Wide-format & Signage News

OCTOBER 2018 8 Printing News

An edition of Printing News

Latest News, Products, Videos & Articles 38 Textile

Fiber Computing: The Next Industrial Revolution 46 Sign

Chicago’s Graphic Alliance Makes a Meal Out of Restaurant Signage

Buy Right Things To Do Better When Buying Inkjet p.12

a magazine from

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CONTENTS

OCTOBER 2018 12 Things to Do (Better) When Buying Inkjet A strategic approach, and plan, for making the smart purchase.

by Elizabeth Gooding

14 Data Breach: The Real Cost to a Printing Company in a Zero-Trust World Planning for the inevitable: five proactive cyber-defense strategies to mitigate the damage.

by Kevin Keane and Cindy Walas

16 Print Software Fit to Your Technology Stack

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Inside the overlooked, often underappreciated, part of print software procurement.

by Jennifer Matt

18 Numbers are In: Print Is Thriving in the Digital Age Print lives on and will Thrive in the Digital Age.

by Alan Sherman

20 Paper and the Circular Economy Make way for the paper movement with Paper Straws.

by Phil Riebel

22 Labelexpo Americas 2018 Is Not Just for Labels and Packaging The next exciting phase of this hybrid approach addresses the integration of smart label and packaging technologies.

by David Zwang

23 7 Tips to Make Money with the Internet

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Success strategies for your 24/7 portal to new customers, sales, and orders.

by John Giles

24 Silos, Clouds and Mailing Integrations and the technology exist today to pull your mailing operation out of a silo and into the could.

by Brian Euclide

38 Fiber Computing: The Next Industrial Revolution How functional fabrics are revitalizing the textile industry—from the inside out.

by Cary Sherburne

40 Post-Reed, Communities Reevaluate their Sign Codes While sign owners have the burden of sign code compliance, what you need to know.

by Richard Romano

42 Print Software Procurement Checklist Stop before you shop: what problem are you trying to solve?

by Jennifer Matt

44 LED Lighting in Retail: What’s the Impact on Color?

Shedding new light on how an overall environment affects color perception.

by Cary Sherburne

46 Chicago’s Graphic Alliance Makes a Meal Out of Restaurant Signage Graphic Alliance, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, started as a commercial print shop but quickly adopted wide-format printing and has carved out a substantial niche in restaurant graphics and signage.

by Richard Romano

48 Make Your Business Work Smarter Efficient human communication is the key to optimizing the way we work in a digital world.

by Jennifer Matt

50 Print E-commerce Marches On, Consumes More of Total Shipments Seize the opportunity to capitalize on continued print e-commerce growth.

by Ryan McAbee

26 Preparing Your Print Business for a Millennial Workforce Brace yourself—for the diversity, challenges, compromises and exciting new opportunities ahead.

by Marco Boer

27 When Personalized Ads Aren’t Personal Beyond artificial intelligence (AI): the human “X” factor that drives print to compete with digital.

by Heidi Tolliver-Walker

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28 Trend Watch: The Rise of the Blockbuster Self-Promotional Piece Super self-promotion—doing what we do best—in print.

by Trish Witkowski

32 What You Need to Know About Postal Issues Inside USPS: update on rate increases, new postal promotions, mailing standards, and more.

by Idealliance

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Printing News October 2018

34 Association for PRINT Technologies (APTech) Expands Membership to Print Service Providers APTech extends a community-building “red carpet” welcome to PSPs.

by Cary Sherburne

Departments 8 36 56

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VP, GROUP PUBLISHER Kelley Holmes kelley@whattheythink.com 772-579-7360 COO Adam Dewitz adam@whattheythink.com 612-424-5090 PRESIDENT Eric Vessels eric@whattheythink.com 740-417-3333 MANAGING EDITOR Richard Romano richard@whattheythink.com 518-290-6584 SENIOR EDITOR Cary Sherburne cary@whattheythink.com 603-430-5463 GUEST EDITOR Debbie Vieder deb@vieder.com 240-731-1358 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Marco Boer Phil Riebel John Giles Julie Shaffer Elizabeth Gooding Heidi Tolliver-Walker Amy Hahn Cindy Walas Kevin Keane Trish Witkowski Jennifer Matt David Zwang Ryan McAbee ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Paul Zimmerman paul@whattheythink.com 800-616.2252 x8515 PRODUCTION EDITOR Amy Hahn amy@whattheythink.com 612-719-0577 PRODUCTION MANAGER Connie Wolf cwolf@endeavorb2b.com 800-616-2252 x1679 CREATIVE SERVICES Bobbi Burow, CreativityTank LLC bobbi.burow@gmail.com CIRCULATION Jackie Dandoy jdandoy@endeavorb2b.com 800-547-7377 x1711 SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE For change of address or subscription information, email: circ.PrintingNews@omeda.com 877-382-9187; fax: 847-291-4816 PO Box 3257, Northbrook, IL 60065-3257

.com PUBLISHED BY WTT Media, Inc. | 800-616-2252 2038 Ford Parkway #218, Saint Paul, MN 55116 ARTICLE REPRINTS

Please contact your account executive PrintingNews.com PrintingNews.com—the web portal representing content from Printing News, Wide-Format & Signage, and Inkjet’s Age—is devoted to delivering you timely news and multimedia content on a daily basis.

Printing News (ISSN 2380-5056) (USPS 500-850) Volume 41, Number 11 is published ten times per year in January, March, April, May, June, August, September, October, November and December by WTT Media, LLC, at 2038 Ford Parkway #218, Saint Paul, MN 55116. Periodicals postage paid at Saint Paul, MN 55116 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Printing News, PO Box 3257, Northbrook, IL 60065-3257. Canada Post PM40612608. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Printing News, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Subscriptions: Individual subscriptions are available without charge in the U.S. to qualified subscribers. Publisher reserves the right to reject nonqualified subscriptions. Subscription prices: U.S. $47 per year, $91 two year; Canada/Mexico $69 per year, $128 two year. All other countries $101 per year, $191 two year. All subscriptions payable in U.S. funds, drawn on U.S. bank. Canadian GST#842773848. Back issue $10 prepaid, if available. Printed in the USA. Copyright 2018 WTT Media, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recordings or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission from the publisher. WTT Media Inc. does not assume and herby disclaims any liability to any person or company for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in the material herein, regardless of whether such errors result from negligence, accident or any other cause whatsoever. The views and opinions in the articles herein are not to be taken as official expressions of the publishers, unless so stated. The publishers do not warrant, either expressly or by implication, the factual accuracy of the articles herein, nor do they so warrant any views or opinions offered by the authors of said articles.

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A

s we approach the final quarter of 2018, it’s natural to begin to reflect on the events of the current year and start to think about what’s in store for the following year.

The fall trade show season is well underway and plans and budgets for the new year are already being made.

As I reflect on the past year and all the changes underway with the combination of WhatTheyThink and the Printing News group of publications, it makes sense to review how we got here.

WhatTheyThink entered the industry trade media landscape in 2000 as a website-only publication catering to industry executives. As digital natives, we were able to innovate in many ways.

The first shake-up was to send a daily email newsletter of aggregated news and industry insights by notable thought leaders. Many at that time wondered if there would be a demand for a daily news update, given the industry was most familiar with a 30 day magazine production calendar. We found there to be an immediate demand and continue to hear from those who consider the WhatTheyThink daily email newsletter as the way they start their day—along with coffee, of course! We followed that up a few years later with a regular daily publication of editorial videos, building both a hosting and distribution network, as well as a workflow that has enabled us to shoot, edit, and publish over 3,000 videos since 2007.

As digital natives, we were also aware of the irony inherent in covering the printing industry in a digital medium.

We actually didn’t even have business cards in the first couple years! We’ve since kept our friends in Montana at PrintingForLess.com periodically busy with our business card work. While many traditional trade publications were getting their heads around the new webbased landscape, we were busy thinking about how we could best integrate print into our business model.

There wasn’t a clear path forward until

we began to have serious discussions with Kelley Holmes, Group Publisher for the Printing News group of publications.

It started to become clear that the best strategy was to combine what we do with a publisher who had a core competency in the traditional printed magazine. Kelley’s editorial last month talks in detail about the combination of WhatTheyThink and Printing News. For me, this business going forward will allow us to finally realize a long-held goal: integrate print and digital coverage of the industry in a way that best benefits everyone working in it.

We are committed to investing in the best possible content to share with our members as well as the best technologies—be it paper, print, or digital—to deliver that content in a timely and meaningful way. As we continue to work to realize this vision, I encourage everyone to feel free to get in touch and let us know how we’re doing and what we may be able to do better. I’d love to hear from you!

I have a saying I’ve used for several years, improving on the well-known “content is king” from a 1996 Bill Gates essay: “Content is king and consistency is queen.” Good content, delivered in a timely and consistent manner is the best path forward for those of us in the information business—and if you aren’t in the information business, you should be! Generating good quality content should be part of your marketing strategy if it isn’t already.

We hope to be able to do that for many years to come and build upon the great legacy that we celebrated last month with the 90th anniversary edition of this great publication.

Onward! ■

Eric Vessels, President eric@whattheythink.com WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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PRINTING PULSE Xeikon Panther Technology Achieves UL Certification with FLEXcon Films

Zanders GmbH: Insolvency Proceedings Are Opened Cologne district court has opened insolvency proceedings over the assets of Zanders GmbH. Lawyer Dr. Marc d’Avoine was appointed as insolvency administrator. The managing directors Ferlan, Köhler- Ma and Dr. Geiser have at the same time discontinued their previous operational activity. Under the leadership of the insolvency team with ATN lawyers Dr. Marc d’Avoine, Oliver Teubler, and business graduate Paul Michels and with the support of external consultants, the operation of the paper producer with more than 500 employees will be continued. Whether and which reorganization measures have to be taken will be decided in a timely manner on the basis of the ongoing analysis. The chosen restructuring course will be continued.

