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TMN 11 October 2001
Graphics Industry News with a Piquant Point of View
This is our 141st issue, thanks for reading it.
TMN is an online newsletter 'dedicated to individuals in the
printing and graphic arts industry for the purpose of their self
development, their companies success and the enhancement of the
printing and graphic arts industry in society. It does this
through education, information and research.'
From the Mission Statement of the IAPHC
Industry News
Query? What business are you, we, them, really in?
Consider the fate of these three segments: encyclopedia book
publishing, yellow pages publishing and the vanity press.
1) Encyclopedia book printing has become an obscurely Byzantine
redundancy. Who needs those big old heavy books when all the
info fit to browse is contained on a few CD's? As Goldie
Hawn's co-conspirators on Laugh-In might have said: Who
needs your Funk and Wagnall's anyway?
2) Yellow pages publishing may seem to have multiplied
exponentially since the breakup of the Bell system, but in fact
the segment is working hard to retain relevancy. One example
is found in the shadow of the Winter Palace in mother Russia:
"As part of its general customer services, Yellow Pages in
St. Petersburg has created a full online directory. The
integrated city maps within the site interact with the database
resulting in a unique website for that market. Since its
launch in September 2000, the website (Yell.ru) has had a weekly
growth rate of 15%; it is now the leading directory site in
Northwest Russia and the only bilingual site in the former Soviet
Union." From Metromedia International Group, Inc., Form
10-K/A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
3) "We help you design your book and use print-on-demand
technology so readers can order your book from retailers at
anytime, from anywhere, in a variety of formats --even hardcover.
Your royalties are paid monthly, your book never goes out of print
and you always retain the rights to your work." From a
full page, inside back cover advertisement for Xlibris in the
October 1, 2001 issue of The New Yorker magazine.
Xlibris is a strategic partner of Random House Ventures.
It is undeniable that many formerly solid segments of the printing
industry are under pressure to adapt to the digital era. But
the forecast is not all bleak. If the Yellow Pages in St.
Petersburg can repurpose for the proletariat, there are surely
opportunities in other market segments as well.
Which is not to say that the impact of disruptive technologies
won't be disruptive in traditional print plants as well.
Suppose you were employed in the in-plant print shop at U.S. Bank,
the 8th largest financial services holding company in the U.S.
Perhaps you run the press that produces the envelopes for the
monthly bank statement mailings. The statements themselves
are no doubt 'printed' by ultra fast data dump enterprise
printers, but the envelopes still need the attention of a skilled
operator. Then comes news on 18 September, that U.S. Bank is
partnering with Pitney Bowes to offer the bank's corporate
customers the ability to present bills and other documents to
their customers via the Internet.
Next you read this compelling bit of economics in the new release:
"This electronic billing solution will allow our corporate
billing customers to reduce billing costs. On average, a
traditional bill can cost 60 cents to $1.50 per bill. An
electronic bill costs only 30 to 50 cents," said Jeff Jones
senior vice president of treasury management for U.S. Bank.
Is there audible handwriting being scratched on the blackboards of
your brain?
We have been suggesting in these virtual pages that several new
names are poised to become printinghouse-hold names in the future
-- perhaps Hewlett-Packard, or IBM or even Pitney Bowes will be as
commonly known as Komori, Heidelberg and Xerox.
When Pitney Bowes introduced the DL370, a 35 page per minute
copier/printer on 1 October, the firm touted the machine's ability
to reduce printing costs.
"Our larger customers have asked us to help them reduce their
overall cost per print by controlling print output with minimal
impact on IT systems," said Nathaniel Gifford, VP with Pitney
Bowes Office Systems. "We accomplish this by ...
migrating output to the lowest cost per print device and creating
electronic versions of hard copy documents wherever
possible."
If one can move aside the veil of hype, there may be a portent or
two to be observed via Mr. Bowes.
One unanticipated reality of the widespread introduction of
personal computers was the huge increase of desktop printed copies
-- everybody printed everything, and if one copy was good, ten was
even better.
