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Is the Education Market one of your target markets? If you are planning on selling marketing solutions to the Education Market then you need to have a good understanding of the key challenges for this market. Read More
In July of 2010, Agfa acquired the assets of the Harold M. Pitman Company. It's been just over a year, and WhatTheyThink takes an exclusive look at the status of the integration. Read More
Three-dimensional mail cuts through the clutter to get important messages out to clients and prospects. Although the cost to produce a dimensional mailer is more expensive than standard direct mail, the uniqueness of the mail item gets results that outweigh the costs of production and die-cutting. We explore this concept by looking at the dimensional mail marketing campaigns of Structural Graphics. Read More
Yesterday, Ricoh and Zumbox announced an alliance under which mailers can opt to provide their customers mail via Zumbox, the world's first digital postal mail system. WhatTheyThink spoke with Ricoh's Don Dew to get the inside scoop. Read More
In part one of this article, we provided the background and the detail of what makes Pro-Sourcing an extraordinary strategy to get project work done and to extend your company's capabilities. Read on for a quick review and some useful techniques for getting Pro-Sourcing projects completed efficiently, reliably and successfully. Read More
The statement in the headline is true. All the work described above was done, the money paid. Welcome to the world of “Pro-Sourcing”. Now you can complete projects of all kinds, including marketing projects, design, IT or writing projects. Professionally. Inexpensively. Reliably. Quickly. Read More
Following our recent article on the latest news from Zumbox, a player in the digital mail space, we contacted Pitney Bowes' John Schloff to find out the latest about its digital mailbox offering, Volly. Schloff shares an update, including insight into strategy and plans. Read More
For almost a decade, pundits have been projecting that paper mail, especially transactional mail, will be displaced by electronic alternatives. Just like the paperless office, it hasn't happened yet. But there's a lot happening in the digital postal mail realm that could change the picture entirely. John Payne of Zumbox talks about what's ahead. Read More
On August 25th, Seattle-based RPI announced the acquisition of Paro Group BV, based in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The entity in the Netherlands will be known as RPI-Paro to capitalize on Paro branding there. WhatTheyThink spoke with Rick Bellamy, CEO of RPI, and Jan-Paul van den Hurk, owner and CEO of Paro Printing, for more details. Read More
In part two I look at how manroland and xpedx are working to increase revenues and better position themselves for the future. The ideas of expanding product lines and forming strategic alliance are both reviewed, along with ways to bring new products and services to market. Read More
Selling a cross-media solution in today's market requires four critical attributes, namely Proactivity, Proficiency, Patience, and Performance. This article cites recent research from InfoTrends to outline the four "P"s of a successful cross-media sales approach. Read More
Mobile barcodes are a hot topic in the world of marketing and advertising, and printers have latched onto this technology to add interactivity and value to print media. While barcodes are certainly relevant, there are other mobile marketing services that need to be explored, as they represent a huge untapped opportunity by many service providers. Read More
Dr. Joe explains that another recession may have already started, and the thought of that may be all that's needed to create demands for more Fed easing and more fiscal stimulus. The NASDAQ is down -18% from the start of the December 2007 recession on an inflation-adjusted basis. The commodities and consumer inflation trends may actually be slowing right now. Yet again, Dr. Joe explains some of the economic workings that are contrary to the morning news. Read More
It was announced last week that Platinum Equity had acquired Quark Software Inc. Without an understanding of the digital media market over the past thirty years this may seem just like another investment by a financial investment company. For those of us who have been involved in the major changes that have happened, to us Quark is one of the key companies that had driven the changes in the industry. Read More
As everyone knows, the recession has made business financing hard to come by. In this two-part "Cup O Joe," lenders to the printing industry report that loan products are available and discuss how printers can obtain them. Read More
Frank takes a trip down memory lane reminiscing the days of the bookstore and what the future may hold. Read More
In July 2011, InfoTrends published a study of more than 280 print/cross-media service providers to understand the current state of cross-media in the graphic communications market. The statistical data highlighted eight key critical success factors for those making the move into cross-media marketing. This article shares key findings from businesses that have already started the cross-media journey. Read More
EFI continues its efforts to consolidate the print MIS market with yet another acquisition. On August 3rd, the company announced the acquisition of Prism Group Holdings. Marc Olin, GM of EFI's Software Applications business unit, comments on the reasons for the acquisition and its value to EFI. Read More
I recently had the opportunity to visit four printing firms in the Rochester/Buffalo NY area and was impressed with their vitality an innovative approach to the business. Their stories are sure to brighten up your summer, as they did mine. Part 2 of a 2-part article. Read More
