Printing Industry Commentary & Analysis

Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Published February 2, 2018

Frank shows the exhibit at the Museum of Printing that produced some of the props for the movie “The Post.” You will learn new terms like turtle, flong, lockup, and more

Frank: High Quality Printing Still Exists!

Published January 26, 2018

Frank looks at some high-quality advertising publications and opines that fine printing still exists. He uses some ad pubs inserted in the NY Times and Wall Street Journal.

Frank on "Paper Shamers"

Published January 19, 2018

Frank goes on a mini rant against those folks who shame us for using paper. He calls them “paper shamers” as he takes them to task for creating guilt trips for those who use paper.

Frank's Favorite Books about Paper

Published January 12, 2018

Frank is an unabashed paper lover and is into trees. He describes some of his favorite books about paper that are on paper. He also manages to mention Zip disks.

Frank Tours the Museum of Printing

Published December 15, 2017

Frank tours the Museum of Printing in Haverhill, MA - in an unusual manner. You have to see it to believe it.

Frank Flashback: Marketing4Digital Report on Selling Digital Print to Specific Markets

Published December 8, 2017

Frank found a copy of a report from a decade ago on selling digital print to specific markets. It was called Marketing4Digital and distributed via the Digital Printing Council.

Frank on the Monotype Imaging Font Survey

Published December 1, 2017

Monotype Imaging recently polled the industry about fonts. There are over one million fonts available today and this study provided some insights into purchasing habits.

Frank Talks about a Slowdown In Ebooks And An Upsurge In Printed Books

Published November 17, 2017

Frank found an article in the Wall Street Journal about print books and ebooks. One graph showed a slowdown in ebooks and an upsurge in printed books. This warranted commentary, of course.

Frank Visits Gamse Lithographing Co

Published November 10, 2017

Gamse Lithographing has been around since 1894. Production Manager Mark LeDonne took me on a whirlwind tour of a super label plant that uses almost every printing process. But Frank found Mark’s personal history more interesting.

Frank Learns about PrintReleaf at Print17

Published November 3, 2017

Frank meets Jordan Darragh of PrintReleaf which helps printing organizations nullify the effect of print on forests. Printers use online tools to calculate print job effects and trees are planted in five forests around the world to compensate for the tress used for printing. Over 500,000 trees have been planted.

Frank Talks to Dave Henkel of Johnson & Quin

Published October 27, 2017

Dave Henkel is president of Johnson & Quin, a pioneer in variable data printing. J&Q has long been a major force in direct mail and integrated marketing. Dave was into digital printing since it has been in its infancy.

Frank Talks to Shaw Carpeting about Label Printing on the Konica KM-1

Published October 20, 2017

Dwight Blackwell of Shaw Carpeting in Georgia just installed a Konica KM-1 to print labels that are glued to the back of carpeting. The Konica KM-1 prints 6 pages on one sheet and Shaw will replace a number of smaller printers with this new unit.

Frank Visits Strategic Factory

Published October 13, 2017

Keith Miller took a small print shop and grew it into an $18 Million super shop called Strategic Factory. He changed the concept of what a printer is. Call the company what you wish but they still put imagery on all kinds of substrates for marketing applications.

Frank Visits K&W Finishing

Published October 6, 2017

Kathy Holmes at K&W Finishing offers the traditional die cutting, coating, and other bindery services. But this 2nd-generation binder has taken the company into the 21st Century with laser diecutting.

Frank Vists manroland web systems

Published September 29, 2017

Frank caught up with Greg Blue is President & CEO of manroland web systems in the US to get an update on the venerable offset press manufacturer. Offset presses are still being sold as printers replace a few older presses with one new press to achieve more productivity.

Frank Visits KBA

Published September 15, 2017

Eric Frank of KBA brought us up to date on KBA. The company celebrates its 200th anniversary this year. Frederick Koenig invented the first steam-driven cylinder press for the London Times and his company continues to innovate after two centuries.

