Irvine, Calif.’s Sir Speedy Relies on Automation

Published September 9, 2019

Kelley Holmes talks to Kathy Morgan, President of Sir Speedy Printing & Signs in Irvine, Calif., about the changes she has seen in commercial printing over her 30+ years in the industry, such as the transition from offset to digital printing and an increased emphasis on automation.

Around the Web: AI vs. WTT Round 2. Temporary Text. Fast Food. Siri-ous Sneaker. Dim Bulbs. Forest Bathing. Plastic People. Erse Erudition.

Published September 6, 2019

Artificial intelligence attempts to write a wide-format story. “The World’s Most Dangerous Writing App.” Digital signage is too fast. Editor & Publisher sold. Nike’s Self-Lacing Sneakers. How to keep Slack from driving you crazy. All about “forest bathing.” Hide and seek in IKEA. Are we in a true “Age of Plastic”? A revised online dictionary of Medieval Irish. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

From the Classroom to the Pressroom

Published September 4, 2019

Kelley Holmes talks to Adam Pelzek of Pip Printing New England about his transition from teaching to the family printing business, founded by his father and uncle more than 40 years ago. He also shares his perspective on Millennials’ perceptions of print and the printing industry.

Memjet Announces DuraFlex: A Further Evolution of Memjet’s Inkjet Printing Technology

Published September 3, 2019

Memjet Announces DuraFlex. This powerful new technology combines speed, flexibility and simplicity to create a new breed of high-performance benchtop and entry-level press platforms for a wide range of markets. Press release from issuing company.

Lessons Learned About Color Gamut

Published September 3, 2019

The sheer number of factors that affect the color gamut in production inkjet can be overwhelming. Whether you are a Print Services Provider or a buyer of inkjet-printed products, these color gamut factors matter. IWCO Direct spends a lot of time answering these questions internally and for customers. Here are some of the things they've learned thus far.

Printing Establishment Births and Deaths

Published August 30, 2019

From 2015 to 2016, there was an increase of +1,586 printing establishments and a decrease of -1,881 establishments, for a net loss of -295 establishments.

Around the Web: Fashion Pact. Bug Barrier. Book Sales. Caption Contretemps. Capital Ideas. AI vs. WTT. 80s iPhones. Elemental.

Published August 30, 2019

G7 takes on fashion sustainability. Graphene vs. mosquitoes. AAP’s latest book sales figures for January to June 2019. Is captioning audiobooks illegal? How to capitalize headlines. Can AI write for WhatTheyThink? What would a 1980s-era iPhone have looked like? Whither the Periodic Table? All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Thin LED Panels Are Good for Plastic or Fabric Signage

Published August 29, 2019

Aleksandr Karasyk, President of Elephant US, talks about the company's thin, double-sided, LED panels and its journey from the Ukraine to the U.S.

Production Inkjet - Time to Take Stock

Published August 27, 2019

Production inkjet solutions are proliferating. The quality of many of the solutions has finally reached that of offset, and the productivity has surpassed that of toner. There are also a lot more options and opportunities. Perhaps it is time to step back and take stock of where we are and where things could be going?

VALEZUS, a New Brand for the Production-printing Market

Published August 23, 2019

RISO announces the launch of VALEZUS, a new brand of high-speed ink-jet printers for the production-printing market. The first product of the new brand, the VALEZUS T2100, is a high-speed full-color cut-sheet inkjet printer producing up to 320 A4 images per minute.

Around the Web: Bogus Books. Letterpress Lovecraft. Online Occultiana. Crazy Cards. Bothersome Billboards. Migrating Mattresses. Farewell, FogCam.

Published August 23, 2019

Amazon sells fake Orwell titles. An experiential letterpress-printed book inspired by H.P. Lovecraft. Amsterdam’s occult library digitizes its collection. Memorable baseball card photos. The Apple Card: Leave home without it? New York’s continued war on digital offshore billboards. “Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Is an Economic Indicator.” The longest-running webcam is going dark. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Fujifilm's J Press 750S Achieves ISO/PAS 15339 System Certification and Master Elite Status From Idealliance

Published August 20, 2019

This achievement puts Fujifilm into a category of its own

For Pip Printing New England, Mailing Services Are on the Rise

Published August 20, 2019

Bob Pelzek, President of Pip Printing New England, talks about his 43 years in the business, and how he has navigated the industry’s changing trends. Lately, Pip Printing New England has branched into signage, and Pelzek comments on the rise, fall, and resurgence of the mailing services business.

