Printing Industry Commentary & Analysis

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!

Frank Romano on what to expect at drupa 2016

Published January 12, 2016

Frank is heading off to his 11th drupa -- 44 years of drupa since 1972! He characterizes the show as inkjet on steroids -- from teaser inkjet drupa to real inkjet drupa to inkjet on steroids. He also expects to see many more innovations, including workflow. More Americans should go to get a glimpse of the future -- so says Frank Romano!

Frank Romano on Counting Trees

Published January 8, 2016

There are 3.04 Trillion trees on the planet. Someone counted them. They should now start counting the grains of sand on the planet. That will draw their attention away from tress for a while.

Why Do Many Libraries Hate Books?

Published December 18, 2015

Why do many libraries hate books? Libraries are spending more money on electronic access and meeting pods and cutting back on access to the printed book. The root of library comes from the word book. What do we call them now: Interneteries?

Jack Klasnic Passes

Published December 14, 2015

My friend and partner, Jack Klasnic, is gone. We met in the 1970s and partnered to perform audits of inplant printing facilities.

Frank Romano Explores the New Google Logo

Published December 11, 2015

Google changed their logo. Six letters got a lot of attention. Only three of the letters are unique enough to allow some level of creativity. The three letters that are overly simplistic spell the word “loo.”

Frank Romano on the Printing of the Declaration of Independence

Published December 4, 2015

Someone asked why the Declaration of Independence was not printed. Frank answers the question with a “Yes, it was printed. That’s how most people learned about it.”

Frank Spends Some Time with the New Xerox iGen 5

Published November 20, 2015

Frank spends some time on the show floor at this years' Graph Expo with the Xerox iGen 5. One of three Must See 'Em winners for Xerox, the iGen 5 adds a fifth printing station extending the color gamut giving more brand color flexibility to printers.

Frank Talks Shake Shack Font

Published November 13, 2015

The folks at Shake Shack have selected a sans serif font that goes beyond the umpteen sans serif fonts that already exist. Neutra is a geometric sans serif designed by an architect.

Frank Takes a Walk Around SGIA Expo

Published November 6, 2015

Frank took a walk down one aisle at the Atlanta SGIA show and saw every kind of inkjet printer. Just walking from one end of the show to the other could take 30 minutes. The array of equipment was overwhelming.

Frank Visits LogoJet and Is Amazed by the Range of 3-Dimensional Materials and Objects

Published November 6, 2015

Frank saw a whole tray of golf balls being printed at SGIA and this got his attention. He discovered LogoJet which prints on a wide range of 3-dimensional materials and objects.

Frank's "Promote Print" Mini-Rant

Published October 30, 2015

The paper industry is about to launch a campaign to promote print. Frank goes off on a mini rant about previous attempts to promote print. It's Frank. It's a rant. You'll want to see this.

Frank Talks KFC and Polaroid Cameras (Not Separate Topics)

Published October 23, 2015

Those chicken people at KFC have placed a Bluetooth Polaroid printer at the bottom of a bucket of legs, thighs, and breasts. Frank shows his 30-year old antique Polaroid and tries to plug a Firewire cable into a….You don’t want to know.

Frank on Roycrofters and Elbert Hubbard

Published October 16, 2015

Frank talks about Elbert Hubbard and the Roycrofters of E. Aurora, NY. Hubbard began the American arts and crafts movement and sold printed material via mail order at the turn of the last century.

The Day Frank Romano was Born: In Print!

Published October 9, 2015

Frank collects printed material from and about the day he was born. He has never gotten over it. Frank likes the printed record that follows all of us through life.

Frank Romano talks printing Wikipedia, Counterfeiting, and Harper Lee

Published October 2, 2015

Frank comments on printing out the gazillion pages of Wikipedia, which you can buy for $500,000. You would need an equal amount for the building to house it. He also comments on “printing errors” and amateur forgery.

Frank and Cary Wrap up Graph Expo 2015

Published September 25, 2015

Frank Romano and Cary Sherburne give their wrap up on Graph Expo 2015.

Frank Loves Offset Printing Presses

Published September 18, 2015

Frank kisses a printing press. Words are inadequate. Watch the video.

Frank Talks Inkjet from the Inaugural thINK Conference

Published September 11, 2015

Frank Romano attends the first ever thINK user conference sponsored by Canon Solutions America and talks about the importance of such an event to the industry.

Frank Talks Double Spaces, Comma Exclamations, and Interobangs

Published September 4, 2015

Frank talks about his favorite subject: type—double spaces after a sentence period, the weird combined comma-exclamation point, and the very famous Interobang from 1967.

Frank Talks Fonts with Facebook, Kindle, and Einstein

Published August 28, 2015

Frank talks about the new Facebook logo, the new font for Kindle readers, and a font of Einstein’s handwriting that allows you to write like a genius. Thinking like a genius is something different.

Frank Finds a Bible That Fits on the Head of a Pin

Published August 21, 2015

Frank finds a Bible that fits on the head of a pin. And still has room for angels. He also found recent commentary on the 1632 Wicked Bible that left the word “not” out of one of the commandments.

Frank: Check Out the Graph Expo 2015 Seminar Program!

