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8/5/2009 4:17:03 PM
Is digital printing too expensive and slow? Is the image quality good enough? What substrates can run effectively through digital presses?
Xerox plans to tackle these questions in a unique way during PRINT 09. The company will hold a live "MythBusters" event Sept. 14 at 8:30 a.m. in the main ballroom at McCormick Place, where Xerox scientists and innovators from the firm's research labs will counter popular graphic communications myths and discuss the industry's challenges and opportunities.
What myths do you think exist today's graphic communication industry?
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Darin Painter
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6/17/2009 9:11:30 AM
Excited rumors have been circulating for several weeks now that the post office is preparing to put postage "on sale" this summer. The USPS says that organizations mailing more than one million Standard letters and/or flats between October 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008, could qualify to get up to 30% rebated on postage spent from July 1 through September 1 of this year. At the end of October, the USPS will determine the applicable rebate based on a complicated formula. The gist: If 2009 volumes exceed 2008 volumes, the rebate can be as high as 30%. But if 2009 numbers don't match the previous year's numbers, the rebate is reduced. At the end of the December, the USPS deposits the appropriate funds into mailer's permit account.
Two problems: 1) Only about 5% of the 160,000 mailers with permits will qualify. To qualify, you have to mail more than 500,000 pieces at one time this summer. 2) Those pieces must be delivered to one individual end user, meaning smaller mailers can't gang-run multiple orders and qualify for the discount.
This is looking more and more like a "help out the big guys" program, the USPS TARP equivalent of bailing out AIG.
If you're a smaller mailer, you can email summersale@usps.gov and let your voice be heard.
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Darin Painter
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5/20/2009 8:16:47 AM
HP's webinar yesterday about intended changes to its MarketSplash platform might be seen as a backpedaling act of damage control, but at least the company listened to the industry and took a different tack.
The gist: Companies like HP should be applauded for creating programs that help drive business to its customers, as long as the service doesn't include price-setting or involvement in the actual print production process.
The problem: HP wasn't exactly upfront about its intentions for MarketSplash when the service was immediately challenged by printers and questioned by print associations.
When HP announced the MarketSplash concept earlier this year, it was called an online resource targeted at small businesses to provide "the industry's lowest prices and fastest delivery times for brand marketing services such as professional-quality design and print fulfillment." The announcement included a call for retail partnerships. The platform was to be licensed to retailers for co-branding, allowing those retailers to offer MarketSplash design and print services directly to their customers. The idea received mixed reactions from the print community, partly because HP's announcement didn't include information on who would produce the printed products sold through MarketSplash. Some HP customers questioned the company's intentions, asking if the firm was looking for a new revenue stream at the cost of losing the loyalty of print shops using HP equipment.
Here's what happened during the webinar, which was held for members of Dscoop, but was also open to press members and analysts:
* In the coming months, the MarketSplash will shift its focus to help drive print to HP Indigo customers.
* Advertising for MarketSplash.com on the open market will end, and HP will phase out the current public site over the next four months.
* In September, the MarketSplash.com site will relaunch with resources and tools that connect content creators with print providers.
* HP will create a referral option to help businesses locate HP Indigo customers. HP will set qualification criteria to become part of the MarketSplash print service provider network.
Good ideas, HP. And good job for coming around relatively quickly.
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Darin Painter
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5/13/2009 3:45:31 PM
RR Donnelley sent a letter to bankrupt Quebecor World, indicating its interest in acquiring the Montreal-based company and presenting a proposal for a $1.35 billion cash-and-stock deal ($957 million in cash, $394.2 million in stock). RRD said it wouldn't require financing for the proposed acquisition, and therefore wouldn't need shareholder approval.
Keep in mind that 1) RRD's offer comes at a time when its Q1 profit dropped 92%, and when Quebecor World is trying to emerge from bankrupcy, and 2) RRD's first move to buy Quebecor World—in a letter last August—received no response.
It will be interesting to see how (or if) Quebecor responds, but my general feeling is that two ships taking in water—and looking to take new tacks for survival and growth—shouldn't collide with one another until either or both have better direction. Perhaps RRD really wants Quebecor's key accounts, and if that's the case, it underscores the need for graphic communication firms to have a better value proposition than low prices (something "key accounts" for big printers tend to covet).
Can you think of a struggling company that has build a stronger future by buying another struggling firm offering the same basic products and services?
What do you think about the proposed deal?
