Printing Industry Commentary & Analysis

The “Orders of One” Industry

Published December 10, 2019

Julian Marsh, Digital Print Expert, talks about the latest challenges facing digital book printers. Customers want highly customized and complex books with faster turnaround than ever—the “Amazon effect.” At the same time, book printers are facing a skills shortage. Enter automation and the smart factory approach to book manufacturing.

Around the Web: Crafty Carlsberg. Couture Clash. Fatal Fashion. Local Losses. Sham Shipments. Brainy Brush. Cuneiform Cookies. Purring Professors.

Published December 6, 2019

Carlsberg Group replaces plastic ring carriers and shrinkwrapping with innovative adhesive dots. The environmental toll of haute couture. A textile-based horror movie. The death of local news. An interactive look at the graphic design and development of New York City’s subway map. An AI system attempts to write about printing shipments. “A fitness tracker for your mouth.” A new look at Marco Polo’s last year in Venice. A Welsh password generator. Cats teaching economics. A $1 hotel room—exhibitionists preferred. A smoke-breathing Godzilla Christmas tree. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly, Baby Yoda-free miscellany.

First Look: Industry Business Conditions 2019

Published December 6, 2019

Preliminary results from our 2019 Business Outlook Survey show that one-fourth (24%) of survey respondents reported that, compared to 2018, revenues for 2019 were up more than 10%. That’s the highest this has been since we started our annual survey in 2015. Elsewhere, though, things are a bit more muted.

Bookmasters Brings the Smart Factory to Book Production

Published December 3, 2019

Brad Sharp, Director of Manufacturing for Bookmasters, talks about the company’s implementation of the “smart factory,” not only in the front end, but also in printing and finishing, leveraging automation to tie together as many work centers as they can for short-run, on-demand book production.

October Jobs: Production Down, Managerial Up

Published November 22, 2019

In October, overall printing employment dropped -0.3% from September. On a year-over-year basis, though, it was down -2.4%. Production employment was down -0.7% from September to October, but year-over-year was down -4.8%. On the other hand, non-production employment was up +0.7% from September to October, and year-over-year was up +2.9%.

Around the Web: Publishers’ Peril? Gargantuan Gannett. Assessing AR. Female Pirate Printer. Festive Footwear. Shirt Supreme. Goofy Gravy.

Published November 22, 2019

What happens when a print publication goes all-digital? Has Apple News Plus cannibalized publications’ own digital efforts? Gannett and GateHouse to merge and create the biggest newspaper publisher in the US. What is in store for AR in 2020? Well, not Apple Glasses. Manhole cover-based art. Painting on Vans loafers. Hacking into pet dishes? A unique way to drug your Thanksgiving guests. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Christine Erna on Intelligent Mail

Published November 20, 2019

Christine Erna of Strategic Postal Advisors provides some updates on the mailing industry, specifically "full-service intelligent mail." Intelligent mail offers mailers many benefits, such as address change services, secure destruction, and informed visibility data, although many mailers may not be aware how to take advantage of it.

Canon’s Versatile imagePRESS Technology

Published November 19, 2019

Canon USA’s Matthew Poliniak talks about the company’s imagePRESS technology—specifically the imagePRESS C10000VP and C910 Color Digital Presses—and the wide range of applications imagePRESS technology can produce, achieving the same high quality on uncoated and coated stock, as well as textured and other specialty substrates.

Xanté Introduces InfoMark, an Alternative to QR Codes

Published November 19, 2019

Robert Ross, CEO of Xanté, introduces InfoMark, a simple four-digit alphanumeric code designed to replace the QR code. InfoMark gives publishers, designers, packagers, and others a simple digital link to quickly access audio, video, PDF, and any other digital content from a printed piece using a desktop computer, smartphone, or tablet.

Software Binds Together All the Elements of an Automated Workflow

Published November 19, 2019

Ray Duval of Ultimate TechnoGraphics talks about the concept of the “smart factory,” how virtually any print process can be automated, and how software is the glue that holds together all the different parts of the automated workflow.

With the Ricoh TF6250, It’s a Whole New Ballgame for MAC Specialties

Published November 18, 2019

Mark Cohen, President of MAC Specialties, talks about the wide-format and specialty printing services his company offers, and explains how they produce custom cellphone stands. MAC Specialties recently installed a Ricoh TF6250 UV LED Flatbed Printer which allows them to print on materials other than flat sheets or boards—such as foam footballs.

Paperboard Container Manufacturing Establishments—2016

Published November 15, 2019

In 2016, there were 1,971 establishments in NAICS 32221 (Paperboard Container Manufacturing). One-half of these establishments have 50 or more employees, and three-fourths have 20 or more employees.

