Printing Industry Commentary & Analysis

Graphic Arts Employment Continues to Decline; PR Employment Continues to Grow

Published October 26, 2018

Overall printing employment dropped from August to September 2018, and on a year-over-year basis is down -1.5%. Non-production printing employment was up slightly, indicating that production staff are the hardest employees to find. PR employment is again the industry bright spot, employment-wise.

Around the Web: Cameras In the Lens. Recycled Textiles in the Ink. Color in The Hulk. Apocalypse Not in Retail.

Published October 26, 2018

Get a customized reading list from the Brooklyn Public Library. A new process recycles textile waste into dyestuffs. Poor color management made The Hulk green. Shatner Claus? Thwarting the “retail apocalypse.” 200 years of Frankenstein. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

Team Concept Printing Purchases MGI JETVarnish to Expand Offerings

Published October 25, 2018

Tony Rouse, President of Carol Stream, Ill.'s Team Concept Printing, talks to Kelley Holmes about the company's purchase of a new MGI JETVarnish 3-D to offer customers more options and "spice up" print.

Copresco Sees Opportunities in Digital Book Printing

Published October 24, 2018

Steve Johnson, President and CEO of Copresco, talks about the changing industry and the opportunities available in digital book printing.

OKI Pushes the Envelope

Published October 23, 2018

Arthur Verwey, Senior Product Marketing Manager for OKI Data Americas, discusses the company's newest digital envelope presses.

RISO's New Rollfed Inkjet Technology

Published October 23, 2018

Andre D'Urbano, Director of Dealer Sales for RISO, talks about RISO's broad digital inkjet portfolio and introduces a new rollfed option.

The Present and Future of SGIA

Published October 22, 2018

Ford Bowers, President and CEO of SGIA, talks about this year's final SGIA Expo—as well as the future of the association and the expo, as both change with the industry.

Global Graphics On the New PDF 2.0

Published October 22, 2018

Martin Bailey, CTO of Global Graphics, talks with Dave Zwang about the exciting new PDF 2.0 and what it means for the printing industry.

Screen Printers 2010–2016

Published October 19, 2018

From 2010 to 2016, the number of U.S. commercial screen printing establishments increased from 4,454 to 5,150. Growth in screen printing establishments has been consistent from year to year. Chalk this up to the rise of specialty printing.

Around the Web: A Cheesy Book. “Hello, Death.” Watching The Night Watch. Packaging Design Archive Online.

Published October 19, 2018

A new book is nothing but bound slices of cheese. A New Zealand vending machine has a grim message. The Rijksmuseum to livestream a Rembrandt painting restoration. The Museum of London offers a fascinating online archive of package design.

UV-LED Curing Helps Bring Jobs Back to Offset

Published October 18, 2018

Chris Manley, President of Graphco, which represents RMGT in the U.S., talks about how the advantages of UV-LED curing are driving customers to "unplug" their digital presses and move more jobs to offset to increase profitability.

HP’s Alon Bar-Shany on Trends in Labels and Flexible Packaging

Published October 18, 2018

Dave Zwang talks to Alon Bar-Shany, General Manager for HP Indigo, HP Inc., about the growth he has been seeing in both the label and flexible packaging markets, as well as how the industry can learn from past commercial printing experience to avoid pitfalls in the future.

New RSA Releases Help Boost In-Plant Automation and Productivity

Published October 17, 2018

Vince Tutino, Senior Product Manager for Rochester Software Associates (RSA), discusses three updated products designed to increase productivity and automation for in-plants: WebCRD Web to print software, QDirect output manager, and RSA's Universal prepress suite, ReadyPrint.

CloudLab's Tailor-Made Web-to-Print Solutions

Published October 17, 2018

Marc Horriar, CEO and Founder, talks about CloudLab, one of the largest web-to-print vendors in Europe, and whose U.S. branch opened in 2017. CloudLab has more than 200 customers in 25 countries. Some of the largest online print businesses in the world use CloudLab, which focuses on solutions tailored to each business rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

Colter and Peterson Announces New Saber Cutting Line

Published October 16, 2018

Finishing products manufacturer Colter and Peterson has been in the industry for 100 years and continues to innovate the paper finishing business. President Bruce Peterson, grandson of the company's founder, talks with Kelley Holmes about C&P's new line of Saber cutters.

