarian book store closes its doors.

Where has all the toxic waste gone?

Published September 10, 2010

Our increasingly ravenous hunger for new technology, ie. smart phones, flat screens, iPads, grows by the day. Frank Romano looks at the environmental cost of all this new stuff and considers how it compares to technologies of the past and the effect on the environment

Frank loves his cartoon but not so sure about phone books

Published September 8, 2010

This time Frank shows us another cartoon (been awhile huh?) this time about the demise of the phone book. Also coming up: Frank loves bad direct mail, Spider-man, and rants why off-shoring is a bad idea.

Frank dives into some fresh news

Published September 1, 2010

This week Frank takes us through another whirlwind round of news that fascinates Frank (and makes him a little reminiscent.) Knock-Knock wants to print your tweets, the last roll of Kodachrom, R.R. Donnely's research facility, AARP tells its readers how to "save" printer ink, Boing Boing's typographic mustache for the facial hair challenged, Boston garages use print so you don't lose your car in the parking sea all ahead.

Frank's Big Brother Advertising

Published August 25, 2010

This week, Frank brings us a recent news article featured in the Wall Street Times about Wal-Mart's plan to use Smart Tags (RFID) to track inventory. Smart Tags are an intriguing new venture for electronic printing but have some interesting privacy issues. Frank believes it will be the tipping point to bringing print back to its prominent days again when printing electronic tags and new aspects of direct advertising are the norm with Big Brother accuracy.

Frank's still at the Museum of Printing with another blast from printing's past

Published August 18, 2010

Frank continues to show us printing technology of the past at the Museum of Printing. This week we study the first photographic typesetting machine, a device as timeless as Frank himself.

Old media, new media, and now newer media

Published August 13, 2010

There’s a new report out predicting significant growth in US media and communications spending over the next four years. Is it time to start the presses running again? Frank Romano examines what impact new media is continuing to have on media budgets.

Frank goes to the museum of printing

Published August 11, 2010

This week Frank takes a trip to the museum of printing. In this video he talks to us about Gutenberg's Wooden Printing Press. Why you may ask? "Why not." Frank responds. An in depth overview of the wooden press, something almost as old as Frank.

Frank Romano - Coupon comparison, criticism, and curmudgeonism

Published August 4, 2010

This week Frank takes a look at the peculiar similarities (and minuscule differences) between the Rochester and Syracuse Sunday paper ad inserts. His findings will leave you shocked. But not really.

Frank's vice - collecting books about printing

Published July 28, 2010

Frank Romano confesses that he has a vice and that vice is collecting books associated with the print world. Frank scoured the globe looking for new and interesting gems and he wasn't disappointed. In this video Frank shares some of his favorites ranging from Victorian fiction to Korean printing.

Report from the future: The printer in 2020

Published July 23, 2010

None of us know what the future holds for the print industry, but Frank Romano looks into his crystal ball and sees a bright future for a trimmed down industry, run more by computers and technicians that printers, better integration between products and packaging, and a few other surprises.

Frank dives into some interesting news fresh from his trip

Published July 21, 2010

Now that Frank's back from his trip he doesn't waste any time and goes straight for some interesting news articles. Featured articles on China print, electronic reading study, New Jersey insurance agent license, and PGAMA's "Print Grows Trees" and Frank's spin on it all.

Frank Romano on the open sea

Published July 14, 2010

Frank interviews the lovely ladies that run the Queen Mary 2's print shop while at sea. A WhatTheyThink first! Rosemary and Kelly discuss what it is like to print on board a luxury cruise liner as well as some of the services guests can expect while on board.

Frank Romano shares Penrose's Pictorial Annual

Published July 7, 2010

This week, Frank shares a 1907 edition of Penrose's Pictorial Annual. The annual collected examples of print from a given year and bound it into a book giving a snapshot view of the printing technologies at the time. The books also included articles on the processes and different applications as well.

The end of an era, Louis Moyroud dies

Published July 1, 2010

Louis Moyroud just died. Doesn't ring a bell? He and Rene Higonet invented photographic typesetting. Oh, phototypesetting does not ring a bell either? From the 1950s to the 1990s, we set type using photographic techniques, exposing miles of photo-sensitive paper and film. The printing industry moved to CTP in the 1990s and digital printing in the 2000s, but the era of pre-press automation began with Louis and Rene. Rene died in 1983. Louis died on June 30 at the age of 95.