But now the pendulum may be moving in another direction. If
indeed large corporations or perhaps companies of all sizes, are
seeking to 'lower printing costs,' and to create electronic
documents in lieu of hard copy documents, and to embrace
'electronic billing solutions' in their continuing quest to take
costs out, it is not much of a leap to see why personalised print
solutions are so attractive to managers seeking to avoid sunk
costs in large, and potentially obsolete commercial print runs.
The decision will be ours. We can bury our head in a musty
old Funk and Wagnall's and murmur of Michelangelo; or we can
redefine, and in the process, repurpose the purpose of print.
Of Missions and Mumbo Jumbos
Lest our genteel readers think that they are alone in struggling
with purpose, we offer the following selection of missions,
visions and other mysteries found in recent news releases from
behemoths in our industry.
From an R.R. Donnelley news release dated 20 September:
"R.R. Donnelley (http://www.rrdonnelley.com/)
is revolutionizing communications effectiveness by providing
comprehensive and integrated communications services. These
include premedia, digital photography, content management,
printing, Internet consulting and logistics. The company's
full range of solutions help ... deliver effective and targeted
communications in the right format to the right audience at the
right time."
From an Eastman Kodak Company news release dated 25 September:
"Kodak is a leading participant in infoimaging, a $225
billion industry created by the convergence of images and
information technology. Infoimaging unites three closely
related imaging markets --devices, infrastructure and
services/media that enable businesses or people to more easily use
images as a fast and effective way to share pictures as
information, entertainment or memories."
From a Moore Corporation Limited news release dated 10 September:
"Moore Corporation Limited is an international provider of
products and services that help companies communicate through
print and digital technologies. As a leading supplier of
document formatted information, print outsourcing and data based
marketing, Moore designs, manufactures and delivers business
communications products, services and solutions to customers. (http://www.moore.com/)
(It is worth noting that Moore's stock price has more than doubled
since February of this year -- they may be on to a winning
strategy.)
And finally from a Nilpeter A/S news release dated 28 September:
"Today, under its 'Total Performance' concept, Nilpeter is
able to offer solutions covering: All Processes, All Widths, All
Substrates, and All Markets. That makes Nilpeter not just a
printing partner for the graphic industry. Nilpeter is also a
marketing partner!"
(In case you are unfamiliar with Nilpeter, the Danish firm
acquired Roto Press International, based in Cincinnati earlier
this year. Roto Press International sponsored the Best Flexo
Label award in the year 2000 International Gallery. The
combined firms manufacture a full range of narrow web presses
using offset, flexo, letterpress, screen, hot foil, combination
and digital printing. http://www.nilpeter.com/)
The lesson we draw from these various statements is that it is
hard and often murky work to take a formerly known entity -- (we
all know that Donnelley is a printer, Moore does forms, and Kodak
sells film, right???) and transform the mission of said firm into
the digital era. Each firm which embarks on the odyssey to
broaden its offerings deserves applause. They may not get it
right the first try, but at least they took a swing.
Embracing the fearsome mask of change may seem hard after all
these years, but never assume your customers are leery of change
too-- PrintCan, the online centre for the Canadian Printing
industry reported a production survey for its sister publication Masthead
magazine on 5 October: "Printers will also be
interested to know that 52% of respondents say they change
printers every three years, while 26% get quotes every year."
Refining the Digerati Divine
The other day, our good friend Bob Hall led off his Monday Morning
Fax newsletter with a cryptic item from Reuter's:
"HP also plans to put top engineers on the project to work
the kinks out of the Indigo machine, which one engineer likened to
a prototype." Ouch! :)
The Reuter's article was bylined by Peter Henderson and was
published on 30 September.
The article contained a few other nuggets as well, as it pointed
out that printing and imaging made up 40 percent of HP's sales in
the first 9 months of this year, and 130 percent of its operating
profits. It's a $20 billion dollar business for HP which
wants to grow it further by penetrating the commercial printing
industry.
"Longer term, the company is eyeing the market for commercial
presses, which produce 94 percent of the world's printed pages,
compared to the 3 percent generated by desktop-type printers.
