Productivity Improvement Options
This article is the third in the series on how to incorporate productivity improvement into your growth strategies for the foreseeable future. What approaches to improvement should you consider? This article has a list of five general groupings of ideas and recommendations. Hopefully, it will prompt the reader to generate even more. Building on a long-running theme, we continue to emphasize that improving the personal effectiveness of employees and improving business productivity overlap and work together. Half of the ideas listed touch on various aspects of what that entails.
“Soon to Be Unveiled” Functionality Will Let Printers Integrate Directly with Salesforce, HubSpot, and Other Marketing Automation Platforms
One of the missing pieces in print marketing automation has been the ability for printers to integrate with their customers through platforms like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zapier. Heidi Tolliver-Walker teases a forthcoming solution that will allow printers and clients to work together directly.
EFI's Tiffany Bisson on the EFI Pro 30h Wide Format LED Printer
EFI's Tiffany Bisson provides an update on the EFI Pro 30h Wide Format LED printer showcased at the recent FESPA Global Print Expo 2023. Bisson talks about the benefits of the 3.2m hybrid flatbed/rollfed LED entry-level production printer.
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Industry News
- GLGA to Recognize Exceptional Craftsmanship at the 2023 Graphics Excellence Award Celebrations
- Contiweb Becomes Proud Sponsor of Dscoop, the Leading HP User Group
- FASTEN Wins Top Honor at German Innovation Awards
- Roland DGA Adds New SoftSign™ Fabric Banner and HeatSoft™ GLAM Heat Transfer Material to its Media Family
- Navitor, Inc., Acquires Assets of Printco Incorporated, Expanding Wilmer’s Dealership Base
- Midland Launches New Digital Paper Catalog for HP Indigo and Toner Technology
- Loftware NiceLabel Cloud Designer Enables Small Businesses to Design, Store, and Print Labels in Minutes
- Announcing the Latest Release of PrintVis, PV22
- Koenig & Bauer Showcases Its Popular Omega Allpro Folder Gluer at Texas Open House
- Asahi Photoproducts Is Partnering with and Installing its Water-Wash Equipment in the New Gallus Experience Center
- Kornit Digital to Participate in William Blair 43rd Annual Growth Stock Conference
- Nazdar SourceOne Appoints Matthew Dominguez as Insides Sales Representative, US
- Multifunctional Flame Retardant Fabric with Comfort at its Core by Carrington Textiles
- EPR a Key Provision for Inclusion in UN's Global Plastics Treaty - Ecoveritas
AI Is Here! Fire Everybody?
Welcome to the rise of the robots—or at least chatbots! Businesses in every segment are looking at how artificial intelligence can help them grow. The anecdotes are becoming part of the mainstream—eliminating staff positions and replacing them with chatbots is a common theme. That begs the question: what happens if you fire everybody and let the bots do the work? Let’s explore that.
Fighting Deforestation by Tracking Print
The European Union is introducing a regulation on deforestation-free products as part of the European Green Deal. European section editor Ralf Schlözer digs into what the new rules mean for printers.
Around the Web: Hefty Hitchhikers. Code Cooling. Dot Displays. Wedding Wear. Graphene Griddle. New Nova. Ring Removal. Cat Commerce. Custom Ketchup.
A special print edition of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy five-book trilogy is on the way. QR codes just aren’t cool any more, a least in restaurants. William A. Lavalette, an obscure 19th-century Black inventor, received two printing press-related patents. Louisville, Ky.’s American Printing House for the Blind museum expands and is reimaged as The Dot Experience. A biodegradable wedding dress made from the roots of wheatgrass. The first graphene-based kitchen appliance. A star in Ursa Major just went supernova. New research suggests that Saturn’s rings won’t last forever. CatVana is Carvana—but for cats. Heinz has a new mixer for customized ketchup. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.
In-Plants: Maintaining Relevance in an Evolving Industry
In early 2023, Keypoint Intelligence partnered with Ricoh Corporation to conduct an in-depth survey of 50 in-plant respondents and a series of one-on-one interviews. This article provides a brief overview of our research findings to shed some light on the challenges that today’s in-plants are facing and strategies for future growth.
Take Advantage of the Rapidly Growing Textile Dye-Sub Market with the Durst P5 TEX iSUB
In this article, sponsored and written by Durst, learn about the Durst P5 TEX iSUB dye-sublimation printer. With a 3.3m width, the P5 TEX iSUB can print direct-to-fabric as well as on transfer papers, and offers Dual- and Multi-roll options.
Industry Data
INDUSTRY INSIGHT
Printing Outlook 2023 - The WhatTheyThink Overview of the Current State of the Printing Industry
The new Printing Outlook 2023 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 2023 and beyond.
Paper Bag and Coated and Treated Paper Manufacturing Establishments—2010–2020
According to County Business Patterns, in 2020 there were 723 establishments in NAICS 32222 (Paper Bag and Coated and Treated Paper Manufacturing). This category saw a net decrease in establishments of -12% since 2010. In macro news, the Architecture Billings Index suggests a recovery from the slowdown in the construction industry. Full Analysis
April Printing Production Employment Down Slightly, Non-Production Up
Overall printing employment in April 2023 was down -0.2% from March. Production employment was down -0.8% while non-production employment was up 1.1%. Full Analysis
Turnover and Employment in Print in Europe—Poland
This bi-weekly series of short articles aims at shedding a spotlight on the size of the printing industry in Europe per country and how revenues and employment developed in 2020, when the pandemic impacted businesses. This time we look at Poland, the sixth-largest printing industry by turnover in Europe and the largest in Central and Eastern Europe. Full Analysis
Recent Discussion
Mike Cloghessy on Fighting Deforestation by Tracking Print
I would assume other countries are similar, but the forest products industry has moved on and harvest from their own forests. Deforestation in the U.S. is a myth. I assume Canada is similar. What forest products company wants to jump through the ec… Full comment Reply
Ralf Schlözer on Fighting Deforestation by Tracking Print
If it is printed, I suppose it is ;) . Unprinted paper is already covered by the timber regulation. Let's see how Canada is ranked in deforestation danger - this will determine whether the origin tracking kicks in. Reply
John Zarwan on Fighting Deforestation by Tracking Print
just wondering if toilet paper is also included in this regulation. Reply
Frederic Kelley on Frank's Walk in the PARC
Those were the days. It was magic compared to how I started out in the design business, though it forced us to be very resourceful, and . . . patient. Reply
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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.
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John Zarwan on Fighting Deforestation by Tracking Print
The U.S has much more forest area today than 100 years ago. (Somewhere in my facebook posts are the actual statistics of coverage). Although Canada had a very bad record until the 1980s, most forest land is grown as cropland, and even then there is v… Full comment Reply