Zanders stands for quality and high quality products worldwide. This excellent reputation forms the basis of the search for potential investors. Interest is present in the market with initial talks are already underway. A conclusion is expected at the earliest in October. The team around Dr. d’Avoine continues to be confident that it will be able to reach a viable solution for all concerned, paving the way for Zanders GmbH into the future.

PrintingNews.com/12429087

Xeikon’s Panther technology has achieved UL certification in combination with UL (Underwriters Laboratories) an internationally recognized safety science company. This certification allows Xeikon and FLEXcon to use the UL mark on their products.

Xeikon’s Panther technology is specifically designed to work with its Panther series of presses, the PX3000 and PX2000. The UV-inkjet presses use PantherCure UV inks that offer a glossy, tactile finish and eliminate the need to varnish specific substrates, while offering great durability and chemical, mechanical resistance.

The durability of PantherCure UV inks for scuff, scratch, chemical, temperature and sunlight meets the needs for customers in the health and beauty, household, chemical and industrial markets. This certification confirms that the UV ink is also suited for some of the most demand durable labels used in automotive, electronics, etc. It helps widen the diverse market for self-adhesive label applications including digitally printed labels, previously produced on UV flexo or screen-print, where a glossy appearance and tactile look and feel is desired, or a high durability requirement for respectively the health and beauty and industrial end-use.

Ron Ducharme, Market Development for FLEXcon, said Xeikon’s Panther technology has been put through extensive testing to determine whether the printed labels are durable enough to meet the UL safety requirements. He states: “Labels have to be durable enough to last the life of the product and the Panther technology performed well on film under rigorous conditions.”

PrintingNews.com/21023974 International Paper Announces Senior Leadership Retirement International Paper announced today the retirement of C. Cato Ealy, senior vice president, Corporate Development after 26 years with the company. His retirement will be effective December 31, 2018.

Mr. Ealy joined the company in 1992 as director of Corporate Development. In June 1996, he was promoted to vice president and was elected as a senior vice president in June 2003. Mr. Ealy has been responsible for the company’s acquisitions and divestitures. Most notably, he played a key role in developing and executing the company’s transformation plan, which

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included significant divestitures and several important acquisitions transforming International Paper into a leading global packaging, pulp and paper company.

“Cato has been a key contributor to the success of International Paper for nearly three decades helping to make IP a more sustainable and profitable company,” said Mark S. Sutton, chairman and CEO. “All of us wish him the very best in retirement.”

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PRINTING PULSE Heidelberg Celebrates Saphira 10 Year Anniversary, Expands a hira Cons ma le erin s or U C stomers

ssociation or echnolo ies is Fo n in em er o mericans For Free ra e The Association for PRINT Technologies (APTech) has joined with over 80 other leading trade organizations representing manufacturers, other technology suppliers, retailers, services trade groups, farmers and agribusinesses in a major campaign against tariffs under the coalition banner Americans for Free Trade. Through a multi-million dollar nationwide campaign titled, Tariffs Hurt the Heartland, coalition members will tell their stories of how Americans in all walks of life are being economically damaged by illadvised tariffs on aluminum, steel, and a myriad of Chinese-sourced products that have spawned retaliatory tariffs on a growing list of U.S. exports.

Upon launch, Americans for Free Trade implored congressional leaders to use their oversight authority to prevent further harm from these debilitating tariffs that are really taxes on U.S. consumers. “The combined power of this broad-based multiindustry effort is what’s needed to turn back these harmful tariffs,” says APTech Vice President, Government Affairs, Mark J. Nuzzaco. “Ultimately, everybody loses in a trade war,” he added.

APTech continues to monitor tariffs affecting its members and their customers through its Tariffs Portal and welcomes input from industry members describing how these tariffs are affecting their business, and how the Association can be of more targeted assistance to their needs.

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In order to continue offering the best quality and performance for its customers, Heidelberg regularly develops new technology and equipment for all of their product lines.

While celebrating the 10 year anniversary of Saphira products, Heidelberg is also celebrating two of its newest consumable offerings, Saphira Digital Inks and Blanket Pro 250, for its customers in the United States.

Formulated for use in wide format inkjet printers, Saphira Digital Inks are premium, high-density UV and LED curable inks developed to hit G7 targets and achieve GRACol standards. Optimized for fast curing, Saphira Digital Inks have excellent adhesion and flexibility on a wide array of digital graphic media. Only introduced to the market in January 2018, customers are already seeing how these high quality inks are positively impacting their production.

“With the Saphira Inks, our machine is running great and the colors are better, sharper, and we get a much bigger color gamut,” said Dale Drake Jr., Vice President of Operation at Continental Colorcraft. “We used to get streaking on solid blacks, but with the Saphira Inks, we eliminated streaks—which is a huge advantage. The images are looking better with more details and are more vibrant.”

Heidelberg’s new versatile blanket, the Saphira Pro 250 provides excellent performance with great durability—creating a new cost-effective solution for customers. Providing dimensional stability and minimum stretching/sinking, the Saphira Pro 250 incorporates everything a blanket needs in order to help a print shop thrive.

The Saphira Pro 250 combines a thicker compressible layer with premium fabric construction and a smooth surface in order to increase smash resistance while minimizing elongation at higher speeds. The combination ensures excellent sheet release on multiple substrates including coated papers, board and recycled board.

PrintingNews.com/12429087 INX International Announces Key R&D Promotions INX International Ink Co. has announced two promotions involving the Research & Development department.

Mark Hill and Jonathan Graunke have new assignments and will work closely to take INX’s state-ofthe-art Research & Development facility to a new level.

Hill is now Vice President, R&D Director and Graunke has added the title of Assistant Research & Development Director to his current responsibilities as Vice President, UV/EB Technology. Both men were honored earlier this year with NAPIM Printing Ink Pioneer Awards.

Hill’s new job returns him to INX’s Research & Development facility in West Chicago, Illinois. Most recently the Vice President of Liquid Technology and Assistant Research & Development Director, he also served as General Manager of the Appleton, Wisconsin facility from 2012 to April 2017. Hill’s first job in the industry was with Acme Printing Ink in Appleton in 1991.

Graunke joined INX in 1992, six months before completing his college studies.

Well respected by his peers at INX and throughout the industry, he was honored in 2010 with a NPIRI Technical Achievement award. The next year, Graunke was promoted to Vice President of R&D, Director of Energy Curable Systems.

PrintingNews.com/21024160 WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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PRINTING PULSE Access Direct Systems, Inc. Expands Partnership with Bell and Howell to Optimize its Mail Operations Bell and Howell, an industry-leading technology services and solutions company, announced that Access Direct Systems, Inc. has selected Bell and Howell’s Producer 400DM inserters to streamline operations and help support an increase in print volumes at its Farmingdale, N.Y. production mail facility.

Founded in 1969 as a data lettershop, Access Direct has transformed its business into one of the largest direct mail and marketing service companies in the country, producing more than a billion pieces of direct and transactional mail each year. In response to the industry shift toward digital printing, Access Direct transitioned its operation to high-speed inkjet printers, resulting in a nearly 25 percent increase in overall capacity. The increased throughput of printed materials required Access Direct to seek new finishing equipment capable of supporting these high volumes.

Having partnered with Bell and Howell for many years, Access Direct knew Bell and Howell’s mail inserting solutions and service team would be able to help them meet their new operational demands. “Bell and Howell has played a vital role in helping us maintain quality and meet all our customers’ stringent requirements,” said John DiNozzi, president of Access Direct. “From the best technology to prompt and professional service, we know they are committed to our success.”

Designed for high-production environments, the Producer 400DM can process up to 20,000 pieces per hour and handle a wide range of letters and flats of various sizes. By replacing 20 existing inserters with eight new high-speed Producer 400DM inserters, Access Direct was able to drastically reduce labor costs and improve operational efficiency while increasing inserting capacity.

To learn more about Bell and Howell, visit bellhowell.net, call 1-800-961-7282 or follow the company on Linkedin and Twitter.

Proforma Introduces New Program to Recruit and Maximize Success of Young Professionals

With nearly 20 years of experience in the graphic arts industry, Chris Batchelder has joined the flexible packaging division of Koenig & Bauer (U.S.) as its technical sales manager. He will join the flexo team and work on the sales efforts in North America, increasing awareness of the division’s outstanding flexo press models, and serving and supporting the division’s current customers.

Batchelder brings a wealth of experience and market knowledge to his new role at Koenig & Bauer. At his most recent position, Batchelder served as the vice president of sales and general manager of the U.S. operations for an Italian-based inspection and quality control system provider to the printing industry. His customer base included flexible packaging printers, offset printers, and gravure clientele.

“We welcome Chris to the Koenig & Bauer flexo team,” says Dietz. “This new role signifies the strength and expansion of our flexible packaging division.

His demonstrated experience in working with new and prospective customers combined with his keen knowledge of the flexographic market makes him uniquely qualified to capture new opportunities for our division and a vital resource. We are pleased that Chris is joining our team, demonstrating his expertise as a seasoned professional in which he can play a key role in empowering our growth and our customers’ growth into new markets.”

Proforma introduces their new concept, ‘Proforma Under 40’, which was introduced at the company’s recent Convention and Family Reunion. The program was designed to provide young professionals with an opportunity to learn about the exciting industry of print and promotional products. The core of the program provides education, resources and programs to help maximize their success.

“We are very excited to help lead the way in our industry by expanding awareness of the exciting opportunities for young professionals in printing, promotional products and packaging distribution,” said Greg Muzzillo, Founder of Proforma. “Many young professionals are not aware that our industry even exists, despite seeing and using a variety of print and promotional products every day.”

The Proforma Under 40 inaugural committee, made up of young Proforma Owners will be working closely with Proforma leadership to create unique experiences for young Proforma professionals to accelerate their success.

The chairman of the Proforma Under 40 committee, Roger Casey, Owner of Casey Creative Powered

by Proforma, has been invited to participate in all Proforma Owner Advisory Council (OAC) meetings. The OAC is made up of elected Proforma Owners who collaborate on new ideas for the company and represent Owners in their respective geographic regions. The collaboration between the Proforma Under 40 committee and the OAC will help Proforma sharpen its focus on recruiting and supporting young professionals.

