Printing Industry Commentary & Analysis

Xerox Comments on Inkjet, Heidelberg Digital Deal

Published February 28, 2011

One of the more important announcements at Hunkeler Innovationdays was the Xerox waterless production inkjet engine; Xerox updates its positioning. Soon after this event was the long-awaited announcement by Heidelberg of its digital partner—Ricoh. Sherburne highlights pros and cons of this arrangement and shares a prepared statement from Xerox along with some interview comments about the deal.

Hunkeler Innovationdays 2011 Draws Record Crowd

Published February 22, 2011

This year’s Hunkeler Innovationdays, held in Switzerland every other year, was a resounding success by anyone’s measure. More than 5,000 attendees descended on Lucerne, Switzerland, taking up just about every available hotel room, to benefit from this highly focused digital printing event. Several suppliers chose this venue to make important announcements and to discuss future and planned digital printing/finishing innovations.

Xerox enters production inkjet game

Published February 14, 2011

Xerox chose Hunkeler Innovationdays 2011 in Lucerne, Switzerland as its platform to make its long-awaited production inkjet announcement. The company has been showing technology concepts, beginning with drupa 2008, and speculation was it would be some time before they were able to get a product to market. That time has come, with an innovative waterless printing process that can use virtually any type of uncoated substrate without pretreatment.

Neither Rain nor Snow nor Sleet … But Maybe Digital Mailboxes

Published February 9, 2011

PrintChina Trade Show Scheduled for April 9-13, 2011 in DongGuan City

Published January 31, 2011

In mid-January, show organizers for PrintChina 2011 hosted more than 40 journalists from around the world to raise awareness about the importance of PrintChina and to encourage foreign visitors to attend the show. WhatTheyThink represented North America at this event, which featured presentations from government, industry and supplier representatives as well as a visit to a Chinese printing factory. Interesting data, and some thoughts about the future of print in China. Read more.

FedEx Office Print & Go

Published January 27, 2011

Inside Scoop on the EFI/Heidelberg Deal

Published January 27, 2011

Last week, EFI and Heidelberg announced an agreement under which Heidelberg will distribute the VUTEk GS series of superwide format digital printers to the commercial print market across the U.S. WhatTheyThink spoke with both Heidelberg and EFI to get the inside scoop on this deal.

Xerox CEO to Join First Lady at State of the Union Address

Published January 25, 2011

Hunkeler Innovation Days Goes Virtual

Published January 20, 2011

Former HP Executive Bill McGlynn Talks About New Role at Memjet

Published January 11, 2011

Bill McGlynn was well-known to many of our readers during his 25 years with HP, where he helped accelerate the company’s printing business from $150 million to $24 billion in annual sales, including his role in the Indigo acquisition which led HP’s entry into the commercial printing space. Now McGlynn is building Memjet’s Home & Office Business as its President. Read more…

Pitney Bowes Launches Digital Mail Initiative

Published January 10, 2011

Mailing giant Pitney Bowes has announced a new secure online mailbox initiative. Volly is a secure repository for bills, promotional mail and even household documents that attempts to solve many of the issues that have been barriers to more rapid adoption of online billing. Read more...

Public Printer Robert C. Tapella Resigns

Published December 29, 2010

GPO's Little Known Secret

Published December 27, 2010

Hunkeler CEO Stefan Hunkeler Discusses Hunkeler Innovationdays

Published December 21, 2010

As the WhatTheyThink team prepares to head for Lucerne, Switzerland in February to attend the Hunkeler Innovationdays, we talked with Hunkeler CEO Stefan Hunkeler to gain insight into what to expect at this unique event. We also asked Hunkeler to share his thoughts about the current state of the industry.

CGX CEO Joe Davis Shares Latest CGX Strategies, Industry Insight

Published December 21, 2010

What better way to end the year than by having a conversation with Joe Davis, CEO of Consolidated Graphics and WhatTheyThink’s Print CEO of the Year. Davis tells us what’s new at Consolidated Graphics, talks about acquisition strategy, and shares valuable insight into the strategies that have delivered business success for the company.