Random Automation at Print 17

Published September 15, 2017

On day 3 of Print 17 Frank Romano pitched the most random idea for a show floor tour video. Frank said, "I want to do something that has never been done before." We said sure. Next time, we'll ask more questions.

Frank takes a look at Canon's Océ i300 at Print 17

Published September 14, 2017

Sander Hendrix of Canon talks to Frank about the newest member of the Canon Océ digital printing family. Canon has a new sheetfed inkjet press that is finding acceptance in the commercial printing market.

Frank Reviews Duplo's New System for Digital Embellishment

Published September 8, 2017

Frank meets up with Si Nguyen, VP of Sales for Duplo, a company famous for its finishing equipment. Duplo’s new coating system makes imagery jump off the page. It embellishes print and adds value to it.

Frank Interviews Greg Wallace at HPG Print

Published September 1, 2017

Frank has known Greg Wallace for over 30 years. At HPG Print Greg has harnessed digital printing, wide format printing and every kind of finishing you can imagine. Recently, he discovered a new printing market that goes way beyond paper.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about QWERTY

Published August 25, 2017

Frank has QWERTY on his mind and shows us a number of typewriters. He mentions Maltron and Dvorak and their attempts to supplant QWERTY. It did not work.

Frank: British Attack on Apostrophe Must Be Stopped

Published August 18, 2017

Frank bemoans the British attempt to eliminate the apostrophe in place names. So far, only Frank has spoken out against this perversion of orthography as misguided souls take a hammer to our grammar.

Frank Catches Up with John Werner

Published August 4, 2017

Frank caught up with John Werner, past editor and publisher of the Green Sheet, an industry newsletter. For 12 years, John attended every show, conference, and seminar and reported it in Graphic Communications World, which is still published.

Frank on the History of Recorded Information

Published July 28, 2017

Frank takes us on a whirlwind tour of the history of recorded information and caps it with new discoveries that record information on bacteria DNA.

Frank Finds A Museum of Interesting Things at EastPack

Published July 14, 2017

While visiting EastPack, Frank is unsurprisingly drawn to a booth called "The Museum of Interesting Things" and talks to Denny Daniel who shows him some of the cool things in their collection.

Frank Visits EastPak 2017

Published July 7, 2017

Frank provides a guided tour of EastPak 2017, complete with 3D printing, robotics, and invisible stealth companies.

Frank Twitters

Published June 29, 2017

Frank contends that he created the term “TWITTERS” and except for an S would be owed a lot of money. He shows examples from 1980 copies of TypeWorld.

Romano Review of Books: "Brand Luther"

Published June 23, 2017

Frank reviews a book called “Brand Luther” that tells the true story of an unknown monk who used printing to challenge the mightiest force on earth at the time.

Everything You Wanted to Know about the Bang & Interrobang

Published June 16, 2017

From the Latin for joy to the screamer, we are using exclamation marks for much of our communication. The interrobang is not used as much.

Kids and Their Computers.

Published June 9, 2017

Frank opines about kids and computers. He even interviews an actual kid who is using a typewriter.

The Great Handwriting Over Printing Debate

Published June 2, 2017

Frank opines about irony in the modern world and also harks back to 1516 when a monk praised handwriting over printing.

Frank on QuarkXPress and Adobe InDesign

Published May 26, 2017

In a frank video, Frank confesses that he still uses QuarkXPress, in a world dominated by Adobe InDesign. He is unapologetic.

A Mailer That Grows Wildflowers. A Tree That Grows Books.

Published May 19, 2017

Thinking he's got something special, WhatTheyThink Senior Video Editor Jon Emmerich does a little show-and-tell and asks for Frank's response. In true Frank fashion, Frank quickly and efficiently crushes Jon's dreams.

Frank Catches up with Print Evangelist Daniel Dejean

Published May 12, 2017

Frank catches up with Daniel Dejean of SAPPI Fine Paper at the Digital Printing event in Toronto. Daniel is a great evangelist for print.