I recently had the opportunity to visit four printing firms in the Rochester/Buffalo NY area and was impressed with their vitality an innovative approach to the business. Their stories are sure to brighten up your summer, as they did mine. Part 1 of a 2-part article. Read More
The next few months will be big for Bell and Howell, as the company plans on releasing a number of new plans and initiatives leading up to the Graph Expo in September. With its new financial structure and new brand, the historic printer hopes to maintain its place in the printing world. Read More
Kodak's NexPress SX digital color production platform is a reminder that while inkjet systems have tended to snare most of the attention from the graphic arts trade media of late, there’s still plenty of technical innovation to write about on the toner-based side as well. Read More
Printers have historically undervalued their services due to a manufacturing mentality. They operate under the labor theory of value, which states that the value of a service is determined by the amount of labor used in its production. Because marketing and cross-media service providers are offering a different portfolio of services, there is an opportunity to change both the structure and approach to pricing and be rewarded for value-add. Read More
The theme for Graph Expo 2011 is "Embrace Technology", and software will be a key component of the technology being exhibited at this year's event. Bryan Yeager shares his predictions for the top five software trends to watch for in Chicago next month. Read More
In mid-July FontShop sent an announcement of the latest edition of their Font Book, announcing that it would be selling later the same day, that it was much larger, and 80 percent lighter! How? They put it on the iPad. Read More
The new Espresso Book Machine (EBM) at McNally Jackson Books is an experiment in non-traditional publishing that just might represent the start of a new paradigm for bringing books to market, one independent bookseller and one print-on-demand title at a time. Read More
Is it real? Is it current? No, we're not talking about philosophy or the timeliness of something, we're talking about financial data. Dr. Joe explains how to use national economic data when comparing your business performance to the economy. Use the right tool at the right time. Read More
Toronto-based book printer Webcom has built a reputation for providing customers with innovative solutions to the challenges of printing books, catalogs and directories. The company has recently launched BookFWD, a paradigm shift for publishers, powered by a new HP T300 Inkjet Web Press. Read More
In July, online printer Mimeo announced the acquisition of UK-based CLE. In this conversation, with CEO Adam Slutsky talks about the reasons for the acquisition, Mimeo's expectations, and hints about future plans. Read More
A major item of news that came out in the week of July 25 was that Fuji Xerox were launching their first high-speed continuous feed inkjet press, the 2800 Inkjet Color Continuous Feed Printing System. Andy gives his thoughts on the similarities or possible coincidences developing in the high-speed inkjet industry. Read More
Printers are faced with unprecedented change in the industry. Each company is examining their own strategy for meeting these challenges. Industry suppliers are facing the same issues. This article looks at how an industry supplier is changing to meet the challenge. These strategies can provide models for change in your company. Read More
You might want to think again. Sure, many do. But their primary association, the DMA, apparently doesn't. A friend forwarded me an email he received recently from the DMA, and while I will not include the whole thing here, here are the high points that demonstrate that something is lost in translation here! Read More
PrintCity Alliance is running an online survey that invites print fans to count (and measure) the ways they love the medium and its role in the graphic communications mix. Read More
In early June, The Informa Print Group announced that Ipex would be moving to London's ExCeL international exhibition and conference centre for its 2014 exhibition. Scheduled for March 26th to April 2nd, 2014, Ipex returns to the city of its birth after 30 years in Birmingham. Learn more. Read More
Rather than building skills internally, firms are aggressively buying expertise to strengthen their offerings and/or add services. Larger firms have begun to purchase smaller organizations that already have made the transition to cross-media. The acquiring firm buys the best practices, expertise, and a book of business, while the acquired firm has access to a larger resource pool. This article highlights some recent examples reflecting this trend. Read More
One of the promises of high-speed continuous feed inkjet presses is that they will change the way we produce newspapers allowing personalization, targeted advertising and short run publications. So far this has not happened. What we have seen is the use of such presses for printing what are termed international newspapers at overseas locations. Read More
When things are going well, everyone feels like they're the genius who's making it happen. When things get tough, you have to actually be one. Right now, it seems that Apple is a genius, showing how businesses can transcend the tough economic situations they face. A curious sign of change in employment in agencies and design firms as they now exceed commercial printing employment . Dr. Joe told everyone to consider 2010 as breathing room and to use it to urgently reconsider and restructure. In 2011, it is the time to act. He explains that we have to admit that print is a specialty and no longer mainstream as we position our businesses and beloved medium for some hostile media shifts now underway. Read More
WhatTheyThink was saddened, and quite frankly, surprised, to learn about the closure of Dallas-based Padgett Printing, a respected family-owned printing business that had operated for more than 100 years. Read More