Googled: A Book Review

Published November 19, 2010

Google is arguably one of the most fascinating companies of our times. Founded in 1998, the typical Silicon Valley “two guys in a garage,” the company quickly skyrocketed to prominence as the preferred search engine for many as well as a premier advertising platform. In his book, Ken Auletta does an outstanding job of documenting the company’s history and accomplishments to date.

GPO Celebrates 150 Years of History, Uses Social Media to Tell the Story

Published November 18, 2010

Memjet: Bringing disruptive change to packaging and labeling?

Published November 1, 2010

Memjet may be a new name to many of our readers. The company was founded in 2002 and designs and manufactures low-cost high quality inkjet printheads, print controllers and inks designed for use in printers for packaging and mailing applications. Although OEMs have only had product components for 60 days, Memjet has been busy—five shows in the last six months in North America and Europe. Read more about this potentially disruptive technology.

Former HP Executive Bill McGlynn Talks About New Role at Memjet

Published November 1, 2010

Bill McGlynn was well-known to many of our readers during his 25 years with HP, where he helped accelerate the company’s printing business from $150 million to $24 billion in annual sales, including his role in the Indigo acquisition which led HP’s entry into the commercial printing space. Now McGlynn is building Memjet’s Home & Office Business as its President. Read more…

Do you have your G7 DEER poster yet?

Published October 31, 2010

Standard Register Reports Strong 3rd Quarter

Published October 29, 2010

EFI CEO Bullish About Future of Industry, Company

Published October 26, 2010

EFI released positive quarterly earnings last week with 28% revenue growth. CEO Guy Gecht indicated that EFI’s transformation is complete. EFI has gone from a single family of products (Fiery) to a broad portfolio of products, including VUTEk, Rastek, and Jetrion inkjet printers as well as APPS. They’ve aimed their efforts at key growth areas of the print industry: short run digital printing for documents, signage, packaging and software that automates business processes, with multiple channel strategies. WhatTheyThink spoke with Gecht following the earnings call to learn more.

SGIA CEO Michael Robertson on "Too Many Trade Shows?"

Published October 15, 2010

In this video, SGIA CEO Michael Robertson comments on a recent article by Cary Sherburne entitled "Too Many Trade Shows?"

Scott Cohen live from SGIA in Las Vegas

Published October 14, 2010

Do You Live in the Future?

Published October 12, 2010

Looking for a good read? Check out this review of I Live in the Future and Here’s How It Works: Why Your World, Work and Brain are Being Creatively Disrupted, by Nick Bilton. Bilton calls it “a unique reading experience,” and it is. Each chapter begins with a QR Code! (And this from a “Gray Lady” reporter.) It even includes some history about how print was one of the original disruptive technologies. Read on!

Too Many Trade Shows?

Published October 8, 2010

The last couple of years have been difficult for both printers and suppliers to our industry. While there are positive signs that indicate a path to recovery, and many companies are investing to better position themselves for a brighter future, many suppliers to the industry believe that we have too many trade shows and too many of them are too siloed for today’s diverse environment. Hear what they—and GASC—have to say.

Ramesh Ratan on merging print with mail

Published October 7, 2010

Peter Williams Discusses Ricoh’s European Business

Published October 1, 2010

In this interview with Senior Editor Cary Sherburne, Ricoh Europe Executive Vice President Peter Williams talks about the company’s IPEX experience, European distribution strategies, and the progress being made with integration of IKON and InfoPrint Solutions into the customer experience. Read the full interview.

Chris Lyons at Kodak: The importance of an application focus

Published September 30, 2010

Chris Lyons, Kodak’s Global Market Segment Director, talks about his role at Kodak, what to expect from Kodak at Graph Expo, and his goals and challenges in this new role. Read the full article.