Don’t Be Surprised by Web and Sheet-Fed Ink Cost

Published August 19, 2019

Web-fed inkjet devices with UV or hybrid solvent/aqueous pigment inks are delivering amazing quality on an ever-expanding range of media. Factoring the cost of ink into your buying decision may make you think twice about going web or sheet fed.

June Printing Shipments: The Dog Days of Summer Begin

Published August 16, 2019

Printing shipments for June 2019 were—as expected—down from May, and came in slightly below June 2018.

Around the Web: Graphene Gown. Adversarial Fashion. Smart Ovens, Dumb Choices. Amazon Airbnb. Big Apple Retail Apocalypse. Crazy Train. Implantables.

Published August 16, 2019

A fashion line designed to mess with surveillance cameras. The smart device invasion. A Seattle Airbnb that offers a mock Amazon job interview. High-profile shopping meccas in NYC shut down. Ozzy Osbourne is an actual genetic mutant (as we all suspected). You can now store your data—and your car keys—inside your body. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Throwback Thursday - Hunkeler Innovation Days

Published August 15, 2019

Review a series of videos covering the production inkjet exhibitors at Hunkeler Innovation Days 2019. The print samples were stunning and, of course at Hunkeler, the finishing options were amazing. Watch this recap and you'll feel like you were in Lucerne with us.

Paper is Everyone's Problem

Published August 14, 2019

Most inkjet applications require paper. For many reasons, compatible inkjet paper is in short supply. If you are involved in the inkjet print supply chain, or a buyer of the finished product, it is in your best interest to help clear hurdles to identify and qualify compatible papers and to communicate availability as efficiently as possible.

Electronics For Imaging Appoints Jeff Jacobson as Chief Executive Officer

Published August 13, 2019

Quick Printing at its Finest

Published August 13, 2019

Kelley Holmes talks with Eileen Rosenzweig, President of Sir Speedy Sarasota in Florida. Rosenzweig is a second-generation Sir Speedy owner and has been in the business 33 years. Sir Speedy Sarasota is “a very big small printer” and offers full-service commercial printing and signage.

Corrugated and Solid Fiber Box Manufacturing Establishments—2016

Published August 9, 2019

in 2016, there were 1,200 establishments in NAICS 322211 (Corrugated and Solid Fiber Box Manufacturing). About half of these establishments (49%) have 50 or more employees and more than two-thirds (71%) have 20 or more employees.

Around the Web: Mobile Medals. Human Tails. Reviving Bookshops. Ugly Gerry. Dog Mode. Artificial Tongue. Libeling Parrots.

Published August 9, 2019

The medals for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics are being made from recycled mobile phones. An Irish teen wins the Google Science Fair for a system for removing microplastics from the oceans. Can Waterstones’ savior duplicate that success for Barnes & Noble? A typeface based on heinously gerrymandered Congressional districts. Scottish researchers develop an artificial tongue for whisky tasting. 3M streamlines packaging material. If you’re a UK publisher, go ahead and insult all the parrots you want. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Sir Speedy Tampa Sees Strong Growth in Signage

Published August 8, 2019

Kelley Holmes talks with Steve Albritton, President & CEO of Sir Speedy Tampa, about the marketing tips he picked up at the Franchise Services Annual Convention, as well as some exciting recent projects he has worked on, including signage and display graphics.

Hybrid Inkjet: What Does That Mean?

Published August 7, 2019

Elizabeth Gooding chats with Pat McGrew about the many aspects of hybrid inkjet printing and the opportunities it presents to organizations currently using offset. Many commercial firms are already using some form of inkjet - but opportunities for further personalization and embellishment are growing.

