Printing Industry Commentary & Analysis

Mike Rottenborn of Hybrid Software Shares a Web-to-Print Case Study

Published February 26, 2013

Mike Rottenborn, President and CEO of Hybrid Software talks to Eric Vessels about a web-to-print cases study involving a customer who sells folding cartons from a web site.

WhatTheyThink on the Road Again at GOA and Dscoop

Published February 20, 2013

The tireless WhatTheyThink crew is on the road again. This time in both Orlando and Nashville attending Graphics of the Americas as well as Dscoop. Yes, simultaneously! How do they do it?

KBA President Claus Bolza-Shunemann on the company transformation, packaging, and partnerships

Published February 5, 2013

KBA President Claus Bolza-Shunemann talks to Eric Vessels about their changing strategic direction responding to the changing nature of the industry as well as their offerings in the packaging segment and recent partnerships.

Digital Leaders Gathering in Las Vegas for AppForum 2013

Published January 25, 2013

Over the weekend, those blazing a virtual trail in the industry relative to digital printing and its applications will be blazing a different kind of trail on their way to Las Vegas to attend the 2013 PODi AppForum. WhatTheyThink will be there as a long time supporter of the event and here’s what to expect.

Van Son Inks John Bendowski on wide format inks

Published January 14, 2013

John Bendowski, Vice President of Van Son Ink, talks to Eric Vessels about bringing their wide format ink offerings to North America and what is driving demand in wide format among commercial printers.

FastSigns CEO Catherine Monson on Undercover Boss

Published November 16, 2012

FastSigns CEO Catherine Monson talks to Eric Vessels about being on the CBS show Undercover Boss, shares details of the experience as well as lessons learned that others can benefit from in their businesses.

FastSigns CEO Catherine Monson on Co-branding

Published November 9, 2012

CEO of FastSigns Catherine Monson talks with Eric Vessels about their recently announced co-branding program for existing printers wanting to get into the wide format space.

SGIA President & CEO Michael Robertson on the 2012 show

Published October 23, 2012

Michael Robertson, SGIA President & CEO speaks with Eric Vessels about SGIA 2012 and having a record year for show attendance. They also talk about industry trends in wide format.

Phil Yu of Gamut Media on Winning SGIA Golden Image Award

Published October 22, 2012

Phil Yu, Creative Director at Gamut Media, speaks with Eric Vessels at SGIA about winning a Golden Image Award for their unique work for a local restaurant.

FastSigns CEO Catherine Monson on SGIA Day 1

Published October 19, 2012

Catherine Monson, CEO of FastSigns speaks with Eric Vessels about SGIA 2012, what she hopes to have her team accomplish at the show, trends she's seeing, and promoting their Co-branding program announced at Grap Expo.

Cary Sherburne shares thoughts on the opening day of Graph Expo 2012

Published October 8, 2012

WhatTheyThink President Eric Vessels and Senior Editor Cary Sherburne talk about day one at Graph Expo 2012 and her early impressions of the show.

A Tour of Canon’s Suzhou facility

Published July 2, 2012

WhatTheyThink recently joined other editors and analysts on a media tour of Canon’s production facility in Suzhou, China. The visit was part of a second leg of a trip that included a visit to the company’s Tokyo headquarters. The plant tour in Suzhou was an opportunity to see the Canon production system up close.

CEO Fujio Mitarai and Canon Host US Media Tour

Published June 29, 2012

WhatTheyThink recently joined other editors and analysts on a media tour to Canon’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. There, we were given a unique opportunity to hear from Canon Chairman & CEO Fujio Mitarai on his “5 Year Plan” strategy that focuses on reforming production and a profitable position in the markets they serve.

What I Learned at the Océ Direct Mail Summit

Published April 27, 2012

We were invited as the guest of Océ to participate in their recent Direct Mail Summit in Boca Raton, Florida. The agenda was focused on understanding how to generate more direct mail business and included both Océ executives and industry experts.