Printing in Colombia: Views from Andigraf's Grafica 2010

Published September 22, 2010

Colombia's printing industry association, Andigraf, held its annual meeting in Santa Marta, Colombia, in early September. WhatTheyThink's Senior Editor Cary Sherburne participated in the event as an attendee and speaker, joined via video by WhatTheyThink's Dr. Joe Webb, Director of the Economics and Research Center. Sherburne shares her thoughts about the Colombian experience.

Presstek's Jeff Jacobson Discusses IPEX, Graph Expo, the Presstek 75DI and the State of the Industry

Published September 21, 2010

In a recent WhatTheyThink webinar, both listeners and industry experts commented on the potential offered by the new Presstek 75DI digital offset press, which was debuted at IPEX and will be on display at Graph Expo 2010. WhatTheyThink checked in with Presstek Chairman, CEO & President, Jeff Jacobson, to get his take on what the 75DI means to Presstek and its customers, as well as his opinion on the state of the industry, and more.

Boarman nomination as Public Printer still on hold

Published September 20, 2010

Quad/Graphics’ Joel Quadracci Speaks about Worldcolor Acquisition

Published September 17, 2010

As Quad/Graphics has begun to integrate its recent mammoth acquisition of Worldcolor, WhatTheyThink checked in with Joel Quadracci, the company's Chairman, President & CEO to get the latest update and his view of the state of the industry.

Triple Benefits for Triple A (AAA) in Transpromo Implementation

Published September 14, 2010

AAA, the premier association of regional auto clubs, produces 160,000 statements annually at its headquarters location. Its TransPromo implementation with DocPath has saved the organization more than $110,000 annually, streamlined the invoice-to-cash process and resulted in a more attractive statement design. This story demonstrates that TransPromo is not just for the big guys! Find out more.

XRGA: New Graphic Arts Standard from X-Rite

Published September 7, 2010

In mid-September, X-Rite will release XRGA, an ISO-compliant metrology standard for the graphic arts industry that is designed to take advantage of advances in color science and new international standards to provide a way to reduce measurement discrepancies between legacy instruments previously developed by X-Rite and GretagMacbeth.

Standard Register’s Brad Cates discusses healthcare business

Published September 3, 2010

Standard Register recently made the decision to establish a focus on the healthcare industry. Cary Sherburne recently sat down with President of the company’s Healthcare Business, Brad Cates, and Business Director of Document and Information Management Ann B. Scales, to learn about the transition to all healthcare, EMR reform and the future of printing in the health care space.

HP Schedules First-Ever Global Partner Summit Coinciding with Dscoop6

Published August 30, 2010

Dscoop, the independent user group for HP Indigo and Scitex owners, has been one of the biggest user group success stories in our industry. Even though last year was terrible for the industry, Dscoop had an attendance of 1,823 and had to turn away both attendees and sponsors because the demand was so high. In 2011, Dscoop 6 organizers expect to significantly exceed that attendance level. The conference will be held February 17-19, 2011, at the Gaylord Palms Hotel and Conference Center in Orlando FL.

RISO/Kodak Deal Adds New Dimension to Inkjet

Published August 6, 2010

Email Marketing: Does it still work?

Published August 3, 2010

Does email marketing still work, or is it beset by too many problems with mailbox clutter, spam and more? A recent study and a specific example indicate there is plenty of life left in this medium. Is it part of your service mix?

Boarman Nomination Heads to Full Senate

Published July 22, 2010

WhatTheyThink was notified yesterday by the Senate Rules Committee that: "The Senate Rules and Administration Committee voted to discharge the nomination of William J. Boarman out of committee. It will now go to a vote on the Senate floor."

Washington Post picks up Boarman story

Published July 16, 2010

New evidence has surfaced in relation to the nomination of William Boarman for the post of U.S. Public Printer. WhatTheyThink has been covering this story since the nomination was announced through posts on the Print CEO blog. Most recently, we learned that Boarman had received—and cashed—a check for a “gain sharing” payment in 2010—33 years after he left active employment with the GPO.

