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We are coping with unprecedented industry consolidation and declining print volumes. As the overall volume of print declines, printing companies are scrambling to find strategies to not only survive, but to grow revenue and margins. Read More
Small and medium-sized businesses want the ability to extend their marketing efforts across two or more channels, but they don’t have the time or money to do it effectively by themselves. This article leverages recent survey results to describe the challenges that today’s SMBs are facing and discusses how companies like PULP are helping to address these issues. Read More
We finally have got through the series of pre-drupa events and announcement press releases. So we now know a lot of what will be seen at the event. The following is a summary of some key products that will be shown in a few market segments. Read More
In this ninth article of the series, David looks at how to make sense and apply the information we have presented to make relevant purchasing decisions. Read More
Why has marketing been given such a long leash for so long or, in most cases, the only leash is the budget? Spend as you wish, hope it has a positive impact, and stop when the budget is gone. Marketers are good at pointing out their impact but when pressed, they typically can’t identify which part of their spend had the desired impact. Read More
intomedia GmbH recognized an opportunity to harness the Web to drive online print ordering, improve communication workflows, and streamline production processes. This article discusses intomedia’s offerings and also offers examples of companies that are leveraging them. Read More
In this exclusive WhatTheyThink interview, Senior Editor Cary Sherburne speaks with Roland Ortbach, just named as CEO of manroland web systems Inc. North America. Ortbach discusses the new organization, its relationship with the manroland sheetfed division and more. Read More
Almost all the recent announcements, and certainly all the hype, in the digital printing market have involved high-speed inkjet printing. Little has been heard about the established form of digital printing, namely digital printing using electrophotographic (toner based) technology. Read More
Dr. Joe tiptoes through the economic data, discusses the nature of efficiency and expansion, and then pontificates about channels that are not of the TV kind. Then he explains why a new high in a stock index is not what it seems. Did we really say tiptoe? Where are the tulips? Read More
Print service providers can effectively position or re-position themselves for differentiation in today’s market. They can make their businesses stand out and effectively reach their target markets. This article explores how Philadelphia-based TGI has become a national leader in print and cross-media communications. Read More
The past few weeks have seen many of the pieces of the drupa jigsaw drop into place as vendors define some of what they will introduce and offer in May. There are still a few announcements to come with HP and Xerox making their announcements soon. Read More
We had a unique opportunity recently to get a look at the entire printing industry’s value chain by attending two separate events at O’Neil Data Systems new plant in Plano, Texas. First was HP’s First Look event, which previewed for their customers technology they will be officially in the next few weeks. Second was O’Neil Data Systems’ grand opening of their Plano facility, which gave us an opportunity to meet their customers as well. Read More
Ever since he founded Geographics in 1976, Norvin Hagan hasn’t tried to purchase another company—until now. Read why he’s ready to complement organic growth with the kind that comes from a well planned and executed acquisition. Read More
In this eighth article of the series, David looks at Memjet inkjet technology, and some OEM implementations and offerings to address specific production print applications. Read More
Developing an understanding of industry dynamics can help service providers identify the right vertical market. Once the vertical market has been identified, the service provider must develop the right document and marketing solutions to meet clients’ needs. This article outlines the steps involved in taking a vertical market approach and also provides a relevant success story from the One to One Group. Read More
Last week fourteen companies gave a preview of what they will bring to drupa 2012 during a series of media briefings at a conference center on the trade fair grounds of Messe Düsseldorf in Düsseldorf, Germany. Read More
I had the opportunity to participate in an analyst briefing at Pantone in late February, and X-Rite President & CEO Tom Vacchiano took the time to speak with Senior Editor Cary Sherburne one-on-one with an update on X-Rite/Pantone strategy—where the company’s been and where it is going. Read more. Read More
Printers are facing an increasing number of challenges due to rapid changes in the economy, technology and the marketplace. It is easy to get mired in viewing these changes as negative and the demise of an industry. However, for this article I will focus on the positive side of these changes. Read More
With the industry suffering from a paralysis invoked by the economic crisis eyes will turn to drupa 2012 to see how the future will shape up. Read More
FedEx Office recently announced that it would be accelerating investment in grand format printing services in selected centralized production centers to supplement its service offerings. The same release also reported that Boeing had selected FedEx Office as its print service provider of choice. WhatTheyThink Senior Editor Cary Sherburne talked to the company to learn more. Read More
On February 2nd, Presstek announced the appointment of Stanley E. Freimuth as Chairman, President & CEO. Mr. Freimuth, who stepped into the role on February 13th, spent nearly 25 years with Fujifilm where he ultimately had responsibility for all Fujifilm U.S.A businesses. Senior Editor Cary Sherburne spoke with Freimuth about his reasons for taking on the role and his expectations for the firm and the market. Read More