PrintingNews.com/21024420

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PrintingNews.com/12430743 Chris Batchelder Joins the Koenig & Bauer (US) Flexible Packaging Division as Technical Sales Manager

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October 2018 Printing News

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INKJET

Elizabeth Gooding Elizabeth Gooding is the founder, CEO and President of Art Plus Technology, Inc., a premier provider of communication strategy, design and development services for the financial services industry. Ms. Gooding has helped CIGNA (now Prudential Financial), Fidelity Investments and T. Rowe Price, among others, to streamline their business process, improve customer retention, and maximize new opportunities for document design, print and Internet technology. For more information email Elizabeth@ inkjetinsight.com or visit inkjetinsight.com.

5

Things to Do (Better) When Buying Inkjet

Story by Elizabeth Gooding

“

If Strategy Is So Important, Why Don’t We Make Time for It?” is an article by Dorie Clark in the June 2018 issue of the Harvard Business Review, as well as a really good question. In research conducted

by Management Research Group (MRG) with 10,000 senior leaders, 97% said that “being strategic” was the leadership behavior most important to their organization’s success.

There are few people who would argue with the proposition that acquiring an inkjet device is a strategic investment. There are quite a few who would argue about whether the typical inkjet purchase is approached in a strategic manner. Over the past six years at the Inkjet Summit and through more formal interviews, I have spoken to more than 50 companies who described a purchasing process that sounds very much like this: ■ Assemble a page or less of requirements ■ Select three to four OEMs thought to be leaders ■ Select from one to a handful of applications and request samples from OEMs ■ Look at the sample output and pick favorites ■ Negotiate the best price for the solution recommended by the OEM. It’s not that an inkjet buyer shouldn’t do these things; it’s that they should do them better. Here are five things to do better so that you know you made a truly strategic, longterm decision.

1. Know What You Need and Put It

in Writing

It’s important to create an overview of your current business model including volume metrics and the characteristics of each type of job at a fairly granular level of detail. It can be challenging enough for you to understand 12

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the features of all of your work internally, but you also have to clearly communicate your requirements to the solution partners you will be evaluating. If you do a good job of breaking your current volumes into types of work and describing their characteristics, potential suppliers will be able to use these requirements to help you to determine what volumes can be successfully migrated, the logical order and the cost effectiveness of migration, as well as a likely timeline for completion. The approach and timing differences for getting your volumes on board can make a huge difference in your ROI from one solution to another.

When you are documenting these requirements, don’t forget about software. A lot of software processes are nearly invisible, with tentacles that integrate across the operation. Software can also result in the biggest professional services aspect of your inkjet implementation and if these costs aren’t understood, you could be signing a blank check.

2. Position for Growth Not all of your current work may be a fit for inkjet. On the other hand, inkjet may enable you to take on new kinds of work. Many companies put together their requirements based only on their current book of business and that could cause you to ignore press or software options that would allow you to grow.

Brainstorm with your sales team and your best customers on opportunities for growth.

Consider doing a market analysis to look at new applications within your existing vertical markets that can be enabled by inkjet as well as new verticals that have similar characteristics. Ask the OEM and software companies bidding on your business about market review and business development WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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INKJET support. OEMs may be willing to help you with this type of strategic analysis as part of the buying process since it is in their best interest to help you get volume onto the device.

3. Decide with Data If print quality is an important competitive factor for your business, don’t just decide that you all like one of the samples best. Measure. Measure a lot. In addition to asking the supplier to run samples of your production jobs, run a reference or fingerprint file that is designed to show text and line quality, strike through, color density, and other measurable aspects of print quality.

Measure these data points and trust the numbers, not your eyes. Also capture data from the OEMs on the speed at which the samples were run, the profile used, and the ink consumption necessary to deliver the results.

Naturally, you will also want to know that comparable (not necessarily identical) paper was used to generate the sample prints.

When comparing the price and value of the various options, look at the complete cost to purchase and implement the solution (software, hardware, professional services, personnel, and space considerations) as well as the cost to transition volumes onto the solution. Timing to ramp up and to eliminate redundant equipment can skew results considerably. It takes some time to crunch the numbers, but without a comprehensive comparison you don’t know the true cost.

4. Get What You Paid For When your requirements are well documented and decisions are made based on data, you have a much better shot at getting what you expect out of a solution. But, there are opportunities to do even better.

Make sure that the data points used for your decisionmaking process are built into your contract and acceptance criteria. Did your test process show a particular color density? Text clarity? Ink usage? Make sure that you are getting those same results, at the promised speeds, as part of your implementation.

Your acceptance period should not end when the

machine is installed on your floor, it should extend until an agreed level of production volumes are successfully transitioned onto the press and all software, hardware and finishing components are up and running with the new, agreed-upon workflow.

Also, you may be promised free or discounted services such as training, business development support, or professional services hours. Make sure that you work those into your ramp up process and don’t leave money on the table.

5. Embrace Change An investment in production inkjet is typically not about doing exactly what you do now. Sometimes there is a change from pre-printed stock to plain paper, or from sheet-fed to roll-fed production, or the introduction of data-processing and personalization. Sometimes the transition to inkjet can open new markets or lead to an entirely different business model.

There is no doubt that there will be change, and management will need to create a change management strategy for sales, procurement and operations. Change that is planned for is transformative. Change that is not planned for leads to chaos. The first kind is better.

Speaking of better, most processes can be improved with a more strategic approach. Of course, many buyers don’t think that they have the time. It’s often a long and arduous process to reach the decision to evaluate inkjet; once that tipping point is reached many companies just want to cut to the chase. While you may not need to go through a full RFP process to find your optimal inkjet solution, you do need to keep an open mind and create a data-driven framework to support a strategic decision.

In addition to a thorough database of inkjet devices and their features, Inkjet Insight has assembled a wealth of tools to help you create a strategic decision framework in less time. You can access a specially curated group of our premium tools from requirements gathering worksheets, to software inventory sheets and print quality testing tools that will help you do better at evaluating inkjet. Visit https://inkjetinsight.com/buy-better/ to access. ■ PrintingNews.com/12430343

About Inkjet Insight Inkjet Insight provides valuable tools and resources to help companies objectively evaluate the potential of inkjet for their business, optimize their operations and grow their businesses using production inkjet. There is a wide array of free information as well as premium tools and research supported through membership dues. For more information, visit: inkjetinsight.com

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October 2018 Printing News

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DATA BREACH

Data Breach: The Real

Cost to a Printing Company in a Zero-Trust World Kevin Keane e in eane i an attorne ith e erti e in c er la an ri ac franchi in an licen in e fre entl rite an ea on i er e ine to ic

Cindy Walas Cindy Walas, Principal of Walas o n er o er e ert inte rate e ia ol tion an a i t client in creatin e ora le co nication in a ariet of e ia

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Story by Kevin Keane and Cindy Walas

I

n every industry vertical, including commercial printing, cyber risk is escalating and the number of reported data breaches is increasing, too. The daily news is often full of reports about companies large and small that have had their networks broken into and customer data stolen. One can appreciate that even if a printing company has only one customer, or one employee, it has data that is attractive to steal and exploit. No company is immune— and no printing company is immune. Some of the largest printing companies in the world have been breached, as have local franchise print shops. In 2017, PIP Printing in Encino, Calif., had a security breach and thousands of sensitive documents were leaked, from labor filings involving NFL players, to lawsuits against Hollywood WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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DATA BREACH studios, to personal immigration-related papers.

Denial that it could never happen to your printing company is a fool’s errand. But there are proactive steps you can take now to minimize the damage when the inevitable data breach occurs.

We recommend these five cyber defense strategies:

1. Buy cyber insurance.

This insurance is a no-brainer in the current environment. Just as you would never consider being in business without a Business Owners Policy, the same must be true for cyber coverage. Moreover, good coverage will help you in the event you need to send breach notification letters, hire a cyber expert lawyer, and rebuild your network systems and the trust of employees, customers, and vendors.

2. Control access to your facility.

Physical security is not complicated nor expensive.

Review how secure your premises are, and how well you control access to the plant, prepress, the shop floor, finishing, and shipping, and how well you monitor employee access (ID key cards?).

3. Control access to your network.

The delivery driver does not need full access to your network. Your external CPA does not need full access either. Do you have a written policy for employees’ BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) that specifies terms for accessing the company network for personal email, social media, or ecommerce? Instilling a mindset of least privilege is good cybersecurity implementation.

could be at rest waiting for the catalog print run, could be in use in prepress to avoid errors in the printing of a Personally Identifiable Information (PII) field on the front of envelopes, and it could be in motion while in transit back to the customer who owns the mailing list. Keep in mind that data includes former customers, former employees, and potentially confidential information in customer digital files. All data has value to cyber crooks.

You can’t begin to defend your data until you control where it is.

The conventional printing business may be a tighter market than it was 20 years ago, with shorter run lengths, smaller margins, and faster turnaround demands. Keeping customers is therefore paramount, and cybersecurity is an often-overlooked element of customer retention.

Embrace a mindset of zero trust when it comes to your data, because you can assume your competitors’ sales teams will not be shy about asking your customers if they can still trust you after a data breach. Find this article at PrintingNews.com/12430064 ■

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4. Get your employees on board.

Employees are your first line of defense against a cyberattack. Give them the education that will arm them to recognize a phishing exploit. Ransomware infections almost always begin with compromised credentials for someone on your team—perhaps even you. Training is the least costly part of cyber hygiene, and yet it pays the biggest dividends. Most network incursions begin with social engineering or other forms of trickery.

Every employee—from custodian to CEO—must be trained. Training for your team is needed frequently and repeatedly; it’s not “set it and forget it.”

5. Do a data inventory.

Most companies have no idea where their data really resides in their internal and external network arrays. A printing company might have data in three states—at rest, in use, and in motion. A mailing list, for example, WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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SOFTWARE

Print Software

Fit to Your Technology Stack Print software is a powerful tool to create efficiencies in your business. Your success with print software is dependent upon how well you can make the various technologies work and play together in your overall technology stack.