Agfa Graphics Acquires The Pitman Company

Published July 16, 2010

The July 15th announcement of Agfa’s Pitman acquisition had been rumored for some time. Agfa expects the acquisition to strengthen its presence in the U.S. printing market, including an expanded growth opportunity for Agfa’s industrial inkjet and prepress solutions. The company held a press conference to discuss the acquisition.

Joint AlphaGraphics/Allegra Tech Expo Planned

Published July 14, 2010

AlphaGraphics Unveils Bold Plan for Network Growth

Published July 12, 2010

AlphaGraphics has recognized the importance of keeping up with the changes in the marketing services industry. At the their recent annual owners conference, CEO Kevin Cushing announced to franchisees the major strategic changes they’re planning for the network. Cary Sherbune caught up with Cushing to find out how they’re staying on top.

Boarman Nomination for Public Printer: Another Issue Emerges?

Published July 11, 2010

HP Adds Director of Marketing for the Americas to Graphic Solutions Business

Published July 9, 2010

With a little more than a week in his new position, HP’s Director of Marketing for the Americas, Graphic Solutions Business, took time out to speak exclusively with WhatTheyThink about his goals and objectives in his first 100 days.

After 17 Years, Kevin Joyce Swaps Print for TV

Published July 8, 2010

Last month, Kodak’s Vice President of Worldwide Sales & Marketing for Digital Printing, Kevin Joyce, announced he would be leaving Kodak—and the industry—for a different media opportunity. Among other things, Joyce looks forward to taking some lessons learned from print into broadcast. Read the whole story in this exclusive WhatTheyThink interview.

Do You Care How Our Industry is Classified?

Published July 6, 2010

As we have been discussing in the Quick Printing thread of this blog, the classifications for our industry are about to be changed to the following: 323113, Commercial Screen Printing, 323117, Books Printing, 323119, Other Commercial Printing (except Screen and Book.

Canadian Printer Magazine Abandons Printed Edition in Favor of Online

Published June 30, 2010

Canadian Printer, a leading printing industry trade publication in Canada, has announced that it will no longer be producing print editions. Instead, the publication will maintain an online presence and distribute bi-weekly e-newsletters to its readership. The company's intent is to publish one printed edition annually highlighting innovations in print.

PSDA Opts for Professional Association Management Firm SmithBucklin

Published June 30, 2010

PSDA, formerly DMIA, has made a decision that is likely to have a major positive impact on its future. The association has chosen to work with professional association management firm SmithBucklin rather than continue to operate as a standalone entity. WhatTheyThink spoke with several stakeholders to gain an understanding of what this move means for the association.

Boarman Confirmation Process Goes Silent

Published June 29, 2010

Libraries Getting More Active in the eBook Game

Published June 29, 2010

Maigen Sawyer discusses a PURL case study and Mindfire's solution

Published June 29, 2010

Disrupting the Future of Books

Published June 29, 2010

I recently read a Wall Street Journal article entitled “’Vanity’ Press Goes Digital.” It featured author Karen McQuestion, who had spent nearly a decade trying to persuade a variety of New York publishers to print one of her books. Failing to get their attention, she decided to self-publish. Although enabling technology has been available for more than a decade, many publishers have only recently begun to understand the value of print on demand in the book life cycle. Now they are faced with an even greater challenge—how to deal with e-books within the publishing framework. Karen McQuestion’s experiences are a great example of the disruptive process of self-publishing at work.

Is Quick Printing Obsolete?

Published June 28, 2010

M&A Advice Live at Print CEO Forum

Published June 26, 2010

David Hocquet raps on printing in Belgium

Published June 25, 2010

Indexx, Inc., of South Carolina Expands Marketing Services Offerings

Published June 25, 2010

Indexx, Inc., serving upstate South Carolina, including Anderson, Greenville and Spartanburg, as well as customers throughout North America, has taken an aggressive approach to migrating its business from traditional commercial print to a marketing services business that includes print among its offerings. Owner Jordan Finn talks about his transition in this interview.