Around the Web: Looming Automation. Tough Lung Love. Fantasy Fabric. Sea Silk. Tangled Tapes. Cochlear Craziness. Olivetti Oddity. Missing Millennials. Canine Conversation.

Published November 15, 2019

An automated digital weaving loom. Hemp cigarettes are apparently a thing. A hat made of silk from mollusks goes up for auction. The Zagat Guide is back in print. Cassette tapes are coming back into fashion, for some reason. Send your ear data to Sony, for some reason. The bizarre tale behind the first desktop computer. Is online advertising the new dot-com bubble? There’s no such thing as a Millennial—or even a Boomer. Salvador Dalí’s Tarot deck. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Teaching Millennial Marketers About Direct Mail

Published November 14, 2019

Jeana Garms, VP of Marketing for SG360°, talks about her experiences as a Millennial working for a direct mail company. Her age cohort tends to think in terms of digital media first, so she finds that marketers who entered the workforce in the last 10 years need a lot of education about print direct mail.

Finishing Automation is Becoming a Critical Investment

Published November 14, 2019

Bob Flinn from Standard Finishing talks about why, with the current labor market, investment in automation within binding and finishing is imperative.

Horizon International Introduces IoT Capabilities in its Finishing System

Published November 13, 2019

Yoshihiro Oe, General Manager at Horizon International Inc., talks about the "ICE Concept" that Horizon International introduced at the Think Smart Factory event. The concept brings Internet of Things (IoT) interconnection to finishing equipment to provide real-time data analytics, predictive maintenance, remote service, and support. Horizon is collaborating with customers to determine which type of IoT functionality is most useful within an automated print factory.

Transformation and Transition at Kodak

Published November 12, 2019

Patti Smith, VP, WW Business Development & Marketing, Digital Inkjet Printing, for Kodak, talks to David Zwang about the latest developments at Kodak, the company's new CEO Jim Continenza, and the renewed emphasis on understanding—and replicating—the transitions customers are undergoing.

Think Smart Finishing Showcases Automated Print Production

Published November 12, 2019

2019 Think Smart Finishing, organized by Horizon International, showcases automated print production from order to finished product. WhatTheyThink spoke to Yasuo Taketsugu of Horizon International about bringing 14 industry partners together across software, print, and finishing to show a fully integrated print environment.

Tri-Win Direct Wins with Continuous-Feed Inkjet from Ricoh

Published November 11, 2019

Andy Chagan of Tri-Win Direct talks about the direct mail company's humble beginnings in a second-floor apartment and now, 22 years later, mails 350-400 million pieces a year. The company uses predominantly Ricoh equipment and, in 2015, the company transitioned from cut-sheet to continuous-feed, and the Ricoh VC60000 was a game-changer.

No Fall for Printing Shipments

Published November 8, 2019

Heading into Fall 2019, the value of printing shipments for September 2019 was $7.14 billion—up from August’s $7.10 billion. It’s not a huge rise, but given that for the last few years September shipments declined from August’s, we’ll take it.

Around the Web: Talking Twistronics. Smartphone Subscriptions. Magenta Monopoly. Sadistic Stacks. Elusive Ebooks. Sumerian Stew. Banishing Blind Spots. No Mo’ Mona. Dean of the Dead.

Published November 8, 2019

Researchers turn graphene into a superconductor. Are subscriptions next for the iPhone? Deutsche Telekom claims to own the color magenta. An old sewing machine repair shop accidentally became a New York museum. Queens’ new library is all but inaccessible if you’re not an elite athlete. Culinary archaeologists recreate ancient recipes. A 14-year-old inventor solves the problem of cars’ blind spots. “Take down the Mona Lisa!” James Dean to star in a new movie, for some reason. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Koenig & Bauer Looks Ahead to drupa 2020

Published November 5, 2019

Koenig & Bauer’s Mark Hischar previews what Koenig & Bauer will be showing at next year’s drupa 2020. The company will have two booths in Dusseldorf to showcase how the company has grown and the new technologies and product lines they have been developing.

EFI’s Jeff White Talks Workflow

Published November 4, 2019

EFI’s Jeff White talks to Kelley Holmes about the importance of workflow tools to make print businesses more efficient, and discusses EFI’s MIS and workflow solutions for commercial print providers, mailing operations, and superwide format printers.

Dave Fellman on Driving the Sales Cycle

Published November 4, 2019

Longtime Printing News contributor Dave Fellman talks to Kelley Holmes about driving the sales cycle: prospecting, quoting, and taking the first few orders. It’s a rule of thumb that you’ll lose about 10% of your customers each year, so to grow, you need to add 12–20% new customers.