Frank Romano: Gutenberg was an idiot!

Published June 30, 2010

Frank explains why Johannes Gutenberg was an idiot (not what you think, of course) and gives us a history lesson on the 42 line Bible and shares all the intrigue a 15th century typesetting drama can muster.

Frank waxes philosophic about coffee cup holders

Published June 23, 2010

New things to print - Frank gets excited about coffee cup holders, canvass prints at Costco, cyber companies, big box wide format printing, and Grandma chatting via Skype...and spell check.

Viva direct mail!

Published June 18, 2010

Recent innovations in variable data printing have created huge opportunities in direct mail. Are you taking advantage of it? If not, Frank Romano lists a variety of reasons why you should be.

More hot metal with Frank - The Ludlow

Published June 16, 2010

Continuing a series on hot metal typesetting, Frank give us a tour of the Ludlow. Never heard of composing sticks? Plungers? Matrices and slugs? Join Frank as we create fonts from molten lead.

Frank takes us through a hot metal linotype machine

Published June 9, 2010

Molten lead, greasy fingers, clanging bits and pieces, gears turning...who doesn't like hot metal? Today, we visit the Museum of Printing to see a working hot metal linotype machine, which Frank expertly describes as a volunteer makes it sing.

Fun with pie charts - Frank gives big picture economics a try

Published June 2, 2010

What do the internet, the printing industry, and a chart hand drawn with magic markers have in common? Frank! This week, Frank gives his take on what happened to the printing industry since its peak in 1995, and how much further we have to go before reaching equilibrium.

How to kill inkjet

Published May 28, 2010

IPEX 2010 affirmed that inkjet is here to stay. The show is over but the memory lingers on. There are almost 300 roll-fed production inkjet printers sold or installed in the world. And Xerox validated inkjet by showing an inkjet technology. But we could see inkjet die very quickly if suppliers and users do not re-invent the way they do business. Here's how they might fail.

Print vs. Pixels: Frank and Richard go Romano-a-Romano

Published May 26, 2010

Frank and Richard Romano debate print vs. pixels at the Xerox Real Business Live stage at IPEX 2010. In a spirited contest they traded barbs and scurrilous polemics. In the end, the audience (not surprisingly) chose print!

Turning a corner? Takeaways from IPEX 2010

Published May 25, 2010

Guy Gecht at IPEX 2010

Published May 25, 2010

Zwang, Tribute, & the Romanos on the Least Interesting Thing at IPEX 2010

Published May 24, 2010

Frank Romano: The zen of trade show tchotchke

Published May 19, 2010

When you've gone to as many trade shows as Frank, all the tchotchke starts to pile up. Take a trip down trade show memory lane for a discussion of tin cans, writing implements, and all the various giveaways that make a trade show memorable - well, memorable to Frank, anyway.

Frank goes 1964 old school to talk printing industry education

Published May 12, 2010

In this week's visit with the curmudgeon emeritus, Frank finds an old brochure from a 1964 RIT summer program, gets misty eyed, and reminisces about the old days. Why 1964? Why Frank? Glad you asked! Find out as Frank discusses today's students, and how they are trained for work in the printing industry.

Students help predict the future

Published May 7, 2010

None of us know what the future holds. Frank Romano teaches a class in print media trends, and he asked his students to look into their crystal balls. Here's what they thought the future might hold.

This Week with Frank Romano: Print quality makes Frank speechless

Published May 5, 2010

Frank takes a close look at a new magazine called Vintage Magazine and reviews the print quality and uniqueness and he really likes what he sees. Frank also talks about the printer who produced it. Frank also looks at some entries into the TAGA Project. It's a passionate defense of the power of print!

This Week with Frank Romano: Print is dead. Long live print!

Published April 28, 2010

This week Frank reviews his mail and finds several postcards and direct mailers. Frank takes issue with an article that talks about the death of print, reviews a Pew study that finds the Internet growing as a source of news, and comments on digital coupons surpassing newspapers. Kids counterfeiting and Manhattan restaurants are among the other things Frank has to share this week.