Story by Jennifer Matt

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very business has a technology stack; this is simply the set of technologies you use to run your business. The use of the word “stack” is to invoke the impression of technologies sitting on top of each other or the idea of a foundation and then add-ons. Small print businesses have technology stacks that might include QuickBooks and a cloudbased web-to-print solution. Larger print businesses might have millions of dollars invested in a Print MIS, prepress automation software, web-toprint, fulfillment/inventory, etc. Your technology stack generally reflects both the unique needs of your business and the size of your operations.

I believe “print software fit to your technology stack” is an overlooked and often underappreciated part of print software procurement. I don’t sell software, so when a printer contacts me looking for advice, the first set of questions I ask is about their current technology stack. I will not give any advice about software unless I know what the current environment is.

Many times the problem the printer is trying to solve can be achieved by

Jennifer Matt Jennifer Matt writes, speaks, and consults with printers worldwide who realize their ability to leverage software is critical to their success in the Information Age.

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technologies they already own! Your new print software purchases are going to join the print software you already have operating in your business. It is important to consider if those elements are going to “play nice together,” and if you’ll be forced into deciding which solutions you’ll use for different challenges as many software products overlap in their features and functions.

For example, I’ve seen printers where the imposition task is done across three or four technologies.

Sometimes the staff configures the composition engine (e.g., XMPie) to perform imposition, other times they do imposition in the prepress solution (e.g., Esko, Prinergy), and yet other times they do imposition on the RIP. As technologies mature, it is common for them to add more features; as all the print software solutions in our market do this, it is inevitable that solutions will overlap. Sometimes it makes sense; other times it only causes confusion.

There are some things that cannot be duplicated without causing real confusion. There are other tasks in the print workflow that can be done in various places without much disruption (e.g., imposition). Recently I was getting a demonstration of a digital asset management tool and they showed me a calendar. I asked my favorite question: “What problem are you trying to solve with the calendar in this digital asset management system?” Their answer was, “You can use the calendar to plan.” Guess what?

I already have a calendar where I

plan things and having more than one calendar is not a benefit—it’s a liability.

Not only does having a calendar in your digital asset management system confuse things, it clutters the software.

A digital asset management system is supposed to solve your challenges with storing digital assets, not solve your calendar issues. Another example I saw recently was a prepress automation tool that showed me how you could create a job ticket in the software.

My immediate response was, again, “What problem are you trying to solve by putting job ticket creation into a prepress automation tool?” If you have a prepress automation tool, you also have a Print MIS. This is another example where having two systems generate job tickets is not an advantage but a liability.

You must shop for print software with the idea of what you want to solve and how that potential solution will fit into your current technology stack.

This is critical to your success with the software you invest in. So many times, I hear printers tell me they are considering “product x.” When I ask them what problem they are trying to solve, it isn’t crystal clear. Technology can be enchanting and desirable, but it still must solve a problem that you have. The best example is a piece of technology that automates the production of large volumes of orders.

This is a specific challenge and—guess what—you have to have the problem of hundreds of orders coming in daily in order for this solution to work for you.

WhatTheyThink - Printing News

10/4/18 12:23 PM

DIGITAL AGE

The Numbers are In:

Print is Thriving in the Digital Age The death of print has been predicted for decades, yet it continues to live, and some would even say thrive in the digital age. And it’s up to printers and direct marketing firms to remind or educate our clients about the power of print.

Story by Alan Sherman

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he death of print has been predicted for decades, yet it continues to live, and some would even say thrive in the digital age. And it’s up to printers and direct marketing firms to remind or educate our clients about the power of print.

Ask a dozen people which they trust Alan Sherman Alan Sherman is a veteran of the direct marketing industry with more than 20 years of experience and is VP of Marketing Strategy at IWCO Direct.

He can be reached at alan.sherman@iwco.com .

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more—an email that appears to come from their bank or a physical letter from their bank. You’re likely to have 12 people say the physical letter is more trustworthy. As I’ve said many times, when did you last hear of a phishing scam via direct mail?

Far from being dead, or even on life support, print continues to be valued by many, including millennials. According to the USPS Mail Moments Review, 84% of millennials take the time to look through their mail and 64% would rather scan for useful information in printed mail than email.

The continued effectiveness of direct mail for advertisers and

marketers may be based in part on how the mind processes paper-based information and digital information.

According to research firm True Impact, it takes 21% less cognitive effort to process paper-based direct mail advertising than a similar message using digital media. Postexposure memory tests validated what the cognitive test revealed about direct mail’s memory encoding capabilities.

When asked to cite the brand (company name) of an advertisement they had just seen, recall was 70% higher among participants who were exposed to a direct mail piece (75%) than a digital ad (44%).

Print has also been shown to have WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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SOFTWARE Wishing you had that problem doesn’t count. The solution only delivers ROI if you have the challenge.

So many printers bought webto-print systems whose primary solution was providing an ordering site for customers who re-ordered templated products from an “online store” environment. The problem with this purchase for a lot of printers is that they didn’t have that particular challenge. Their customers submitted jobs once; they were unique print jobs that needed estimating and prepress activities for each one (no re-order). The printer is sitting on this investment in a “storefront” that solves a challenge they don’t have. You must define the problem you’re trying to solve before you go shopping, and then you have to make sure the

solution you buy not only solves that problem but also is able to work and play with the technologies you already have in place in your business.

Never leave the “work and play” question to a yes/no answer. Can software “x” integrate with software “y”? When you ask this question to a salesperson, they will always say “yes.” But it’s not the right question.

Do you have any other customers who have integrated these two products?

Can I talk to them? What data is exchanged between the two systems?

At what intervals? What happens when either system goes down? Do I need technical people from my team to implement this integration? How does support work for the integrated solution? After one of these questions, the sales representative should explain

how he’ll need to get help with the answers from others on his team. Take the time to learn the details here; this is no time for trusting “it will all work out as you expected.”

The value of software in your business is both solving challenges and delivering on an integrated workflow.

This means every one of your software purchases has to connect into your existing technology stack. There are no print solutions anymore that sit isolated and unconnected to the rest of your workflow. One good way to think about software purchases is to ask the following two questions: What happens upstream of this solution in my workflow? What happens downstream of this solution in my workflow?

Find this article at: PrintingNews.com/21024232 ■

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October 2018 Printing News

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DIGITAL AGE

higher recall than digital media. In fact, studies show brand recall is 75% higher with print than digital. Print is a more emotional experience than digital, too. Think about your reaction when someone takes the time to send you a handwritten note versus dashing off a text to say, “I’m thinking about you.” Somehow a physical birthday card means more than an e-card because you can touch it—and sometimes even scratch-and-sniff it.

Print Is Personal and Persuasive Consider, too, how many more distractions appear when consuming digital media. Remarketing messages, notifications and push alerts, Twitter and Facebook feeds, and other social media advertising are simultaneously competing for your attention. To borrow a phrase from Nate Silver, in many cases, it’s the printed piece that acts as the signal that breaks through the digital noise for marketers.

Sappi’s great resource, “A Communicator’s Guide to the Neuroscience of Touch,” is filled with WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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examples that prove the power of print (and paper, of course). Neuroscientist Dr. David Eagleman shares this compelling example of how consumers respond to high-quality print versus the same information on a screen: “Consumers who read about a fictitious company on heavy, high-quality coated paper had more positive feelings about the company and understood and remembered the content significantly better than those who read the exact same content on either lighter, lower quality uncoated paper or on a computer screen.”

There are many advantages to digital media, but one disadvantage is how easy it is to ignore. It takes no thought to delete a screen full of promotional email messages or Facebook ads. It is much harder to discard a day’s worth of physical mail, in part because paper-based

Studies have shown that 80% of traditional mail is opened while 80% of email is deleted.

Simply put, paper has more perceived value than pixels. content is more engaging. Studies have shown that 80% of traditional mail is opened while 80% of email is deleted. Simply put, paper has more perceived value than pixels.

The Data and Marketing Association (DMA) describes print and direct mail as “active.” Customers and prospects may find a marketer’s website on their own, but a direct mail piece is an active tap on the shoulder that online-only activities don’t allow… or get overlooked in a

crowded inbox like email.

According to Forbes, science clearly shows paper can be more impactful and memorable than digital. Print can deliver rich, vivid images with tactile stimuli, and in some cases scent to further increase its impact.

In addition to exploiting a consumer’s senses, print may also be more effective for communicating detailed information. While most ads are designed to avoid any hint of information overload, particularly in a B2B sales effort, important documentation may need to be provided to ensure customer needs are met. Providing this information in paper format will likely increase the customer’s comprehension and recall.

Print has Crossover Appeal Digital, conversely, offers its own advantages, including instantaneous access, localization, powerful personalization and targeting, audio, video, and more. However, marketers across a wide range of industries have discovered they simply cannot generate the volume of qualified leads they need for continued growth without direct mail. Often, marketers find they can be most effective by using direct mail and digital hand-in-hand.

DMA echoes this advice, with case studies showing the most effective marketing campaigns are those using print media in conjunction with other channels to create integrated marketing campaigns. Direct mail can be the path that leads consumers to a website by incorporating QR codes, augmented reality, and other forms of interactive devices to provide a more compelling and satisfying customer experience.

Gutenberg may not have known about customer experience, but his milestone of the second millennium continues to adapt and thrive more than 500 years after it was introduced. Find article here: PrintingNews.com/12429367 ■ October 2018 Printing News

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PAPER MOVEMENT

Paper and the Circular Economy On a recent holiday to Prince Edward Island, I was served a drink with a paper straw…the first paper straw I have seen in a long time! I could hardly contain my excitement and began talking to the waitress about my “paper” life.

Photo courtesy of iStock.com/petogarva

Story by Phil Riebel

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ake way for the “paper movement”!

On a recent holiday to Prince Edward Island, I was served a drink with a paper straw… the first paper straw I have seen in a long time! I could hardly contain my excitement and began talking to the waitress about my “paper” life. She responded by saying “yes, there is a paper movement underway”….Wow! Interesting that someone outside the paper industry is saying this.

