The New Convergence: Trends in the Maturing Online Print Market
Online printers have carved out a big share of the print business today and their revenue share is set to increase. This is partly driven by new companies starting up with an online business model, and partly by traditional printing companies moving into online print. European section editor Ralf Schlözer looks the post-pandemic status of online print.
Big “L” or Little “l”—Either Way, Companies Love Latex
Since 2008, latex printers have offered a highly flexible alternative to solvent printers, as they could print on a wide variety of materials, including textiles. In this feature, we look at some users of latex doing creative work for wallcoverings, display graohics, and...voting boxes?
August Shipments: Summer Ends on a High Note
August 2021 printing shipments came in at $6.87 billion, up from July’s $6.47 billion. Year to date, January-to-August shipments are $53.42 billion, not far off 2020’s January-to-August number of $53.68.
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Industry News
- WhatTheyThink Webinar: Landa Experts and Customers to Highlight the Status of Nanographic Printing in the Market
- Print & Digital Convention 2021 as In-Person Event in Düsseldorf, Germany
- Ricoh to Present Next Evolution in Digital Textile Printing and Inspire Print Service Providers at Virtual Innovate Event
- Kornit Fashion Week Los Angeles + Industry 4.0 Event Unleashes Creativity, Sustainability on Demand: “Not Fast Fashion, But Extraordinary Fashion, Quickly”
- The 2021 BEYONDPLASTIC AWARD Winners Announced
- Heidelberg Presents its First Prinect App in the Cloud – Print Shop Analytics
- SCREEN Customer Doubles Size of Facility; Purchases Four Truepress Jet520EX Monochrome Advanced Series Engines within Fifteen Months
- Color-Logic Broadens Certification of Ricoh Pro 7200sx
- RIT Returns to Fashion Week Rochester with Remarkable Creativity
- Ranpak Supports Shipment of Healthier Dog Food
Frank Buys Textbooks
Frank talks about student preferences for printed textbooks and then segues into a mini history of textbooks for teaching printing. As the printing industry grew in size and technology adoption, its textbooks became bigger…and more expensive.
Around the Web: Polar Publication. Robotic Writing. Waymo Weirdness. Restaurant Robots. Perilous Punctuation. PURE Processes. Nightmare Nanas. Marvelous Mollusks. Canine Carrier.
A deluxe print edition of the story that inspired The Thing. A 14-foot long robotic pen. Waymo’s self-driving cars are flocking to a dead-end street in San Francisco—and no one knows why… A Paris restaurant replaces its chef with a robot. The Casa Grande (Ariz.) Neon Sign Park. The lack of an apostrophe in a Facebook rant gets an Australian man sued. Apps that delete words from stories leaving just the punctuation. Graphene-enhanced bed sheets. PrimaLoft improves its manufacturing technology for insulation used in garments. China’s “Grannies from Hell.” Hand-crocheted plush octopuses. “The Schnauzer Chariot of Kazakhstan.” All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly blasting Shatner into space miscellany.
Making Sense of Your Print Options
With so many available options, deciding which print solutions to incorporate into your business can be an overwhelming task. By identifying your business priorities and assessing which companies and technologies best align with these priorities, you can better determine which technologies and services are best for you and your customers.
“Creatives In Residence Live”—Meet the Graduates and Follow the Curriculum via Online Learning
As we have been discussing in this space, attracting new talent to the textiles and apparel industry is a key challenge. The industry is quite different than it was 40 years ago! Yet it still has a reputation from those days. UK firm CMYUK is making a contribution with its Creatives In Residence program. In addition to winners learning with hands-on experience at the firm, anyone can join the learning virtually. We need more programs like this! Meet the winners and learn more about the program.
Web-to-Print Product Spotlight: MyOrderDesk by Print Reach
Jennifer Matt takes an in-depth look at Print Reach’s MyOrderDesk, a product that has not only stood the test of time but has now become a foundation block in Print Reach’s automation strategy, with a feature set that clearly reflects a product that has evolved with the times and continues down that path.
A moment of levity. View Today's Dilbert
Life in print isn’t easy, right? You deserve a laugh. That's why MindFire brings you Dilbert. And why we help Printers & Agencies of all sizes grow sales with 'OptiChannel'. Learn more now.
Industry Data
INDUSTRY INSIGHT
Printing Outlook 2021 - The WhatTheyThink Overview of the Current State of the Printing Industry
The new Printing Outlook 2021 report provides detailed analysis of the latest WhatTheyThink Business Outlook Survey, the latest industry economic data and macroeconomic trends, as well as industry and cultural technological trends to look out for in 2021.
August Shipments: Summer Ends on a High Note
August 2021 printing shipments came in at $6.87 billion, up from July’s $6.47 billion. Year to date, January-to-August shipments are $53.42 billion, not far off 2020’s January-to-August number of $53.68. Full Analysis
European Print Industry Snapshot: Austria
In this bimonthly series, WhatTheyThink is presenting the state of the printing industry in different European countries based on the latest monthly production numbers. This week, we take an updated look at the printing industry in Austria. Full Analysis
Folding Paperboard Box Manufacturing Employment—2010–2019
According to County Business Patterns, in 2010, there were 30,048 employees in NAICS 322212 (Folding Paperboard Box Manufacturing establishments). Employment in this category stayed fairly steady throughout the decade, then spiked in 2019 to 47,980 employees. In macro news, sales of light vehicle sales plummeted in September 2021, even as profits reached record highs. Full Analysis
Recent Discussion
HARVEY LEVENSON on Frank Buys Textbooks
Excellent video, and I concur with Frank’s observation about student preference for printed textbooks to online or e-books. I’ve been following this preference for years; it’s been consistent. Students, recognize that of all media, print is the most … Full comment Reply
Elizabeth Gooding on Paper’s Role in the Growth Potential for Production Color Inkjet
There is a lot of good information covered at a high level in this article - but the devil is in the details. In addition to options for advanced ink and drying systems, there are also OEMs offering priming/precoating to improve compatibility. There… Full comment Reply
Richard Wright on Frank Buys Textbooks
Frank, Great topic. My personal fav is a treasured Frank Romano autographed Pocket Pal. You and I may agree on how we would value / price printed vs E-Books. The publishers, however, value the content, not the presentation medium. And here lies … Full comment Reply
Vincent Nicholes on Frank Buys Textbooks
When I was in High School (graduated 1972) The 3 year vocational printing course I took used the Navy printing manual. By the way this 3 year course lead to a great rewarding career in printing. 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.
- EFI Highlights its Leading Broad Portfolio of Advanced Inkjet Solutions to Create Opportunities for Customers
- Applying Signite Labels
- Solving Haunted Workflows – Part 1
- High-Volume, High-Speed, High-Color Workflows Just Got a Little Easier
- US Paper Exchange – Need it and Got it
- Labelling Without the Labels
- The Value of Diversity in Inkjet Printers
- Cimpress Takes a Strategic Approach to Inkjet Investment
Smooth Sailing in the Production Process: How to Ensure Your Artwork Files Won’t Slow You Down
What’s Your Digital Transformation Quotient?
Where Brands are Headed with Mass Customization
Time is Money—The Spot Color Matching Challenge
An Internal Indigo Study—How HP Indigo Customers Fared During the Pandemic and What We Learned
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Richard Wright on Frank Buys Textbooks
Harvey, I can attest the book from you and John is excellent. It's so good, it was 'borrowed' form a colleague and since past around. It's not gathering dust on a shelf. Reply