Lexington, Kentucky USA – WhatTheyThink, a leading media, market intelligence and research company for the printing and publishing industries, reported today that it conducted the first in a series of educational webinars in partnership with the Graphic Communication Institute (GrCI) at Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo. This series is designed to bring thought leadership content to printing and publishing executives. The first program, Lean Management and Manufacturing—A Formula for Success in a Changing World—was delivered by Cal Poly Professor Kevin Cooper, a recognized industry Lean expert.

Webinar attendees included participants from 13 states as well as from Australia, Germany, Peru, and Colombia.

“In this first session, Professor Cooper presented a solid background and definition of Lean Management and Manufacturing as a base for the more in-depth sessions which will follow on August 26^th and September 30^th,” said Randy Davidson, President of WhatTheyThink.  “This series provides valuable insight for printing companies of all sizes as they strive to make their operations more efficient and effective.”

WhatTheyThink and the Graphic Communication Institute (GrCI) at Cal Poly are partnering to produce a series of educational webinars that can be accessed for an affordable fee of $99. This includes attendance at the live program and access to the webinar archive for later review. Scheduled programs include:

• Lean Manufacturing. This three-part series will be conducted by professor Kevin Cooper and professor Ken Macro. Regardless of the business strategies that a graphic arts operation or industry supplier chooses to pursue, the most important underlying consideration is a streamlined, efficient, and automated operation. Implementing Lean Manufacturing practices is a requirement for any graphic communication business—including printers and vendors—expecting to not only survive but thrive. This series will provide in-depth insight into how to get started with Lean. For participants who purchase all of the sessions at the same time, a discounted rate of $89 per session is available. Dates and topics:

July 15, 2009: Lean Management and Manufacturing— A Formula for Success in a Changing World of Print

August 26, 2009: Cultural Imperatives in Becoming Lean— A Motivated Workforce Leads to High Productivity and Profits 

September 30, 2009: Sustainability, Lean and Knowledge Management— The Green Train: The 5Ws to Catching and Sustaining it,a Combination for Profitability

Each participant will have the opportunity to receive a copy of the book coauthored by professor Kevin Cooper and professor Ken Macro, “Lean Printing: Pathway to Success,” from PIA at half price, and will be entitled to one free consultation via email.

August 5, 2009: Inkjet & Toner—Their Impact on Commercial Printing’s Future.

This session will be presented by Dr. Penny Bennett who will discuss in detail how inkjet and toner digital printing technologies will affect commercial printing in the future, including implications related to cost of consumables, recycling, sustainability and the future of commercial printing. Each participant will have the opportunity to receive a copy of Dr. Bennett’s book, “The Handbook for Digital Printing and Variable Data Printing,” from PIA at half price, and will be entitled to one free consultation via email.

“We are also excited to hear with Dr. Bennett has to say about inkjet and toner,” added Davidson.  “This is another topic that is of paramount importance to the printing industry as technology continues to evolve.”

“We were pleased with the attendance at this first session in the series,” said Harvey Levenson, Graphic Communication Department Head at Cal Poly. “Having the session available in the archive means that new attendees can subscribe to the series even if they missed the first session, listening to the archive to get caught up.  Our professors have substantial practical experience in their subject areas and are working hard to ensure that the educational content is relevant to today’s and tomorrow’s industry, is top notch, and will provide participants with actionable information they can immediately put to work.  Making these sessions available via the web keeps them affordable and allows busy professionals to schedule this learning experience with minimal disruption to their business day.”

Webinar registration is available by visiting WhatTheyThink.com and selecting the Webinars tab.

About WhatTheyThink

WhatTheyThink is the printing and publishing industry's leading media organization; offering a wide range of publications delivering unbiased, real-time market intelligence, industry news, economic and trend analysis, peer-to-peer communication, and special reports on emerging technology and critical events. WhatTheyThink also hosts webinars and live events that are timely and relevant o today's busy industry executives along with consulting and speaker services that leverage a talented pool of writers and industry analysts.

WhatTheyThink consists of flagship site WhatTheyThink.com, discussion forum site PrintPlanet.com, and industry blog PrintCEO.com.

About Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Institute

The Graphic Communication Institute (GrCI) at Cal poly (www.grci.calpoly.edu) is the university’s arm for providing services to industry. Using the Cal Poly’s faculty and over 33,000 square feet of Graphic Communication Department laboratories, the GrCI services include research, testing, product evaluations, consulting, training, seminars, workshops, and conferences. The GrCI offers public programs open to all members of the graphic communication field as well as proprietary programs for individual companies. Research, testing, and product evaluations are conducted under confidentiality agreements with sponsoring organizations.