Producing High-Value Print Applications with Scodix's Ultra2 Pro

Published October 15, 2018

Mark Nixon, General Manager for Scodix, introduces the Ultra2 Pro at PRINT 18, able to cast and cure, a process that can create very high-value, digitally embossed applications, from holographics to foil.

SGIA Acquires Graphics of the Americas

Published October 15, 2018

Ford Bowers, President and CEO of SGIA, talks with Cary Sherburne about SGIA's recent acquisition of the Graphics of the Americas show.

Around the Web: Know Your Flower Colors. The Mummy Sells! Self-Destructing Art. Unraveling the CVS Receipt. Mac & Cheese Candy Canes.

Published October 12, 2018

A new book identifies flowers by color. An old movie poster to sell at auction for $1+ million. Closed captioning glasses for live theater. Christmas comestibles: mac and cheese candy canes and Christmas tree-flavored potato chips. Is the Internet of Things trouble waiting to happen? All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

Dead Heat: August 2018 Printing Shipments

Published October 12, 2018

Printing shipments for August 2018 came in at $6.89 billion. That’s essentially even with August 2017’s $6.88 billion on an inflation-adjusted basis.

New Horizons for Standard Finishing Systems

Published October 11, 2018

Paul Steinke, National Sales Manager for Standard Finishing Systems, talks about two new Horizon finishing units on display at PRINT 18: the StitchLiner Mark III and BQ-480 perfect binder, both of which include new automation features.

Ricoh Unveils New Workflow and Data Analytics Solutions

Published October 9, 2018

Ryan Kiley, Director of Strategic Production Services for Ricoh USA, talks about Ricoh Communications Manager and Ricoh Supervisor, the company's new workflow automation and print shop management tools.

Tour the Canon Applications Gallery at PRINT 18

Published October 8, 2018

Join Jennifer Kolloczek, Director of Marketing for Canon Solutions America, on a tour of the #PRINTCANON Applications Gallery at PRINT 18 in Chicago. This fully immersive hotel experience highlights the many applications that customers can add to their own businesses with the help of Canon technology.

Commercial Printers—2016

Published October 5, 2018

In 2016, there were 18,405 total commercial printing establishments (excluding screen and book printers). Half of them have fewer than 5 employees.

Around the Web: Apparel Manufacturing of the Future. Death by Selfie. Memory-Enhancing Font. Ditching Facebook. Fake News. Next-Gen WiFi.

Published October 5, 2018

Print advertising success stories. Sans Forgetica, a font designed for memory retention. Young people are deleting their Facebook app. Social media users expect news to be inaccurate. WiFi 6 is coming; this may not be good news. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

Creative Labels Transitions to Digital

Published October 5, 2018

Chris Martin, VP of Creative Labels, has been in the label business since 1980, and talks to Dave Zwang at Labelexpo about the steps he's taken over the years to transition into digital technologies.

Seamless Cloud-Based Mailing Solutions

Published October 4, 2018

Scott Eganhouse, Vice President of Business Development for TEC Mailing Solutions, talks about the importance of cloud-based mailing, and winning a Red Hot Technology Award at PRINT 18 for their mailing software.

Xante Makes an Impact at PRINT 18

Published October 3, 2018

Robert Ross, President of Xante, talks to Kelley Holmes about the company's successful PRINT 18, which featured their new, interactive classroom booth, as well as the excitement of bringing home three new technology awards.

Eric Hawkinson on @PRINT18 Magazine

Published October 2, 2018

Eric Hawkinson, VP of Marketing for Canon, talks about @PRINT18, the onsite guide to the Chicago conference, printed on the Canon Océ ProStream Series Production Inkjet Device.

