Forbes Lands the Whale – July 2014 M&A Activity

Forbes achieves stunning price in sale to Asian investment group, Scripps and Journal Communications merge and immediately spin off all their printed publications, commercial printer SG360° buys Lehigh Direct from Visant, and more - July 2014 –Mergers, Acquisitions & Restructuring in the Printing, Packaging & Related Industries

Self-Service vs. Full-Service

Customer preference is trending towards self-service, yet most printers continue to offer only one way to do business with them – a full-service order entry process that involves multiple back and forth communications between customer and printer via e-mail/FTP.

What is the Future of Print?

What could arguably be deemed the strongest of the printing industry trade associations is now surveying its members, asking them to describe whether the future of "print" is grim or bright. They will get a wide range of responses, and setting aside the value of reporting to their members what those members already think, the question itself is much too broad.

Latest Recovery Indicators

Dr. Joe's Key Recovery Indicators were started in 2009, and track the monthly ups and downs of the economy in terms that are relevant to small and mid-size businesses.

The Keys to Mobile Support in Print Software

In one of our recent active discussions on the new Print Software section, a WhatTheyThink reader asked “in your support for mobile do you recommend looking for just the sites being "responsive" or applications to be "native" or just plain "compatible", i.e. no Flash?” After my third paragraph response to this question I decided this warranted a full length feature article to describe and comment on the varying degrees of mobile support in web software.

GLS: What a Difference Three Decades Makes!

GLS, founded in 1984 as a small printing company, is now celebrating its third decade in business. This article provides a brief overview of how the company is remaining on the cutting edge by updating its services and making strategic acquisitions to further expand its offerings.

The Role of Professional Services in a Complex Production Environment - A Conversation with Canon Solutions America

Workflows are becoming more complex and savvy print service providers are looking to streamline and automate business and production processes for a more sustainable business and production environment. Utilization of vendor professional services can be an effective means of finding opportunities to take time, cost and touches out of both business and production processes as well as to introduce innovation. Learn what Canon Solutions America has to say about the changing world of professional services.

Re-Examining the Inherent Benefits of Wide-Format Digital (Part I)

In this two part series, Dan Marx of SGIA talks about the basic truths of digital printing in general and wide format in particular. While the basic truths have remained unchanged, the details surrounding them have.

HP Graphic Arts Reorganizes, Shares Strategic Direction

In May, the HP Graphics Solutions Business effected an organizational change at the top of the Americas organization. WhatTheyThink Senior Editor Cary Sherburne spoke with the new Vice President and General Manager Yishai Amir to see what’s up.

Making Time for an Annual Print MIS Checkup

It is so easy in your very busy world to not sit back and take a look in the rearview mirror at how things are going in terms of processes, applications and projects underway in your company. One area where this effort can pay off tremendously is in terms of your Print MIS system. Making a conscious effort to do an annual Print MIS checkup can help keep your system fresh, moving forward and also tune-up any areas that may not be performing as they should.

GDP Data Revised Down for 2011 and 2012, Revised Up for 2013

Are You Utilizing All Your Purchasing Options?

There are a variety of ways that you can gain leverage and reduce costs in purchasing. Peer groups, Associations, Purchasing Groups and your Vendors can all be utilized to lower your costs.

Game-Changers for the Printing Industry: Millennials and Generation Z

Digital marketing is relatively new on the scene, but there is no question that this form of communication is already making its mark. Perhaps the biggest single driver in today’s market is the cultural change that is taking place among end consumers. This article, which is part of a series discussing disruptive forces that are expected to impact the market, covers two increasingly influential demographics—Millennials and Generation Z consumers.

Who will capture the Iron Throne: Are you paying attention? Part 2

In this continuation of the last article, while the kinder gentler Zwang continues his summer vacation, his alter ego… a shadowy figure dressed in a trilby and trench coat and telling stories, digs deeper into the drivers and tools that are influencing your clients’ business decisions and how this can and will affect your business decisions.

