'Attack of Optimism Sparks Rally' reads one headline, reflecting the 331 point boost in the Dow as oil prices fell, deflated by classic market forces--it costs too much. 'The United States Is Not Headed for Another Great Depression,' reads another analysis. The printing industry is following this sunnier view, with the latest results much improved this quarter versus a year ago. 
Some of this is artful management. Improved productivity is being delivered through better manufacturing tools (in printing and other industries) allowing workforce cutbacks and natural attrition to drive up revenue per employee. Earnings per share will rise, to the satisfaction of the investment community, as shares are repurchased and there are fewer to average the revennues across. 
Sti...Read More

Comments (0)

It's going to hit 107 degrees in Vegas, but the refrigerated world of the Wynn Hotel insulates Las Vegas visitors from that reality. But real business is going on just a few yards from the baccarat and blackjack tables in the favored convention spot--notably for the printing industry at EFI's ninth annual users's group meeting, Connect08.
EFI made a major announcement yesterday with the acquisition of rival Pace Systems Group, and the realignment of its existing management systems (Hagen, Prograph, Auto-Count, Logic, etc.) offerings into a package dubbed Monarch. It's been a long trek from Printcafe to these industry dominant print management applications, and from the presentations given here it is evident that EFI i...Read More

Comments (0)

The changing face of quick printing--in services offered and marketing presentation--means many firms not regarded as competing within this sector actually are. This would include sign shops, lettershops, mailing services, photo printers, and office supply firms--all of whom offer varieties of quick turnaround printing and on demand product production. Offerings from these groups include  increasingly popular marketing specialities like imprinted mugs, key chains, rulers, and convention giveaways. One industry supplier pegs the total number of print for pay outlets at 100,000 in the U.S., when all species are included.
In a run-up to a launch of its e-commerce offering to U.S. printers, U.K.-based Earthone calculates some figures on the marketplace. In the U.S. alone, copy centers, quick printers and in-plant operations produce $25.24 billion i...Read More

Comments (0)

Generally, printers seemed unaffected on learning that the guts of their print systems have been built in an environmentally friendly setting, or that the masses of paper test printed at drupa are being recycled. No, what really matters is whether the systems print well and efficiently.
At the Sustainability in Printing conference in Philadelphia last month, caterwauling green advocates inveighed against printers who remarked that total carbon footprint for projects on recycled paper is sometimes greater than on virgin fiber grades. Paper firms present were emboldened to note recycled paper eliminates availability of biomass fuel (bark), and may not be so green friendly.
The green movement is caught in a conundrum, where a bewildering array of certification come-ons might easily be confused with scams to assure non-profits their meal tickets. Environ...Read More

Comments (0)

Enroute to Beijing to visit the managing director of a label and RFID printer manufactury (his teen-aged son was a foreign exchange student in our home in Chicago last year), we stopped along the way in Tokyo. Courtesy of hotels.com we were able to afford the princely Prince Park, but nothing more than the room and the elevator ride to and fro. For meals and notions we walked several blocks to a university district and ate with the regulars people and students. 
Former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (stock photo) greeted Bill Esler (not shown) on that fr...Read More

Comments (0)

Now our travels take us further afield, heading east by flying west to Tokyo. With a 16-year-old in tow the first stop in town was Sony headquarters, where an eight-floor display of the latest tech was a top priority.
My teenager quickly reported that video games on sale worked only in Japanese Playstations. Two things of interest to dad were the Sony e-Book (yet to see one live) and the newer thin-screen televisions that are based on Organic Light Emitting Diodes--OLEDS--that can be printed on modified litho presses, theoretically. 
The sales tec...Read More

Comments (0)

Hungry maw of web cries: Feed Me. And though on vacation, I'm virtually still at work, reading books, magazines and newspapers as my family and I traverse the globe; reading online junk and posting when we alight along the way.
We spent a week on the road between Chicago and Johnstown, PA, a chance to pick up regional papers, or try to, anyway, the way. Since our last summer driving trip, to northern Wisconsin last year, the quality and availability of newspapers at truck stops and small towns has diminished greatly.
When you ask cashiers at various truck stops whether a newspaper is available, you are now met with blank stares--as though they have completely forgotten about the existence, or somehow, it's been quite some time since anyone requested one.
When papers are available, well, they aren't much. In decreasing locations where a national newspaper of quali...Read More

Comments (2)

Ending universal delivery and its monopoly : you won't want to miss this one from the USPS. Here's the full release:
The Postal Regulatory Commission will hold its final public hearing on Thursday, July 10, 2008, at 10 a.m., to solicit views relating to the universal service obligation of the U.S. Postal Service and the postal monopoly. The hearing will be in the Commission’s Hearing Room, 901 New York Avenue, Northwest, Washington, DC, and will be webcast via a link to the streaming audio at www.prc.gov .
The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA) requires the Commission to report to the President and Congress by December 19, 2008, on universal postal service and the postal monopoly in the United States, including the monopoly on mail delivery and access to mailboxes. In addition to consulting with th...Read More

Comments (0)

Struggling employees who lose control of personal finances, or who get booted from apartments as landlords suddenly go broke, don't make for productive workers. Besides the direct impact onerous oil prices put on shipping paper and printed goods, they also make it tough for workers to drive to their jobs, especially for employees living hand to mouth--increasingly the situation for millions of Americans.
The arsenal of assistance that can be offered by a firm which is itself under the same market duress may be limited--but there are things that can be done when approached on a cooperative basis. A few ideas:
--Help coordinate car pools for workers
--Facilitate bicycling as a means to get to work
--Sponsor group purchasing for household basics to stretch budgets
The economic shifts...Read More

Comments (1)

Today marks the official open house and rededication of manroland U.S. headquarters. But the real action took place Tuesday last week, as commercial and package printers converged on the press maker's Westmont, IL base for an up-close look at a new large-format press, a six-unit 56-inch HiPrint 900 sheetfed, and an examination of the economics behind the move to large format printing. 
Significantly, the press and its maker were rebranded at drupa--all one word, all lower case, distancing the company from its former parent, Germany's MAN AG. They make big city buses and generators, etc. (The o in manroland runs in PMS302 blue in case you're wondering.)
The conver...Read More

Comments (0)

Turn off the dryers on a heatset web before rolling into the folder and what do you get? Set-off and smearing. 
But after a year of development, book printer Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing is rolling dual 36-inch webs right out of its Harris M120 and into the folder to deliver nearly folded signatures with no marking or set-off. The printer is getting fast roll-up--with as few as 9 signature makereadies--great products, minimal waste, and plaudits from customers and environmentalists.
Working over the past year with Amerikal, a Waukegan, IL supplier of eco-friendly press chemistries, cleaners and systems and newly developed high-solids Braden Sutphin EcoSet-MV (the initials acknowledging Maple-Vail's roll as project driver) has resulted in a...Read More

Comments (0)

Green groups get a going-over as printers, paper firms and sustainability advocates gather in Philadelphia. The Pira-Intertech Sustainability in Printing Conference, a first time meet-up that shows promise and spunk, found delegates from the Rainforest Alliance,  Co-op America and other green-movement advocates meeting up with real live printers and the paper and print systems companies who supply them. 
Sponsored by Domtar, the gathering ventured into some controversial discussions, with some sustainability organizations seemingly surprised to find that there is more to executing a sustainable print strategy than making adopting recycled paper. PIA/GATF evnironmental expert Gary Jones laid out the printing industry's rapidly advancing ...Read More

Comments (1)