Kicking Off PRINT 18

Published October 1, 2018

Thayer Long, President of the Association for PRINT Technologies (APTech), talks with Kelley Holmes about PRINT 18's opening day and APTech's new membership option for print service providers.

Book Printers—2016

Published September 28, 2018

In 2016, there were 421 total book printing establishments. The majority have under 10 employees. This is similar to what we find in general commercial printing—yet different.

Around the Web: Manipulating Buybacks. The Ugliest Color. New Words for Scrabble Fans. Lithophones. How Not to Catch a Plane. 3D Printed Dog Skulls.

Published September 28, 2018

Research has identified down to the Pantone number the least attractive color. Merriam-Webster adds 300 new words to the Official Scrabble Dictionary. A nine-year-old dachshund is helped by 3D printing. The pen is still mightier. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

The Changing Book Printing Market

Published September 26, 2018

Jim Clark, Director of Operations for McNaughton and Gunn, talks to Dave Zwang about the changing trends that the 42-year-old book printing business has been seeing. While offset is still the mainstay, digital is by far the fastest growing part of the business.

Sanford Health Uses Production Inkjet to Streamline Workflow

Published September 24, 2018

Lisa Stelter of Sanford Health discusses how the organization handles their in-house printing, their installation of a Canon Océ VarioPrint i300, and how the combination of their printing facilities has saved money and streamlined their workflow.

July 2018 Printing Shipments: We Have Some Good News and Some Bad News

Published September 21, 2018

Printing shipments for July 2018 came in at $6.31 billion—that’s down -3.4% from June, but it’s up +2.3% from July 2017. We’ll take whatever victories we can.

Around the Web: Odor Eating Fabric. Times Newer Roman. Rest in Personalization. Robot Rumpus. Modeling Movement. In Praise of Luddites. Pen Packaging Put-On.

Published September 21, 2018

New odor-capturing fabric finishes. Cheat on your homework with a variant of Times New Roman. New documentary on a prominent “coffin artist.” Turn any object into a robot. Turn 2D videos into 3D objects. The pen is mightier than the packaging. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

United Mail Invests in a Canon i300

Published September 20, 2018

Casey Hendrick, President of Production for United Mail, talks about the company's offerings—predominantly in the health and financial industries—and the company's integration of the new Canon Océ VarioPrint i300.

Inkjet Growth Continues to Make an Impact on the Market

Published September 19, 2018

Amy Machado of IDC Research talks about her recent inkjet forecast for the entire color market. Overall numbers show that the inkjet market is growing, thanks to quality improvements and the availability of more options.

Core Publishing Solutions Switch to Production Inkjet for Book Publishing

Published September 17, 2018

Todd Roth, VP of Manufacturing and Distribution, Core Publishing Solutions, at Thomson Reuters, discusses the company's background in web press applications, their move into production inkjet, and their new venture selling book manufacturing for other publishers.

Around the Web: Ancient Art. Avian Economists. Insect Imaging. Deterring Drivers. Planetary Palaver.

Published September 14, 2018

How to hurricane-proof your outdoor digital signage. The oldest human drawing. Do parrots know economics? New color from weevils. An optical illusion-based crosswalk thwarts speeders. New arguments for Pluto’s planethood. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

Book Printers—2010–2016

Published September 14, 2018

In 2010, there were 536 book printing establishments. In the ensuing six years, the establishment count would drop -21%. So says our Commercial Printing Establishments tracker.

PRINT 18 Is Just Weeks Away

Published September 12, 2018

Kelley Holmes of WhatTheyThink, talks with Thayer Long, President of the Association for PRINT Technologies, about what to expect at PRINT 18 just a few weeks away in Chicago.

Embracing the Changing Workforce

Published September 11, 2018

Marco Boer, Vice President of IT Strategies, discusses the future of print manufacturing and how the industry will need to adjust to a growing millennial workforce.