Frank on our Emotional Attachment to Books

Published May 5, 2017

Frank looks at some old books produced as part of student projects and a host of memories are evoked. This never happens with e-books or PDFs.

Frank on Digital Textile Printing

Published April 28, 2017

Frank bumps into David Manning, his oldest friend, at the Print Canada show. After high school, David went into the textile industry and Frank went into printing. Now their worlds have come together as printers use inkjet devices to print on fabric.

Carl Dantas, former head of Compugraphic, dead at 83

Published April 26, 2017

A lifetime is filled with many people. In 1971, I joined Compugraphic Corp. as their first marketing communications manager. Carl Dantas was then the VP of Operations. As the two founders, Bill Garth and Ellis Hansen, became less involved, Carl moved up the ranks to head the company.

Frank Visits Cal Poly's Shakespeare Museum

Published April 21, 2017

Frank goes back in time as he visits the Cal Poly Shakespeare Museum. Surrounded by modern printing technology, this collection is a time warp of how printing was in the past.

Printing with E-coli and Charging Students to Print Homework

Published April 7, 2017

Frank has a potpourri of items to rail against, especially printing with e-coli bacterium. He also rants against charging students for printing homework assignments.

Frank Romano Memorial Bookshelf at CalPoly

Published March 30, 2017

Frank tours the Student Resource Room at Cal Poly and points out his books (because no one else will). Cal Poly has received many donations of research publications over the years.

CalPoly Students Create Book about Printing Pioneer Michael Bruno

Published March 24, 2017

Frank’s class at Cal Poly produced a 300-page book on the life and work of printing pioneer Michael Bruno. Mike was one of the major researchers who made offset lithography a viable process.

Frank on Newspaper Business Practices

Published March 17, 2017

We need newspapers and they need us. But some of their business practices could be improved. With declines in ad revenues, newspapers are raising subscription rates to stay in business.

Frank Visits Delphax

Published March 10, 2017

Frank visits Delphax in Missassauga, Canada to take a look at the elan 500 digital printing system. It is interesting that many of the original Delphax ion deposition printing systems are still in use. The elan is their first foray into inkjet printing.

Frank and Konica Minolta's Gavin Smith "Connect" on Book Cover Embellishment

Published February 17, 2017

Frank talks to Gavin Smith of Konica, which distributed 800 copies of “The New Print Industry” book at EFI CONNECT Conference. We discuss the cover embellishment by MGI.

Frank on Industry Research and WhatTheyThink's Printing Forecast

Published February 10, 2017

Frank reviews WhatTheyThink's latest research and "Printing Forecast 2017". This insightful report captures the mindset of the printing industry at this time and presents both Federal data and projections.

Frank Talks to EFI's Holly O’Rourke about Connect 2017

Published February 3, 2017

Frank talks to Holly O’Rourke of EFI about the latest EFI CONNECT Conference held in Las Vegas. This was one of the most successful of the 17 CONNECT Conferences in terms of content and attendance.

Frank on RIT Professor Frank Cost's Contact Print Book

Published January 26, 2017

Once again, RIT professor Frank Cost has preserved his family’s memories. It all started with a contact sheet of six Black & White prints of Frank’s mother from the 1950s.

We lost Derek Kyte and Lucien De Schamphelaere

Published January 23, 2017

A Rememberance by Frank Romano

Frank on Pre-VDP Personalized Direct Mail

Published January 20, 2017

Frank Romano keeps EVERYTHING. This week he shares his collection of pre-VDP personalized direct mail when everyone was a winner. Direct marketers tried every trick to get you to open the envelope.

Frank Looks Back at Early Variable Data Printing

Published January 13, 2017

Frank talks about some of the earliest Variable Data Printing from when digital color first came into play in 1994. He shows the now classic Alphabits piece and many others.