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Darin Painter
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5/7/2009 9:07:34 AM
Citing the ongoing recession and an “unprecedented” drop in mail volume, the U.S. Postal Service just announced a $1.9 billion loss for its Q2, and said it likely expects to end the fiscal year Sept. 30 with a projected deficit of more than $1.5 billion. Mail volume for Q2 totaled 43.8 billion pieces, a drop of 7.5 billion pieces, or 14.7% compared to a year ago. The year-to-date net loss from operations is a whopping $2.3 billion, compared to a loss of $35 million in the same period last year.
The USPS has tried to incentivize mail volume, including a “summer sale” for Standard Mail, which will provide eligible mailers with a rebate of 30% for mail volume that is over a designated threshold. And it's anticipating savings from realigning carrier routes, halting construction of new postal facilities, freezing USPS officer and executive salaries at 2008 levels and other measures.
Postmaster General John E. Potter previously had mentioned to Congress that the USPS could eliminate Tuesday or Saturday service, especially in the summer months when volume tends to be less. Such a move would require action by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, and action is not imminent. But I expect that to change before the year is over.
What do you think?
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Darin Painter
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4/28/2009 2:30:54 PM
With the upcoming retirement wave of Baby Boomer employees, the printing industry has as many as 5,000 jobs to fill annually, and companies are having difficulty finding qualified young people to apply. This is a big deal, and one that deserves our collective concern.
Researchers Ashley S. Walker and Patricia A. Sorce, Ph.D., recently studied the perception of 749 recent college graduates about their future careers in the printing and publishing industries and presented their results in a document published by the Printing Industry Center at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The goal of their research was to determine which factors have the strongest correlation to overall job satisfaction among RIT School of Print Media alumni who are currently employed in the graphic arts industry.
Among their findings: 1) Baccalaureate programs in printing and graphic communications are having trouble attracting applicants to their programs. A large percentage of applicants are initially interested in graphic design jobs as opposed to production, workflow or scientific jobs commonly associated with the print industry. 2) Printing and publishing employers who seek new employees for their businesses should understand the factors that contribute most to overall job satisfaction, including personal gratification felt from doing a job, the organization's goals and vision, and the opportunity to be creative.
What do you propose can be done to solve our important HR issue?
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Darin Painter
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4/13/2009 9:34:00 AM
Sustainability is a differentiator among printing companies, and if you'd like to launch or expand your "green" initiative, an upcoming conference can help. Public Printer Bob Tapella will discuss sustainable environmental stewardship initiatives taking place at the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) during the keynote address at The Green Media Conference, which will take place on June 9th at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. The conference will focus on green and sustainable information technologies for large firms, mid-size businesses, printers, nonprofits, federal, state and local governments.
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Darin Painter
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4/9/2009 1:56:18 PM
Insolvent printing giant Quebecor World Inc. reached agreement in principle on key terms that will allow the firm to emerge from creditor protection. The company's "Plan of Reorganization, Arrangement or Compromise" will recapitalize and substantially deleverage Quebecor World from its pre-bankruptcy filing levels. What changes do you think Quebecor needs to make to emerge from bankruptcy stronger?
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Darin Painter
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2/24/2009 10:16:34 AM
HP launched a new Web-based service called MarketSplash, targeted at small businesses to provide “the industry’s lowest prices and fastest delivery times for brand marketing services such as professional-quality design and print fulfillment.” The announcement includes a call for retail partnerships, as the platform can be licensed to retailers for co-branding, allowing them to offer MarketSplash design and print services directly to their customers. HP has provided graphic design services for small businesses through LogoWorks, which it acquired in April 2007, and this appears to be an extension of that service. Interestingly, Kodak tried the a similar thing in 2007 with its Kodak Creative Network, which it shut down five months later. It will be interesting to follow how MarketSplash works with print service providers for printing and fulfillment. HP expects that network to grow as the MarketSplash customer base expands.
What's your reaction to HP's launch?
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Darin Painter
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2/18/2009 9:12:00 AM
The upcoming GOA event in Miami Beach, FL (March 26-28) will feature a range of interesting educational seminars, and always includes an international attendance base. As GOA approaches, what are your expectations for the event? What are you hoping to see? What solutions are you looking for there?
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Darin Painter
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2/17/2009 8:31:43 AM
One survival strategy during a recession is to gain feedback from others who are in the same boat, and that's one reason why users' groups are more important than ever. Dscoop, a thriving collection of HP Indigo owners and users, expects to host more than 1,000 attendees and more than 60 partners at Dscoop4, its fourth annual conference that takes place Feb. 19-21, 2009, in Orlando. If you're a member of Dscoop, we invite you to share your thoughts about the group and its meeting by emailing me at dp@gcworld.biz.