Around the Web: 3D Printing and Disruption – New Piezo Printing Process – The New Corporate Font – High-Viscosity Printing – Truth in Stock Market Reporting – This Week in Printing History

Published September 7, 2018

A special fashion model inspires the design industry. A new font for brands encompasses all brands. A new printer technology can print very viscous liquids. An honest stock report. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

Words of the Profits

Published September 7, 2018

Looking at the most recent industry profits data that came out earlier this week, we continue to tell the “tale of two cities.” Low profitability of large printers is dragging down average industry profitability. For the industry as a whole, cracking—or re-cracking—$4 billion in profits is proving to be an elusive goal.

Frank Celebrates 50 Years of PRINT

Published September 7, 2018

Frank commemorates the 50th anniversary of the first PRINT show. Held in June 1968 in Chicago, PRINT 68 was the first major industry event of the modern era, comprising 274,000 square feet and 400 exhibitors. It was the first show where hot metal typesetting was not on display (it was the dawning of the age of phototypesetting) and the first to have web offset presses running on the show floor. Attendees lined up around the block to get in.

thINK Forum 2018 Kicks Off

Published September 6, 2018

WhatTheyThink's Kelley Holmes talks to Eric Hawkinson, VP of Marketing, Canon Solutions America, about the thINK Forum 2018 which started yesterday with an Inkjet 101 boot camp hosted at CSA's Customer Experience Center in Boca Raton, Fla. More than 600 people attended this year's event to share knowledge, network, and be inspired.

Around the Web: Shopping for Preferences – Ancient Gripes – The Kids Are Offline – Chinese Typewriters – Earnings Reports: A Modest Proposal – The E-Horse – This Week in Printing History

Published August 31, 2018

The world’s oldest customer complaint was etched in clay. A modern twist on the old “spend a penny.” Today’s teens are not as wired as we thought. Twice-yearly earnings reports? The case for daily earnings reports. Researchers use 3D-printed boxes to help search for new antibiotics. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

Mid-Size Establishments—2010–2016

Published August 31, 2018

In 2010, there were 6,725 10–19-employee commercial printing establishments. Among this demographic category, there was the most precipitous drop from 2010 to 2011—the fallout from the Great Recession which started to take its toll after 2009. By 2012, the bleeding had been largely stanched, and the year-to-year declines were more modest. So says our recently launched Commercial Printing Establishments tracker.

A Wealth of Activities and Programs at Upcoming PRINT 18

Published August 29, 2018

Julie Shaffer talks about the speakers and activities scheduled for PRINT 18 in Chicago, Sept. 30-Oct. 2.

Canadian Printing Shipments

Published August 24, 2018

Looking at the 12-month moving average of Canada’s printing shipments, it may look like Canada’s printing industry has been holding steady, but the inflation-adjusted figures show a slight decline from a recent peak at the end of 2013.

Around the Web: 3M Wraps Itself. Cool Caps. Trillions of Dollars. Fur-Ternity Leave. Tor Nada. This Week in Printing History.

Published August 24, 2018

3M wraps its own headquarters. UNITED CAPS develops bio-sourced plastics for its caps. How much paper would it take to print the Internet? Are library ebooks killing sales? All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

Brands Need to Get Personal

Published August 20, 2018

Doris Brown-McNally of HP Graphic Solutions, talks about the top three ways to engage millennials and Gen Zers with brands, from personalizing a brand message to the use of augmented reality.

Around the Web: Small Business Optimism – Action Towels – What’s an Ad Worth? – Dumbing Phones – Cheese of the Pharaohs – This Week in Printing History

Published August 17, 2018

The latest NFIB Small Business Optimism Index. Towels made of recycled bottles. Stopping “stalking ads.” Making phones just a little less smart. The world’s oldest cheese. Modern American prints from 1920-1948. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

Consolidation Among Large Print Businesses: 2010–2016

Published August 17, 2018

In 2010, there were 2,124 establishments having 50 or more employees. By 2016, they had dropped to 1,851 (down -13%). So says our new Commercial Printing Establishments tracker, based on data from the Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns, which presents—in spreadsheet form—U.S. commercial printing establishments from 2010 to 2016, broken down by six different print business classifications and nine employee-size breakdowns.