Konica Minolta Pushes Up-Market with Three New Digital Presses

Konica Minolta used the launch of three new digital presses as an opportunity to brief a media and analyst group at its Manhattan showroom earlier this month. In addition to learning about the new presses as they were launched, the group also received a strategy update from the company. Senior Editor Cary Sherburne was there and shares her thoughts.

Choosing a Web-to-Print Partner

Print technology of all kinds; presses, production software, Print MIS software, and web-to-print technologies have one thing in common – they are constantly changing. This one factor probably causes the most pain in the purchasing process. As a buyer you want to feel confident with your purchasing decision, yet the very thing you’re investing in is in a constant state of change.

USPS' Every Door Direct Mail Program Declines After Price Increase

Expoprint Trade Show in Brazil: The Strength of Emerging Markets

Hamilton Costa, a leading consultant to the printing and publishing industries in Latin America, shares his thoughts and insights on the recent Expoprint Trade Show in Brazil, highlighting the opportunities for growth in Brazil.

EskoWorld 2014 Puts Spotlight on Branded Packaging

In one way or another, making packages better vehicles for brand communication underlay most of the presentations at EskoWorld 2014, a user conference that drew more than 700 people to Orlando. Esko also used the occasion to launch Suite 14, a software collection that aims to provide a common interface for all participants in the package creation workflow.

Liquid Meddle: Digital Inkjet Makes Inroads in Industrial Printing

If you look around your home or office (or home office), you’ll notice numerous examples of what I’ve referred to in the past as “stealth printing,” printed materials that don’t fall into what we consider commercial printing, but is a huge market nonetheless.

Game-Changers for the Printing Industry: Mobile (Part 2)

Mobile is a technology that is increasingly disrupting the role of traditional communications. Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore some of the disruptive forces that are expected to impact the market. This week’s article is the second in a two-part series exploring mobile. It covers augmented reality (AR).

Inflation multipliers have been updated

How to Survive the Print MIS Transition

A Print MIS transition is like a battlefield of sorts. For the person leading the transition it is a time of scrutiny, chaos, incredible intensity and unexpected disruptions. It is, without a doubt, one of the most complex and stress generating events you can face. While it is incredibly rewarding to get through it, you usually don’t come out of it unscathed.

New Presstek CEO Shares Strategy, Business Updates

Nearly two years after its acquisition by AIP, Presstek named Jeffrey A Beck as CEO. Previously, the company had been managed by AIP executives as they restructured the organization and set a go-forward strategy. Prior to Presstek, Beck was COO of Boston-based iRobot. Senior Editor Cary Sherburne visited with Beck to learn more about his background and Presstek’s strategies for future success.

The Search for a Wide-Format Silver Bullet?

As wide-format graphics buyers increasingly demand faster turnaround, higher quality, and lower price—as well as an ever-growing range of specialty print applications—print service providers are looking for the fastest and most versatile equipment possible. Manufacturers are helping…but is there really a “silver bullet”?

NFIB Small Business Index Breaks Through 2003 Recession Bottom for Last Two Months

The NFIB index has been trapped between the bottom of two recessions, that of the early 1990s and the early 2000s recession bottom. Though the latest report retreated a bit, it's still above the 2003 low. Small business is improving at a very slow pace, but this may finally be a good sign after the very disappointing Q1 GDP report.

Game-Changers for the Printing Industry: Mobile (Part 1)

Mobile is a technology that is increasingly disrupting the role of traditional communications. Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore some of the disruptive forces that are expected to impact the market. This week’s article is the first in a two-part series exploring mobile. It covers mobile barcodes and near-field communications (NFCs).

What Can You Do to Save Your Customers Money?

A printer e-mailed me recently and said, “the Vice President of Procurement at our biggest customer is open to a meeting but she wants to know what I can do to save her money.” Of course she does, she’s always wanted her vendors to engage with her in a way that solves her business challenges and makes her look good.

