Identifying Important Data Decisions
Data decisions get made everyday in your print business. Here are three examples of important data decisions that we can all learn from.
Software Makes Personalization Easy...But We Still Have to Think
Just because certain types of personalization have become easier to implement doesn’t mean that the human element isn’t important. On the contrary, it’s more important than ever. Software makes it easier to spit out “personalized” documents, but the people behind those documents still have to think.
Sustainability: The Great Reset—What Can We Do?
The planet earth and its natural resources have not grown in over 4 billion years, yet the population has increased from 800 million in 1700 to almost 8 billion in 2020, all competing for their share and putting great stress on the environment and the population. It is obvious that this rate of growth can’t be sustained without some proactive behavioral changes.
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Industry News
- Upcoming WhatTheyThink LunchNLearn Webinar—Beyond Print: Technologies for Augmenting Print Reality
- Kornit Digital Acquires Custom Gateway, Expanding Cloud Software Workflow Portfolio for End-to-End Management of On-Demand Apparel and Home Décor Production
- Kornit Digital Reports Second Quarter 2020 Results
- Gallus Labelfire with Low Migration Successfully Passes Field Test at SCHELLING AG
- Essel Propack Increases Capacity, Improves Quality with Gallus Labelmaster 440
- Kernow North America Takes over Mohawk Digital Synthetics Product Line
- Mark Andy and Flexo Image Graphics Host Webinar Devoted to Innovative Narrow-Web Digital Solutions
- Graphic Packaging Holding Company Announces Second $250 Million Acquisition of International Paper's Minority Partnership Interest
- CMYUK Signs Multi-Million-Pound Exclusive Distribution Contract with TAYA Groups to Supply PVC-Free Banner Material into the UK and Ireland
- Ephektiv Distributes Printed Training Amidst Pandemic With Mimeo
- New Event to Elevate the Industry with Help From Print VIPs
- Q.I. Press Controls Installs mRC-3D at Gmähle Scheel Print-Medien
- Oxo Biodegradable Plastic Packaging Market Is Expected to Soar at a Rate of 5.4% (value CAGR) During 2018-2026
- Textile Floorings Market Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2028
- BOPP Films For Packaging Market Scope and Price Analysis of Top Manufacturers Profiles 2018-2026
Partnering! Canva Brings the Creative to Office Depot Customers
Thanks to a new collaboration between the global design platform Canva and the robust workplace solutions team at Office Depot, small businesses can quickly and easily develop creative content for different kinds of print and non-print applications—everything from reports and posters to menus and yard signs, even social media marketing campaigns.
Buyers are On The Move and On Track—July 2020 M&A Activity
CJK Acquires Quad Book Plant, Mittera Executes on Strategy (Again), and more…
Printing Plants and Robots After the Coronavirus
This article addresses how to protect the labor force in printing plants from being infected by viruses and get a better and more profitable company structure by implementing Industry 4.0.
EU Graphene Flagship Initiative Explores Innovative Graphene Uses
We’ve been following some of the research on graphene for some time now. Developments and innovations are continuing, especially in the European Union. Here we review the EU Graphene Flagship Initiative and some of the developments related to the textiles and apparel industry, including how graphene can affect advances in wearables.
May Printing Shipments—Now It’s Serious
Printing shipments for May 2020 came in at $6.42 billion, down from $6.51 in April and way down from $7.21 billion back in January. This may be as dire as shipments get, but we don’t expect to break $7 billion again for a long while.
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Industry Data
May Printing Shipments—Now It’s Serious
Printing shipments for May 2020 came in at $6.42 billion, down from $6.51 in April and way down from $7.21 billion back in January. This may be as dire as shipments get, but we don’t expect to break $7 billion again for a long while. Full Analysis
Graphic Design Services—2010–2018
In 2010, there were 15,390 establishments in NAICS 54143 (Graphic Design Services). After something of a contraction due to the Great Recession, graphic design establishments started to grow again, peaking at 15,776 establishments in 2018. In addition, we estimate there were an additional 119,037 freelance graphic design establishments in 2018. In macro news: GDP falls off the cliff. Full Analysis
Graphic Arts Employment—June 2020
As the song goes, “getting better all the time (can’t get any worse)”: in June 2020, overall printing employment is up +1.1% from May, although down -15.5% from June 2019. So a lot of the April damage is continuing to reverse itself. 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
Robert Lindgren on Sustainability: The Great Reset—What Can We Do?
We both know of the evils that humans have worked on themselves of the eons. We also know that humans are extraordinary intelligent and resourceful animals who have sustained the present level of population and development. Why should we not expect h… Full comment Reply
Rich Ramirez on Sustainability: The Great Reset—What Can We Do?
It has been noticed for several years the declining birth rates around the world, and this is a good thing. But to Mr. Lindgren, only humans can sustain or increase their population numbers with increased food production and better technology; the pl… Full comment Reply
Robert Lindgren on Sustainability: The Great Reset—What Can We Do?
The author's assumption of ever increasing human population seems to fly in the face of declining birth rates world wide. It also ignores the ability of the planet to sustain its population at ever higher levels because of vastly improved food produc… Full comment Reply
Paul Dormer on Rigid Plastic Packaging Market Growing at a CAGR of 5.6% from 2019 to 2026
Good to see some of the key players according to thier websites are investing more effort into sustainable materials otherwise I would want to see that % growth in plastic! 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
- Catalog Marketing in a New Retail Reality
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- Why Business Color Won’t Cut It for Transaction Print
- Cool Tools 2: Creating Cross-Channel Color Schemes
- No Automation? Rules for Managing Manual Workflows
- Mako Adds Value to Racami Transactional Workflow
- Cool Tools: Selecting Color Schemes for Print
- Koenig & Bauer Durst Announce Beta for VariJET 106 Press
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Brian Regan on Sad News: RIP Chuck Gehman
Very sad when I learned of Chucks passing. He brought energy and passion into the things he delivered. Our FaceBook debates were many and often. Our shared love for Spartan Races never quite saw us together to do one. Guess we will have to wait until… Full comment Reply