Interviews with Industry Executives, Commentary & Analysis from WhatTheyThink Contributors and other video features.
Alliance Franchise Brands delivered 18% year-over-year revenue growth in print and 10% in signs in 2022, exceeding 2019 levels. Its new COO Ray Palmer notes that the sign business had already reached that level in 2021. The company also has effective recruitment programs in place, both for employees and new franchisees, with leadership training programs in place both to establish career paths for high-talent employees and to ensure new franchisees get off to a good start. Palmer explains these strategies in this interview with Sr. Editor Cary Sherburne. Watch Video
Not only did AlphaGraphics have a record year in 2022 revenue-wise, but the company also say 23% year-over-year growth, added 12 new centers and 17 new owners, and had an average store performance of $1.3 million. In this interview, CEO Ryan Farris also describes some of the programs in place to help alleviate the recruiting issues in a tight labor market. Watch Video
While Fortusis ended up with two less centers in 2022, revenues overall were up by 11%. The company is investing in infrastructure, with all of its centers now using a new ecommerce enabled website and making good progress on developing content for its learning management system. Also high on the agenda is recruiting new owners who are interested in opening new centers. Watch Video
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. Watch Video
Debbie McKeegan, Texintel CEO and WhatTheyThink contributor, talks to Theo Van Bruggen of Optimum Digital to discover the latest developments for digitally printed textiles using pigment Inks. Watch Video
This week, Warren catches up with Garry Gunter of Mitchell Press about the recent installation of a Landa Digital Nanographic Press and the growth applications the press has given the company. Watch Video
In this three-part episode of The Target Report Interview, Janice Tippett, VP of Strategic Business Development at Ironmark, talks with Jules Van Sant about selling her business Millennium Marketing Solutions to Ironmark. In Part 2, Tippett explains how Graphic Arts Advisors helped her navigate some of the challenges of the process. Watch Video
David Zwang talks with Pete Studer, CEO of Impact, a 39-year-old company that started in the direct mail business and has expanded into other types of printing. The company operates all-digital equipment, and started working with Canon in 2015 to add production inkjet. Watch Video
David Zwang talks with Broadridge’s Naveed Choudry about his 30 years with the company and Broadridge’s early adoption of production inkjet printing technology. Watch Video
Jessica Taylor, WhatTheyThink mutimedia production editor, sits down with Matt Redbear, creative director for Taktiful, to talk about AI, its impact on the print industry, and the inspiration behind the cover of WhatTheyThink's Finishing and Embellishment Issue. Watch Video
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. Watch Video
David Zwang talks to Canon Solutions America’s Ed Jansen at the recent thINK Ahead 23 conference about Canon’s “customer-first” philosophy and how it affects how they interact with customers, as well as where the company sees the growth in today’s market. Watch Video
Debbie McKeegan, CEO at Texintel and WhatTheyThink contributor, talks with Jorg Schuurman and Johan Schenke of KLIEVERIK. They explore the Coldenhove TexCOL Pigment transfer solution, discussing applications, market shifts, and the transfer process using TexCOL paper for natural and synthetic fabrics using Klieverik heat-transfer equipment. Watch Video
WhatTheyThink's Adam Dewitz speaks with Scott Schinlever, COO of Global Inkjet Business at EFI, about emerging trends in the textile space, particularly the importance of sustainability, EFI's focus on this area, and the launch of their ecoTERRA Solution. Watch Video
This week, Warren talks with Don Terwilliger, President of DCC. DCC was founded in 1987 as a high-end luxury brand image retoucher. When Photoshop threatened their business viability, the company expanded into printing and wide-format printing, and today is a $40 million marketing services provider—that still does photo retouching. Watch Video
In this three-part episode of The Target Report Interview, Janice Tippett, VP of Strategic Business Development at Ironmark, talks with Jules Van Sant about selling her business Millennium Marketing Solutions to Ironmark. In Part 1: how Tippett developed an exit strategy. Watch Video
In this video, sponsored by HP, David Zwang talks with James Llewellyn, Director of Manufacturing and Distribution for BJU Press, a book printer and publisher of K-12 textbooks for home schoolers and Christian schools. The company started in 1974 with offset equipment and has recently installed an HP PageWide T485. The company has an inline printing and bookbinding workflow. Watch Video
Debbie McKeegan, CEO at Texintel and WhatTheyThink contributor, talks to Ron Sportel, Manager, Innovation & Development, and Federica Valente, Marketing Manager, at Coldenhove. Texcol Pigment transfer paper was first launched in 2019 and in this short interview they discuss the latest developments for the product and its applications in 2023. Watch Video
SaviCustoms has been in business for 20 years, with work previously produced in India. As General Manager Jeremy DeBoer explains, the work was re-shored to San Diego a few years ago. He also started SubMFG as demand grew for on-demand work, and now on-demand comprises almost 50% of the company's work. His story is inspiring, from the perspective of re-shoring, automation, on-demand, and of course, the challenge of hiring talent. Watch Video
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. Watch Video
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