This Week with Frank Romano: Praise for Kohl's, "super-graphic" lawsuits, on-demand printing, and NAPL's SOI

Published April 21, 2010

This week Frank covers a lot of ground with a great new Dov Isaacs cartoon, praise for Kohl's for combining print with email marketing, Facebook reducing printed yearbooks, on-demand printing, and Howie Fenton's NAPL SOI article.

This Week with Frank Romano: Frank reviews his mail to look at what's being printed

Published April 14, 2010

This week Frank reviews his mail to get an idea of what types of things are being printed (and mailed).

This Week with Frank Romano: Surveying the "Print Buyer" Landscape with PBI

Published April 7, 2010

This week Frank reviews survey data from Print Buyers International and learns not all are even called "print buyers"! They do "tweet", but some are unaware what variable data printing is. Frank learns this and more and shares it all in his own unique style.

VDP for you and me . . . finally

Published April 2, 2010

VDP volume is less than 10 percent of all digital printing and digital printing is less than 15 percent of all printing. The use of variable data (or document) printing has been retarded over the last decade by short-sighted suppliers, specifications, and associations. Now perhaps we are on the cusp of opening VDP to all users, big and small. ISO is about to release a worldwide standard for variable data exchange.

This Week with Frank Romano: "Sarc" marks and hand gesture electronics!

Published March 31, 2010

This week, Frank shares another great Dov Isaacs cartoon and comments on several items in the news. Among them are a new punctuation symbol called the "sarc" mark, a decline in magazine circulation, an effort in Virginia to stop printing amendments, electronics that obey hand gestures, and more!

This Week with Frank Romano: Live from a mountain top judging the Mohawk i-Tonies

Published March 24, 2010

Frank joins us from Mountain House somewhere in the Catskills where he's helping judge the Mohawk i-Tonies. The official announcement of award winners were announced at Dscoop and Frank shares them along with his unique commentary!

What do print buyers think?

Published March 19, 2010

This week Frank presents a review of responses to polls included with Margie Dana's Print Tips. These polls provide insight into print buying trends. Frank also includes one of his song parodies.

This Week with Frank Romano: Frank's shares his mail and invents the iPad!

Published March 17, 2010

Frank returns to his office at RIT and sorts through his mail and shares some with us. His commentary on direct mail, personalization, and innovative envelopes is - as usual - entertaining. Frank also shares the news that he, in fact, invented the iPad!

This Week with Frank Romano: Go where the printing is!

Published March 10, 2010

Frank begins a new series “Go where the printing is” to help identify printed products that are impervious to electronic substitution. He looks at a hotel rack with theme park and other brochures, travel information, and other printed items.

This Week with Frank Romano: Congressional printing and Newspapers versus Television

Published March 3, 2010

Frank shows a cartoon about visiting a bookstore to download an e-book file. He comments on Congress spending $97 million on printing and e-book happenings. Frank also talks about print outsourcing and Henry Ford and beautiful printing. He ends with a segment on newspapers vs television.

This Week with Frank Romano: 25 things that will become extinct

Published February 24, 2010

Frank comments on an article about the 25 things that will become extinct. Those that involve print include Yellow Pages, classified ads, handwritten notes, personal checks, news magazines, and, relatedly, the Post Office. They may not become extinct but they are be affected by new media.

The era of our ways

Published February 19, 2010

When Komori and Heidelberg drop out of a Graph Expo show, it portends seismic changes in the printing industry. But it is all part of 500+ years of changes. All things have a lifespan, whether they are living things, inanimate things, or even the universe (the ultimate collection of things). They start out as nothing, become something, and ultimately become nothing again. This pseudo-philosophical statement begins a discussion about technological change, a subject dear to all of our hearts.

This Week with Frank Romano: Paper tax taxes, water & sewer errors, and on-demand books

Published February 10, 2010

This week Frank shares another great Dov Isaacs cartoon and comments on several news snippets. Kansas paper tax return taxes, Pittsburgh water and sewer authority bill errors, and the Espresso Book Machine all make the list. Frank continues with more commentary on bookstore on-demand book printing.

The acronym that is improving graphic arts education

Published February 5, 2010

ACCGC. You never heard of it? Accrediting Council for Collegiate Graphic Communications. Doesn’t ring a bell? It is a group of dedicated graphic arts educators and industry suppliers who foster graphic arts education at the college level. Accreditation is how colleges and universities serve professions and industries—by making sure that educational curricula meet the needs of professions and industries.