June 2014 Mergers, Acquisitions & Restructuring in the Printing, Packaging & Related Industries

The newest old company, Time Inc., was very busy in June. The venerable publisher of magazines, including household names such as Time, Fortune, People, and Sports Illustrated, was spun off from Time Warner, separating the aging print-centric parent from its progeny’s profitable entertainment and programming businesses.

Who will capture the Iron Throne: Are you paying attention?

In this article, at the request of JW (aka the printing industry’s own Deep Throat), Zwang displays his alter ego… a shadowy figure dressed in a trilby and trench coat, and takes a departure from focusing on your businesses to look instead at the rapidly changing requirements and the resulting workflows of your clients and potential clients, and how that may undermine your very existence.

Game-Changers for the Printing Industry Part 2: 3D Printing

Once considered science fiction, the ability to do 3D printing—to produce objects on demand at relatively low cost—has become a reality. 3D printing is a game--changing technology and this article, part 2 of a series on disruptive technologies, explores its applications and opportunities.

Veritiv: A New Company with a Heritage of Service

On July 2nd, Veritiv, the result of the Unisource/Xpedx merger, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: VRTV). WhatTheyThink’s Senior Editor Cary Sherburne spoke with Chairman and CEO Mary Laschinger shortly after she rang the Stock Exchange’s Opening Bell.

Recovery Indicators Improve

The recovery indicators were mainly better this month, with the NASDAQ bouncing around then finishing well, and three of the four ISM indicators increasing. The one that didn’t is still firmly in expansion territory. The original estimate of proprietors’ income was $1,371 then it was reduced to $1,366 billion and now it’s $1,359.

The Print MIS Go-Live Date Dilemma

One of the biggest challenges printers face when transitioning to a new Print MIS system is to pick a go-live date. Picking this magical date is a bit like gambling – you really don’t know for sure when the cards are going to line up the way you need them to.

Building Digital Connections with Your Customers

Your sales team creates customer demand for your products and services, your production team fulfills that demand by manufacturing quality printed products on-time. Both your sales team and your production team need to be SOLD on the strategic, long-term importance of creating digital connections to your existing customers and using digital connections to win new customers.

Canon Solutions America: What’s New?

WhatTheyThink recently attended a Canon Solutions America customer event at Canon’s Customer Experience Center in Poing, Germany. We had an opportunity to speak to several executives about the future of the company and its achievements to date.

Game-Changers for the Printing Industry: Wearable Technologies

As evidenced by the explosive, innovative changes that are occurring in today’s printing industry, creative destruction is clearly taking hold. Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore some of the disruptive forces that are expected to impact the market. This week’s article explores wearable technologies like Fitbit and Google Glass.

Selling Solutions: A Path for Your Print Sales Team

Customers have challenges; the best way to increase your sales is to provide your products and services wrapped into solutions to your customer’s challenges. Solution selling is an easier topic to write about then it is to execute on. Too many people write about the idea without providing guidance on how to get from where you are today (selling print jobs) to selling print programs or solutions.

Advertising Agency Revenues Still Climbing

The chart below shows the latest revenue data, on an inflation-adjusted basis, for ad agencies and publishers. Note how ad agency revenues are rising. While there have always been agencies that specialize in certain media, like television, direct mail, or others, the industry is media agnostic in the aggregate. Its job is to increase the positive visibility of its clients and help spur their customers into action.

HP Scales Up Its PageWide Technology

At an event in San Diego, Calif., held June 9 and 10, HP announced that they are scaling up their PageWide technology for use in wide-format printers. PageWide made its debut in 2013 in the Officejet Pro X Series of desktop multifunction devices.

Reducing your Spot Color Ink Cost

Over the years the cost of spot colors has increased due to reductions in ink company branches, minimum quantities, rush charges and additional delivery costs. If you use a lot of spot colors your ink costs have most likely grown. GFI Innovations manufactures an ink dispenser that can help you reduce your spot color ink costs and reduce your environmental impact.