Published August 14, 2015

Graph Expo is right around the corner and Frank encourages everyone to consider the seminar program when you plan your visit. As you see him wandering the show, say hello.

Frank on Digitally Printed 3-D Images

Published August 7, 2015

Frank is visited by another Frank whose class has made a set of 3-D images with a camera mounted on a drone. Just like your old Viewmaster or even older Steropticon.

Frank Compares Print and Electronic Edition Advertising

Published July 31, 2015

Frank opines on ads in print magazines compared to ads in digital magazines. He likes the impact of the print advertisement compared to the screen-sized version on the computer.

Frank Secret Shops for Greeting Cards

Published July 24, 2015

Frank visits three major drug store chains and buys greeting cards. He discovers the split between US and Chinese production. Frank ends with his own pop-up card that was made in America.

Frank on Mobile Trends' Impact on Print

Published July 17, 2015

New York Times print circulation is down while revenue is up and Frank uses this fact as a springboard to talk about mobile trends.

Frank on Candidate Logos and Typography Choices

Published July 10, 2015

Frank is running for president—just like everyone else. He examines the typography of some of the candidate logos, which are mostly sans serif. Only two are serif fonts. Lots of Avenir and almost no Helvetica.

Frank on Equipment Graveyards, Pre-1919 Full Color Baseball Cards, and Other Potpourri

Published June 26, 2015

Frank has a potpourri of commentary, from a TV typo to equipment graveyard to a print video to pre-1919 full-color baseball cards. Only Frank would find these to be relevant.

Frank: What the Helvetica?!

Published June 19, 2015

What the Helvetica?! Frank goes on a mini-rant when some typographic experts say that Times New Roman is a bad choice for resumes.

Remembering Hermann Zapf

Published June 12, 2015

Frank remembers Hermann Zapf (1918-2015) as one of the world’s great type designers. He shares some personal stories and shows some of Zapf’s works. Includes commentary from Richard Romano.

Frank on Saving Photos, Reading Retention, and Print Catalogs

Published May 29, 2015

Frank has three items that cover saving photos, reading retention, and catalogs. He starts with a Google executive saying that we should print more.

Frank Talks to Color Guru Ed Grainger on the Development of a New Color System

Published May 22, 2015

Frank meets up with color technology legend Ed Grainger at Taga Conference in Albuquerque. Ed was the inventor of the Kodak Approval proofing system and the Colortron. Frank gave him 3 minutes to describe a new system he is developing.

Frank Tours Cal Poly Graphic Communications

Published May 15, 2015

Frank tours the shelves of the Cal Poly Graphic Communications resource room and waxes nostalgic about books, especially his own books

Frank visits Mackenzie & Harris Typefoundry

Published May 8, 2015

Frank visits Mackenzie & Harris on their 100th anniversary. M&H is a hot metal typecaster and letterpress printer based in San Francisco.

Frank: Students Are Paying Too Much For Textbooks

Published May 1, 2015

Frank goes on a mini rant about textbook pricing. Students are paying a small fortune for textbooks because of student loans, government subsidies, and, perhaps, greed.

Frank on a Multi-Drop Approach To High Quality Inkjet Imagery

Published April 24, 2015

Frank talks about technology developer Mitch Bogart and his multi-drop approach to high quality inkjet imagery. Attention: inkjet suppliers—you should watch this.

Frank on JC Penney and its Catalog

Published April 17, 2015

When JC Penney killed their catalog, Frank opined that was the beginning of the end of the retailer. Things did get bad and now they are bringing the catalog back.

Frank on HP's High Definition Nozzle Architecture

Published April 10, 2015

Frank reviews samples from the new HP High Definition Nozzle Architecture for their popular Web Inkjet Press. Spoiler alert: he likes it.

Frank Gets a 3D-Printing Demo from 3D Systems

Published April 3, 2015

Frank gets a demo of 3D printing from Will Sturgeon, 3D Systems' retail training manager. With units as small as a mini-refridgerator, you too can be into 3D printing.

Frank Finds A Way To Save The Printing Industry

Published April 1, 2015

Frank Romano highlights industry news from the past 500 years. Some boring history lesson Zzzzz. Other major announcements include a way to “save the printing industry”.

Frank talks to Patrick Kerr from Kodak about Prepress Workflows

Published March 27, 2015

Frank talks to Patrick Kerr, Technical Product Manager at Eastman Kodak about prepress workflows at the EFI Connect conference in Las Vegas.

Frank Interviews Jim Niemiec of Verso on Papers for Digital Printing

Published March 20, 2015

Frank interviews Jim Niemiec, Product Innovation Manager at Verso, which recently acquired NewPage, on papers for digital printing. As the paper industry contracts, it is still seeing growth in paper for toner and inkjet printing.

Frank on Typewriters and Erasers

Published March 13, 2015

Remember those round red erasers with a brush on the end? Frank is at the Museum of Printing to talk about typewriters and erasers. Plus a game of “what is it?”