A View Up and Down Print’s Value Chain with HP and O’Neil Data Systems

Published March 12, 2012

We had a unique opportunity recently to get a look at the entire printing industry’s value chain by attending two separate events at O’Neil Data Systems new plant in Plano, Texas. First was HP’s First Look event, which previewed for their customers technology they will be officially in the next few weeks. Second was O’Neil Data Systems’ grand opening of their Plano facility, which gave us an opportunity to meet their customers as well.

Who is your pick for CEO of the Year?

Published May 11, 2011

Think Open House! Dayton's Think Patented holds "Visual Innovations Days 2010"

Published November 24, 2010

Dayton Ohio's Think Patented held an "Visual Innovations Days 2010" open house event and I made the short trip from home to see what was happening. Invited down by long time friend of WhatTheyThink Niels Winther, Think Patented Chairman & Managing Partner, I got a first hand view of what today's successful printer is doing to engage and inspire their customers with innovations and consultative solutions.

OPM Arvato leverages Kodak for digital book production

Published November 15, 2010

WhatTheyThink visits a Kodak open house at OPM in Scranton Pennsylvania to see their Prosper 1000 and 5000XL in action and hear from both Kodak and OPM executives on this new installation which is producing digitally printed books.

Catching Lightning in a Bottle...Twice?

Published October 25, 2010

Long time readers of Print CEO will remember seeing Pazazz Printing CEO Warren Werbitt in the hysterical video "Printing's Alive". We wrote about this nearly 3 years ago now (time flies!) and were obviously big fans of the video and the message. The video currently has over 200,000 views and is still talked about. You could probably consider it a YouTube viral hit within the industry. If you haven't seen it yet, you probably know someone who has and will recommend you watching. Warren and Pazazz are back at it with Printing's Alive 2...but can they catch the same lightning in another bottle?

WhatTheyThink celebrates 10 years!

Published July 12, 2010

WhatTheyThink started 10 years ago this year and we've been reflecting on it and sharing this fact with people in the industry. Most doubted it could be that long, but you know what they say about "overnight successes". They take years! We recently told some of our members that we were celebrating 10 years this year and got their reaction.

Graphic Arts Monthly among titles to be closed by RBI

Published April 16, 2010

In a press release today, Reed Business Information announced the intent to complete the divestment process started in July 2009 by by shuttering 23 remaining titles. Included in the list is the printing industry’s Graphic Arts Monthly and Graphic Arts Blue Book.

USPS delivers for you...but not on weekends?

Published March 3, 2010

The US Postal Service announced several cost cutting initiatives brought on by what they called "unprecedented volume declines" and a projected $238 billion shortfall over the next decade. One item that has people buzzing is a hint at the discontinuation of Saturday delivery. The only question I have is what took them so long?

E&P Finds a Buyer, Nixes Long Time Editor Mitchell

Published January 14, 2010

PIA Announces Further Progress in Cooperation with NAPL

Published November 16, 2009

Is Prinergy Dead? Kodak Says No

Published November 6, 2009

XMPie Twitter Campaign Takes One Extra Step...Too Far? (Updated)

Published November 3, 2009

Can Design Save the Newspaper?

Published October 22, 2009

UPS entering web-to-print space

Published September 14, 2009

New xpedx tech center a good mix of facility and people

Published May 7, 2009

Revisiting April Fools Day Hilarity

Published April 12, 2009

The Nation Exposes Paper Industry Use of Alternative-Fuel Tax Credit Loophole

Published April 5, 2009

A New Digital Era in the White House

Published March 9, 2009

A Visit to 4Over in Glendale, California

Published February 18, 2009

President Obama Greets Print Industry Leaders at White House

Published January 30, 2009

Kodak’s Antonio Perez and Xerox’s Anne Mulcahy were among a delegation of 13 tech industry CEOs who visited the White House Wednesday to discuss President Obama’s economic rescue plan. It was the first corporate sit down by the new President.

Will the Printed Blog Save the Newspaper Industry?

Published January 21, 2009

Will printed blogs be able to save the floundering newspaper industry? What impact will this have on printers who print newspapers and will there be enough good content to fill twice daily publications?