This Week with Frank Romano: Averages, Amtrak, E&P's Demise, and E-books

Published January 27, 2010

Adobe, you're breaking my heart

Published January 22, 2010

Adobe Systems helped to build the modern printing industry and now, it appears, they are hellbent on destroying it -- not by willful action, but by neglect. Without the de facto standard of PostScript, digital printing could not have made the inroads it did; CTP would not have happened as we know it; and PDF would not have created the ability to move files around with ease, irrespective of device or resolution. They were active supporters of the printing industry and worked with print providers and users alike. But, today, Adobe appears to have written off print as it focuses on Flash and new media. Some say Adobe has given the printing industry the finger.

This Week with Frank Romano: Sherlock Holmes font mystery, Heidelberg and digital print

Published January 13, 2010

Frank returns for a new year with another great Dov Isaacs cartoon, talks fonts and the new Sherlock Holmes movie, and reviews the best and worst jobs in America. Frank also comments on news that Heidelberg is looking to partner in digital printing. Finally, Frank gives an exclusive peek at the new Apple tablet computer!

This Week with Frank Romano: Signing off with historic newspapers

Published December 16, 2009

This week Frank ends the year by sharing some historic newspapers in his personal collection, including The London Gazette from 1682, The Massachusetts Spy from 1790, and The Pennsylvania Gazette from 1801. Frank also shares his hope that newspapers survive in some form despite the changes taking place.

The Twelve Days of Printers’ Christmas

Published December 16, 2009

On the first day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
An ink cartridge in an HP.

On the second day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Two ruddle gloves,
And an ink cartridge in an HP.

The show’s the thing

Published December 11, 2009

Andy Tribute’s column this week was thought-provoking as usual. He opined that an annual printing event is no longer viable and that GraphExpo should be on a different schedule. In the 1980s (the heyday of the printing industry) there were multiple printing events. The New England show was every two years — in January! New York had an annual show at the old Coliseum, PICA had a large annual event in Charlotte, and Midwest Graphics floated around different states. Graphics of the Americas took over the Miami Beach Convention Center. The Gutenberg Festival in Long Beach was a major event.

This Week with Frank Romano: Gutenberg Pop-up Books and JC Penney's Mistake

Published December 9, 2009

This week Frank shares another great Dov Isaacs cartoon on "speaking in typeface", shares a great Thanksgiving card that marries print and electronics and some other direct mail pieces. Frank also shares his favorite pop-up book "Gutenberg's Gift". Finally, Frank talks about JC Penney's decision to stop printing their "Big Book" catalog and is skeptical of their social media strategy.

This Week with Frank Romano: Frank shares his mail and some great examples of print

Published December 2, 2009

This week Frank joins us from his office at RIT and shares some of his recent mail, which includes direct mail, trade magazines. Frank highlights his favorite 3 pieces: A foil stamped piece by manroland, Kodak's One publication, and Package Design magazine.

This Week with Frank Romano: Frank Interviews Dr. Joe Webb

Published November 18, 2009

This week, Frank takes some time at the Print Buyer's International Conference to ask Dr. Joe Webb about books he's been reading. The two get into an extended conversation about the impact social media is having on the media mix and how printers need to understand this changing landscape of communications.

1995 and all that

Published November 13, 2009

Events converged in 1995 to change the printing world. Before that, it was the old printing industry. After that it would be the new printing industry. That year, paper, the Internet, the portable document format, the CD, and the PC converged to create a new paradigm. The number of printing companies would reach 62,000 in 1995 and it would be the highest number of printers ever.

This Week with Frank Romano: The Big "What Is It?" Reveal

Published November 11, 2009

This week Frank shares another great Dov Isaacs cartoon, then dedicates the entire episode to talking about the last "What Is It?" contest. Nobody got it right! So Frank has to talk about what it is and how old he is as well.

This Week with Frank Romano: Live from PIP

Published November 4, 2009

This week Frank joins us from a PIP Printing & Marketing Services event in Manchester, Connecticut. The event revolves around digital printing and variable data and Frank shows us some classic examples of some campaigns over the years.