Welcome to the Inkjet Revolution—Front Line Report from Rochester’s Mercury Printing

Published August 6, 2019

David Zwang cites Mercury printing as one of the most interesting and exciting printing companies he has seen. And they have made it a practice to leverage new technologies throughout the life of the company to revolutionize their business. Read coverage on their investment and integration of technology from Landa, Xerox and Manroland Goss.

2019 InterTech Technology Award Recognizes Inkjet Advancements

Published August 6, 2019

Inkjet advancements from Canon Solutions America, Global Graphics Software, HP Inc and Ricoh USA recognized in 2019 InterTech Awards.

June Jobs: Up in the Short Term, Down in the Long Term

Published August 2, 2019

In June, overall printing employment grew +0.5% from May to June 2019. On a year-over-year basis, it is down -2.5%. Production employment was up +0.4% from May to June, but year-over-year was down -4.9%. Non-production employment was up +0.7% from May to June, and year-over-year was up +2.6%.

Around the Web: Mechanical Marketers. Breathable Lava Suits. Smart Diapers. Wearable Air Conditioners. Paper Organs. Geomessages. Butternauts! Words About Words. Craving Carvers. Rebooted Airplanes.

Published August 2, 2019

Chase replaces its copywriters with AI. What to wear when immersed in molten rock. “If only there were a way to determine when a diaper needed changing...” Look cool being cool. Creating organ models from maps of Zürich, for some reason. Sending messages via geomapping. The dictionary explains “fursona,” upsettingly. The stone carver job market heats up. New books for language nerds. “We will start boarding as soon as the plane has rebooted.” All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Throwback Thursday with Landa and Zwang

Published August 1, 2019

Converted Paper Product Manufacturing Establishments—2016

Published July 26, 2019

in 2016, there were 3,638 establishments in NAICS 3222 (Converted Paper Product Manufacturing). More than four out of 10 of these establishments (42%) have 50 or more employees and two-thirds (65%) have 20 or more employees.

Around the Web: Medical Tattooing. Etsy Faces the Music. Guinness’ Road Less Traveled. Another Press Conference Cat-astrophe. Slugs in Medieval Manuscripts. Wienerbnb.

Published July 26, 2019

Disney’s “Escape from the Haunted Mansion” papercraft. Tattoos that function as medical diagnostics. Etsy buys musical marketplace. What technology will be obsolete in your lifetime? Is the world’s steepest road really the steepest in the world? What is it with these cat filters? A long, but well-worth-it Twitter thread about slugs in Medieval manuscript illumination. Spend a night in the Wienermobile...if you dare. “Disruption has come for toilet paper.” All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Major upgrades to the Océ ProStream 1000

Published July 24, 2019

Tom Leibrandt, Product Marketing Manager with Canon Solutions America  shows off some major upgrades to the Océ ProStream 1000 that expand its capabilities to a wider array of media while making print quality more consistent.

Delphax Solutions Inc. and Prime Data Inc.

Published July 19, 2019

Delphax Solutions Inc. announces Elan HD Inkjet Platform Upgrade at Prime Data Inc.Prime Data, an early adopter of the Elan platform, is the first company to field upgrade their existing Elan system to DSI’s new “Elan HD” platform. This new platform provides significant quality and production benefits against not only the previous generation of Elan, but also against other digital production devices.

May Printing Shipments Up from April

Published July 19, 2019

Printing shipments for May 2019 were up from April—and even came in above May 2018 shipments, albeit only very slightly.

Around the Web: Newspaperless Starbucks. Printless Textbooks. Madless Al Jaffee. Memeless TikTok. Painless Airplane Seats? Monkless Chanting. Methless Gators.

Published July 19, 2019

Starbucks stops selling newspapers. Pearson switches to etextbooks. All about the semicolon. Coder Margaret Hamilton saved the Apollo 11 mission. The inventor of the computer password is ******. What is TikTok? IBM patents a smartwatch that unfolds into a tablet. Whatever happened to all those Bob Ross paintings? F. Scott Fitzgerald and “cocktail” as a verb. Heavy metal knitting. Twinkies for Breakfast. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

FSI’s Rich Lowe on the Latest Trends Affecting Print Franchises

Published July 19, 2019

Rich Lowe of Franchise Services talks to Kelley Holmes at this week’s Franchise Services Convention about current trends in the marketplace affecting print franchises and their customers. Specifically, franchises have had to learn how to really be a marketing services provider, how to work with data, and have had to understand the sign business.