HP plans to edge out mechanical commercial presses with a digital
system similar to a huge and complicated color LaserJet."
Much as the good people at Eastman Kodak see convergence between
images and information, we think the time has arrived for
commercial haymaking (a.k.a. financially viable printing) in the
converging areas of personalised printing using digital presses
that just may be sold by companies who were formerly famous for
copiers or laser printers.
Our friends at the Digital Printing Initiative (PODi) published
issue 13 of Digital Print Bytes on 2 October 2001. There is
a truly thought provoking study of the power of personalised print
to drive a 54% increase in applications for Liberty Health of
Canada.
Our compliments to Chris DeLooze and Dave deBronkhart for a great
report. We hope Sue Schmidt of the Fortis Health Group and
the Greater Milwaukee Graphic Arts Association can take a look at
your study. (http://www.podi.org/newsletter)
The Minneapolis Star Tribune offered another tantalizing
vision of personalized digital printing on 16 September as it
described the use of Xerox digital printers to produce narrowly
targeted promotional materials. We quote the article by
small business columnist Dick Youngblood:
"A program developed for the Radisson hotel chain offers an
example of how it works:
The manager of the Radisson in, say, Duluth, seeks to boost sales
during the slow winter months. Using a PC, the manager logs
onto the Digital Marketing server and links into a digitalVIP
program designed specifically for Radisson. From a menu of
business objectives, he selects 'increase off-season
occupancy."
Using the corporate database, he selects a target audience --
guests with a history of wintertime stops, for example. The
Radisson data base is extensive enough to allow him to include
birthday wishes, anniversary congratulations or other personal
greetings for each recipient.
He then selects a design for the mailing including graphics and
prewritten text that can be amended to include local information.
With a click of a button the finished product is displayed on the
screen. With another click it is approved. At this
point, Digital Marketing can print and distribute the material.
"If necessary, we can have it mailed --or e-mailed -- within
24 hours," said Mike Nelson, Digital Marketing president.
Thanks to these advanced capabilities, Digital Marketing's
revenues zoomed from $410,000 in 1996 to $6 million last
year."
Rather a happy convergence it would seem.
If you need more convincing that personalised printing will become
a new mantra, consider the news from Seybold San Francisco.
On 25 September, Electronics for Imaging showed its variable data
printing (VDP) solutions for its Fiery platforms. Fred
Rosenzweig, EFI's president said: "One to one marketing
in a print environment is possible today with our customized
approach that addresses a full spectrum of customer needs and
budgetary constraints." Importantly, EFI's VDP
solutions support PPML, the emerging VDP industry standard that
has been fostered by the Digital Printing Initiative (PODi.)
Industry Blurbs
On 28 September, at Labelexpo Europe, Nilpeter A/S announced an
OEM agreement to expand the potential of digital label printing.
Nilpeter president Lars Eriksen said: "Our OEM
agreement with Indigo will deliver to the market the best
available technology for label converting."
Earlier in September, httprint and KBA Digital Press announced the
launch of printanet, which is the result of the firms teaming up
to develop a front end solution for the 74 Karat press that
maximizes the press's digital workflow through total web-enablement.
IKON Office Solutions announced on 1 October that it would need to
close a number of non-strategic digital print production centers
as part of its continued restructuring efforts.
Bill Farquharson was quoted by his good friend Dr. Joe Webb in Dr.
Webb's key note address on 7 September at Print 01 in Chicago that
training is a process not an event.
A few weeks later, Bill's latest training effort, Print Tec
University went live at http://www.printtec.com/ptu
The site offers short courses, reasonably priced, that are chock
full of useful tips for printers and printing sales personnel.
Bill is an excellent speaker and his new courses are another great
way to partake of his experience.