This Week with Frank Romano: Wood power, catalogs, and "what is it?"

Published October 28, 2009

This week Frank talks about "wood power" fueling many cities and why this doesn't jive with paper being an enviro-enemy, marketers preferring a "paper trail" because catalogs actually work! Frank also reveals his latest "what is it?" contest.

From ampersands to interrobangs

Published October 23, 2009

In the 3rd century B.C. Aristophanes of Byzantium invented a system of single dots that separated verses and indicated the amount of breath needed to read each fragment of text aloud. The different lengths were signified by a dot at the bottom, middle, or top of the line. For a short passage (a komma), a dot was placed mid-level. The name came to be used for the mark itself instead of the clause it separated.

This Week with Frank Romano: Direct mail, Do Not Call lists, and a DMA Brouhaha

Published October 21, 2009

This week Frank shares more interesting direct mail, including "pop out" dice. He also addresses Do Not Mail list legislation and an idea to have mail supported by advertising. Finally, Frank addresses a "brouhaha" at the DMA.

This Week with Frank Romano: The Changing Nature of Print Buying

Published October 14, 2009

This week Frank shares a Dov Isaacs cartoon, reviews some of his mail, and talks about the changing nature of print buying. Trends in print buying are discussed as is the 4th Annual Print Buyers Conference conducted by Print Buyers International.

The State of U.S. Printing Associations -- Part Deux

Published October 9, 2009

The reaction to the first article, both at Print CEO and personal communication, has been overwhelming. Editors, consultants, affiliate managers and staff, educators, and, most of all, printers support merging the two commercial printing associations. There has been no word from NAPL or PIA. Why am I expressing these opinions? Because no one else will.

This Week with Frank Romano: The Future of the Printing Industry

Published October 7, 2009

This week Frank talks about the future of the printing industry by reviewing where we've been and where we're going. Issues such as overcapacity, the digital age, and the Internet are addressed. The takeaway? This will NOT be your father's printing industry!

This Week with Frank Romano: The Long Awaited Survey Results!

Published September 30, 2009

NAPL and PIA - and the state of American trade associations

Published September 25, 2009

Theodore De Vinne and less than 20 large American printers formed the United Typothetae of America in the late 1800s to provide a united front against the Typographical Unions’ demand for an 8-hour work day. UTA was formally organized in 1887 at a convention in Chicago attended by 68 delegates representing 18 master printer’s associations and 22 cities. Its purpose was “to develop a community of interests and a fraternal spirit among the master printers of the United States and Dominion of Canada and for the purpose of exchanging information and assisting each other when necessary.” The United Typothetae of America would become Printing Industries of America.

This Week with Frank Romano: Frank at the Allegra Network Convention

Published September 23, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Frank is live and direct from Print09

Published September 16, 2009

It's almost time for PRINT 09

Published September 11, 2009

The last minute work is in effect. They are cleaning the booths and will roll the carpet along the aisles. Today a few thousand people will show us whether the recession is over -- at least for the printing industry. This is the first PRINT where the number of digital printers outnumbers the number of offset litho presses. It is the first print where inkjet is a dominant product being exhibited. It is the first PRINT where you can say that it is mostly digital in terms of workflow.

This Week with Frank Romano: Frank Visits Finch Paper and gets a tour of their forestry resources

Published September 9, 2009

Printing: where are we?

Published September 4, 2009

Draw a circle. Let us say that it represents all reproduction on paper and plastic substrates in the United States over one year. This includes printing on all devices, as well as copying. Now take a slice that represents about one quarter out. That is the volume of print that we lost to electronic alternatives: websites, PDF files, e-mail, etc. What is left is more or less the printing industry.

This Week with Frank Romano: To Print or Not to Print? Makeready, make ready, or make-ready?

Published September 2, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Frank reviews gifts and mail, talks about print and sustainability, and wades into healthcare debate

Published August 26, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Frank Visits the Museum of Industry in Baltimore, Maryland

Published August 19, 2009

Prologue to PRINT

Published August 14, 2009

The PRINT 09 event is only a few weeks away. A lot of printers are asking if it will be worth a trip. Yes, it will. They should publish Bill Lamparter’s Must-see’um and Worth-a-look lists in advance so youknow what to expect. I think there will also be a few surprises.