Six Sensible Steps Towards Doing More with Inkjet - Webinar

Published July 15, 2019

Whether you are currently using production inkjet or considering investing in your first press, you will want to understand how inkjet can help you enter new markets, or do more for the customers you have now. Not every market will be a fit but we will help you understand how to evaluate options at our free webinar on July 17.

PR Agency Employees—2010–2016

Published July 12, 2019

In 2016, there were 58,489 employees in establishments in NAICS 54182 (Public Relations Agencies). Employment in this category has grown +17% from 2010 to 2016.

Around the Web: Knitted Sensors. Disabled Books. The City that Invented the Publishing Industry. Brands and Amazon Search. Most Valuable Brands. Underwater Internet. Another Photo Cake Incident.

Published July 12, 2019

The MIT Media Lab develops knitted sensors. Microsoft discontinues its ebooks—and erases everyone’s libraries. Venice and the dawn of book publishing. Most of product searches on Amazon are brand-free. Sea-level rise may adversely affect the Internet. An AR application to identify street artists. Working for the [Robot] Man. Use AI to keep your prey-toting pet out of the house. Levitating turntables. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Landa: And They’re Off…

Published July 9, 2019

Benny Landa first introduced the concept of “Nanography” at drupa 2012. There was a reaffirmation of the introduction at drupa 2016, and since then, lots of quiet. It turns out the quiet was self-imposed, and in the interim Landa has been very busy building an organization and shipping presses.

Shop for Inkjet Cost Savings Features

Published July 8, 2019

Inkjet Tip of the Week: Some inkjet devices come with valuable cost-saving features. Here are a few to look out for:

Group Joos Inkjet Applications - Video

Published July 2, 2019

Alex Joos of Group Joos, located in Belgium, joins us for a deeper dive into their use of inkjet across multiple operations. Group Joos provides transaction printing and direct mail services to a very diverse market using inkjet across all areas.

Memjet Partners with EFI to Bring Fiery to Memjet DuraLink Platform

Published July 1, 2019

Electronics For Imaging, Inc. and Memjet have established a new partnership, bringing ultra-fast, high-quality EFI Fiery digital front ends (DFEs) to the growing portfolio of Memjet DuraLink digital inkjet production solutions

Printing Industry Profits: What Goes Up...

Published June 28, 2019

Industry profits data came out earlier this month, and overall profits slipped a little. Annualized profits for Q1 2019 were $3.58 billion, down slightly from $3.66 billion in Q4 of last year. Again, it’s the large printers that are dragging down overall industry profitability.

Around the Web: Yet More Meeker! Madvertising. Roasting Design. Trouble On the Map. Public Domain: The Musical. Danger: Slugs! The ENIAC Programmers Project. Portugal’s Plastic Rocks. Fishbots!

Published June 28, 2019

Mary Meeker Slide Roulette. Brands harness online outrage. How can an Albany antiquarian bookstore outlast its owner? Core77 roasts bad industrial design. Fake businesses on Google Maps. Celebrating the original six ENIAC programmers—women all. Country Time is on your side. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Inkjet Tip of the Week - Use Ink Wisely

Published June 27, 2019

Inkjet Tip of the Week - Use Ink Wisely. Using a standard, default profile could be costing you money. When creating custom profiles, be sure to print profiling patch charts with different TAC settings such as 260, 240 and 220,  for high, medium and low ink usage options. Print efficiently and economically based on the customer's needs, not default settings.

Xerox Announces Baltoro HF Inkjet Press

Published June 26, 2019

First press in its class to leverage automated intelligence and deliver true HD image quality

Integrating Augmented Reality with Your Inkjet White Paper Factory

Published June 26, 2019

Augmented Reality has a significant potential to reinforce your position as a though leader and open up nontraditional revenue streams that will not disrupt your existing inkjet operations. The market for Mixed Reality (Print + AR) services is projected to reach $162 billion by 2020. Let’s talk about making Inkjet Insight members part of that market.