IAPHC member Peter Herman is president of Sinapse Graphic in
Paris, France. His firm markets very cool press simulators
in configurations for sheetfed, heatset and coldset offset, flexo
and gravure printing. During Print 01 several pressmen
competed for top honors on the Sinapse Graphic International
Sheetfed Offset Training Simulator (SHOTS.) Jim Magdaleno of
Candlelight Printing in California won top honors. Peter is
a good guy, and we would encourage TMN readers to contact him at info@sinapsegraphic.com
for more information about how he can help you.
Dr. Harvey Levenson of California Polytechnic State University in
San Luis Obispo asked that we mention his new book aimed at
helping students who need to do research projects as part of a
graphic arts curriculum. The book is titled:
"Some Ideas About Doing Research in Graphic
Communication," Harvey has a special discount price for
Teachers and Students. Harvey runs a great program at Cal
Poly, if you would like to hear more about his book, please
contact him at gnps@thegrid.net
Club and IAPHC News
Your Knowledge Network Obviously Works (Y'KNOW?)
From member Roger Buck of WardKraft in Kansas: "Do you
know of any short run (pack to pack) manufacturers in
Canada?" You can reach Roger at rbuck@wardkraft.com
From Capital District Club member Mark Sharadin in Albany, New
York: "I would like to know what other shops do when
they download a job from the web with no supporting documents; or
the sales rep hands off the job to the CSR with little or
incomplete supporting documents. We have downloaded, printed
and delivered a hot envelope job. It was sooooooo hot, no
one had time to look at proofs, but we sure had time to reprint
the right envelope!" You can reply to mark via e-mail
at printmonger@yahoo.com
From Calgary Club member Lorrie Pratt: "I need your
help please to locate a manual/parts book for the following press.
MK Brand Foil Press Model No. MK 2030. The company is Yu
Heng Machine Co., Ltd., Panchiao, Taiwan. I can't seem to
get anything on this model. I would appreciate anything you
can do to help me. Thanks."
You can reach Lorrie via e-mail at prattl@cadvision.com
From Cincinnati Club member Ray Rafalowski: "I have a
client who is looking for a used 40" Komori 4 color fully
automated press. If you know of someone, please have them
contact me." You can contact Ray via e-mail at rayraf@aol.com
Club Kudos
We commend the generosity of the Los Angeles Club which conducted
a very special fundraiser for the victims of the terrorist attacks
in New York and Washington during the LA Club's September meeting.
We also need to again thank Ron Botosan, president of the Montreal
Club for the contribution to the Platinum Reserve Fund; we
incorrectly reported the gift in the last TMN -- we thank our
Montreal friends for the much appreciated $150 U.S. donation.
Ron challenged the attendees at the Toronto Convention to match
the support of the Montreal Club.
Membership Tools and Tips
There are several items available via several means for those
Clubs and members wishing to encourage more people to join the
IAPHC. The updated Membership handbook can be obtained via
both e-mailed PDF as well as thru the mail. It will shortly
be available online at our CraftNet website as well. (http://www.iaphc.org/)
In addition, we are collecting a number of approaches and ideas
other clubs are using to both build membership and to be more
responsive to members schedules and pressures. We have
materials that will be available on how Jacksonville built its
membership rapidly using a Corporate Membership model; how New
Jersey facilitates networking via 'forced' mingling; how Des
Moines gets vendors to help encourage regular attendance of more
than 100 people each month; how Seattle has sought to deal with
geography and drivetime realities. Drop this writer a note
if you would like to read more about it.
In Memorium
We learned that Andy Jackson the past president of the Antelope
Valley Club was killed in a motorcycle accident last week.
We extend our sympathies to his friends and family and fellow Club
members.
We were also saddened to learn that Ernie Lindner, the much
revered founder of the International Printing Museum in Buena Park
California passed away on October 2. The Lindner Collection
of printing history and memorabilia became the basic foundation
for the International Printing Museum. Ernie was a unique
and beloved individual and his many contributions to the industry
will be appreciated by generations yet unborn.
That's all Folks!
--30--
Yours in Craftsmanship,
Kevin Keane
IAPHC
7042 Brooklyn Blvd
Minneapolis Minnesota 55429 USA
http://www.iaphc.org/
Phone: 800/466/4274
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