Recent stories about the impact of materials in our waste streams – like plastic in our oceans, or the increasing amounts of electronic waste – have changed how companies think about the materials used in their manufacturing process. There is a movement to get away from the ‘one-and-done’ model of the linear economy, toward a more “circular economy,” where the reuse, refurbishment, recycling, and end-of-life disposal of a product factors into the manufacturing design. In a circular economy, manufacturing is done in a way that builds the overall health of the process – financially, environmentally, and socially.

Large corporations like Starbucks and McDonald’s are looking for ways to minimize plastic packaging with their straws and cups. Packaging suppliers are investing in research to develop coatings that make paper as convenient and practical as plastic, but also biodegradable and recyclable. From gift cards to Apple iPhone packaging, companies are evaluating and often redesigning their process to incorporate more sustainable materials.

Paper is a natural fit for the circular economy model.

Paper-based materials are becoming the go-to replacement as companies look for more sustainable ways to produce their products. Wood, paper, and paper-based products, in many circumstances, tie into the circular economy model because of the following facts: Phil Riebel Phil Riebel is the President of Two Sides North America, nc a non rofit that ro ote the en iron ental an ocial enefit a ell a the re on i le ro ction use of print and paper.

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■ Paper is one of the few truly sustainable products.

Each year, forests in North America grow significantly more wood than is harvested. North American forests are a renewable resource that is continuously replenished using sustainable forest management.

■ Paper is highly recyclable. Paper is recycled more than any other commodity in the solid waste stream and is often the dominant raw material used in paper production. A combination of fresh wood supply and recycled paper allows printing and writing paper to be down-cycled to other products like corrugated boxes, tissue, and other packaging.

■ Much of the energy used for papermaking is renewable. Roughly two-thirds of the energy used by North American pulp and paper mills is self-generated using renewable biomass in combination with heat and power (CHP) systems. The paper industry uses more renewable energy than any other industrial sector.

There is still a significant amount of work needed to measure the overall life cycle benefits of making these manufacturing shifts, but companies are reviewing the environmental impact of their processes and products in a more complete way. The sustainability of wood and paper continues to play an important role in the move from a linear to a circular economy. Find article here: PrintingNews.com/12430562 ■ WhatTheyThink - Printing News

10/4/18 12:47 PM

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10/5/18 12:37 PM

LABELS & PACKAGING

Labelexpo Americas 2018 Is Not Just for Labels and Packaging Labelexpo took place at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, on September 25–27.

This is the biggest Label and Print packaging event in the Americas.

Story by David Zwang

T

he biggest label and package printing exposition in the Americas took place at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 15 minutes from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. Labelexpo, which alternates each year between the U.S. and Europe, isn’t your run-ofthe-mill trade show; it’s focused on label and package printing, and for good reason. Global label production output in 2017 was approximately $36.98B and growing at a CAGR of ~ 4% through 2026, according to The Future of Label Printing to 2022 (Smithers Pira, 2017). This is a market opportunity that can’t be ignored.

Even if you are not currently in the label and packaging field, this is a unique opportunity to see what it offers and, more importantly, the latest production tools being shown.

This market segment is where much of the genesis of new types of print production development takes place.

Although, according to The Future of Labels and Release Liners to 2021 (Smithers Pira, 2016), current label production process distribution still shows flexo as the predominant technology for label and package printing. Flexo’s dominance primarily

David Zwang David Zwang specializes in process analysis, and strategic development of fir in ol e li hin an ac a in acro the lo e ontact hi at david@zwang.com

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results from cost and performance advantages, and it will be for a while. A big part of that advantage is due to recent developments in both plate technology and optimized printing equipment, which provides flexo with new levels of quality and productivity. We are already seeing flexo displacing gravure on one end, and putting pressure on the inkjet crossover equation. We expect this to continue with new plating and control technologies, many of which will be showcased at the event.

There is a lot to be learned from flexo and how it is used in label production. Always a very configurable printing technology, label converters are used to maintaining and changing press configurations based on the specific needs of the product they are running. This is a significant advantage for other print applications as well, since it can create many “on the fly” hybrid production opportunities, with new modular printing and finishing component offerings. Digital printing technologies are gaining ground fast in the label production market. While not as productive as flexo at this point, they do offer on-demand, variable, and other value-added opportunities for the label converter. Digital label and packaging print solutions also offer the greatest growth potential with digital package printing estimated to grow at ~15% CAGR through 2026.

Going forward we can expect to see even more of these offerings driving both hybrid printing and finishing/ converting. Increasingly we will see many digital inkjet press modules

being added to flexo presses to create new hybrid solutions, in addition to new standalone digital inkjet presses.

This basic concept is also what we are starting to see in many new commercial and bespoke industrial printing applications as well.

This new wave of market offerings includes digital embellishment options, and we can expect many more in the near future. This increase in embellishment use was noted in a recent Keypoint Intelligence InfoTrends study (CMYK: The Use of Special Effects in Digital Printing), that found print buyers are willing to pay up to 89% more for textured effects vs. standard CMYK-only work.

The next exciting phase of this hybrid approach addresses the integration of smart label and packaging technologies. Expect to see introductions with this type of technology at Labelexpo. While still early in its development, these products will be among the first endto-end smart labeling solutions, just a sampling of exciting times ahead!

Moving beyond the hardware, process software and automation are also focus areas that affect label and package printing production. Two separate automation areas addressed automation from job creation through production and invoicing.

Additionally, new substrate materials and ink technologies were shown across the five expo halls.

Whether currently involved, or considering entry into the label and package printing market, this annual event is a must-attend opportunity. ■ WhatTheyThink - Printing News

10/4/18 1:28 PM

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DIGITAL ORIGINAL

Tips to Make Money with The Internet

Story by John Giles

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our internet connection should be making you money every day. After all, it is your door to world of print buyers, and tools now available make it easier than ever for them to use your services.

Here are seven tips that any printer should be using to take advantage of the power of the internet.

Turn your internet connection into a salesperson. If you don’t have an active internet presence, you are at a competitive disadvantage. Most of the off-the-shelf, print-specific websites like those from PrinterPresence, WebsitesforPrinters.com, and PagePath have built-in storefronts, document libraries, and portal services. Use these web-to-print tools and your website can be selling and taking orders 24/7.

If you have a home-grown site, you can add those same services from outside web-to-print providers.

Use content to get leads. Content will attract visitors to your website.

Most print-specific website companies offer their subscribers copy for blogs, newsletters, white papers, email and social media to attract the attention of print buyers. You can even write your own. The real value of providing content is in capturing contact information when someone accesses John Giles John Giles is a consultant for the printing industry who works with Tom Crouser and CPrint International to help printers prosper. Contact John at (954) 224-1942, john@cprint.com , or johng247@aol.com .

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it. Offer great informative content and other freebies to your website visitors, but be sure to collect their contact information before you allow them to download it. It is a great way to find out who is visiting your site and get the names of prospects.

Put someone in charge of your website’s portal business. Don’t just set up a portal for a client and hope they will use it. If you don’t contact the customer regularly about his portal use, he will forget he has one.

Monitor the customer’s portal use regularly and be ready to jump in if there you see any changes. Did usage and sales go up this month for the customer? Contact the buyer to see if there are other products that need to be added to the site. Did the usage or sales drop? Find out if something has changed recently. Has the person who was handling the portal left or changed jobs and the new person needs training? Do the products listed on the portal need to be updated or changed? In any case, always remind the customer about how the portal saves them time and money.

Train your customer service and sales staff about the benefits of your portal system and how to use it.

Everyone involved in customer contacts should be able to tell customers why a portal is important and show them how to use it. They should also be able to identify potential portal users. Not every business needs a portal. The top candidates for portal use are companies with multiple buyers, multiple locations or a combination of both.

Stop complaining when website visitors want prices on printing work you don’t do. Go make a sales

call. Your SEO is working, and now you have the name of a person who buys printing that contacted you first. You may not be able to handle the original request, but you have an excuse to tell them what printing you can do for them.

Have the CSRs preflight those incoming customer files. Most orders now come to a printer over the internet, but they need to be preflighted to assure they will print correctly. Since most customer files are submitted as PDF files, they can easily be checked by the CSR as they enter the workflow. Software programs such as Adobe Acrobat Pro or Enfocus Connect will search a PDF for errors, create a report on problems and, in many cases, fix the PDF file so it will output properly. The software eliminates the need to send every PDF file to the prepress department to be reviewed. A $15 to $20 a month cost for software for every CSR is a small price to pay for the time it will save in the prepress department to do more productive and profitable work.

QR codes are still a thing. Your marketing material should have a QR code that links to a relevant page on your website. One of the best ways to drive eyes to your website is with direct mail that includes a QR code linked to a landing page you want them to visit. Just be sure that you have a “responsive” website that provides an optimal viewing experience no matter what mobile device the user has. QR code use continues to grow since QR readers are a standard smartphone feature, especially when linked to video or custom landing webpage.

The internet and websites don’t automatically create new sales— unless the printer uses them. Make sure your web benefits are part of your selling plan to get, and keep, profitable customers. Find article here: PrintingNews.com/21024233 ■ October 2018 Printing News

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10/4/18 1:29 PM

MAILING

Silos, Clouds, and Mailing Despite the prevalence of the mail in most people’s lives, mailing itself has for years been difficult and confusing to many.

Story by Brian Euclide

D

espite the prevalence of the mail in most people’s lives, mailing itself has for years been difficult and confusing to many.

The updating, correcting, and sorting of name and address lists are an even greater mystery. This may explain why this function has remained in a dark corner of the shop, removed, ignored, dismissed from, and not engaged with other aspects of the printing business. We talk of “silos” in the printing industry; nowhere is that more true than when it comes to mailing. It may very well be in a real silo. Yet, in many cases the outcome of this little siloed department has the greatest impact on the total cost of a mail piece.

The mailing or “list processing” department has been trapped not

Brian Euclide Brian is President of TEC Mailing Solutions, a provider of web-based Software as a Service tools for the customer data and mailing industries.

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just in a silo, but in a 1980s silo.