The Success of Roll-Fed Inkjet and Importance of Finishing

Published August 15, 2018

Mark Hunt, Director of Strategic Alliances for Standard Finishing Systems, discusses the reasons behind the surge of popularity in roll-fed inkjet, and the importance of finishing. He also discusses what to expect at Hunkeler Innovations Days 2019.

The Ups and Downs in the Future of Print

Published August 13, 2018

Kip Cassino, Executive Vice President of Borrell Associates, discusses the cross-generational evolution of print: what's expected to grow and what's expected to decline in the coming years.

Printing Shipments Head Into the Dog Days of Summer

Published August 10, 2018

The inflation-adjusted value of printing shipments for June 2018 were down from $6.9 billion in May to $6.5 billion in June. On the plus side, it’s not appreciably below the $6.6 billion reported in June 2017.

Around the Web: A Book of Wood – A Felt Supermarket – Amish Uber – Robot Coworkers – Cookie War – This Week in Printing History

Published August 10, 2018

A book consisting entirely of pieces of wood. How to foil a car thief: drive a stick. The gig economy is surging...but only in Amish country. Survey says: workers are cool with robot coworkers. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

Frank Looks Back at—and Ahead to—Printing News

Published August 10, 2018

Frank traces the history of Printing News from its beginning in 1928, and its founder and editor, Leo Joachim. Few magazines have made it to 90 years and Frank is glad that the new relationship between WhatTheyThink and Printing News will see a printed magazine continue. Especially for the printing industry.

Around the Web: PPI Executive Director Jules VanSant Steps Down – Ambigrams and Lipograms – Customized Cars – Mad Men No More – This Week in Printing History

Published August 3, 2018

After 12 years of leadership, Jules VanSant is stepping down as PPI Executive Director. Unusual typography. Automakers look to digitally printed auto parts. Don Draper—and even Darrin Stephens—are ad men of the past. The semaphore origin of the peace symbol. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

WhatTheyThink Launches New Industry Establishment Data Series

Published August 3, 2018

Our new Commercial Printing Establishments tracker, based on data from the Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns, presents—in spreadsheet form—U.S. commercial printing establishments from 2010 to 2016, broken down by six different print business classifications and nine employee-size breakdowns.

June Printing Employment Down Y/Y

Published July 27, 2018

Overall, printing employment ticked up from May to June 2018, but on a year-over-year basis is down -1.8% from June 2017. Among the creative markets, PR is the place to be.

Around the Web: Amazon to Replace Libraries? – Book Fore-Edge Painting – The Truth About Recycled Clothing – Japan’s Looming “Y2K”-Like Problem – This Week in Printing History

Published July 27, 2018

Forbes columnist suggests replacing public libraries with Amazon stores, for some reason. The economic costs of comma misuse. Built-in sun protection for garments. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

Kelley Holmes Talks About Printing News Joining WhatTheyThink

Published July 23, 2018

WhatTheyThink today announced that the Printing News Group is joining the organization to strengthen the industry’s most extensive independent news and analysis platform with both print and digital media covering commercial printing, wide format, labels, packaging, signage, specialty graphics, textiles and other industrial applications of print technology.

Around the Web: The Virtual Dressing Room – Cool Threads – Underwear Knife – Biobased Car – This Week in Printing History

Published July 20, 2018

Try on clothes virtually. As bad as flying is, it used to be worse. World’s first biobased, circular car has been successfully designed and built. Men’s boxer shorts turned into a knife. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

May Printing Shipments Up from April, Closing in on 2017 Levels

Published July 13, 2018

Printing shipments for May 2018 came in at $6.77 billion, up +3.1% from April. However, on an inflation-adjusted basis, May 2018 came in below the $6.92 billion reported in May 2017, and is well below the recent high of $7.46 billion back in May 2016.