This Week with Frank Romano: Why it's important to attend Print09 and learn

Published August 12, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: A Number of Small Items, Including Amazon's Remote

Published August 5, 2009

Down the tubes

Published July 31, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Online Coupon Call to Arms, What is Quick Printing?

Published July 29, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: How Online Content is Changing Print

Published July 22, 2009

Frank in the Future

Published July 17, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Printer murges, new jobs for tommorrow, the end of paper, some good news, offshoring, and the worst logo in the world

Published July 15, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Steamroll printing at the Museum of Printing

Published July 8, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Frank takes a ride on Amtrak, reviews

Published July 1, 2009

Mama, they took my Kodachome (and my Grade S Paper, etc.) away

Published June 26, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Print isn't dead, The Patriot Ledger and phototypesetting, General Motors bankruptcy and the effect on the printing industry

Published June 24, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Mail Week. Frank's shares several

Published June 17, 2009

Tyranny of Color – Take 2

Published June 12, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Frank answers the

Published June 10, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Agatha Christie Mega-Book, On-Demand Book Printing, Obama Time Capsule, and a Yearbook Rant

Published June 3, 2009

The Barcode

Published May 29, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Commentary on RR Donnelley's Interest to Acquire Quebecor

Published May 27, 2009

The Tyranny of Color

Published May 21, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Typeface Copyright, Innerworkings and Print Brokering, and

Published May 20, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Documenting the history of Mergenthaler Linotype

Published May 13, 2009

The tormented history of Garamond

Published May 8, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Cheerios and childrens books, Six Flags bad news, Soy toner, and the death of the phonebook

Published May 6, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Commentary on industry events, the webinar craze, and the need for new ideas!

Published April 29, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Earth Day Special, Stop picking on paper and the print industry!

Published April 22, 2009

The paradox of quality

Published April 17, 2009

Fridays with Frank Romano: The smell of books, direct mail kudos, homeland insecurity, RR Donnelley, and the

Published April 15, 2009

Fridays with Frank Romano: Redefining magazines, mine magazine, and the Printing Crafts Building

Published April 10, 2009

Offset litho vs. digital printing and vice versa

Published April 3, 2009

The Museum of Printing is a national treasure

Published March 27, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Useful items and upselling, Times New Roman, Best and worst direct mail examples, and Dome printing

Published March 25, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Repercussions of Newspapers in Decline, Frank Reveals Latest "What Is It?" Answer, Antique Printing Book, New "What Is It?" Item

Published March 18, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Live from Dscoop4 in Orlando, Frank Shows us Mohawk Fine Paper i-Tonie Award Winners

Published March 11, 2009

The History of the Typo

Published March 6, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Jewish Printing Press Prayer, Frank calls el torro poo poo, and Webster One Source

Published March 4, 2009

The Victorian Internet

Published February 27, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Rome Redux, Pink Slip Printing, Obama, Car Rental CD-ROM Manual, and What Is It?

Published February 25, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Media Irony, Biggest Book in the World, Associations in Second Life (with Action Figures)

Published February 18, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: On Demand Book Printing, Finishing Makes the Product, Where the Money's At

Published February 11, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Postal Service as Taliban, Commemorative Newspaper Editions, Layoff Anecdotes, and One Good Rant

Published February 4, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Good News and Bad News, Tukaiz Leverages The Internet, and Captain Kangaroo Frank

Published January 28, 2009

When in doubt, use Caslon

Published January 23, 2009

This Week with Frank Romano: Viewmasters, Lehman Brothers, and the Photomatrix

Published January 21, 2009

Free Special Video Feature: This Week with Frank Romano

Published January 14, 2009

The Last Printer, A Seasonal Fantasy

Published December 19, 2008

The new printing workforce

Published November 21, 2008

Mark Twain’s Folly

Published October 31, 2008

Get Thee to Graph Expo

Published October 17, 2008

The future of offset lithography

Published September 26, 2008

Remembering Linotype

Published September 5, 2008

Defining Variable Data Printing

Published August 22, 2008

Wireless roots

Published August 8, 2008

Remembering Varityper

Published August 1, 2008

Excellence matters

Published July 25, 2008

Bye bye printing rep?