Paper Bag and Coated and Treated Paper Manufacturing—2010–2016

Published November 1, 2019

In 2010, there were 825 establishments in NAICS 32222 (Paper Bag and Coated and Treated Paper Manufacturing). By 2016, that number had declined for a net loss of -12% to 730.

Around the Web: Terrifying Typeface. Edgy Analytics. Green Garments. Techy Teens. Expensive Eagles. Grotty Gifts. Candy Crushes.

Published November 1, 2019

Hellvetica unleashed. The edge will transform sporting events—and perhaps everything else. Apps for recycling used clothing. A study of mobile technology use by today’s tweens and tweens. Where eagles dare, roaming charges follow. Gift recipients may like poorly wrapped presents better. A hierarchy of candy. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Adding Value to the Industry—and Print Customers

Published November 1, 2019

Kelley Holmes talks to Thayer Long, President of APTech, about some of the strategies and initiatives that APTech is pursuing to help add more value to the industry—and help print providers add more value to their customers—as the print industry goes through major changes.

RMGT: Alone with the Crowd

Published October 31, 2019

Chris Manley, President of Graphco, talks to Kelley Holmes at PRINTING United about how RMGT has the only offset press on the show floor—and that demos have drawn standing-room-only crowds.

Previewing drupa 2020

Published October 30, 2019

drupa’s Sabine Geldermann previews some of the highlights visitors can expect at next June’s drupa 2020, and some of the event’s new innovation partners. In the drupa cube, bestselling author Michael Gale, author of “The Digital Helix,” will talk about the digital transformations in other industries and how they apply to the printing industry.

RISO's Color Printing at PRINTING United

Published October 29, 2019

Brianna Makarevich and David Erwin of RISO Inc. give a tour of the RISO booth at PRINTING United showcasing the variety of devices on display, including the FW Series, which includes a multifunction finisher; the GD Series, which features a Fiery RIP to provide greater color capabilities; and the new Valezus T2100, the latest entry in RISO’s portfolio of print production systems.

Hybrid Software on Packaging Prepress

Published October 29, 2019

Mike Rottenborn, President and CEO of Hybrid Software, talks about how prepress for packaging has changed over the years, and how Hybrid Software has developed prepress solutions for flexo, offset, digital, and hybrid packaging printing.

Meet the EFI BOLT Digital Textile Printer

Published October 28, 2019

EFI's Textile Product Manager Micol Gamba walks us through the capabilities of the EFI BOLT single-pass digital textile printer in this video sponsored by EFI. As the world's fastest digital textile printer running at up to 90 meters per minute, the EFI BOLT was shown running at the recent ITMA trade show in Barcelona and four units had already been sold at that time.

Jeff Jacobson and the EFI Ecosystem

Published October 28, 2019

Jeff Jacobson, new Executive Chairman and CEO of EFI, talks to Cary Sherburne about what attracted him to take on the leadership role at EFI, and the changes in store as EFI transforms from being a public company to a private company.

The View from the Other Side: Print Buyers’ Revenues

Published October 25, 2019

Publishing and advertising are among the biggest print-buying markets. Last month, the Census Bureau released its Quarterly Services Survey, which reported revenues for these markets. Publishers’ revenues continue their long decline, while the up-and-down of advertising revenues indicate the extent to which the nature of advertising is changing.

Around the Web: Graphene Has its Own Conference. Grin and Bear It. Write About Happiness. Where Have All the English Majors Gone? The Internet in 2030. Epic Flight. IKEA Tarot Cards.

Published October 25, 2019

The 14th Graphene Conference meets in Silicon Valley. Bear Naked and Sustainable Pouches. Using digitized books to gauge happiness. English majors are down 25%. What will the Internet look like in 10 years? What does 19 hours on a plane do to the human body? All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Keypoint Intelligence on Textiles

Published October 24, 2019

Keypoint Intelligence - InfoTrends’ Ron Gilboa talks about the different kinds of textile printing applications and how print service providers can add more value for their customers by getting into textile printing.

Scott Eganhouse Talks About TEC Mailing Solutions’ Strong Suits

Published October 22, 2019

Scott Eganhouse of TEC Mailing Solutions talks about the company’s cloud-based USPS-certified cloud solution for the address hygiene and mailing industry—and cloud-based dye-sub-printed trade show attire.

EFI’s Red Hot Fiery Technology at PRINT 19

Published October 22, 2019

Giselle del la Moriniere Product Marketing Manager in EFI’s Fiery Group talks about EFI’s Fiery partners, the Red Hot Technology Award-winning FreeForm Create software, and the integration of the Fiery digital front end with Duplo’s spot coater and slitter/cutter/creaser.