Guy Gecht on EFI's strategic vision

Published June 24, 2010

EFI's Fred Rosenzweig talks wide format R&D from FESPA 2010

Published June 23, 2010

GPO Celebrates 150th Anniversary

Published June 23, 2010

The Government Printing Office (GPO) was established on June 23, 1860, when President Buchanan signed the Congressional Resolution creating the agency. It opened its doors several months later on the day of Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration. Surprisingly, the only sitting President to ever visit the agency was Lincoln, but that hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm of the employees at this $1 billion agency, some of whom have several generations of family who have worked for the GPO.

Cary Sherburne previews FESPA 2010 from Munich

Published June 22, 2010

Quad/Graphics adds iPad app to digital edition

Published June 16, 2010

Quad/Graphics has once again demonstrated a high level of innovation, being one of the first, if not the first, print manufacturer in our industry to provide its customers with a customized iPad application that offers clients another distribution channel for their publications. Hear what Jason Sawtelle, Director of Premedia Sales, has to say about this exciting move.

Are QR Codes Finally Catching On in the U.S.?

Published June 4, 2010

We have been hearing about QR codes for some time, but adoption rates in the U.S. have been slow compared to the rest of the world. Not sure what QR Codes are or what business opportunity they represent? This interview with Val DiGiacinto of Manhattan’s Ace Group tells the story.

RedTagPrintSale.com Has Some Franchise Print Networks in a Tizzy

Published May 27, 2010

Boarman Public Printer Confirmation Hearing Raises Questions

Published May 26, 2010

Confirmation Hearing for New U.S. Public Printer Scheduled for Tuesday, May 25

Published May 21, 2010

Printable Acquires DirecType

Published May 19, 2010

Bitstream Acquires Assets of Press-Sense

Published May 17, 2010

Jeff Hayzlett to Leave Kodak CMO Post

Published May 14, 2010

Chuck Gehman applies the unconference concept to Printing Camp

Published May 13, 2010

Bill Barta on multi-channel marketing to college applicants

Published May 11, 2010

Francis McMahon at Océ: The Details

Published May 11, 2010

At the end of March, Francis McMahon, director of marketing for HP's US Graphic Arts Business, Imaging and Printing Group, departed HP after being there for eight years. Effective April 12th, he joined Océ North America as the Vice President of Marketing reporting to Mal Baboyian, President of Océ Production Printing Systems Division based in Boca Raton, Florida. Here is what McMahon has to say about his new company and the Canon acquisition.

Modernizing the Pantone Matching System

Published May 10, 2010

Ashley Ivey talks graphic arts & design at Clemson

Published May 10, 2010

EFI Announces 15% Revenue Growth for Q1, Acquisition

Published May 7, 2010

Cary Sherburne talks with EFI CEO Guy Gecht about their recent earnings release and acquisition of Radius Solutions.

Samantha Garrett on what inspired her to study print at Clemson

Published May 7, 2010

Clemson undergrad Meghan Foley talks about her future after graduation

Published May 6, 2010

CGX Emerge Conference Good Model for Printers

Published May 3, 2010

Printing Leadership Made Easy: Interview with Joan Davidson of the Sheridan Group

Published April 23, 2010

Leading a printing company can be a challenging task in the best of times. Not only do you have to keep up with all the technology, maintain connections with and a deep understanding of your customers’ business needs, but you also have to build the right team and inspire them to carry your message to customers and prospects. A recent keynote by Joan Davidson at EFI Connect sheds some light on how a successful leader is accomplishing these objectives.