Advertising Agency Employees—2010–2016

Published June 21, 2019

In 2016, there were 194,792 employees in establishments in NAICS 54181 (Advertising Agencies). Employment in this category has grown +31% from 2010 to 2016.

Around the Web: More Meeker! Press Conference Cat-astrophe. 3D Fashion. A Tale of a Tail. Marking Computer History. Redesigned Mailboxes. Celebrating Tristram Shandy. Bakery Printing Error. Li-Fi.

Published June 21, 2019

Mary Meeker Slide Roulette. 3D Fashion Editor. An app-controlled animatronic tail.  A N.H. highway historical marker commemorates the creation of BASIC. Note to press briefers: turn off the kitten filter. The USPS combats postal box fishing.  A look at Laurence Sterne’s classic “Tristram Shandy.” Who wouldn’t want a Marie Curie birthday cake? Internet-transmitting lights. Crocheted body parts. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Ditch Your Silos for Convergence

Published June 20, 2019

Pat McGrew, President of McGrew Group, talks about convergence and what it means for the printing industry.

The Evolution of Inkjet Technology and Terminology

Published June 18, 2019

Robert Clark, manager of digital operations for IWCO Direct provides an overview of one of the inkjet educational tools he uses extensively - and why it matters. He's referring to the Glossary of the 2nd edition of the Designer's Guide to Inkjet. Wow - we have a fan. Thanks Robert.

April Printing Shipments—A New Season?

Published June 14, 2019

Printing shipments for April were up from March, happily disrupting what has become the usual seasonal pattern. Even better, April 2019 shipments came in above April 2018 shipments.

Around the Web: Two Words: Mary Meeker! Kirie Eleison. Passenger Drones. Shame-Based Ecology. Kids on Film. LED Earbuds. Ice Ice Hawking.

Published June 14, 2019

Data nerds rejoice: Mary Meeker’s 2019 Internet Trends Report is out. The Japanese art of kirie. Robotaxies to take flight. Barnes & Noble sold to a hedge fund. Fujifilm resumes making black-and-white film. Light up your brain, ostensibly. “The queen of eating shellfish online.” A Stephen Hawking-esque voice synthesizer performs “Ice Ice Baby.” All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Canon Solutions America's Océ Colorado Printer Offers Endless Solutions

Published June 13, 2019

John Kaufman, Senior Marketing Specialist for Canon Solutions America, takes us on a tour of the Océ Colorado wide-format printer with faster automation and an endless array of configurations for both small and wide format printing.

Vycom Offers a Variety of Plastic and Specialty Substrate Solutions

Published June 10, 2019

Kevin Duffy, VP of Sales and Marketing for Vycom, outlines a variety of unique substrates available to the sign industry, including Celtec PVC and Polycarve products.

Onyx Graphics Celebrates 30 Years

Published June 10, 2019

Bryan Manwaring, Director of Product Marketing for Onyx Graphics, talks about the 30-year evolution of the company's wide-format RIP software, focused on helping customers and print shops boost profitability.

Around the Web: Fashion Footprints. Dental Data. Born-Again Bookstores. Delicious Design. Correlation Caution. Dash Disturbance. Forgery Fallout. Rocket Reading.

Published June 7, 2019

Quantifying fashion’s environmental footprint. Transforming the bookstore into a “cultural department store.” A profile of revolutionary designer Cipe Peneles. Buy your own Follows and Likes. Caution: Correlation vs. Causation. Using hyphens in academic paper titles adversely affects citations stats. Nuclear tests can help spot art forgeries. An AR-enabled book about the history of rocket launches. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services Employees—2010–2016

Published June 7, 2019

In 2016, there were 472,163 employees in establishments in NAICS 5418 (Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services). Employment in this category has grown +15% from 2010 to 2016.