CJ Graphics Sweeps the Bennys

Published October 21, 2019

Jay Mandarino, President and CEO of Mississauga, Ontario’s CJ Graphics, talks about his company’s having won a record 22 “Benny” Awards, the most in the 71-year history of the PIA’s Premier Print Awards.

Paper Bag and Coated and Treated Paper Manufacturing Establishments—2016

Published October 18, 2019

In 2016, there were 730 establishments in NAICS 32222 (Paper Bag and Coated and Treated Paper Manufacturing). Nearly four out of 10 (39%) have 50 or more employees, and 59% have 20 or more employees.

Around the Web: Nano Novels. Ultra Ubik. Definitive Dracula. Arcade Arcana. Feline Festivity. Spotify Style. Tooth Tech.

Published October 18, 2019

Read classic books on the NYPL’s Instagram. Deluxe edition of a classic Philip K. Dick novel. A compendium of classic arcade typography. An immersive edition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. An Advent calendar for cats. Custom T-shirts based on Spotify data. The current science of CBD. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Automated Color Control for Legacy Offset Presses

Published October 18, 2019

John Sweeney of Lithec USA introduces the company, which has just launched in the US, and the LithoFlash, the only retrofit inline closed-loop color control system for legacy sheetfed offset presses.

Marco Boer: drupa 2020 Should Be Part of Your Trade Show Plans

Published October 16, 2019

Marco Boer from I.T. Strategies provides his perspective on why North American printing company executives should attend European trade shows and what to expect at the upcoming drupa 2020 event.

Kirk-Rudy Launches the Memjet-Powered FireJet 4C

Published October 15, 2019

Kirk-Rudy’s Bob Mills showcases the new FireJet 4C, a Memjet-powered four-color inkjet printing system that can print at 1600 x 1600 dpi at speeds up to 150 feet per minute. It uses pigment aqueous ink and is designed to cost-effectively print envelopes, bags, packages, napkins, and other items.

Hunkeler's New Flexible Stacker

Published October 14, 2019

Hunkeler’s Hans Gut talks about the products the company was demonstrating at PRINT 19, including the Red Hot Technology Award-winning Hunkeler LS8-30 Long Stacker, which is designed to cut and stack a wide variety of print products.

Graphco: “The Unfair Advantage”

Published October 14, 2019

Graphco’s Chris Manley talks about the technologies the company was demonstrating at PRINT 19, including its chemical embossing system for RMGT offset presses, Foliant laminating, and GEW LED UV technology.

Around the Web: Paper Back. Mechanical Paper. Graphene—Again! Gambling on RFID. Water Warning. Dog Talk. Real Robocop.

Published October 11, 2019

Mechanical paper sculptures. A book about Graphene. Did RFID playing cards help a poker champ cheat? LED-based art helps gauge NYC’s water quality. Tech is helping animals communicate better. Real-life Robocop is no hero. Scotch pods?! All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Printing Shipments: The Dog Days of Summer Didn’t Bite

Published October 11, 2019

The value of printing shipments for August 2019 was $7.1 billion—up from July’s $6.8 billion. As we head into the autumn, 2019 is shaping up to be the best year for the industry in three years.

Xanté launches their new full color specialty printing solution based on HP FI-1000

Published October 9, 2019

Mark Priede of Xante previews the new full-color specialty printing solution based on the HP FI-1000, which prints 170+ envelopes a minute and uses Xanté’s iQueue software, and discusses the benefits of partnering with HP.

HP SPS OEMs launch wide format, full color solutions for mail and specialty printing applications

Published October 9, 2019

Paul Barton from HP Specialty Printing Systems (SPS) talks about the SPS division and how it allows OEMs to leverage HP’s engineering and manufacturing scale to bring products to market. At PRINT 19, HP SPS introduced the Fixed Imager (FI) 1000, a print engine that allows boxes, bags, corrugated, and cardboard to be printed at the desktop level.

Printware announces their new full color mail solution based on HP FI-1000

Published October 9, 2019

Printware’s Tim Murphy talks about a new entry in the company’s iJetColor line of benchtop and industrial inkjet printing systems: the iJetColor Pro, a light industrial press based on the FI-1000 printhead technology from HP SPS, allowing customers to create short-run, personalized packaging.

Standard Finishing's Red Hot Technologies

Published October 8, 2019

Paul Steinke of Standard Finishing Systems showcases two Red Hot Technology Award-winning products Standard was demonstrating at last week’s PRINT 19: the Horizon VAC-L600H Air-Suction Collator and the Hunkeler LS8-30 Long Stacker.

