Printing Shipments: Summer’s Almost Gone
Printing shipments continued to rebound in July, coming in at $6.75 billion, up from June’s $6.63 billion. We remain hopeful, but as we have been seeing lately, we are far from out of the woods virus-wise and we may see shipments start to decline again come the fall.
Frank Goes Down Read-Only Memory Lane
The Museum of Printing gets tons of donations, and Frank shows some recent computer hardware equipment that the Museum recently acquired. There were three smaller-than-laptop computers and a host of plugs, cables, connectors, and converters to get you from SCSI to USB to even FireWire (if you need a cable, give him a call). A ZIP drive and even a CD-ROM unit were included.
Around the Web: Score Statistics. Great Graphene. Wearable Wary. Creative Carpet. Python PPE. Viva Venus? Ludwig Listening. LEGO Listens. Covered Cakes. Perishing Peeps. Depressing Decoration.
The NFL season begins—and so does Scorigami. New graphene-based apparel. Amazon enters the fitness wearables market. The Simpsons as classic works of art. Public Service Announcement: a live snake is not an acceptable face covering. Is there life on Venus? How Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony changed the way people listen to classical music. The New York Times and Facebook collaborate on AR reporting. Children’s letters inspire LEGO to rethink its packaging. 2020 news would bewilder a time traveler from...2019. A “cake shield” for blowing out birthday candles. A Santa-wearing-a-mask Christmas ornament to enhance seasonal depression. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly pre-apocalyptic miscellany.
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Industry News
- PRINTING United Alliance Announces 2020 InterTech Technology Award Recipients
- Xeikon Launches Revolutionary New Digital Press in North America
- Signarama Christiansburg Turns Up the Production Volume with an EFI Pro 16h Wide-Format Printer
- Allied Media Well Prepared for Campaign Season with Stahlfolder KH 82 from Heidelberg
- Enfocus Releases the First Update to the Free Public Pre-Release of BoardingPass
- GMG ColorCard Receives Prestigious 2020 InterTech Technology Award
- HP Indigo 100K and HP PageWide T240 HD with H&B Web Coater Solution Receive 2020 InterTech™ Technology Awards
- The Watkins Printing Company Certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council
- Crawford Technologies Shares its Latest Solutions for Streamlining Customer Communications at XPLOR20
- One Film Does Not Fit All—Why Specialist Products Can Pay Off
- Virtual Label Summit Program Confirmed
- The Innovators Series: Changing How We Buy, Sell & Source Decorated Textiles from Apparel to Home Furnishings
- TLMI’s President, Linnea Keen, and VP of Sustainability, Rosalyn Bandy, to Moderate Session Panels at Virtual Label Summit
- Konica Minolta Approves RELYCO’s REVLAR Substrates for Use on Its AccurioPress C14000 High-Volume Production Press
- Antimicrobial Coatings Are on the Front Lines of the Fight Against COVID-19
- Comexi Triples Sales and Strengthens its Presence in Italy and the Balkans by Offering Local Technical Service
- The Great Raffaello Also Used Paper from Fabriano—Research Conducted by Fondazione Fedrigoni Fabriano
- American Forest & Paper Association Releases August 2020 Boxboard Monthly Report
- Features to Look for in Your Business Card Design Software
Smart Selling During COVID-19: Part 1
On a global scale, sales representatives are finding it impossible to sell the way they used to—face-to-face meetings are difficult, some prospects still haven’t returned to their offices, and businesses and consumers remain on high alert. This article, the first in a two-part series, highlights some sales best practices during a pandemic. The second will discuss sales pitfalls to avoid and provide strategies for addressing current and future challenges.
Speed x Sustainability = The Digital Imperative
One of the ways the textiles and apparel industry is starting to adjust to the stresses exposed by the pandemic is to accelerate adoption of digital technologies. But what is the appetite for change, really? Textiles expert and WhatTheyThink contributor Debbie McKeegan shares her insights.
Innovating the Proofing Cycle
Printers need to consider innovations that negate the need for proofs (hard or soft) except under exceptional circumstances. Hint: train the customer to submit print-ready PDFs that are truly ready to go. You will still need to do preflight, etc., but the emphasis should be on taking the time lag created by the proofing cycle out of the process.
Successful Print Software Implementation Mindset
Don’t have a mindset like a lighthouse. Have a mindset like a fast, nimble, ship with the most advanced navigation systems. When navigating the waters of the print manufacturing industry, stationary businesses will not survive.