EFI CEO Guy Gecht talks about the next earnings period and industry trends at EFI Connect

Published April 21, 2010

Joan Davidson of The Sheridan Group on using technology to meet the demands of an evolving marketplace

Published April 20, 2010

EFI Connect Draws 500+ EFI Customers to the Las Vegas Wynn

Published April 20, 2010

This is the 11th EFI Connect conference and the fourth time it has been held at the Las Vegas Wynn. Compared to 2009, the conference has 50% more attendees, and users are seeing first-hand enhancements made to PrintSmith, Pace and Monarch, EFI’s three MIS product families. Also taking center stage are inkjet offerings from VUTEk, Rastek and Jetrion, as well as Fiery.

Bob Tapella gives his advice to the next Public Printer and reviews the progress and transformation of the GPO

Published April 19, 2010

Online Social Media Primer

Published April 18, 2010

Pitney Bowes Launches Innovative Product at National Postal Forum

Published April 16, 2010

I trekked to Nashville for the National Postal Forum for the first time in years and was shocked at the attendance. The Postmaster General's keynote was standing room only, more than 2,000 people. While these Forums have been larger in the past, this was quite a turnout considering the economic conditions and the experience other trade shows and conferences have had in drawing attendance.

Kodak’s Eric Owen Discusses Kodak Strategy, Shares Advice for Printing Success

Published April 16, 2010

Eric Owen, newly appointed as Kodak’s Worldwide Vice President of Customer Development for Digital Printing Solutions started at Scitex and moved to Creo, then Kodak, as a result of acquisitions. Read what Eric has to say about the key strategic objectives of his current position, where he sees inkjet and toner fitting, and his advice for print service providers as the economy begins to recover.

FedEx Office, Canon and HP Announce “Game-Changing” Deal

Published April 14, 2010

Yesterday, FedEx Office, Canon and HP jointly announced an alliance to create an unmatched network of printing and imaging capabilities. Over time, FedEx Office will be sole-sourcing its black & white and color staffed and self-service copying and printing equipment from Canon, wide format from HP, and will take advantage of other technological advantages and innovations derived from the three companies and their partnership. Read what Canon and FedEx Office have to say about this major announcement.

Pitney Bowes launches Connect+ Customer Communication Solution at The National Postal Forum

Published April 13, 2010

New PANTONE iPhone App Unifies Pantone Systems

Published April 6, 2010

Pantone has become virtually the de facto color standard for the graphic arts industry, but we often forget that they also serve other industries, including fashion, home and industrial. Increasingly, designers need to be able to match colors across all or several of those systems for integrated projects. Today’s announcement is designed to simplify that process for designers using either an iPhone app or a free application available on the Pantone web site.

Health Care Reform: How Will It Affect Your Business?

Published April 3, 2010

HP's Claudia Barbiero talks about the sign and display business and digital transformation

Published March 30, 2010

Francis McMahon Departing HP for Oce

Published March 26, 2010

Positive Signs for the Printing Industry? Standard Register and a review of Global Document Solutions and Astoria Graphics

Published March 26, 2010

There is no question that 2008 and 2009 were difficult years for our industry. It seemed that every week, we received news of another plant closing. This week, Dr. Joe Webb, Director of WhatTheyThink’s Economics and Research Center, indicated that we are “climbing out of the swamp” and may be getting a little closer to the safety of economic high ground. We have a ways to go, but there are positive signs if you look for them.

HP's Retha Petruzates on the packaging and labels segment growth and trends

Published March 23, 2010

Susan Moore, President of DPI on the success of Dscoop

Published March 19, 2010

HP's Francis McMahon on the transformation of printing and the growth of digital

Published March 16, 2010

EFI’s Marc Olin Speaks about EFI Connect

Published March 12, 2010

EFI Connect, one of the larger user groups in our industry, will be taking place in April at the Wynn in Las Vegas. Since the event overlaps with the On Demand Conference in Philadelphia, WhatTheyThink is splitting its forces to cover both events. Marc Olin, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Advanced Professional Print Software, of EFI, shared his thoughts with WhatTheyThink about what attendees can expect to experience at the 11th Annual Connect conference.