Business Cards and Shoe Leather—Larry Vaughn Talks About His Memoir

Published October 7, 2019

Larry Vaughn of Thomas Printworks talks about his memoir “Business Cards and Shoe Leather: How Dyslexia Helped Me Found One of the World's Premier Business Cooperatives.” The book, published earlier this year, comprises stories culled from Larry’s 40+ years in the printing industry.

Koenig & Bauer Expands Into Corrugated

Published October 7, 2019

Kelley Holmes talks to Mark Hischar of Koenig & Bauer about the company’s expansion into virtually every printing technology and application, from commercial to all kinds of packaging—especially new forays into corrugated.

Folding Paperboard Box Manufacturing Establishments—2010–2016

Published October 4, 2019

In 2010, there were 491 establishments in NAICS 322212 (Folding Paperboard Box Manufacturing). By 2016, that number had declined for a net loss of -8% to 451.

Around the Web: Unmade Made. Bawdy Billboard. Brilliant Bins. Some Summoning. Autonomous Vehicle Repellent. “Spocking” Fivers. Escalator Etiquette. Scented Scissors?

Published October 4, 2019

Dennis Amorosano launches Dendog Strategy Insights. Avery Dennison and Unmade partner for apparel manufacturing. Hackers have an electronic billboard play porn. Getting a smart jacket to work properly. A smart trash bin takes itself to the curb. Tesla’s Smart Summon and the chaos that is the modern parking lot. Keeping robot cars away from bicyclists. The Bank of Canada finds “spocking” $5 bills to be highly illogical. Escalator etiquette is wrong. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Brand Print Americas to Launch in 2020

Published October 4, 2019

Thayer Long, President of APTech, talks to Kelley Holmes about APTech’s recent partnership with Tarsus and offers a preview of 2020’s inaugural Brand Print Americas, an event designed to offer business and brand owners the full range of print options when taking their product or services into the marketplace.

Color Learning Materials at a Black-and-White Price Point

Published October 3, 2019

Chuck Werninger, Senior Manager of IT Administrative Services at Houston Independent School District, talks about his adoption of a Canon Océ VarioPrint i300 inkjet press to improve the quality of educational materials for Houston ISD students.

Sun Solutions Quickly Gets Up to Speed on Inkjet

Published October 2, 2019

Bridget Fisher of Sun Solutions in Columbia, S.C., talks to Kelley Holmes about the company's inkjet journey. As a general commercial printer, Sun Solutions had been looking for a cut-sheet inkjet solution, and several months ago installed a Canon Océ VarioPrint i300. They were surprised by the kinds of applications they have been able to transition from offset to inkjet.

Intellus’ Inkjet Journey

Published October 1, 2019

Kelley Holmes talks to MJ Ortiz of Intellus, an omnichannel marketing company that has been growing rapidly over the past three years. When a flagship direct mail customer wanted to make the move to digital, Intellus acquired a Canon Océ VarioPrint i300 and transitioned them from offset to production inkjet.

Printing Shipments: Summer Surprise

Published September 27, 2019

The value of printing shipments for July 2019 was $6.8 billion—up from June’s $6.6 billion. Breaking with seasonality, what has typically been one of the lowest months of the year for printing shipments actually came in pretty good.

Around the Web: Go to Noto. Post-Modern English. Meddling Milton. More Moore. Dart DRM. All Over Alexa. Fancy Feast. Celery Salves. Robot Tuna. Minnow Message.

Published September 27, 2019

IKEA changes its typeface. An op-ed from the future comments on 23rd-century English. A scholar discovers a John Milton-annotated volume of Shakespeare. Animation compares Moore’s Law to actual CPU speeds. DRM for Nerf darts. “Highlights” from Amazon’s hardware announcements. Nestlé introduces $17 “luxury KitKat” bars. Celery juice: a magic cure-all? Sherwood Schwartz sticks it to Newton Minow. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Attracting Millennials to the Printing Industry

Published September 24, 2019

Jeana Garms of SG360 shares with Kelley Holmes some of the highlights of a panel discussion she moderated at the thINK Ahead Conference about some of the misconceptions about Millennials in the printing industry, and how to better attract them to print businesses.

Larry Vaughn on Where thINK Is Today

Published September 23, 2019

Kelley Holmes talks to thINK board member Larry Vaughn about how educational events like the thINK Ahead Conference pull together print business owners and employees to help them understand today’s print marketplace.