Back to the Future of Print

Published January 6, 2017

Frank and his students have been predicting the future of print for over 20 years. He shows us five books that students have produced as class projects, with one done in two weekends.

Frank's Chest of Gutenbergian Junk

Published December 20, 2016

Frank shows his collection of Gutenbergian souvenirs. He may be keeping the Gutenberg Museum souvenir shop in business single handed. If you're looking for a holiday gift to give Frank, may we suggest two tickets to "Gutenberg: The Musical."

Frank Rant Alert: Inkjet Printer Ink Packaging

Published December 16, 2016

Frank goes on a rant about desktop inkjet printer ink packaging. He is so upset he does not notice the light, although it could be the heat emanating from his head.

Mural Wall Printing by Zeescape

Published December 9, 2016

An Australian company has developed an inkjet printing system that prints on walls — right, walls. Zeescape has created a new category of inkjet printer: wide format, flatbed, 3D, and now vertical.

Frank is Entranced by Pop-up Cards

Published December 2, 2016

Frank is entranced by pop-up cards from opencardnow.com. Former typographer Julie Brumlik has a new career with pop-up origami. Frank even shares his pop-up Gutenberg book.

Frank is Intrigued by 3 Unrelated Technology Items

Published November 23, 2016

Frank is intrigued by three unrelated technology items: food made from wood, energy made from urine, and and paper made from waste paper in the office.

Frank Talks to Color Management Consultant About Tracking Color During Production

Published November 18, 2016

Frank meets up with David Hunter who has developed a system that tracks all color activity in a plant for all devices with feedback and data that aids in the management of production.

Frank on Unique Augmented Reality Application Created by RIT Students

Published November 11, 2016

Frank meets with Professor Elena Fedorovskaya at RIT School of Media Sciences to get a demonstration of a unique augmented reality smart phone app created by students. Any image, print or art or more, can activate a link to a website for video or audio presentation.

Frank is a Hoarder

Published November 4, 2016

We know that Frank is a hoarder but we did not know that it extended to hats. You got that right. Frank has saved hats. He wears most of them in this video.

Dot-com Printers. Where are they now?

Published October 28, 2016

Frank found a copy of one of his old books that covered the dotcom boom of the late 1990s. It is interesting to see who was who then and who is still around now. (Watch this one in full screen)

The Largest Printers in 1992. Where Are They Now?

Published October 21, 2016

Frank found a list of the largest printers from 1992. It documents the significant changes in the industry through merger, acquisition, and bankruptcy.

Frank on the Time Magazine Archive

Published October 7, 2016

TIME magazine moved its entire archive from its New York City headquarters. This archive represents the history of most of the 20th Century.

Frank Explores Graph Expo 2016

Published September 29, 2016

Frank Romano is sweet on Graph Expo, but it's not all sunshine and roses. Follow along as he explores his favorite and not-so-favorite highlights on the trade show floor in Orlando, Florida.

Brad Flagge of Push Solutions Talks About Recent Offset Investments

Published September 22, 2016

Frank Romano talks to Brad Flagge President and CEO of New Berlin, WI based Push Solutions. Push Solutions recently installed a new offset press from RMGT with LED UV. The press allows the to print on both paper and, a new market for them, plastic substrates.

Frank Visited Patrick Goosens' Bakery & Antique Press Warehouse

Published September 16, 2016

Frank visited Patrick Goosens who owns the oldest bakery in Antwerp. What does this have to do with printing? Patrick has filled a large warehouse with 100s of antique presses and typesetting machines and saved a large part of printing history.

Frank's New Book: The New Print Industry

Published September 9, 2016

This will be Frank's 44th GraphExpo/Print event and attendees at his two seminars will receive a free book on The New Print Industry. Graphco in Solon, Ohio produced the books at a recent open house.

Around the World with Frank: Two Sides UK

Published September 2, 2016

Frank always takes the long way to Drupa on a ship that goes around the world. From Israel to China and Antwerp to London, he files reports that we will run over the next few weeks. In this week's episode Frank is having a pint with Jonathan Tame from Two Sides UK to talk about Two Sides and its mission to promote sustainability of print communications.