The last major technology leap was when a small company in Lacrosse, Wis., introduced the necessary tools to perform list processing on a PC. Today, the vast majority of PC- or server-based mailing software continues to be a standalone application, not integrated with any other business function.

With the introduction of web-toprint, prepress workflow solutions, cloud-based MIS, online accounting, and other integrated solutions, companies are seeking the means to share and leverage data across a multitude of systems. Combine this with a decline in on-site information technology resources, and you have a situation where you need systems to communicate with each other— but no desire to maintain or pay for them. This is exactly where the cloud and cloud-based applications have gained their popularity.

You can just push data from your legacy mailing software to some shared database, but you would be missing the point of two-way integration. In order to support the integration of your mailing, you need

to allow a multitude of systems to push data to and from your mailing tools while maintaining uniformity, compliance, and security. Legacy mailing software hooks to web-to-print struggle with the ability to manage endless Process Acknowledgement Forms (PAF) for NCOALink, a secure dataset of permanent change-ofaddress (COA) records. Integration of USPS Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) uniqueness across integrated and traditional platforms often is impossible.

The only way to move your list processing out of the back room— the silo—and integrate with other systems is through an umbrella approach with a provider of cloudbased mailing tools. The centralized and technologically unrestricted communication and integration from web-to-print, workflow, MIS, and accounting can keep you USPScompliant, keep your Intelligent Mail Barcodes unique across all platforms, and keep your IT resources happy.

Integrations and the technology exist today to pull your mailing operation out of a silo and into the cloud. Find here: PrintingNews.com/12430350 ■ WhatTheyThink - Printing News

10/4/18 1:31 PM

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10/4/18 1:31 PM

WORKFORCE

Preparing Your Print Business for a

Millennial Workforce

Story by Marco Boer

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he millennial generation is poised to have a major impact on the business model of print. Our industry is facing a serious, long-term challenge: a labor shortage.

We have labor challenges in part because the economy is at full (or very close to full) employment.

Another challenge that is actually predictable and manageable is the growing population of millennial workers.

The Baby Boomers, our artisan offset press operators who knew how to manage all aspects of the printing process, are retiring. After them, the Generation Xers, are the first generation that’s digitally savvy but still know a bit about offset printing.

The next generation, the millennials, has very little knowledge about, and low interest in, offset printing.

So we’ve got two problems. One is that, as the business shifts and we are facing about a 15% decrease in the available labor pool for print industry employees through 2026—according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics— we’re now looking at a situation where, to engage millennials, we have to make this industry more attractive to them.

Very few millennials want to become printing press operators.

Marco Boer Marco Boer is Vice President at I.T. Strategies where he focuses on product planning for graphics, transaction, and publishing printers and emerging industrial digital printing applications.

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However, according to recent articles in popular trade magazines, they want to become analysts, or to be involved in more creative aspects of the business, like design. Those things can be a great advantage to the industry, and an individual print business. Having employees who can help analyze the metrics associated with print campaigns and determine what kind of print is valuable and effective—or, as some might say, print-worthy—means that a print business can better help customers optimize the return on a print campaign. This is going to become more important going forward— significantly more important than having the most beautiful print quality, which is meaningless if it doesn’t achieve what the customer wants to accomplish.

Having creative staff members is also going to be more important. They will need to be able to redesign and repurpose print not just for ink on paper, but also ink on other substrates and even other shapes. Think about printing on promotional goods. It’s a little niche at the moment, but that “little niche” is worth almost $60 billion dollars in revenue worldwide.

As creatively-inclined millennials enter the printing workforce, it will only help commercial printers.

There are some “clash of culture” issues related to millennials that employers need to understand. First, like almost everyone else, millennials are driven by money—they need to survive, after all—but they’re not driven by accumulating things.

They’re more interested in having experiences—and they are very aware

of the environment around them. So, in terms of environment, you must have a cleaner workplace. (Offset shops can be notoriously filthy.) One of the advantages to being an all- or mostly digital shop is that it can be more like operating office equipment.

You need to have a workplace that’s more automated, because millennials won’t know how to change plates, for example.

Most importantly, you’re going to have to set some rules and boundaries, but also be somewhat flexible. The biggest problem that we’re hearing today about millennials in print shops involves things like texting. Many commercial printers have policies that say, “When you come to work, your phone goes into a lockbox at the reception desk and you don’t get it back until your shift ends.” That’s very uncomfortable for millennials used to being in touch constantly. In the print environment, there are a lot of moving parts—and it would be very easy for a texting worker to get hit by a forklift. So it’s a safety concern. At the same time, you’re paying for an employee’s time not for them to text. So it’s a balance that needs to reached to keep both parties satisfied.

As we look ahead, the industry demographic is going to change a lot faster than we might think—likely in the next five years.

So change your business model, your work environment, and change your equipment to welcome those entering our industry who will bring new skills and talents that will also help your business thrive. Find article here: PrintingNews.com/12430148 ■ WhatTheyThink - Printing News

10/4/18 2:38 PM

PERSONALIZED

When Personalized Ads Aren’t Personal

Accenture, 41% of consumers say they have switched brands because of “poor personalization.” In total, Accenture finds, bad personalization results in a $756 billion in lost retail and brand sales. For print, the opportunity remains to do better. Build databases

and use human intelligence to craft your strategy. Create positive, relevant experiences that are useful to the people you’re targeting. In other words, get out there and show digital how it’s done. Find article here: PrintingNews.com/21024273 ■

Digital marketing claims to have the corner on truly personalized experiences, but does it really? How can print compete? Accuracy.

Story by Heidi Tolliver-Walker

I

n the digital world, digital ads can be served up based on a website visitor’s online behavior and psychographic profiling. Customers get what they need, and marketers make more money. It’s the perfect marriage of technology and consumer need.

How can print compete? With accuracy.

Online personalization is largely based on cookies, algorithms, and artificial intelligence (AI). It’s only as good as the technology allows it to be. Sometimes it can be highly accurate and get great results. Other times, it can be painfully inaccurate and downright embarrassing.

On my favorite radio station the other day, the two DJs were talking about digital ads being served up that made no sense. One DJ had just purchased a rug, and ads began popping up in her social media feeds for the same product. If the retailer knew that she was interested in the rug, shouldn’t it have also known that she bought it? Raise your hand if the same thing has happened to you.

Personalization is great...when it works. Get it right and people will tolerate the invasion of their privacy.

Get it wrong and they will feel violated and betrayed.

According to research from

1-800-842-4534 CSA.CANON.COM

For more information, visit Printingnews.com/12303268 WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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TREND WATCH

Trend Watch:

The Rise of the Blockbuster Self-Promotional Piece Trish talks with Scott Engle of Graphic Visual Solutions of Greensboro, NC, about the power—and the pressure—of making visually striking (and costly) “print capabilities” brochures to inspire, educate, and motivate today’s customers.

Story by Trish Witkowski

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t’s true that printers are not known for being great at promoting themselves, but today’s printers are realizing that they need to shift to speaking the language of their creative customers by providing beautifully designed and tactile publications that actually put their print capabilities into practice.

Driving this trend is the increased competition in specialty printing, and advancements in press coatings and digital printing that have changed the game. There’s so much going on that it’s hard for customers to understand the advancements in print and to keep track of the capabilities of their different print service providers.

However, dropping off a pile of customer samples, or distributing basic swatch books of coatings and Trish Witkowski Trish specializes in creative solutions and engagement strategies for direct mail and marketing.

She frequently travels and speaks to print organizations and their clients to illustrate the power of print.

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finishes no longer cuts the mustard.

Creative people want to see these capabilities applied in exciting ways, and presented in a comprehensive idea resource.

With that said, for many printers it can be a huge challenge to get everyone on board for the investment in time and money that it takes to design and produce, for example, a nearly 40-page publication where each page showcases a creative design, special effect, different or specialty paper, and a production technique—a piece where each page is seemingly more impressive than the last. That was Scott Engle’s challenge when he spearheaded the creation of their “Be Visual” promotion.

Scott is the VP of Marketing for Graphic Visual Solutions in Greensboro, N.C., and he sent me a sample of the promotion a few weeks back as a lead up to a webinar I was working on. It reminded me more

of the types of “no holds barred” promotions we see from some of the leading paper companies. I was so impressed with it, that I had to give him a call and learn more about how and why they produced the promotion.

Now, to be clear, Graphic Visual Solutions is not the only printer that is pulling out all the stops to produce highly designed and immaculately produced self-promotional materials for their customers. This is a real trend I’ve been seeing over the past few years from printers all across the country—but I wanted to get Scott’s story, and to understand what really goes into one of these pieces, and to see if it’s worth the effort and expense.

Trish Witkowski: What was the motivation for taking on a selfpromotional project of this scale?

Scott Engle: First things first, we wanted our clients to understand what we’re capable of. Print is rapidly evolving, and we wanted to raise the bar, show off a bit, and prove that print is an incredibly powerful way to communicate while educating our customers.

For us as a team, it also became a great way for us to do our own R&D. We had all of this cutting WhatTheyThink - Printing News

10/4/18 2:25 PM

TREND WATCH edge equipment, and capable, knowledgeable people on staff, and we used it as a tool to actively learn and refine our techniques ahead of the curve. We were seeing so many interesting techniques in the market, so why passively wait for a project come in? We made our own exciting project and challenged the team to push the boundaries and make it happen. Sometimes we crashed and burned, but it was part of the learning process—we always solved the problem and rose out of it like a Phoenix. It’s been a huge confidence-builder for our production team. We’ve done so much at this point, that our team doesn’t fear a

challenge, they just attack it head-on.

Lastly, the promotional piece has been an asset for our sales team.

With so many of our capabilities demonstrated in one publication, it serves as a baseline of our capabilities, and a springboard for creative discussions with clients. It has turned the conversation from imagining what we “could do” to demonstrating what we “did.”

TW: How did you get the project done, and how long did it take?

SE: We designed it in-house, which we’re very proud of. In fact, the piece won four Benny Awards last year.