Corrugated and Solid Fiber Box Manufacturing Establishments—2010–2016

Published September 20, 2019

In 2010, there were 1,356 establishments in NAICS 322211 (Corrugated and Solid Fiber Box Manufacturing). By 2016, that number had declined -12% to 1,200.

Around the Web: Surf’s Up. Sonar Gloves. Wearable Chair. Cardiac Keister. Earthquake Bed. Self-Repairing Robots. Inadvisable Burger.

Published September 20, 2019

Graphene: is there anything it can’t do? Inside the University of Minnesota’s Wearable Technology Lab. Lose all shred of dignity with a wearable chair. Monitor your heart health with a smart toilet seat. The grueling, physically demanding world of...chess. “Hope you enjoy your stinking phones.” KFC’s Chicken and Donuts Sandwich. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Marco Boer on thINK Ahead 2019

Published September 19, 2019

Marco Boer from I.T. Strategies discusses the highlights from the thINK Ahead 2019 event. thINK is this user community of Canon Solutions America production inkjet customers, solution partners, and print industry experts. Marco also shares his perspective on user groups and vendor evenets versus general public trade shows and why both are important for the industry.

Industry Profits: Mind the Gap

Published September 13, 2019

Annualized profits for the second quarter of 2019 were down from $3.61 billion in Q1 to $3.05 billion. However, the gap between large and small printers has only narrowed very slightly.

Around the Web: Chameleonic Kicks. Twisted Twister. Fooling Facial Recognition. Plastic Priests. Kaput Cameras.

Published September 13, 2019

Sneakers that put on a light show. An inflatable Twister mat may be just what your next party needs. Adversarial fashion takes on face recognition systems. A.I. priests. A.I. passes an 8th-grade science test. An animation tracks the rise and fall of web browsers. Camera sales fall off a cliff. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Irvine, Calif.’s Sir Speedy Relies on Automation

Published September 9, 2019

Kelley Holmes talks to Kathy Morgan, President of Sir Speedy Printing & Signs in Irvine, Calif., about the changes she has seen in commercial printing over her 30+ years in the industry, such as the transition from offset to digital printing and an increased emphasis on automation.

Around the Web: AI vs. WTT Round 2. Temporary Text. Fast Food. Siri-ous Sneaker. Dim Bulbs. Forest Bathing. Plastic People. Erse Erudition.

Published September 6, 2019

Artificial intelligence attempts to write a wide-format story. “The World’s Most Dangerous Writing App.” Digital signage is too fast. Editor & Publisher sold. Nike’s Self-Lacing Sneakers. How to keep Slack from driving you crazy. All about “forest bathing.” Hide and seek in IKEA. Are we in a true “Age of Plastic”? A revised online dictionary of Medieval Irish. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

From the Classroom to the Pressroom

Published September 4, 2019

Kelley Holmes talks to Adam Pelzek of Pip Printing New England about his transition from teaching to the family printing business, founded by his father and uncle more than 40 years ago. He also shares his perspective on Millennials’ perceptions of print and the printing industry.

Printing Establishment Births and Deaths

Published August 30, 2019

From 2015 to 2016, there was an increase of +1,586 printing establishments and a decrease of -1,881 establishments, for a net loss of -295 establishments.

Around the Web: Fashion Pact. Bug Barrier. Book Sales. Caption Contretemps. Capital Ideas. AI vs. WTT. 80s iPhones. Elemental.

Published August 30, 2019

G7 takes on fashion sustainability. Graphene vs. mosquitoes. AAP’s latest book sales figures for January to June 2019. Is captioning audiobooks illegal? How to capitalize headlines. Can AI write for WhatTheyThink? What would a 1980s-era iPhone have looked like? Whither the Periodic Table? All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Thin LED Panels Are Good for Plastic or Fabric Signage

Published August 29, 2019

Aleksandr Karasyk, President of Elephant US, talks about the company's thin, double-sided, LED panels and its journey from the Ukraine to the U.S.

Around the Web: Bogus Books. Letterpress Lovecraft. Online Occultiana. Crazy Cards. Bothersome Billboards. Migrating Mattresses. Farewell, FogCam.

Published August 23, 2019

Amazon sells fake Orwell titles. An experiential letterpress-printed book inspired by H.P. Lovecraft. Amsterdam’s occult library digitizes its collection. Memorable baseball card photos. The Apple Card: Leave home without it? New York’s continued war on digital offshore billboards. “Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Is an Economic Indicator.” The longest-running webcam is going dark. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

For Pip Printing New England, Mailing Services Are on the Rise

Published August 20, 2019

Bob Pelzek, President of Pip Printing New England, talks about his 43 years in the business, and how he has navigated the industry’s changing trends. Lately, Pip Printing New England has branched into signage, and Pelzek comments on the rise, fall, and resurgence of the mailing services business.