More on Paragon Customer Communications - Part 2 - Video

Published June 6, 2019

Dave Phillips of Paragon Customer Communications is back with more details on 2 very different UK sites where cutting edge inkjet equipment coexists with some more "old school" tech. Dave provides insight on working with inkjet and coated paper, best fit of different inkjet technologies and the implications of GDPR requirements for transaction printers and direct mailers.

Mimaki and the "Internet of Things"

Published June 6, 2019

Bert Benckhuysen of Mimaki talks about how to imagine the future of print and the "internet of things"—it's all about connecting printers in an integrated workflow with ERP software, robots, cutting solutions, cameras, and more. Mimaki's IP Job Control software brings Mimaki printers into the Internet of Things, enabling an end-to-end workflow with minimal human intervention.

PrintFactory Offers Color Management Software Solutions

Published June 6, 2019

Simon Landau, Director of the Americas for PrintFactory, talks about the company, the current state of color management, and PrintFactory's software solutions available to the wide-format market.

Premium Tool - Customizable Process Color Guide

Published June 5, 2019

An updated to our series of tools is a fully customizable Process Color Guide for our premium members. Designed as a fan book, the guide can be printed on each of your approved inkjet papers and supplied to customers as appropriate for their design project.

An Intro to LED Signage

Published June 5, 2019

Josh Brasher, President of EBSCO Sign Group, offers a primer on LED signage, discussing the technology and the business model.

John O'Grady Talks About the New Kodak

Published June 5, 2019

At Kodak’s GUA event celebrating the 20th anniversary of Prinergy, WhatTheyThink Contributing Editor Pat McGrew talks to John O'Grady, President, Print Systems Division, Eastman Kodak Company, about his vision for the new Kodak. Specifically, in order to continue to be of value to their customers, Kodak needs to show them ways to be more effective and more efficient, and to reduce costs.

Building Your Own Inkjet Press - Video

Published June 4, 2019

Pat McGrew and Elizabeth Gooding discuss the component parts of a Do-It-Yourself inkjet solution and the pros and cons of DIY.

Agfa Helps Grow Businesses

Published June 4, 2019

Jason Hamilton, Solutions Architect for Agfa, talks about the company's goal to help small to mid-tier sign shops grow their business not only through equipment and technology but through a business partnership.

Horizon Releases a Fully Automated Binding System

Published June 3, 2019

Yoshi Oe, General Manager of Global Business for Horizon Systems, talks about the company's new smart binding system, a fully-integrated and automated unwinder, cutter, folder, binder, and three-knife trimmer.

Kodak Celebrates 20 Years of Prinergy

Published June 3, 2019

At Kodak’s GUA event celebrating the 20th anniversary of Prinergy, WhatTheyThink Contributing Editor Pat McGrew talks to Todd Bigger about his new role as President of Kodak's Software Division, his personal journey in the industry, and Kodak’s renewed commitment to reinvesting in print and developing new products, particularly in the areas of automation and cloud-based technology.

HP Launches STITCH

Published June 3, 2019

Ester Sala, Global Business Director for HP, talks about the development and launch of the new HP STITCH dye-sublimation textile printing portfolio. By working alongside their customers, HP has created a product to solve real-life problems.

The Changing Face of Print Business Opportunities

Published May 31, 2019

In our annual Print Business Outlook Survey, we found that the top opportunities for print businesses included some newer, proactive items, with some of the old chestnuts falling off the tree. As we saw with recent Business Challenges, could this reflect a “changing of the guard” of print business management?

Around the Web: Books...In a Library?! Hidden Secrets of the NYPL. The World’s First Poster Museum. Optical Illusion. A Digital Dress? What the ? A Puckish Idea. Three Little Words.

Published May 31, 2019

The clamor to keep print books in academic libraries. 10 reasons to get a New York Public Library card. NYC opens first poster museum. Fry your brain with this new optical illusion. $9500 for a dress that doesn’t actually exist. Meredith sells Sports Illustrated...but not the magazine. The mysterious origin of the dollar sign. Let us proclaim the mystery of tape. Hockey pucks for the blind. For sale: one Wienermobile. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

From File Server to Systems Builder

Published May 30, 2019

Pat Janowski, Global Sales Director for Proactive Technologies, talks about this boutique computer systems builder focused on the printing industry that began as a file server in the 1980s, as well as the importance of hardware in RIPing and other prepress processes.