In 2003, Clay Christensen and Mike Raynor published a bestselling book entitled The Innovator's Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth. The authors discuss how established companies need to create disruptions rather than being destroyed by them. Businesses must turn innovative ideas into disruptive products and services that will lead to long-term profitable growth. This article outlines key strategies from the book and provides an example of a retailer that has taken action to generate growth. Read More
By exhibiting as a group at drupa 2012, the members of the PrintCity Alliance hope to present a continuum of solutions that visitors will find well adapted to the new realities of the print marketplace. Previews of some of their show offerings are here. Read More
As the number of printing services declines; the number of printing services increases. You read that correctly. Read More
This series by David L. Zwang focuses on current production inkjet products and their application in the market today. This series will run every 3 weeks leading up to drupa 2012. In this seventh article of the series, David looks at Screen, its production inkjet offerings and applications. Read More
IDEAlliance® recently announced that attendee registration is strong for TechWeek, its week-long event series featuring the G7 Forum 2012, TechConference 2012 and XTech 2012 Seminars. Slated for March 12-16, 2012 in Rosemont, IL, the conference offers a mix of educational sessions, hands-on computer labs, and networking opportunities for media production professionals. Read More
Good customer testimonials can help your business stand out in a crowd and enable more meaningful marketing. This article discusses the characteristics associated with good testimonials and explains how you can use them to differentiate your business. Read More
The announcement that Jeff Jacobson, President & CEO of Presstek, was departing the company to take on a senior role at Xerox caught many industry watchers by surprise. Senior Editor Cary Sherburne spoke with Jacobson to get the story behind the story. Read More
At drupa 2012, the PrintCity Alliance will emphasize and promote the future of print from its usual location on the Messe Düsseldorf fairgrounds. Last week, some of its members gave a preview of what awaits visitors to Hall 6. Read More
At the recent PODi AppForum conference, keynote speaker Ken Schmidt spoke passionately about the need to create a compelling message for your business – a message that connects emotionally with prospects and stands out from the crowd. Too often, Ken says that companies say what makes them great is quality, service and reliability when these items are merely givens - table stakes. And what’s worse, it’s a boring message that causes prospect’s eyes to glaze over. It eventually leads to competition based solely on price – and there go your profit margins. Read More
Procter & Gamble, tablet computing, and the S&P 499... Dr. Joe ties them all together and comes up with urgency and entrepreneurship and something about backbones. He even includes one of those really cluttered charts that he's famous for. It's just another Dr. Joe column, but this one might rattle the common wisdom when it doesn't want to be rattled... again. Read More
Technology on its own cannot solve your business challenges. It can play a part, it can enable your strategy, it can free up your labor but the real benefits of technology come from the people and the processes around it. Read More
The SMB market provides an enticing, yet challenging, sales opportunity for print service providers. Today's small businesses are seeking partners to help them sell in the cross-media world. They want the solutions that integrate and automate marketing across print, online, mobile, and social media channels. This article cites survey findings and highlights industry examples of service providers and software solutions providers that are beginning to approach automated marketing via cloud-based solutions for small businesses. Read More
Andy takes a look at three companies and their products that he feels will be major highlights of drupa. Read More
Today, Epson launched its next generation, newly-branded 64” solvent printer – the SureColor S30670 is a four-color solvent printer (CMYK) using Epson UltraChrome GS2 ink. Read more. Read More
An environmentally responsible approach to print production not only helps the energy intensive industry minimize its impact, it is also an essential business tool as will be widely demonstrated at drupa 2012. Read More
Dscoop, the wildly successful HP digital printing users group, has added a new conference to its repertoire. Co-located with Dscoop7 being held in Washington D.C. March 22-24, the event, DSee, takes place on March 22, 2012, and has already sold out. Hear more from Dscoop board members and HP about this novel event. Read More
e-Readers are definitely here to stay, so the printing and publishing worlds must change with the times. There will always be a place for hardcover and paperback books, but recent developments will demand a huge transition for book printers and publishers alike. How businesses adapt will determine who is left standing five years from now. This article provides an overview of the publishing landscape and provides examples of service providers who are changing with the times. Read More
Now that the dust has settled a little on the acquisition of AlphaGraphics (AGI) by Blackstreet Capital and CEO Kevin Cushing’s unexpected departure, Art Coley, AlphaGraphics’ Interim President, talks to WhatTheyThink Senior Editor Cary Sherburne about the AGI perspective, future prospects and franchisee reaction. Read More
No matter what is happening to other print industry metrics, M&As are trending up. This can be to the advantage of many printing companies seeking growth or a path to staying in operation. Read More
In this sixth article of the series, David looks at Fujifilm, its production inkjet offerings and applications. Read More
Andy Tribute takes a look at Langley Holdings which recently acquired the manroland sheetfed division. Read More