The two I’m most proud of were for “Special Innovation in Printing” and

Two-page spread from the Graphic Visual Solutions “Be Visual” capabilities brochure featuring their Motioncoat™ varnish technique that creates a unique sense of motion as the light hits an intricate vector pattern in the varnish.

Two-page spread from the Graphic Visual Solutions “Be Visual” capabilities brochure featuring four-color process plus uoresce t pi di ital pri ti o C a pa e earl specialty paper

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for “Booklets with 4 or More Colors, Creative Companies/Agencies.” I feel like we hit both ends of the spectrum with great design enhanced by innovative printing techniques.

With regard to how we did it, it took a lot of time, money and planning. I can’t share the cost with you (hint: $$$!), but I can say it was hundreds of hours of work, and about a year of design and development. The production planning was critical, moving across offset and digital presses with different substrates and in-line, nearline and off-line coating and finishing techniques. However we designed the piece as individual pages with wire-o binding so that we could have the ultimate flexibility and life cycle of the piece. We can update and add/ subtract pages as needed. With that said, it was hard to decide when the piece was “done.” At some point, you just have to stop adding pages and start getting it out there!

TW: Was it all worth it?

SE: Absolutely. The response has been incredible. Our clients love it, and our sales team feels really good about it. We’re seeing jobs come in that we can say are direct descendants of this piece—sure, the client gives it their own twist, but they went from not asking for this technique to suddenly asking for the processes we used in the book. Even better, they’re happy because they’re seeing greater response in their print communications, and isn’t that what it’s all about?

For us internally, it’s been a huge win. It’s been a confidence-builder, a point of pride, and an exciting accomplishment. Our entire team poured their heart and soul into this, and it’s a testament to the power of print. We all stand and look at this piece knowing that we’ve elevated our game. Find article here: PrintingNews.com/21024499. ■ October 2018 Printing News

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VIDEOS

drupa 2020 - embrace The Future drupa provides crucial impulses for print, media, packaging production, and industrial applications especially in the vertical markets as well.

Find video here: PrintingNews.com/12423778

Insignia6 Dual Magnetic Machine Producing 4-Up Autolock Cartons Rollem’s Insignia6 dual magnetic die cutter running 18x18” sheets of 16pt SBS cardstock printed via HP Indigo utilizing ColorLogix metalized inks.

Find video here: PrintingNews.com/12428697

EFI VUTEk 5r Wallcovering Applications Video The 5-meter EFI VUTEk 5r superwide roll-to-roll LED printer can help you bring your customer’s stories to life with unique and personalized wallcovering applications.

Find video here: PrintingNews.com/12426331

Clean Labels: The Promise to the Customer Soli Food, cooks fresh food daily. Fresh food requires fresh labels, which is why they brought digital print in-house with Colordyne’s 1600 Series C, powered by Memjet.

Find video here: PrintingNews.com/12429878

Avery Dennison’s Mariana Rodriguez Explains Intelligent Labels Mariana Rodriguez, business director Intelligent Labels, Avery Dennison, explains in an interviewwhat the phrase “I-O-T” or Internet of Things in relation to smartphones and mobile devices means.

Find video here: PrintingNews.com/2426333

Oce ColorWave 3000 Series - Become More Versatile Push the boundaries of your large format printing with the Océ ColorWave 3500/3700 series printing system, a monochrome and color printer, scanner, and copier in one convenient single footprint.

Find video here: PrintingNews.com/12429888

Whats Next in Printed Packaging?

With every digital print segment expected to see rapid growth in the coming years, discover how Xerox is helping pave the future for printed packaging.

Find video here: PrintingNews.com/12426549

Frank Visits Faneuil Halls Edes & Gill: An 18th-Century Print Shop Frank plays with his newest toy: a model of an English common press, a design that improved upon Gutenberg’s original.

Find video here: PrintingNews.com/12429911

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WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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IN THE MAIL

What You Need to Know About Postal Issues The logjam on postal promotions and price increases may be broken with confirmation of two members to the USPS Board of Governors…Postal Service proposals could require more stringent requirements for hazardous liquids packaging and limits on marketing mail content.

Story by Idealliance

Price Increase, Promotions Back on Track?

The annual price increases for both Market Dominant and Competitive products had been in doubt because there was no U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors (BOG) to approve them, but the Board now has two confirmed sitting members, which means mailers can expect to see a CPI-based price increase early next year. Typically, the Postal Service announces its annual rate increases in October for implementation in January, but it could be challenging to stick to that aggressive timetable this year.

The Senate confirmed Robert M. Duncan of Kentucky and David C. Williams of Illinois last month. Duncan was elected Chairman of the BOG and Williams Vice Chairman at a meeting of the BOG’s Temporary Emergency Committee (TEC); subsequently, Williams was elected Chairman and

Duncan Vice Chairman of the TEC. With their confirmation, a CPI-based increase in the area of 2.4% is likely.

Mailers are also hoping that the BOG will approve various promotions—such as the Personalized Color Transpromo and Mobile Shopping promotions—that have been attractive to customers and likely increased interest in the mail.

President Trump has also nominated Ron A. Bloom of New York (to serve the remainder of a term expiring December 8, 2020) and Florida-based Roman Martinez (to serve the remainder of a term expiring December 8, 2024) as members of the Board of Governors.

No dates have been scheduled for their confirmation hearings.

Changes to Hazardous Liquids Packaging?

The USPS extended the comment period for its proposed changes to the packaging requirements for shipping hazardous liquids to

Idealliance is a global industry association representing the visual communications industry, comprised of content and media creators, and their print and digital service providers, material suppliers and technology partners.

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September 30 after hearing informally from mailers that complying with this change could cause significant challenges. The proposal would require mailers of all liquids in nonmetal containers to provide three levels of packaging: absorbent cushioning, sealed secondary packaging, and a strong outer mailing container. This requirement would apply regardless of the volume of liquid. The USPS also is encouraging the use of locking rings when mailing metal containers with friction-top closures (push-down tops).

The Postal Service stated that the new mailing standards will prevent spills and damage to surrounding mailpieces when containers of liquid rupture, but mailers are concerned about the increased costs associated with more extensive packaging requirements regardless of the amount of liquid involved. Postal stakeholders also worry that the proposal could increase costs in another way since triple packaging could add weight, potentially pushing mailpieces into higher rate categories.

WhatTheyThink - Printing News

10/4/18 2:43 PM

Inkjet Growth Continues to Make an Impact on the Market We asked our Channel Partners why they choose Xerox for Managed Print Services. The responses were so compelling, we collated them for you.

Find video here: PrintingNews.com/12430277

Introducing the Epson Print Academy YouTube Channel Introducing the Epson Print Academy YouTube Channel. Videos i clude o to detailed e pla atio s o or o s ro monitor calibration, color management through to printing.

Find video here: PrintingNews.com/21023523

Smart Binding System Manufactures Fully-Automated Roll-to-Perfect Bound Variable Books with Ease Trish travels to Boston to visit the VIP Demonstration and Training Center at Standard Finishing Systems for a demo of the fully automated Smart Binding System. PrintingNews.com/21024439

Google Takes On Smart Packaging David Hogue, UX Design Leader for Google, talks about the future of packaging and some of the applications Google has been introducingnot only as packaging but as an integral part of the company’s AIY kits. Find video here: PrintingNews.com/video/21024440

Frank Romano Celebrates 50 Years of PRINT ra co e orates t e t a i ersary o t e first e e t eld i u e i C ica o as t e first major industry event of the modern era.

Find video here: PrintingNews.com/12430703

Mutoh Print & Cut Dual Device Solution Disco er t e e efits o uto s dual de ice ri t Cut solution. Produce high quality graphics for outdoor and indoor applications on the ValueJet printer while using the cutting plotter for vinyl cutting. Find video here: PrintingNews.com/21024324

Komori Ink Curing Highlights Komori has a full spectrum of ink curing options available for your pressroom. As your consultant, we want to help you make the right choice for your business, whether it’s LED, UV or HUV. Find video here: PrintingNews.com/12430706 WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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Inkjet Growth Continues to Make an Impact on the Market Amy Machado of IDC Research talks about her recent inkjet forecast for the color market. Overall numbers show that the inkjet market is growing, thanks to quality improvements and more options. Find video here: PrintingNews.com/21024437 October 2018 Printing News

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IN THE MAIL Limits on Marketing Mail Content?

The USPS has floated for industry comment a plan to limit Marketing Mail letters and flats (regular and nonprofit) to paper-based, printed content—a move the Postal Service says will improve on-time delivery and processing. Comments are due October 22. If implemented, the plan would push all merchandise or goods “regardless of value” into another product such as Priority Mail or Parcel Select.

The proposal appears to disallow everything from window envelopes and plastic cards to decals and other premiums that are regularly part of marketing, advertising, and other uses of Marketing Mail. The USPS states that the shift would improve processing and would “ultimately” place all nonpaper items into mailstreams with endto-end tracking that is “consistent with market expectations.”

Still No Word.

The President’s taskforce charged with reviewing the U.S. Postal Service and developing actionable legislative and administrative recommendations for reform reached its early August deadline for completing its report, but that work isn’t likely to be released until after the mid-term elections in November.

The Administration advocated privatization in its Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century document released in June, while recognizing the challenges in taking that course. It is unknown whether the taskforce will recommend privatization and steps to achieve it, but such a course would require approval

by Congress and it is highly unlikely that a majority in Congress would approve that approach. A bipartisan resolution, sponsored by Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Rodney David (R-IL), has already been introduced WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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calling on Congress to ensure the USPS remains an independent agency of the federal government.

Deadline for New EPS Approaching.

Effective October 1, new eligible payment accounts must be established through the Enterprise Payment System (EPS) rather than the Centralized Account Payment System (CAPS).

The EPS can now be used for FirstClass, Marketing, and Periodicals mail.

CAPS will be retired effective April 1, 2019, so customers are encouraged to migrate to EPS as soon as possible.

Package products paid through eVS may, however, continue to use CAPS accounts until informed otherwise.

Watch Your Weight.