June Printing Shipments: The Dog Days of Summer Begin

Published August 16, 2019

Printing shipments for June 2019 were—as expected—down from May, and came in slightly below June 2018.

Around the Web: Graphene Gown. Adversarial Fashion. Smart Ovens, Dumb Choices. Amazon Airbnb. Big Apple Retail Apocalypse. Crazy Train. Implantables.

Published August 16, 2019

A fashion line designed to mess with surveillance cameras. The smart device invasion. A Seattle Airbnb that offers a mock Amazon job interview. High-profile shopping meccas in NYC shut down. Ozzy Osbourne is an actual genetic mutant (as we all suspected). You can now store your data—and your car keys—inside your body. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Quick Printing at its Finest

Published August 13, 2019

Kelley Holmes talks with Eileen Rosenzweig, President of Sir Speedy Sarasota in Florida. Rosenzweig is a second-generation Sir Speedy owner and has been in the business 33 years. Sir Speedy Sarasota is “a very big small printer” and offers full-service commercial printing and signage.

Corrugated and Solid Fiber Box Manufacturing Establishments—2016

Published August 9, 2019

in 2016, there were 1,200 establishments in NAICS 322211 (Corrugated and Solid Fiber Box Manufacturing). About half of these establishments (49%) have 50 or more employees and more than two-thirds (71%) have 20 or more employees.

Around the Web: Mobile Medals. Human Tails. Reviving Bookshops. Ugly Gerry. Dog Mode. Artificial Tongue. Libeling Parrots.

Published August 9, 2019

The medals for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics are being made from recycled mobile phones. An Irish teen wins the Google Science Fair for a system for removing microplastics from the oceans. Can Waterstones’ savior duplicate that success for Barnes & Noble? A typeface based on heinously gerrymandered Congressional districts. Scottish researchers develop an artificial tongue for whisky tasting. 3M streamlines packaging material. If you’re a UK publisher, go ahead and insult all the parrots you want. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Sir Speedy Tampa Sees Strong Growth in Signage

Published August 8, 2019

Kelley Holmes talks with Steve Albritton, President & CEO of Sir Speedy Tampa, about the marketing tips he picked up at the Franchise Services Annual Convention, as well as some exciting recent projects he has worked on, including signage and display graphics.

June Jobs: Up in the Short Term, Down in the Long Term

Published August 2, 2019

In June, overall printing employment grew +0.5% from May to June 2019. On a year-over-year basis, it is down -2.5%. Production employment was up +0.4% from May to June, but year-over-year was down -4.9%. Non-production employment was up +0.7% from May to June, and year-over-year was up +2.6%.

Around the Web: Mechanical Marketers. Breathable Lava Suits. Smart Diapers. Wearable Air Conditioners. Paper Organs. Geomessages. Butternauts! Words About Words. Craving Carvers. Rebooted Airplanes.

Published August 2, 2019

Chase replaces its copywriters with AI. What to wear when immersed in molten rock. “If only there were a way to determine when a diaper needed changing...” Look cool being cool. Creating organ models from maps of Zürich, for some reason. Sending messages via geomapping. The dictionary explains “fursona,” upsettingly. The stone carver job market heats up. New books for language nerds. “We will start boarding as soon as the plane has rebooted.” All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Converted Paper Product Manufacturing Establishments—2016

Published July 26, 2019

in 2016, there were 3,638 establishments in NAICS 3222 (Converted Paper Product Manufacturing). More than four out of 10 of these establishments (42%) have 50 or more employees and two-thirds (65%) have 20 or more employees.

Around the Web: Medical Tattooing. Etsy Faces the Music. Guinness’ Road Less Traveled. Another Press Conference Cat-astrophe. Slugs in Medieval Manuscripts. Wienerbnb.

Published July 26, 2019

Disney’s “Escape from the Haunted Mansion” papercraft. Tattoos that function as medical diagnostics. Etsy buys musical marketplace. What technology will be obsolete in your lifetime? Is the world’s steepest road really the steepest in the world? What is it with these cat filters? A long, but well-worth-it Twitter thread about slugs in Medieval manuscript illumination. Spend a night in the Wienermobile...if you dare. “Disruption has come for toilet paper.” All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

May Printing Shipments Up from April

Published July 19, 2019

Printing shipments for May 2019 were up from April—and even came in above May 2018 shipments, albeit only very slightly.

Around the Web: Newspaperless Starbucks. Printless Textbooks. Madless Al Jaffee. Memeless TikTok. Painless Airplane Seats? Monkless Chanting. Methless Gators.