Dataline: ERP Dedicated to Making Graphic Arts Businesses More Efficient

Published May 30, 2019

Dirk Deroo, CEO of Dataline, talks about the founding of his company in his attic and why its modular approach to ERP for the graphic arts industry adds value for the industry. In addition to product development experts, Dataline puts substantial focus on project management/implementation. The company has 8,000 users across all segments of print including textiles.

Avery Dennison Wins ISA Innovation Award

Published May 29, 2019

Molly Waters, Senior Technical Specialist for Avery Dennison, talks about the technology demonstrated at the ISA Sign Expo in Las Vegas, including their MPI 1405 PVC-Free film that won the ISA Innovation Award, as well as vehicle wrapping and environmental printing.

HP Adds Dye Sublimation to Its Portfolio

Published May 28, 2019

Santi Morera, General Manager and Global Head of Graphics Solutions Business for HP, discusses the company's strategy for dye sublimation in the textile market and how the new HP Stitch fits into the current HP portfolio.

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services Establishments—2016

Published May 24, 2019

in 2016, there were 37,875 establishments in NAICS 5418 (Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services). Two-thirds of these establishments (65%) have under four employees, 79% have under 10 employees, and 88% have under 20 employees. The largest agencies (100 or more employees) only account for 2% of all establishments.

Around the Web: Recycling Garments. “Knitting is Coding.” Stubborn Signage. Fanatics and Fast Fashion. Graphic Design for President! QR Codes to Aid Memory. Big Monet.

Published May 24, 2019

Sex weasels of classical portraiture. Times Square billboard under fire. Fanatics becomes the Amazon of sports apparel. The West Wing Weekly podcast looks at campaign design and typography. Using QR codes to assist dementia patients. Is there money in art? The tragedy of AirPods. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Help Direct Marketing Customers Differentiate Their Mailings

Published May 22, 2019

The USPS wants to keep mail relevant within the marketing mix. This year they are offering new and emerging technologies incentive programs for direct mail. Direct mail campaigns incorporating Augmented Reality sent before August 31, 2019 are eligible for a 2% postage savings.

Good Graphic Design is an Art

Published May 22, 2019

Anthony Hemsworth, Team Leader for My Graphic Design Team, talks with Kelley Holmes about the importance of good graphic design and what it means to the printing industry and its customers.

Paragon Customer Communications - Part 1 - Video

Published May 21, 2019

Dave Phillips, Site Director for Paragon Customer Communications has a lot to say about the global printing market and where inkjet fits. In part 1 of this series, Dave provides an overview of the Paragon global footprint spanning 45 countries and the distinct approaches of their 2 UK sites.

Summa Adds Innovative Laser Cutter for Textiles

Published May 21, 2019

Wim Maes, Executive Director at Summa, talks about the company's entry into textiles to address the bottleneck created in the cutting department as textile printers gain in speed. The company acquired CadCam Technology, resulting in the development of the Summa L3214, a 3.2-meter laser cutting device that cuts while the fabric feeds across the table, enabling cutting at 800 square meters per hour.

EFI Focused on Green Printing for Textiles

Published May 20, 2019

Adele Genoni, Vice President and General Manager of EFI Reggiani, talks with Senior Editor Cary Sherburne about EFI's sustainable approach to digital textile printing, from design through production and finishing, including two sustainable inks to cover virtually all fabric types.

Around the Web: Revised Receipts. Lost Libraries. Elusive Elements. Killer Conferences. Otic Apps. Flora Fluorescence.

Published May 17, 2019

Adding visual information to register receipts. 75 years of ISA. A recently discovered 500-year-old library catalog of lost books. Our dwindling helium supply. Does conference room air negatively affect decision-making? Plant-based lighting. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Frank Talks to Highcon's Christian Knapp

Published May 17, 2019

Frank caught up with Christian Knapp of Highcon at the recent Canadian Graphic Arts show. Highcon is a pioneer in automatic creasing and laser diecutting.