Vincent Printing: Changing with the Times

Branding is about getting your prospects to see you as a company that provides a solution to their problems. To be successful, you must demonstrate that you understand the needs and wants of your customers and prospects. This article explores how Vincent Printing is changing with the times to meet its clients’ evolving needs.

Selected Generally “Non-Offset” Products and Services Offered by US Commercial Printers

Experts at the Past vs. a Vision for the Future

Last week I was in Bali, Indonesia, speaking at Dscoop Asia. The event, the travel, and the reading I did along the way came together with a common theme which can best be summed up by a quote from the book I read on the way home.

Chasing Bottlenecks in Wide-Format Digital

I recently had the chance to talk with Scott Crosby of Holland & Crosby, Ltd., about issues relating to bottlenecks in the wide-format production process. In the article, it’s interesting to see how changes (and improvements) in technology can strongly affect a company’s complete process. The comments included here may sound familiar to many using wide-format equipment.

Inkjet’s Irresistible Rise Is Showcased at FESPA Digital 2014

Last month, being in touch with the latest developments in wide-format inkjet printing for graphic arts and industrial applications meant being at FESPA Digital, a European trade expo billing itself as the “largest focused digital print exhibition worldwide this year.”

It’s Academic – Scholarly Journals are Big Business – May 2014 M&A Activity

Digital content platforms attracted financial and strategic buyers last month, as increasingly sophisticated online systems drive information to centralized providers that automate the design, hosting and distribution of content.

Full-Throttle Communications at IPMA 2014

IPMA 2014 (Milwaukee, WI) featured a tagline of “Full-Throttle Communication.” This article describes how today’s in-plants are moving up the value chain to better serve their customers, and also provides examples of in-plants that were awarded for innovation at the show.

Latest Print and Content Creation Employment Data

Print MIS Implementation: Don’t Forget Your People!

A Print MIS implementation/transition is a massive undertaking. It is usually driven by an extensive technology-focused project plan and/or strategic document. These projects can take anywhere from 6-18 months to implement. So much thought and effort gets put in to so many elements.

Production Inkjet—The Next Wave: Kodak PROSPER 6000

Now that time has passed, and many of the production inkjet vendors are beginning to introduce new offerings, David will look at many of these new products in the context of what was learned in the original series as they are introduced.

Production Inkjet—The Next Wave: Océ ImageStream 3500 from Canon

Now that time has passed, and many of the production inkjet vendors are beginning to introduce new offerings, David will look at many of these new products in the context of what was learned in the original series as they are introduced.

HP Highlights Digital Print for Packaging Applications at interpack

interpack, a once-every-three-years trade fair held in Düsseldorf, Germany, is like Pack Expo in Chicago—a huge show that’s heavy on packaging and packaging automation but light on digital printing (with the possible exception of coding and logistics labeling).

Notes from a Safari: Nine Big Mistakes That Would-Be Wide-Format Printers Can Make

Unless you have been lost, you are all too aware that the market for print has been changing, changing dramatically, and not changing for the best. We’ve had this discussion for a long time, so we need not dwell on it here. As a result, many companies have looked to wide-format and other types of specialty printing as a compelling replacement.

Workflow Automation: Investment Delivers Top Value

Two-thirds of print service providers consider workflow automation a top investment priority simply because it enables them to better service customers and increases customer satisfaction. Today, customers typically want more speed and less cost, whether it’s 100 business cards or a half-dozen editions of 1,000 books each in different page dimensions—by tomorrow—from facilities on three continents.

Xerox Unveils Expanded Impika Inkjet Innovation Center

Xerox announced the grand opening of its expanded Impika Inkjet Innovation Center in Aubagne, France, with a customer Inkjet Summit on June 4th. Chairman & CEO Ursula Burns was on hand to officially open the new center. WhatTheyThink Senior Editor Cary Sherburne spoke with Andrew Copley, President of Xerox’ Graphic Communications Operations, to understand the extent of the expansion and what it means for the Xerox production inkjet business.