Published July 19, 2019

Starbucks stops selling newspapers. Pearson switches to etextbooks. All about the semicolon. Coder Margaret Hamilton saved the Apollo 11 mission. The inventor of the computer password is ******. What is TikTok? IBM patents a smartwatch that unfolds into a tablet. Whatever happened to all those Bob Ross paintings? F. Scott Fitzgerald and “cocktail” as a verb. Heavy metal knitting. Twinkies for Breakfast. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

FSI’s Rich Lowe on the Latest Trends Affecting Print Franchises

Published July 19, 2019

Rich Lowe of Franchise Services talks to Kelley Holmes at this week’s Franchise Services Convention about current trends in the marketplace affecting print franchises and their customers. Specifically, franchises have had to learn how to really be a marketing services provider, how to work with data, and have had to understand the sign business.

PR Agency Employees—2010–2016

Published July 12, 2019

In 2016, there were 58,489 employees in establishments in NAICS 54182 (Public Relations Agencies). Employment in this category has grown +17% from 2010 to 2016.

Around the Web: Knitted Sensors. Disabled Books. The City that Invented the Publishing Industry. Brands and Amazon Search. Most Valuable Brands. Underwater Internet. Another Photo Cake Incident.

Published July 12, 2019

The MIT Media Lab develops knitted sensors. Microsoft discontinues its ebooks—and erases everyone’s libraries. Venice and the dawn of book publishing. Most of product searches on Amazon are brand-free. Sea-level rise may adversely affect the Internet. An AR application to identify street artists. Working for the [Robot] Man. Use AI to keep your prey-toting pet out of the house. Levitating turntables. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Printing Industry Profits: What Goes Up...

Published June 28, 2019

Industry profits data came out earlier this month, and overall profits slipped a little. Annualized profits for Q1 2019 were $3.58 billion, down slightly from $3.66 billion in Q4 of last year. Again, it’s the large printers that are dragging down overall industry profitability.

Around the Web: Yet More Meeker! Madvertising. Roasting Design. Trouble On the Map. Public Domain: The Musical. Danger: Slugs! The ENIAC Programmers Project. Portugal’s Plastic Rocks. Fishbots!

Published June 28, 2019

Mary Meeker Slide Roulette. Brands harness online outrage. How can an Albany antiquarian bookstore outlast its owner? Core77 roasts bad industrial design. Fake businesses on Google Maps. Celebrating the original six ENIAC programmers—women all. Country Time is on your side. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Advertising Agency Employees—2010–2016

Published June 21, 2019

In 2016, there were 194,792 employees in establishments in NAICS 54181 (Advertising Agencies). Employment in this category has grown +31% from 2010 to 2016.

Around the Web: More Meeker! Press Conference Cat-astrophe. 3D Fashion. A Tale of a Tail. Marking Computer History. Redesigned Mailboxes. Celebrating Tristram Shandy. Bakery Printing Error. Li-Fi.

Published June 21, 2019

Mary Meeker Slide Roulette. 3D Fashion Editor. An app-controlled animatronic tail. A N.H. highway historical marker commemorates the creation of BASIC. Note to press briefers: turn off the kitten filter. The USPS combats postal box fishing. A look at Laurence Sterne’s classic “Tristram Shandy.” Who wouldn’t want a Marie Curie birthday cake? Internet-transmitting lights. Crocheted body parts. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Ditch Your Silos for Convergence

Published June 20, 2019

Pat McGrew, President of McGrew Group, talks about convergence and what it means for the printing industry.

April Printing Shipments—A New Season?

Published June 14, 2019

Printing shipments for April were up from March, happily disrupting what has become the usual seasonal pattern. Even better, April 2019 shipments came in above April 2018 shipments.

Around the Web: Two Words: Mary Meeker! Kirie Eleison. Passenger Drones. Shame-Based Ecology. Kids on Film. LED Earbuds. Ice Ice Hawking.

Published June 14, 2019

Data nerds rejoice: Mary Meeker’s 2019 Internet Trends Report is out. The Japanese art of kirie. Robotaxies to take flight. Barnes & Noble sold to a hedge fund. Fujifilm resumes making black-and-white film. Light up your brain, ostensibly. “The queen of eating shellfish online.” A Stephen Hawking-esque voice synthesizer performs “Ice Ice Baby.” All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Canon Solutions America's Océ Colorado Printer Offers Endless Solutions

Published June 13, 2019

John Kaufman, Senior Marketing Specialist for Canon Solutions America, takes us on a tour of the Océ Colorado wide-format printer with faster automation and an endless array of configurations for both small and wide format printing.

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