Type has been in the news because of # and @ and more

Published March 6, 2015

The renaissance in letterpress printing has been stymied by a shortage of the metal hashtag # and the @ sign. We are running out of typewriter symbols to usurp,

Frank Talks to Larry Zusman about Personalized Promotion

Published February 27, 2015

Larry Zusman is a pioneer in variable data printing and has a lot to say about personalized promotion. Frank caught up with him in Boston in a dark hotel corridor.

Frank spends a few minutes with designer Lance Hidy.

Published February 20, 2015

Frank interviews renowned graphic designer Lance Hidy at the Museum of Printing, who was one of the first creative artists to apply Photoshop.

Frank Begins with a Doorknob and Opens to Doors to an Entire Building

Published February 13, 2015

Frank talks about a unique building in New York City that is part of printing history. It was the first building built for multiple printing tenants.

Frank Visits X-Rite

Published February 6, 2015

Frank visits X-Rite and talks about new color workflows with Shoshana Burgett. X-Rite/Pantone has done a great deal to help brand owners communicate brand colors.

Sweden has its own typeface. Frank says America should have one too

Published January 28, 2015

Frank discusses several options for an all-American font. Helvetica is not an option. After all, it means Switzerland. ATF Americana comes to mind.

Frank has two new Books on the History of the Industry

Published January 23, 2015

In a shameless plug, Frank discusses his two new books about the history of the Linotype company and the phototypesetting era. All proceeds go to education.

Frank on The New Print Buyers: Who They Are, What They Want, and What You Should Do

Published January 16, 2015

Frank Romano reviews a recent report from Margie Dana and John Zarwan on the "New Print Buyer".

We Remember Robert Howard

Published January 12, 2015

Robert Howard, the genius behind the dot matrix printer and the direct imaging press, among many other technologies, passed over the holidays. He was 91. Chairman Bob, as he was called, was surrounded by his wife Kit and family

Frank on Screen Truepress Jet UV and Color-Logic Process Metallic Color System Technology

Published January 9, 2015

Frank shares a print application from Screen using its Truepress Jet UV digital printing platform with Color-Logic's Process Metallic Color System technology. Spoiler alert: He loves it.

Frank on the Changing Nature of Newspapers: Is It Inkjet Time?

Published December 19, 2014

Frank takes a look at the size change of newspapers over the course of 100 years by comparing news of the Titanic with news of current day and posits that newspapers are reaching a size that is coming close to inkjet's sweet spot.

Frank on a New Model for MFP Inkjet Sales

Published December 12, 2014

This week Frank talks inkjet printer ink - the kind you use in your personal office. He discusses Epson's recent announcement to begin offering refillable ink tanks and how this differs from previous sales models.

Frank Reviews the Highcon Technology (Spoiler: He Likes It)

Published December 5, 2014

Frank reviews the Highcon technology - a simple approach, yet very complex. He shows us several examples of what is possible, from packaging, to die cut cards, to stickers, and (coming soon) embossing.

Frank Highlights the New Screen Truepress Jet520HD

Published November 21, 2014

This week, Frank joins us from just outside of Chicago for the introduction of a new roll-fed inkjet press, the Screen Truepresss Jet520 HD.

Frank Talks Color Management (In a Purple Shirt)

Published November 14, 2014

This week, Frank revisits color management, first by thanking the many people involved in a recent comment thread on one of his videos, then by re-stating his opinion that color management is a mess. He also calls for a "Color Summit".

From RIT to Staples, Frank Interviews a Former Student

Published November 7, 2014

RIT graduate Justin Searles joins Frank Romano and talks about his career path since graduating and how he ended up at Staples as Production Manager.

Frank Romano's Media Storage Types Exhibit

Published October 31, 2014

This week, Frank shows off an exhibit he put together consisting of all different forms of media. From jacquard looms, to punch cards, to floppy disks, to DVDs. Frank has the history of storage media covered!

Frank Discovers a Wood Type Revival in New York

Published October 24, 2014

Frank visits Geri McCormick of Virgin Wood Type in Brighton, New York. They discuss how the company is reviving wood type and dig in to the process she uses.

Do Book Covers Still Matter?

Published October 17, 2014

Frank joins us this week with Holly Rollins from RIT as she discusses her thesis on e-books. The question she had was whether book covers were important for e-books as well as physical books. The answer: Yes!

Frank Romano on Color Management

Published October 10, 2014

This week, Frank talks color. Color management, specifically. Today, with all the innovation and years of dealing with it, color management is still an issue. The main problem? No consistent standard.

Another Round of "What's on Frank's Desk?"

Published October 3, 2014

We end a busy Graph Expo week with a lighthearted look at some things that wind up on Frank's desk. A printer in Mexico prints breaking news on hand towels. In Sri Lanka, a special newspaper prints with ink that has mosquito repellant. A "phone book looking booster seat" and Russian security officers trying to sell a stolen Gutenburg bible rounds out the desk pile.

Frank on Graph Expo: Size Doesn't Matter

Published September 30, 2014

Frank Romano joins us from his 41st Graph Expo and discusses the size of the show and why that's the wrong thing to focus on. There is more new stuff at this year's show than he's seen in a long time. In the end, it's not the floor size, but the new solutions changing the industry that matters.

Articles by Frank Romano