Around the Web: Pet Allergen-Free Textiles – Social Media Around the World – Pink Is the Oldest Color – 3D Printed Car – A Decade of Smartphone Apps – This Week in Printing History

Published July 13, 2018

A new technology can remove pet allergens from textiles (and that’s nothing to sneeze at). The retail transformation heats up. Scientists find the oldest (1.1 billion years) colors. ColorZenith uses Massivit technology to 3D print a classic car for Milan’s La Scala opera house. The Morgan Library & Museum in NYC is exhibiting a unique autograph collection. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

From Traditional to Digital in Corrugated

Published July 11, 2018

Chuck Slingerland, Vice President of Sales and Digital Operations for Abbott-Action, takes us through the digital journey for a traditional corrugated converter.

Around the Web: New Water-Repellent Textiles – A 3D Printing Playbook – CliffsNotes for Food Labels – Missile Mail! – Public Libraries’ Streaming Services – This Week in Printing History

Published July 6, 2018

A new process reduces the environmental impact of water-repellent textiles. Harvard Business Review looks at new possibilities for 3D printing. New health benefits of coffee. The best streaming service may just be your public library. RIP Harlan Ellison. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

Around the Web: Amazon’s On-Demand T-shirts – Cooking a 4,000-year-old recipe – “Cash is grief” – Mary Meeker Slide Roulette – This Week in Printing History

Published June 29, 2018

A "historical culinary event" featured a 4,000-year-old Mesopotamian recipe carved on a cuneiform tablet. Modern air conditioning was originally invented for a Brooklyn commercial print shop. Amazon beats out Google for product searches. The World Cup gives a lift to streaming services. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

Hume Media Switches to Inkjet with Xerox Technology

Published June 28, 2018

John Hume, President of Hume Media Inc., talks about the history of his company and the upgrades he's made to his printing equipment over the years, first with the Xerox iGen and now Brenva HD production inkjet press.

Around the Web: No More Sweater Pilling – Body Scanning – That Micro Moment – Flexo Innovation – Mary Meeker Slide Roulette – Escalators!!! – This Week in Printing History

Published June 22, 2018

Australian researchers have found a way to minimize unsightly pilling and help garments look better longer. HyperCard, the first application for creating interactive documents, was inspired by an acid trip. Fad Fashion? Micro Moments? Learn the new textile lexicon. Rats break into an ATM and eat $17K in cash. A random slide from Mary Meeker’s “Internet Trends Report.” Amazon’s Alexa will soon be sharing your hotel room. A keyboard that can fit in your pocket. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

Around the Web: Bats in the Biblioteca – Mary Meeker Slide Roulette – DIY T Shirt Printing – “Recycled” Ancient Manuscripts – Bloomsday – This Week in Printing History

Published June 15, 2018

A library in Portugal uses a colony of bats to help preserve old books and documents. The UK is confounded by the name change from “Salad Cream” to “Sandwich Cream.” The new heroes of our age: Country Time Lemonade and Domino’s Pizza? A random slide from Mary Meeker’s “Internet Trends Report.” Uncovering lost “data” from ancient manuscripts. What happened this week in printing and publishing history. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

Trends in High-Performance Apparel

Published June 14, 2018

Mark Sunderland, Textile Engineer and Strategist at Thomas Jefferson University, discusses high-performance apparel and products, including new and emerging trends in moisture management and "wearables."

In-Plants and Outsourcing: The Perennial Problem

Published June 13, 2018

At this year's IPMA Conference, Howie Fenton addresses one of the perennial challenges that in-plant printing departments face: their parent company outsourcing print and other related work. He offers some suggestions for bringing that work back in-house.

IPMA 2018 Conference Update: In-Plant Printing Trends and Challenges

Published June 12, 2018

Mike Loyd, Executive Director of the In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association (IPMA), talks about the major trends affecting in-plant printing departments, the challenges faced by in-plant operations managers, and the value of the annual IPMA Conference.