Published July 11, 2008

The very last Drupa article (maybe)

Published June 27, 2008

Drupa 2012 Report

Published June 20, 2008

Free: Drupa 2012 Report

Published June 20, 2008

Frank’s Drupa Notebook

Published June 13, 2008

Super Duper Drupa

Published June 6, 2008

Where in the world is Frank? Episode 6

Published June 5, 2008

Where in the world is Frank? Episode 5

Published June 5, 2008

Where in the world is Frank? Episode 5

Published May 23, 2008

Where in the world is Frank? Episode 5

Published May 23, 2008

Where in the world is Frank? Episode 4

Published May 16, 2008

Where in the world is Frank? Episode 4

Published May 16, 2008

Where in the world is Frank? Episode 3

Published May 2, 2008

It isn’t easy being Pantone 347

Published April 25, 2008

Where in the world is Frank? Episode 2

Published April 11, 2008

Where in the world is Frank? Episode 1

Published April 4, 2008

Helvetica, the article

Published March 28, 2008

Back to the Futura: preserving printing’s past

Published February 29, 2008

Color—It’s all about hue

Published February 22, 2008

Cost is a fact; price is a philosophy

Published February 8, 2008

Benjamin Franklin’s legacy

Published January 25, 2008

Happy 564th

Published December 18, 2007

Frank Thoughts

Published December 14, 2007

(Once) Made in America

Published December 7, 2007

Digital vs Litho: The competition continues

Published November 30, 2007

How much information is there?

Published November 16, 2007

Three Other Education Initiatives That Matter; GAERF, IGAEA, Printing Museums

Published November 9, 2007

Remembering Compugraphic: Machines that changed the printing industry.

Published November 2, 2007

There is a crisis in print buying

Published October 26, 2007

Typewriter Memories

Published October 12, 2007

Avoid print at your peril

Published October 5, 2007

We Are the Press

Published September 28, 2007

GE07: Graph Expo and the shape of things to come

Published September 21, 2007

Visions of Graph Expo

Published September 14, 2007

GE07: Graph Expo prologue

Published August 31, 2007

Who’s mad at me today?

Published August 24, 2007

Print is a workflow of workflows

Published August 10, 2007

The show's the thing

Published August 3, 2007

Where have all the students gone? Part deux

Published July 20, 2007

FREE: Where have all the students gone?

Published July 13, 2007

Peerless pressure

Published June 22, 2007

Fearless forecasts of the future

Published June 15, 2007

Fonts - The Final Frontier

Published June 1, 2007

Are We Getting a HIP Replacement?

Published May 29, 2007

VDP: The suppliers have screwed the entire system up!

Published May 24, 2007

Digital Color Printing Specs

Published May 18, 2007

Love your local library

Published May 11, 2007

Trends and more trends

Published April 6, 2007

Truth in advertising

Published March 30, 2007

Polls Apart

Published March 9, 2007

The Handwriting Is On The Screen...

Published March 2, 2007

Book Helpdesk

Published February 23, 2007

Pithy observations...For those who like this sort of thing

Published February 9, 2007

Getting personal

Published February 2, 2007

My life and Time

Published January 19, 2007

Frank Romano Remembers Bert Powers -- Who was Bert Powers?

Published January 12, 2007

Holey Cow: Punched Media Loom Large in Print's Evolution

Published December 15, 2006

FREE: A Message For Printers as We Enter 2007

Published December 15, 2006

When It Comes to Legibility, the Eyes Have It - or Do They?

Published December 8, 2006

Why the Stationery and Social Printing Market Isn’t Moving

Published December 1, 2006

FREE: Graph Expo Files: Some Entirely Serious Observations And Some Not-To-Be-Taken-Too-Seriously Prognostications

Published November 17, 2006

FREE Future of Graphic Arts Education = Future of the Graphic Arts by Frank Romano

Published November 10, 2006

The Disk Drive: Still Coasting Along at the Ripe Old Age of 50

Published October 6, 2006

We Kid You Not: Sheep Poo Paper, Tuneful Toothbrushes And Telling the Difference Between Selling and Marketing

Published September 29, 2006

They Couldn't Identify Type in 1760—We Still Can't Today

Published September 22, 2006

FREE: Association Consolidation - We, the printers, in order to form a more perfect union

Published December 16, 2003