Around the World with Frank: London Book Sale

Published August 26, 2016

Frank always takes the long way to Drupa on a ship that goes around the world. From Israel to China and Antwerp to London, he files reports that we will run over the next few weeks. In this week's episode Frank is at a book sale in London.

Around the World with Frank: Lost in the Hallways at HP Indigo

Published August 19, 2016

Frank always takes the long way to Drupa on a ship that goes around the world. From Israel to China and Antwerp to London, he files reports that we will run over the next few weeks. In this week's episode Frank is still at HP Indigo.

Around the World with Frank: HP Indigo

Published August 12, 2016

Frank always takes the long way to Drupa on a ship that goes around the world. From Israel to China and Antwerp to London, he files reports that we will run over the next few weeks. In this weeks episode he stops at HP Indigo in Israel.

Around the World with Frank: Artron Printing

Published August 5, 2016

Frank always takes the long way to Drupa on a ship that goes around the world. From Israel to China and Antwerp to London, he files reports that we will run over the next few weeks. In this weeks episode he stops at Artron Printing in Shenzhen, China.

Frank's Hot Type Time Machine Travels Back to Time of Paste Ups

Published July 29, 2016

Frank time travels back to the days of rubber cement, wax, rubylith, non-repro blue, and the “magic knife.” We think he is sniffing rubber cement.

Frank on Company Slogans and Taglines

Published July 22, 2016

Frank looks back at slogans and taglines from printing industry suppliers at drupa 2016.

Frank on Counterfeiting and Promotions that Suck

Published July 15, 2016

Frank comments on counterfeiting in a hotel room, a golden anniversary for an industry icon, and e-mail “promotion promotion” that sucks. All are totally unrelated.

Frankentype: Growing Type in a Petri Dish

Published July 8, 2016

Growing type in a petri dish. Yes, scientists in Israel have created frankentype in the lab. This may be how Comic Sans was created.

Frank on Print Publications Declines

Published July 1, 2016

As the number of print publications declines, the number of places where you can buy them declines as well. We may be running out of places to buy printed pubs.

Frank Visits Scodix at drupa 2016

Published June 24, 2016

Once again, Frank waxes poetic about a machine. We think he likes machines more than people. This time it is the B1 Scodix press for embellishment of all kinds.

Frank Gives an Overview of Landa at drupa 2016

Published June 17, 2016

Frank climbs to the top of the Landa booth to give both a verbal and visual overview of the hottest ticket at drupa.

Frank's drupa Notebook: Kodak 3.0

Published June 3, 2016

The yellow box is glowing again. You sense it as soon as you enter the Kodak booth at Drupa 2016. It is the most creative booth I have seen in my eleven Drupas. Every product and service is showcased. Customer samples abound. It is Disneyland for printing geeks.

Frank's drupa Notebook: Important themes of drupa

Published June 3, 2016

Frank covers 12 important themes of drupa 2016 that he thought worth sharing, including new inks, corrugated digital presses, digital approaching offset speeds, and more!

Frank Visits Massachusetts College of Art & Design in Boston

Published May 27, 2016

Frank visits with Al Gowan at the TJ Lyons antique font collection at Massachusetts College of Art & Design in Boston.

Frank: The Future of Photography is Print!

Published May 20, 2016

Frank shows a unique book of beautiful photos by Eddy Hagen of VIGC in Belgium. The future of photography is print because that is the way we will preserve them.

Frank on Retail Magazine Prices

Published May 13, 2016

Retail prices for magazines are going up as sales are going down. Frank paid over $10 for a magazine and still has not gotten over it.

Ink Ado: Frank Visits with Benny Landa

Published May 6, 2016

Benny Landa drives fast. I think he is in a hurry to reach the future. We had been on a whirlwind visit to the several Landa facilities in Tel Aviv, Israel and we were heading to a secret lab buried in the bowels of a non-descript industrial building.