Around the Web: GDPR as Sleep Therapy – Vintage NSA Workplace Posters – “Smart Hemp” – New iOS AR Features – Mary Meeker Slide Roulette – Mermaids for Hire – This Week in Printing History

Published June 8, 2018

Government Attic discovered a load of NSA workplace posters from the 50s, 60s, and 70s—you can even get them on a T shirt. A 3D printer outputs custom-designed pancakes. Don’t call it “dope”: hemp used for intelligent textiles. A random slide from Mary Meeker’s “Internet Trends Report.” What happened this week in printing and publishing history. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

New EFI Reggiani Pigment Textile Ink Eliminates Need for Post-Treatment

Published June 8, 2018

Giorgio Sala of EFI Reggiani talks about the company's new pigment-based ink for the FLEXY textile printer. The new ink contains a binder that eliminates the need for post-treatment, such as washing or steaming of the fabric, after printing.

Famous Last Words

Published June 8, 2018

There are about 8,000 spoken languages left on this planet and they are disappearing at one language every two weeks. Some have fewer than 1,000 speakers left. Frank opines in what we think is English.

Mimaki Unleashes New Tiger Textile Printing System

Published June 7, 2018

Bert Benckhuysen, Senior Product Manager, EMEA, for Mimaki, introduces the new Tiger textile printing system, capable of both direct-to-fabric and transfer-based dye sublimation. Mimaki has also incorporated Tiger into its own microfactory concept for fast fashion and other textile-based applications.

Scott Schinlever Continues Analog-to-Digital Transformation at Gerber Technology

Published June 7, 2018

Scott Schinlever, President of Automation Services for Gerber Technology, discusses the similarities and differences between digital and analog, as well as his move from EFI to Gerber.

Durst's Textile Printing Strategy

Published June 6, 2018

Fabio Gromo, Global Sales Manager of Textile Printing for durst, describes the durst line of textile printers and capabilities as well as the company's strategies with respect to the digital textile printing industry.

Factors Driving the Growth of Industrial Printing

Published June 6, 2018

Marcus Timson, Co-Founder of the InPrint Industrial Inkjet Conference, discusses the reasons for the growing popularity of industrial printing, including the plateauing of traditional print markets, the maturity of digital inkjet and its advantages in industrial applications, and changing consumer behaviors.

SAi Brings AR Capabilities to Signmaking

Published June 4, 2018

Annette Plummer, Director of Marketing for SAi, a developer of software for the signmaking industry, discusses the use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in signmaking.

RadLaunch Helps Start-Ups Make Connections

Published June 4, 2018

Nir Waiskopf, Ph.D., of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, attended the RadTech UV+EB 2018 Conference as part of RadLaunch, an "idea accelerator" for start-ups, students, and innovators. Dr. Waiskopf chose the RadTech conference for its educational and networking opportunities, seeking potential collaborators and partners for some of the projects he is helping develop.

Around the Web: E License Plates – Direct-to-Egg Printing – Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends Report – 36 Days of Type – This Week in Printing History

Published June 1, 2018

California experiments with E Ink-based license plates. Mary Meeker’s hotly anticipated annual Internet trends presentation has arrived. The first “cyberattack” took place nearly 200 years ago. A beautiful and brilliant collection of crowdsourced letter and number designs. ANA Acquires DMA. What happened this week in printing and publishing history. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

Roland Is Looking for Heroes

Published June 1, 2018

At FESPA Berlin, Gillian Montanaro, Head of Marketing for EMEA Roland, talks about the launch of the Roland Hero Campaign, in which Roland collects and presents their customers' inspiring stories. (For more information, visit www.rolandhero.com.)

Frank Thinks Around the Outside of the Box

Published June 1, 2018

A visitor to the Museum of Printing donated an old, handheld rotary letterpress device for marking boxes and cartons. Frank dates it back to the early 20th century, and contrasts it with a modern, handheld digital inkjet box-marking printer.

Dacar Digital Printing Purchases 100th EFI Roll-to-Roll Device

Published May 31, 2018

At FESPA 2018, EFI sold its 100th roll-to-roll device to Belgium's Dacar Digital Printing. Dacar's Dennis van der Lingen talks about his wide-format printing company that serves the Benelux region, talks about the kind of print work the company does, and the opportunities that are enabled by EFI products.