Have you heard about Fiverr, “The place for people to share things they’re willing to do for $5”? If you’ve ever wondered what the five-dollar phrase “digital disintermediation” really means, Fiverr is a cyber bazaar full of answers. Read More
Firms that are successfully delivering cross-media marketing services are investing time and resources in marketing and business development. Citing recent research from InfoTrends, this article outlines how savvy print service providers are responding to today's evolving print industry. It also provides examples of companies that are successfully positioning themselves for future growth with cross-media services. Read More
Some M&A transactions in the printing industry fall apart before they reach the signing stage. Other deals, however, come undone after the ink is dry, and often for reasons that should have been obvious all along. New Direction Partners looks at how to stay out of the latter trap. Read More
With the rise in prominence of digital printing, the concept of “hybrid workflow” emerged as a way for printers to effectively leverage digital within the confines of their existing offset print workflows. Have print businesses caught on to hybrid workflow? Bryan Yeager gives us an update. Read More
The Rochester Institute of Technology and Cunard Lines have a unique work-study program. Students are trained in Rochester and then begin a multi-month stint running the ship's print shop. Andy Berghauser describes his experience with the program. Read More
In mid-June, Xerox Corporation hosted a large group consisting of members of the analyst community in Rochester NY for a Document Technology Business Briefing covering both the production and office businesses. A highlight of the event was a talk by Chairman & CEO Ursula Burns followed by a Q&A opportunity. Read More
The recent Independence Day holiday weekend passed largely without notice of the 125th anniversary of the introduction of the Linotype Type Casting Machine on July 3, 1886. But awareness of this amazing device could rise with the upcoming release of Linotype: the Film. Read More
48HourPrint began its life in 2001 as a magazine publisher, publishing a nightlife magazine for the City of Boston called 411. Noticing the uptick in activity in the world of online printing, the company migrated the business model to the online printing success story it is today. Read More
Every month, the US Department of Commerce and Statistics Canada publish data about shipments of their commercial printing industries. US data are usually available 5 weeks after the close of a month, and Canada about 7 weeks after. The WhatTheyThink Economics & Research Center uses these data to develop forecasts of the industry on a current dollar and on an inflation-adjusted dollar basis. The inflation-adjustment shows a truer trend of industry direction. Canada data are also available adjusted for the exchange rate with the US dollar as well as on an inflation-adjusted basis. Read More
Two weeks ago, Dr. Joe discussed the changes that are underway in media and the amazing gadgets that access them. He continues that discussion, revealing some astonishing data about technology adoption and the change in the economic relationship of advertising agency and commercial printing demographics. Urgency is the new mandate for the print business owner, according to Dr. Webb. That probably means you should read this column right now. Read More
While the digital media publishing market is still relatively tiny compared to the traditional print media market, a mix of hardware, software, and services are positioning digital media for significant growth in the next few years. Bryan Yeager highlights some recent research on digital media trends and points out what we can expect to see on the horizon. Read More
On June 24th, Printing Industries of America President & CEO Michael Makin sent an email touting his letter to President Obama that objected to the President's characterization of the printed version of the Federal Register (and by association, the entire printing industry), saying people might think "printed material is a dying and irrelevant relic." WhatTheyThink research reveals a different picture. Read More
James DeSena's book The 10 Immutable Laws of Power Selling: The Key to Winning Sales, Wowing Customers, and Driving Profits through the Roof Today provides strategies for producing high-volume solutions and creating lasting customer relationships. Zebra Print Solutions provides a real-world example of how to enact these policies. Citing an interview with Patrick DiLeonardo, President of Zebra Print Solutions, this article explores the procedures in DeSena's book and how Zebra Print has been able to apply them to its business practices. Read More
On June 30, Mercury Print Productions cut the red ribbon on a Kodak PROSPER 5000XL digital color inkjet press that had already printed in excess of 20 million impressions and was said to be well on its way to producing many millions more. Read More
Rapid changes in communication technology have forced printers and print suppliers to examine their overall strategy and positioning in the marketplace. By focusing on shared value, companies and communities can prosper together. Read More
David Thomson’s book entitled Blueprint to a Billion: 7 Essentials to Achieve Exponential Growth researched all the American companies that went public after 1980 and grew to produce revenues of over $1 billion. Success in today’s market involves targeting customers with the right benefits bundle, delivering these benefits effectively, and delivering services that offer emotional as well as functional benefits. Citing recent research from InfoTrends, this article explores how print service providers are redefining their own business blueprints. Read More