Say Thank You: Customer-Vendor Relationships

When you are the customer, you’re always right – correct? Maybe not always but the relationship between customer and vendor is a tricky one.

Since June 2009, rate of overall USPS price increases almost 4x the rate of increase in commercial printing prices

One Year Later: X-Rite Pantone President Ron Voigt

About a year ago, we interviewed X-Rite Pantone President Ron Voigt shortly after he took on the leadership role. In this interview with Senior Editor Cary Sherburne, he updates our readers on what has transpired in that year and strategies moving forward.

In Europe, Canon Seeks the Spotlight with “Niagara” Inkjet Press and Other Product-Launch Announcements

Eager to promote the outcomes of its integration with Océ, Canon is making a concerted marketing effort to acquaint printers worldwide with the merged product lines and ongoing progress in R&D. Lately, Canon has been concentrating the effort in Europe, where it recently made a series of major announcements about new digital printing systems.

Web-to-Print: Are Users Ordering or Shopping?

A web-to-print site is all about customer convenience, enabling your customers to order from you in a self-service fashion. One thing to understand about your customers is whether they are ordering or shopping.

Broadly Defined, Printing Is One Hellacious Cyber Risk

Legal expert and printing industry pundit Kevin Keane contributes this article about the risks printing companies face as they handle an increasing volume of internal and external data. But he doesn’t stop there. He provides our members with specific steps that owners and managers must take to mitigate data breach risks.

Transforming and Automating Workflows: Thinking out of the box Part 2

There is an assumption that as service provider there are very specific, almost predetermined ways that a workflow to support your business operations should be developed and deployed. However, sometimes, to use a somewhat overused term, you need to think out of the box. In Part 2 of this article we continue to look at some other ways to approach offerings, and workflows.

The Promise of Process Free Plates

The printing industry continues to look at how to improve processes and reduce the environmental impact of printing. Kodak has developed a new plate, Sonora, which is process free. Process free plates have been around for a long time but they have been more of a niche product. The Sonora plate may change that.

The ICG Remembers Folding Carton Industry Veteran Alan Crane

The folding carton industry has lost a legend. Alan Crane (1924-2014) was a visionary, mentor and cherished friend to many, including members and suppliers of the Independent Carton Group (ICG), who remember him fondly.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Digital Enterprises

McKinsey Insights and Publications recently published an article entitled The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Digital Enterprises. This article provides a brief overview of the insights from this article and also explores their particular relevance to the graphic communications market.

Paper or Electronic? Sprint Recognizes the Value of Paper in Today’s Business World

Interview of Sprint’s Alan Anglyn, Director – IT Care & Billing Services Business Management by Phil Riebel, President - Two Sides North America

Though Q1-2014 GDP was -1%, the Year-to-Year Trend Remains in the +2% Range

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released the second revision of Q1-2014 US Gross Domestic Product (GDP), indicating a contraction of the US economy in the quarter. As reported in prior (“laughable and embarassing”) analysis, an inventory buildup in the last two quarters of 2013 distorted the underlying condition of the economy.

Test Your Assumptions via Minimum Viable Product

We think we know our customers, we think we know our market; we think we can predict the future, we can’t and we shouldn’t invest lots of money without building in the ability to test our assumptions with data rather than opinions and theories.

Q1-2014 Business Conditions Compared to Q1-2013

Business conditions were generally good, with more than 33% reporting business increases of 6% or more. About 13% of respondents indicated business decreases of 6% or more

The Feature Trap of Buying Print Software

There is a hidden pitfall most of us in the position of purchasing print software are very susceptible to. We are all human, and while we have the best of intentions to do thorough evaluations while making a new print software purchase, we quickly fall victim to the ‘feature trap.’

Want To Improve the Value of Your Company Up to 5x Without Borrowing a Dime?

There has long been speculation among business owners and their advisors over how to place a value on privately held companies. Now, newly developed business valuation models which replicate historical buyer experience sheds some light on the topic and provides some very interesting insights into value creation opportunities for current business owners and potential buyers.