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Darin Painter
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2/16/2009 6:17:00 AM
As pointed out on Page 1 of the GCW Greensheet issue that lands in mailboxes today, the national media seems saturated with doom-and-gloom news about the print industry (including at least one erroneous report in the Wall Street Journal concerning Kodak). What positive news is coming out of your company? How can the industry at-large inject more positive stories in the trade and national press?
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Darin Painter
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12/4/2008 8:15:04 AM
"GATF" is no more, and I'm wondering what long-time industry vets think of that. The Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF), the world's largest graphic communications association, announced a new name--Printing Industries of America--plus a new logo and tagline.
From President and CEO Michael Malkin:
"The new name and logo reflect over a year's worth of work resulting in a strategic communications plan that will serve the industry today and into the future. The plan's goal is to strengthen and streamline messaging to the graphic communications industry - including suppliers, partners, customers, and lawmakers - to better reflect the activities within the organization as well as to reinforce the value that the national organization and its local affiliates bring to their members."
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Darin Painter
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12/2/2008 9:08:29 AM
Cal Events just announced its decision to postpone PrintFest 2009. "Although several exhibitors and sponsors had already committed to the show, many of them were participating in smaller exhibits and at lower sponsorship levels, while still others delayed decisions due largely to corporate budget cutbacks," said President Chris Jacobsen. "This makes it difficult to adequately promote the show and generate the type of attendance and ROI our sponsors expect for their investment." He continued: "Though we don't expect fast and drastic improvement in the economy, we do expect things to stabilize and a certain level of predictability should return to the marketplace again by the middle of 2009." PrintFest 2010 will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center, March 26-27, 2010.
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Darin Painter
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12/1/2008 1:25:00 PM
Embattled Montreal-based print giant Quebecor World ordered three new wide-format manroland insert presses. The systems (two in the US, one in Canada) will go online in Q3 next year. The company, which is in negotiations to exit bankruptcy, also launched a customizable direct-mail solution called Store.Driver that drives traffic to retail stores from multiple channels.
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Darin Painter
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11/26/2008 12:13:00 PM
Direct mail offers sent by U.S. banks to their customers rose 42% from Q2 to Q3, according to research from Mintel Comperemedia. The sharp increase was attributed to banks’ efforts to reassure clients during the current financial crisis. “Banks view direct mail as an effective channel for customer communication. So, as the market settles and financial institutions work to rebuild trust and profitability, we expect they’ll continue with heightened direct marketing efforts to current clients, at least into early 2009,” predicted Diana Sheehan, Director of Research for Mintel. Banks sent approximately 53 million offers to their customers in Q3. The most notable shift came in the savings category, as banks sent nearly 300 times more savings-account direct mail communications to current customers in Q3 than they did in Q2.
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Darin Painter
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11/22/2008 8:21:00 AM
Small companies may best characterize the commercial printing industry, but new research suggests that size matters when revenue is concerned, according to the National Association for Print Leadership (NAPL). Its “State of the Industry Report, 7th Edition” indicates that 4.5% of the 600 firms surveyed account for about 54% of total sales. Companies with fewer than 20 employees account for approximately 78% of the industry’s total establishments, but represent only 14% of sales. Firms with 20 to 99 employees account for approximately 17% of total establishments and represent 32% of total sales. NAPL’s report provides guidelines for developing and implementing tailored strategies to improve business.
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Darin Painter
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11/19/2008 10:20:00 PM
This is cool: Xerox’s toner plant in Webster, NY, is preparing for the arrival of six 25,000 gallon tanks that will assist in the production of Ultra Low-Melt EA Toner, a product that Xerox says can cut overall power consumption of digital printing devices by as much as 30%. Fusing the toner, or sealing it on the page, is the most power-intensive process in printers and multifunction devices, accounting for 50% to 80% of total power used.
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Darin Painter
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11/13/2008 1:02:00 PM
The minimum frequency of processing for discounted First-Class Mail (automation and presorted mailings) changed to 95 days prior to the date of the mailing, as opposed to the previous requirement of 185 days. That change also applies to all Standard Mail as of Nov. 23, when the U.S. Postal Service’s Move Update requirements will take effect. For more, visit the USPS Web site at www.usps.com.
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Darin Painter
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11/9/2008 10:17:00 PM
Autobond’s Mini Laminator was missing from Graph Expo because U.S. Customs reportedly put a hold on the 40-ft container, which was shipped from the UK. The inspection delayed shipment by two weeks. The container held everything for Autobond’s stand, including its laminator and all booth graphics. Thinking fast, the company rented a 60-inch plasma TV screen to run videos of its equipment in operation. Despite the setback, Autobond reported two orders and ample interest.
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Darin Painter
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