Komori’s Quality Obsession - Video

Published May 16, 2019

This is the second in a series of videos with Jacki Hudmon, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing with Komori America. In this interview, Jacki discusses the factors influencing inkjet quality at Komori and how that relates to offset production quality.

FESPA 2019 is All About Innovation

Published May 16, 2019

Mark Hanley of I.T. Strategies talks about the vibrant digital print market represented at FESPA 2019 in Münich, Germany.

Inkjet Insight Tint Book - Free Tool

Published May 15, 2019

Pretty much everyone is familiar with the Pantone swatch / tint book which shows the CMYK, RGB and HTML values used to reproduce each swatch color, or tint, as accurately as possible in standard print and onscreen applications. The problem is that production inkjet is not really a “standard” print application.

Engineered Printing Solutions Covers Many Substrates

Published May 14, 2019

Julian Joffe, President of Engineered Printing Solutions, talks about the history of the company and their ability to print on a variety of surfaces.

Look at Quality Sideways

Published May 13, 2019

Inkjet Tip of the Week: Look at Quality Sideways. After you lay those pages down and admire the depth of color you’ve achieved, or the super-crisp text, pick them up and look at them sideways. Is the paper flat or does it look like the surf’s up at Malibu? Great print quality is “dry flat” print quality without curl, waviness or mottle.   

HP's Smart Printing

Published May 13, 2019

Steve Newton, Software Solutions Manager for HP Large Format, talks with Kelley Holmes about HP's cloud-based "smart printing" for wide-format, facilitated through PrintOS, and introduces HP's Stitch for the dye-sublimation market.

EFI Checks All the Wide-Format Boxes

Published May 13, 2019

Ken Hanulec, VP of Marketing for EFI, talks about what customers are looking for in a wide-format printer: lower total cost, expansion of capabilities, and reliability.

New Features for Labels and Packaging in Latest Harlequin Release

Published May 10, 2019

Printing’s Labor's Lost?

Published May 10, 2019

Overall printing employment dropped -0.7% from March to April 2019 and on a year-over-year basis is down -2.9%. Production employment dropped a tad from March to April, and is down -4.5% from April 2018. Non-production employment was up +0.6% from April 2018 to April 2019.

Around the Web: Textile Reshoring. $50 Typo. Ad Nauseam. Beyond RGB? Salvador Dalí Meets the Marx Brothers. The World’s Smallest Post Service. Parrot-Based Marketing. Also: Hatebeak!

Published May 10, 2019

OnPoint named Alabama Manufacturer of the Year. New dress shirts. The origin of the word “dude.” A dark vision of the future of advertising. Will we ever be able to see more colors? The long lost Marx Brothers movie written by Salvador Dalí. Selling whisky with parrots. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.

Group Joos - Evolution of Inkjet Investment - Video

Published May 9, 2019

Alex Joos CEO of Group Joos in Belgium shares his company's inkjet journey. Group Joos provides traditional commercial printing services, transactional and administrative communications, omnichannel solutions and security printing.

3M Introduces the Award-Winning Graphics Hub

Published May 9, 2019

Tammi Johnson, Business Development Manager for 3M, talks about the Graphics Hub, a software and website platform for sign and graphics manufacturers, which features a suite of tools including the Install Wizard, which won Business Services/Software Innovation Award at the ISA Sign Expo last month.

Ultimate TechnoGraphics Provides Software Solutions for a Variety of Workflows

Published May 9, 2019

Julie Watson, CEO of Ultimate TechnoGraphics, talks about the breadth of automated software solutions available as either standalone applications or integrated into a variety of third-party products and established workflows.

Conditions for High Capacity Inkjet - Video

Published May 8, 2019

We talked to Brian Gallipeau of Canon Solutions America about misconceptions around the impact of environmental controls and regular maintenance on the success of an inkjet printing implementation. As always, he shares some great analogies for bringing the points home.

Convergence Connects Communities

Published May 8, 2019

Brandon Hensley, COO of the International Sign Association, and Joshua Carruth, Trade Show Director for Emerald Expositions, talk about how digital printing technology is driving convergence across wide-format, signage, and textile printing.