Building Your Sales Funnel: Awareness is Everything!

The order of the traditional sales funnel has typically been to discover a new opportunity, initiate communication, conduct fact finding, develop a solution, propose that solution, evaluate the solution, negotiate the details, create a purchase order, and maintain the account. This article explores how today’s empowered prospects have rendered this systematic approach obsolete.

NFIB Small Business Index Still Between Two Recession Bottoms

Transitioning Your Print MIS System

If you are currently functioning on a legacy Print MIS system, you know better than anyone that you are going to have to make a move ‘soon.’ Maybe soon is in the next 2 months or the next 2 years, but you know that your system isn’t going to lead you into the future.

Wide-Format Graphics Community Charts another Strong Year

The results are in from SGIA’s annual Specialty Graphics Industry Survey (the full report will be released in June), and the data we’ve received shows the wide-format graphics community going strong. The information included here covers some of the “high-points” of our findings, and provides a bit of analysis, from my viewpoint.

For O’Neil Data Systems, the Need for Speed Leads to an Inkjet-Driven Transformation

Next week, O’Neil Data Systems (ODS) will be hosting an HP-sponsored event at their Plano, Tex, facility, which will bring together vendors, customers, and printers from all corners of the digital printing ecosystem to see the company’s high-powered “data-driven publishing” in action, as well as showcase their own contributions to this expanding print market segment.

Augmented Reality… A New Reality in 2014

Today’s hyper connected consumers are truly in control of the media that they consume. Today’s marketers must pursue media strategies that deliver holistic integrated communications to drive results. This article explores how printed communications are being combined with augmented reality to increase revenues and response rates.

Labor Market Net Hiring Turns Negative

US employment data has many cross-currents: the unemployment rate is down, but the labor participation rate is at 35-year lows. Last week the Bureau of Labor Statistics published its JOLTS report, which shows they dynamic factors at play in the labor market. This chart shows the percentage of hires less the number of quits on a year-to-year basis. Note in the chart below the rapid rise in employment as the recession ended and the recovery began, and also how it has narrowed and turned negative in recent months. It's been mainly negative for about 18 months.

Web-to-Print: A Mission Critical Sales and Marketing Project

Web-to-Print is a sales and marketing project that happens to involve technology, yet most printers delegate the leadership of web-to-print projects to their technical resources. We are collectively as an industry putting too much emphasis on the technology and not enough emphasis on the sales and marketing aspects.

What’s in a Name? Is it Time to Rethink Your Brand?

Although some companies only start looking at their brand image when things are not going well, successful firms are out in front of the market. This article discusses the importance of market dynamics and how they can be leveraged as key catalysts for change.

April 2014 – Deals, Court Filings & Closures in the Printing, Packaging, Paper & Related Industries

It was a Tale of Two Cities for sellers of printing companies in April. For some, it’s the best of times; they appear to have chosen wisely, believed in the power of the internet to transform the business of print, they saw the light and felt the hope of spring as they embarked on their journey. The market anoints these fortunate few with the ultimate reward – the high multiple.

Future-Proofing Your Business: People. Process. Technology

In Part One of this two-part series, we discussed how printing companies are responding to changing market dynamics to future-proof their businesses, and offered some of the questions you may consider asking to stimulate new customer conversations. In Part Two, we look at people, processes and technology required to successfully and profitably change the conversation and deliver new services.

Q1-2014 US Commercial Printing Shipments Down -4% Compared to 2013

March 2013 US commercial printing shipments were down -$148 million (-2.2%) compared to 2012. The first quarter was down -$770 billion (-4%). On an inflation-adjusted basis, shipments were down -$270 million (-5.4%) and down -$1.05 billion (-5.4%) for the quarter.

Recovery Indicators Rebound; Q1-2014 GDP Below 1% but Corrects for Business Inventory Misjudgments

The recovery indicators rebounded since last month. New orders for manufacturers remained at the same level that indicates growth.

