Printing Industry Commentary & Analysis

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.

Articles by Frank Romano