The Promise of HP's PrintOS

Published: August 3, 2016

Eric Wiesner, General Manager of HP's PageWide Web Press Division, explains PrintOS, a cloud-based production management system, set to redefine the concept of end-to-end workflow, beginning with the printer's customer and carrying an automated workflow through to shipping, invoicing and track-and-trace. All this will contribute to print being an equal Internet citizen and part of the Internet of Things far into the future.

NPES President Thayer Long Talks About Graph Expo 2016

Published: August 3, 2016

Thayer Long, NPES' new President, shares his thoughts with Senior Editor Cary Sherburne about what to expect at Graph Expo 2016, scheduled for September 25-28 in Orlando. He shares his thoughts on the relevancy and value of trade shows. The goal is to reach 12,000 attendees, including printers in the Southeast for whom it might be their first Graph Expo.

Flint Group CEO Explains Benefits of Xeikon Acquistion

Published: August 2, 2016

Antoine Fady, the new CEO of the Flint Group, shares the company's strategy to expand its offerings in the commercial print and packaging markets, including its acquisition of Xeikon. But States the Company "is not addicted to acquisitions." Packaging now represents 70% of Flint Group's revenues.

Rapid Adoption of Digital Print and Embellishment Technologies for Market Differentiation in Central America and Caribbean

Published: August 1, 2016

Thomas Lange of Grupo SG, a 3rd-generation graphic arts distributor serving Central America and the Caribbean, the first to distribute Heidelberg presses in the region. The company was the first in the world to sell the new EFI Nozomi digital direct-to-corrugated press first shown at drupa 2016. He talks about rapid adoption of new graphic arts technology in the region.

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.

Helping Customers to a Profitable End-to-End Workflow

Published: July 28, 2016

Senior Editor Cary Sherburne talks with Gavin Jordan-Smith, Vice President of Solutions and Production Planning for Konica Minolta U.S., about getting customers to an efficient end-to-end workflow across the entire value stream, including efficient integration of embellishments for applications like labels, and the importance of offering business development services to enable new business opportunities.

Now, Automated Content Marketing to the MAX

Published: July 27, 2016

Content marketing—every organization with customers wants to do it, but creating, targeting, and distributing high-quality content is hard, time-consuming work. Enter MAX From InterlinkONE, a software tool for automating content marketing campaigns. InterlinkONE's Karen DeWolfe says that with MAX, users can easily integrate and share content of all types in true cross-media fashion.

How Digital Can Make Offset More Efficient

Published: July 26, 2016

Bill Duerr, President of New Jersey based Hatteras, joins Senior Editor Cary Sherburne to discuss how adding two HP Indigo 10000s has changed the company's production platform and expanded its offerings, with a combination of offset transfer and new applications. It has also helped make offset production more efficient by removing shorter offset runs from the mix.

Highcon's Aviv Ratzman Talks About Advances in Digital Embellishment

Published: July 25, 2016

Aviv Ratzman, Founder and CEO of Highcon, joins Senior Editor Cary Sherburne to talk about what's changed at Highcon since it first launched at drupa 2012. The company saw great success at drupa 2016, which featured a giant paper sculpture created using Highcon technology.

Frank on Company Slogans and Taglines

Published: July 22, 2016

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

Where is the "True North" of Print Business Performance?

Published: July 22, 2016

John Falconetti, a printer in Jacksonville, FL, says he keeps his company pointed at it by taking part in Leading Indicators™, a benchmarking program launched last year by Epicomm (now part of IDEAlliance). As a member of the Leading Indicators reporting group, Drummond Press gets monthly updates on how its business performance compares with that of other printing companies in the database. Falconetti also has good things to say about the association's apprenticeship and peer networking programs.

Merrill Corporation an Early Adopter of Sheetfed Production Inkjet

Published: July 21, 2016

Patrick Foley, Senior Vice President Operations at Merrill Corporation talks to WhatTheyThink about being an early adopter of the Océ VarioPrint i300 sheetfed production inkjet platform. Patrick shares how the platform fits Merrill's business.

The Trade Association Connection: Better and Stronger Together

Published: July 20, 2016

As president of the trade association Printing Industries Alliance, Tim Freeman sees his job as helping printers help each other by bringing them together in productive programs such as the guided tour he organized for his members at drupa 2016. He says that when printers take part in trade shows and other association-sponsored activities, they coalesce as an industry and find new ways to solve common problems. Printing Industries Alliance has an admirable record of making this happen in the membership territory it serves.

Adobe PDF Print Engine Celebrates 10 Years with Release of Enhancements

Published: July 19, 2016

Adobe Product Manager Mark Lewiecki shares the latest APPE news in this tenth year of its existence. APPE 4.0 includes enhancements in performance, color and quality, including tiled parallel processing that enables breaking up images, processing them and reassembling seamlessly. Products featuring APPE 4.0 are already hitting the market.

Mike Kellogg on the Role and the Rewards of Trade Shows

Published: July 18, 2016

As a former chairman of Epicomm, Mike Kellogg served as an advisor to the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC), producer of the Graph Expo and Print events. He observes that because of the rise of digitization, data, and the convergence of technologies, print industry trade shows now are less about showcasing heavy equipment and more about exchanging innovative ideas. He's optimistic about Graph Expo 2016, moving for the first time from Chicago to a new venue in Orlando.

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.

When Associations Combine, "Seamless" Is Another Word for "Success"

Published: July 14, 2016

As a member of IDEAlliance's board of directors, marketing services expert Wes Powell witnessed the group's merger with Epicomm from the inside. He praises the board members and professional staff of both associations for working "in lock step" to make the new arrangement—which took full effect on July 1—a success. He says that the process was "pretty seamless" and that the result will be a broader range of services for all IDEAlliance members.

Business Transformation by the Book

Published: July 13, 2016

Five years ago, John Foley published Business Transformation: a New Path to Profit for the Printing Industry. The work was and is a handbook for strategic planning, sales and marketing development, team building, operations management, and more. In the just-published second edition, Foley adds case studies from print service providers that have succeeded by putting the book's advice into practice.

Taking Print to the Future with HP Print OS at Creel Printing

Published: July 12, 2016

Bill Wieners, President of Digital Lizard, a Creel Printing company, talks about how the company's extensive installed base of digital presses is being completely refreshed, and the impact that HP PrintOS is having on production efficiencies. With 17 HP presses on the floor across three plants, the company has the most presses installed on PrintOS. Creel will also be a beta site for the new HP Indigo 50000.

XMPie Users Group Changes Membership Model to Spur Growth

Published: July 11, 2016

Jeroen van Druenen of Amsterdam-based Jubels talks with Senior Editor Cary Sherburne about the XMPie User Group, of which he is President, including the decision to make membership in the group free for all XMPie users. The next conference will be held in November in Atlanta.