The Day an Infectious Disease Expert Became a Trading Card Celebrity
Dr. Anthony Fauci’s trading card is the TOPPS Company’s best-selling card of all time—and a product of the ruthless efficiency of the company’s production workflow. What lessons are there for the rest of the industry?
A moment of levity. View Today's Dilbert
Dilbert is brought to you by the hiring pros at PrintLink. PrintLink is the industry leader in Executive Search & Professional Placement.
Industry Data
Printing Shipments: Summer’s Almost Gone
Printing shipments continued to rebound in July, coming in at $6.75 billion, up from June’s $6.63 billion. We remain hopeful, but as we have been seeing lately, we are far from out of the woods virus-wise and we may see shipments start to decline again come the fall. Full Analysis
Outdoor Advertising—2010–2018
In 2010, there were 2,378 establishments in NAICS 54185 (Outdoor Advertising, although until 2012 this category was referred to as “Display Advertising”). Establishments dipped in the mid-2010s, but hit a new peak in 2018 at 2,765 establishments. In macroeconomic news: unemployment is down, but unemployment claims data paint a dark picture. Full Analysis
Retail Sales: A V-Shaped Recovery?
The Census Bureau recently released its monthly report on retail sales, and after a dramatic plummeting, July retail sales were $536.0 billion, up 1.2% from June (seasonally adjusted), and 2.7% above July 2019. But this may paint a rosier picture of retail than is warranted. Full Analysis
Printing Outlook 2020 - The WhatTheyThink Overview of the Current State of the Printing Industry
The Printing Outlook 2020 report provides detailed analysis of the latest WhatTheyThink Printing Industry Survey, the latest industry economic data and macroeconomic trends, as well as industry and cultural technological trends to look out for in 2020 and beyond.
Updated April 28, 2020 to include a COVID-19 Survey that we conducted Late March/Early April 2020.
Recent Discussion
John Galbraith on Frank’s Mysteries at the Print Museum: Print and the Pandemic
Thanks Frank, for the well-researched and fascinating tie-in of the Spanish Flu pandemic with Ludlow and the printing industry. This type (oh yeah) of very entertaining, historical commentary is welcome anytime. John Galbraith - retired Canadian pri… Full comment Reply
RYAN MCABEE on Can Online Ordering Save Print Service Providers in 2020?
@Ludovic, yes this particular data focused mostly on commercial printers and sign shops. I agree the availability, adoption, and use varies by printing segment. Interesting observation on the average order value as it could be a way to interpret what… Full comment Reply
Ludovic MARTIN on Can Online Ordering Save Print Service Providers in 2020?
Nice article, interesting study. It would have been interesting to get detailed data per market segments, I think the situation differs from packaging, labels or commercial printing. I think also that the gap between reduction of number of orders in … Full comment Reply
Robert Godwin on The Potential Impact of Brexit on the Printing Industry
I have been discussing this with my friends and colleagues in the UK. Last Thursday the responses ranged from: 1. The government must fund us while we develop new market relationships and, 2. We don't need to rely that heavily on a supply ch… Full comment Reply
Magazine
WhatTheyThink Magazine is the resource for the Commercial Printing, Visual and Graphic Arts Industries. Industry experts share their ideas and technical knowledge on ways to improve operations.
WhatTheyThink publishes 2 editions of the magazine: Printing News and Wide-Format & Signage. Subscription are free to qualified industry professionals or via paid subscription.
PARTNER SITE
- Domino to Unveil Generation 7 Digital Inkjet Technology on September 30th
- Webinar: “I Didn’t Think You Could Do that with Inkjet!”
- COVID and the Message that Cried Wolf
- Koenig Bauer Durst Joint Venture
- The Good, The Bad, The Beautiful & The Ugly: Living Through Virtual Conferences
- How to Stay Informed in a Remote World
- drupa Preview: New Digital Platform for Knowledge Transfer, Networking, and Presentation
- Obsession With Inkjet
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HARVEY LEVENSON on Quad Donates $25,000 to MagLiteracy.org to Kickstart Creation of National Literacy Marketplace
Kudos to Quad! Literacy is a cornerstone of a democracy and free society, and recognized as far back as the Roman Empire. With the seemingly new reality in education with home teaching and learning likely to continue beyond COVID-19, the understan… Full comment Reply