Lectra Launches Cutting 4.0, A New Platform for Textile Cutting

Published May 31, 2018

Frederic Gaillard, VP of Product Marketing for Lectra, talks to Cary Sherburne about Cutting 4.0, Lectra's new smart cutter for textile cutting that interfaces with Lectra Digital Cutting, a new cloud-based cutting platform. The machine receives orders and executes them, and sends back data so the entire process can be controlled in real time. The platform is designed to address the new challenges the company sees in the market, such as small runs and customization. The new platform also includes a fabric library.

Lighting and Color in Retail Spaces

Published May 30, 2018

Ann Laidlaw, Consultant for ACL Color Consulting LLC, talks to Cary Sherburne about how ambient lighting impacts our perception of color—an important consideration in retail environments where the lighting under which a consumer views a garment may be different from that under which the garment was manufactured. Compounding the problem is the latest trend toward LED lighting (of which there are many different kinds) in retail stores, which can impact how a particular colored garment is perceived.

When Launching a Business or a Product, Don’t Skimp on Marketing

Published May 30, 2018

Mark Abramson, President of Printform Corporation, talks about his experiences in starting a business that produces specialty-printed products, as well as his efforts in helping other entrepreneurs launch wide-format, industrial, and other specialty products. He shares some pieces of advice for success, a key one being to invest at least as much in marketing as in any other part of the business.

Streamlining and Automating On-Demand Textile Production

Published May 29, 2018

Kirby Best, President and CEO of Purchase Activated Apparel Technologies (PAAT), talks about one of the biggest challenges he found in the analog-to-digital transformation of textile printing: the difficulty of feeding information to the production equipment. To realize all the advantage of on-demand production, all the systems within the operation need to be in sync and "talking" to each other. He talks to Cary Sherburne about how PAAT overcame that challenge.

EFI's Inkjet Philosophy

Published May 29, 2018

Josh Samuel, Director of Ink Development at EFI, talks to David Zwang about EFI's inkjet philosophy: helping companies and even entire industries make a seamless transformation from analog to digital. EFI offers the machines, the inks, and the software as a larger system to help customers make that transformation.

Inside FESPA 2018's Print Make Wear "Fast Fashion" Microfactory

Published May 25, 2018

Debbie McKeegan, Textile Ambassador for FESPA 2018, walks us through the Print Make Wear microfactory and demonstrates the process of textile printing from beginning to end.

Around the Web: Investing in the Swamp – The Quest for Red Pigment – Scented Postage – The Retail Apocalypse Deferred – Blockchain and Digital Signage – Towel Day

Published May 25, 2018

Investing in companies by how much they spend on lobbying. Searching for a safe, bright red pigment. Making your mail smell like popsicles. Exaggerating the death of retail. All that and more in WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany.

Product and Technology Changes Afoot at Xeikon

Published May 24, 2018

At the recent Xeikon Café, Filip Weymans, Vice President of Marketing for Xeikon, discusses some recent technology and product changes that customers can look forward to, from the addition of dry toner and UV inkjet to a complete digital technology upgrade.

SEAMS: The Voice of the Sewn Products Industry

Published May 24, 2018

At this week's TechTextil, Will Duncan, Executive Director of SEAMS, talks about SEAMS which, for 50 years, has been the "voice" of the U.S. sewn products industry. Members include brands and retailers, as well as the textile supply sector. "Made in America" is the association's main initiative.

New 3D Hologram Solution for Label and Packaging Security

Published May 23, 2018

Matt Hirsch Ph.D., Co-Founder and CTO of Lumii, talks to David Zwang about a new solution for label and packaging security that allows 2D printers and presses generate holographic 3D effects. Using proprietary algorithms and Terascale computing, the Lumii Light Field Engine calculates the exact patterns for a duplex print from a single image to create a visual 3D object from a 2D pattern.

Techtextil 2018: New Technologies—and Challenges—for Textile Printing

Published May 23, 2018

Brian Francois, Executive Vice President of AATCC, discusses the analog-to-digital transformation in textile printing, and identifies such emerging challenges as wearable technology and developing and implementing color standards for LED lighting.

Articles by WhatTheyThink