Frank Loves Coupons

Published April 29, 2016

Frank loves coupons. They save money and they are in print. Or they are online and you print them out with your paper and ink. Or they are on your mobile device and you do a pixel pass at checkout.

Frank: Print Still the Best Way to Share Memories

Published April 15, 2016

Frank talks about another Frank who just published a book on his family history. Print is still the best way to share memories and Frank Cost does it very well.

Frank: What's the Matter with Kids These Days?

Published April 8, 2016

Kids. What’s that matter with kids today? Kids. Who can understand what they say? Kids. Get them to say one word to me. Kids. That’s ‘cause they text and talk electronically.

Landa and the Soul of a New Machine

Published April 4, 2016

Landa has announced that its lineup of Nanographic Printing presses at Drupa will include sheetfed presses running at 13,000 B1 sheets per hour as well as one meter-wide (41 in.) web presses printing on plastic packaging films. The company will also unveil Landa Nano-Metallography, a zero-waste metallization technology that will halve the cost of metallized printing compared to foil transfer processes.

Yeah…Well…You Know…That’s Just Like Frank’s Opinion, Man

Published April 1, 2016

In a break from his typical format, Frank Romano gives us a peek into his mind as he dives deep into hard-hitting, sometimes taboo topics and issues such as politics, religion, and even nutrition. He even somehow manages to relate all these things back to the printing industry in a way that only Frank Romano can. So sit back, enjoy, and watch the master at his craft.

The Death of the Card Catalog and the New World of Search

Published March 25, 2016

Frank bemoans the loss of the venerable library card catalog but celebrates the new world of search. The analog cards and the Dewey Decimal System were fine in their day but the world has changed.

Frank: America Must Close its Font Gap

Published March 18, 2016

Canada 150 is a national font for our friends up north. Basketball players now have their own typefaces. America must close this “font gap.”

Frank on Independent Bookstores

Published March 11, 2016

The number of independent bookstores is up as the total number of bookstores is down. Frank talks about new and used books. He sees no future in used e-books.

Frank: Converting Printed Books to Digital Form

Published March 4, 2016

Converting printed books to digital form is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Information is more accessible than at any time in the history of the world. Fat good it does.

Frank: E-Book Sales versus Print Book Sales

Published February 26, 2016

E-books are up and print books are down. Print books are up and e-books are down. What’s going on? Just a reflection of the contradictory nature of the book consumer.

Frank: Beautiful Printing from Puerto Rico

Published February 19, 2016

Frank found another example of beautiful printing. It is from Model Offset in Puerto Rico and was sent by Suzette Jimenez, a former RIT student.

Frank: Election ballots, Martha Stewart, and letterpress printing

Published February 12, 2016

Frank found two unrelated items that piqued his interest. One was pre-marked election ballots and the other was not. Find out how Martha Stewart and letterpress printing are related.

What Happens if Amazon Dies

Published February 4, 2016

Frank opines on what happens if amazon.com dies? Think of all the data that it has stored and its long tentacles that extend into every nook and cranny of cyberspace—and our lives.

Frank: Ad Inserts Are A Call To Action

Published January 29, 2016

Free standing inserts may be annoying but they are an important part of commerce. Ad inserts are a call to action. They give you a reason to visit a store and maybe buy something.

Frank on QR Codes and Ad Blocking

Published January 22, 2016

Frank opines about the elimination of QR codes and how ad blocking may lower advertising industry revenue.

Chatbooks Drives Print Demand Using Digital Content, Frank Comments

Published January 15, 2016

WhatTheyThink's Eric Vessels asks a video question of Frank Romano about a new service he discovered called Chatbooks. The app let's you take your digital photos from Instagram, Facebook, or your phone and make a photobook. The killer app, though, is the subscription model. Frank is impressed!

Articles by Frank Romano