April Printing Employment +1,000

Printing employment in April rose by 1,000 workers. It is always hard to determine if these were actual workers or if the changes were the result of issues with the estimation models of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Production workers were the greatest part of the increase (800).

Your Marriage to Your Print MIS May Be in Trouble!

There are several marriage mistakes that lead to divorce: cheating, dishonesty, addictions, and major changes in priorities. What does this have to do with your print management information system (Print MIS)? I am suggesting that your Print MIS is your most important business partner.

Transforming and Automating Workflows: Thinking out of the box

There is an assumption that as service provider there are very specific, almost predetermined ways that a workflow to support your business operations should be developed and deployed. However, sometimes, to use a somewhat overused term, you need to think out of the box.

ISA Sign Expo Showcases Dynamic Evolution of Sign Solutions

At the International Sign Association’s Sign Expo, the current state of dynamic digital signage (DDS) was reminiscent of a kind of “Cambrian explosion,” with a proliferation of solutions emerging.

Sexton Printing: Being a Strategic Problem Solver

While growing your client base is important, a strategic focus is essential for growing your business and setting yourself apart from the competition. This article describes how Sexton Printing is taking a strategic focus in the face of today’s changing industry.

How Sales Creates Web-to-Print Disasters

The sales process sets up the critical transition period from lead to customer. Customers remember what was said in the sales process and they often use this to guide their approach to implementation. Don’t inadvertently focus your soon to be customers in the wrong direction.

Adobe Summit: The Digital Marketing Conference

Recently, WhatTheyThink joined more than 7,000 marketing professionals from more than 30 countries at the Adobe Summit in Salt Lake City. This is the world’s largest digital marketing conference, according to Adobe. It was a great place to network with marketers, benefit from great content and learn what marketers are thinking about the future of business communications and where their challenges lie.

4over Packaging – A new way of looking at Short Run Packaging

We read a lot of articles and company profiles in the packaging trades that describe companies who are growing their businesses by focusing on a specific niche of the market and developing specialized offerings to serve that niche. I recently interviewed Preston Herrin and Patrick Green of trade printer 4over headquartered in Glendale California who described for me their new offering 4over Packaging.

New Xerox Versant 2100 Raises the Bar for Mid-Entry Digital Presses

David Zwang takes a look at today's announcement by Xerox of their new Versant 2100 press and provides some insight into how the press was developed and what impact it will have on the mid-entry-level production market.

IMS, Inc.: A Role Model for Being Strategic

The importance of a strategic business approach is becoming increasingly common as today’s technology-charged environment demands rapid change from us all. This article pulls ideas from Erika Andersen’s book entitled Being Strategic and describes how IMS, Inc. is serving as a role model to the industry by performing true strategic thinking.

2013 Newspaper Revenue

Circulation revenue for U.S. newspapers recorded a second consecutive year of growth, rising 3.7% to $10.87 billion in 2013 according to figures released by the Newspaper Association of America. Total revenue was $37.59 billion in 2013, a loss of 2.6 percent over 2012.

Table of Latest Inflation Multipliers

Below is the latest set of multipliers based on the Consumer Price Index. Multiply your historical financial statements by the figures below to adjust data to the CPI for the first quarter of this year.

March 2014 – Deals, Court Filings & Closures in the Printing, Packaging, Paper & Related Industries

The traditional divide between commercial and packaging printers continues to blur as commercial printers seek opportunities in packaging where they can apply their talents, utilize their capital equipment investments, and transition to the packaging industry.

Don't Prioritize Activity Over Strategy

Activity does not equal results. You can be really busy, work really hard and fail miserable because you were busy doing the wrong thing.

Why be a Certified Sustainable Printer

Any company can say they are environmentally responsible. But what does it really mean? Print buyers who have a mandate from their management to use environmentally responsible suppliers have a tough task sorting through the claims. The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP) is an independent, non-profit organization providing a certification label for sustainability in the graphic communications industry. Here is what certification means to four printers.