The USPS has implemented its new procedures for pulling from the mailstream items that exceed the 70-pound limit, although without fines. Under the rule published in the August 29 Federal Register, senders or receivers will have 14 days to retrieve the package. After that time it will be considered abandoned and will be disposed of at the USPS’s discretion, and postage will not be refunded. When the proposal was first announced, the USPS stated that penalties would be imposed for overweight items. While it is still considering this step, it will implement the new procedures without fines at this point because it believes it is important to remove overweight items from the mailstream immediately for the safety of postal personnel.

Same IV Service, New Name.

If you’re looking for help with Informed Visibility (IV), keep in mind that the Informed Visibility Help Desk has changed its name to The IV Solutions Center. The customer services won’t change and the USPS contact information remains

InformedVisibility@usps.gov and 1-800238-3150, option#2. The USPS said the new name reflects the fact that this team provides solutions for a growing number of internal and external users across a diverse range of systems.

Working to Improve ACS Billing.

Idealliance, PostCom, and the National Association of Presort Mailers are working together on an effort to improve how the USPS provides and funds address correction services (ACS). Prompted by the USPS August 10 Industry Alert announcing the resumption of ACS, which had been on hold after the Postal Service discovered in the spring that it had overcharged some customers, the associations wrote to USPS Marketing Vice President Steve Monteith about the need to improve address quality by reexamining how address correction services are provided and funded.

While acknowledging that the Postal Service has a right to seek payment for current services, the associations stated that it is problematic for the USPS to seek payment going back to March 2018.

“Given that this situation is the by product of multiple USPS errors, a situation first recognized by service providers and brought to the attention of the Postal Service, service providers are unable to simply pass along charges without a rigorous effort to ensure data accuracy,” the letter noted. The groups recommended that “the Postal Service reconsider its plan to collect for ACS provided prior to the billing cycle and suggest this be the first step in a more comprehensive consideration of how to address management services can better incentivize mail management and greater use of the mail.” Find article here: PrintingNews. com/21024231 ■ October 2018 Printing News

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APTech

Cary Sherburne Cary Sherburne is a well-known author, journalist and marketing consultant whose practice is focused on marketing communications strategies for the printing and publishing industries.

Association for PRINT Technologies (APTech) Expands Membership to Print Service Providers The Association for PRINT Technologies (APTech) announced a new print service provider membership category just in time for PRINT 18. Those who attended PRINT can get the first year of membership free! We spoke with APTech to find out more.

Story by Cary Sherburne

I

n July 2018, the Association for PRINT Technologies (APTechSM) Board of Directors unanimously voted to create a membership category that will allow print service providers to officially engage with the organization. In addition, the Board amended the bylaws to allow for print service providers to serve in leadership positions, including Board participation, even potentially chairperson.

This news was announced just in time for the PRINT®18 event, held at McCormick Place in Chicago from September 30–October 2, 2018.

Print service provider memberships will have an annual fee of $49. For those print service providers attending PRINT 18, APTech offered a special promotion of FREE membership for the first year. To take advantage of this offer, print service providers were invited to stop

by APTech booth #1442 and digitally “opt in.”

Print service providers who attended the event

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but were unable to visit the APTech booth can take advantage of this offer later by contacting the Association at (703) 264-7200.

“Our overarching goal is to align with the printing industry value chain,” said Thayer Long, president of APTech. “This includes manufacturers of hardware and software, print service providers, and buyers of print such as brands, designers and agencies. We believe the industry should be as frictionless as possible, and for it to continue to be profitable and thrive, we need to bring these communities together as equals.”

APTech will be actively recruiting print service provider members to the Board with the intent of having several positions filled for 2019. By putting this new membership offering in place, the goal is to strengthen relationships and deliver year-round value to the entire printing value chain. Find article here: PrintingNews.com/21025775 ■ WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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The ColorPainter™ M-64s Delivers Heavyweight Performance

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10/5/18 1:52 PM

WIDE-FORMAT EF & SIGNAGE E NEWS SAi Partners with Avery Dennison to Develop Specialized RIP o tware or ew ra c et rintin stem SA International (SAi), the leading provider of software solutions for the signmaking, digital printing and CNC machining industries, has partnered with Avery Dennison to develop specialized software for the company’s TrafficJet Print System. The FlexiSIGN & PRINT Avery Dennison TrafficJet and FlexiPRINT Avery Dennison TrafficJet software will feature on the new system, which is designed to allow the production of certified output for the highly-regulated global traffic signage market. As well as incorporating the TrafficJet large format digital printer, the bundle includes the specially-designed versions of SAi’s software, which is optimized for traffic sign production. In addition to full print and cut capabilities, the user-friendly FlexiSIGN & PRINT and FlexiPRINT Avery Dennison TrafficJet software features SAi’s contour cut True Shape Nesting feature, which enables up to 30% savings on print and cut jobs by optimizing media usage. PrintingNews.com/12429130

Lea in Commercial rint er ice Provider Invests in The Netherlands’ First icoh ro Leading Dutch commercial print service provider Magneet Communicatiecentrum has chosen to extend its service delivery and speed up production with The Netherlands’ first Ricoh Pro T7210 UV flatbed printer.

The operation already runs two Ricoh ProT C9110 heavy duty digital color sheetfed presses, a Ricoh ProT 907EX, and a Ricoh ProT L4160 large format printer. Adding the Ricoh Pro T7210 will help deliver a variety of applications that are currently being outsourced. The result is a faster job delivery time and greater production flexibility.

“I believe the Ricoh Pro T7210 will deliver a wide range of production capabilities. At the moment we are testing to see what the different possibilities are,” says Mathieu Levens, director of Magneet. “We chose Ricoh because we already work with various Ricoh’s production systems and are very satisfied with them. Moreover, we are convinced that Ricoh will do everything it can to ensure Magneet is a success.”

The Ricoh Pro T7210 is optimized for the industrial printing of decoration. It can run at speeds of up to 100 sqm per hour on a wide range of material from glass and wood to aluminum and composites. With a maximum print size of 2.1 meters x 3.2 meters, the system can print on one plate or on several pre-cut plates to increase productivity.

PrintingNews.com/12430496

Famil wne in teman ress rintin an ar etin Franchise en or siness in Victorville, California For Jerri Matthews, Brian Matthews, and Jeremy Hinson, opening their family-run Minuteman Press design, marketing, and printing franchise in Victorville, CA was a natural fit. Jeremy explains, “We chose to own a Minuteman Press franchise because our skillsets fit right in line with the business. My background in graphic design and being in the sign and graphics industry for many years gives me the ability to create designs and products.

My mom, Jerri, has a strong accounting background, which really helps us on the financial side of the business.

My stepdad, Brian, loves to meet new people and has a natural, easy approach that helps us with direct marketing and networking with other local business owners.”

Prior to franchising with Minuteman Press International, Jerri Matthews worked as a tax accountant for over 30 years.

She also spent the previous 14 years self-employed with her business partner Elaine. Jerri says, “What I really like about the Minuteman Press franchise is the support system, from the regional reps helping us with the initial setup and dayto-day questions to everyone back at MPIHQ helping with our equipment leases, vendors and making sure we have the tools we need to be competitive in our local market.”

What are the rewards of owning a business? Jeremy answers, “So far this has been very rewarding. It’s a great feeling to help local businesses with their branding and marketing, growing their business along with our own. We enjoy working with new people and providing them with the quality and service that Minuteman Press is known for.

We’re gaining new customers and friends every day!”

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10/4/18 3:33 PM

WIDE-FORMAT & SIGNAGE NEWS WHAAM! N3 Display Graphics Makes An Impact with Drytac Wall Art Large-format print specialist N3 Display Graphics has produced an incredibly high-impact wall graphic using ReTac Textures Linen media from Drytac.

N3 Display Graphics Ltd produced a super-sized version of Roy Lichtenstein’s iconic pop art painting Whaam! for its building in Bristol, UK. These purpose-built premises accommodate around 20 employees including on-site fittings teams.

“ReTac Textures Linen is simply what we call ‘wallpaper’ at N3,” says Robin Campbell, Projects Manager at N3 Display Graphics. “We use it for the majority of our wall graphics. It has a slight texture which provides a realistic feel of the wall underneath and holds colour well, producing really vibrant graphics.”

ReTac Textures Linen is a 150 (6 mil) printable, matte white phthalate-free polymeric PVC film with an embossed linen-like finish to add depth to flat graphics - perfect for home, business and retail environments and more. Its ReTac ultra-removable adhesive makes it easy to apply and reposition without loss of adhesion, and removal without

surface damage. ReTac Textures Linen is compatible with solvent, eco-solvent, UV and latex printing technologies.

The version of Whaam! produced by N3 Display Graphics is around 15m long by 4m tall at its highest point - somewhat larger than Roy Lichtenstein’s original 1963 diptych on display at the Tate Modern gallery in London.

Using its Océ Arizona 460 XT UV flatbed printer, N3 Display Graphics also added its own stamp to the image with fresh colours and extra movement in the background. Find article here: PrintingNews.com/12430501

Digital cutting at an industrial level.

– Industrial-level automation with NEW BHS150 Board Handling System – 1.5m stack height, automatic job retrieval, D3 dual-beam capacity for ultimate non-stop productivity

Find out more at SGIA 2018 Booth 701, Oct 18-20, Las Vegas

www.zund.com

infous@zund.com T: 414-433-0700

For more information, visit Printingnews.com/10008759 WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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FIBER COMPUTING

Fiber Computing:

The Next Industrial Revolution The mission of Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) is to enable a manufacturing-based revolution—what we could call Industry 5.0—with the transformation of traditional fibers, yarns, and textiles into highly sophisticated integrated and networked devices and systems. In a recent conversation with Senior Editor Cary Sherburne, the organization’s Chief Marketing Officer, Eric Spackey, explains.

Story by Cary Sherburne

A

member of the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) Institutes, the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) is a nonprofit institute headquartered on the campus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Its CEO, Dr. Yoel Fink, is also a professor and former Director of the Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT. Eric Spackey, its Chief Marketing Officer, is also the President & CEO of Bluewater Defense, a military apparel manufacturer located in Puerto Rico. They join other members of the leadership team in driving the development of fiber devices, one of the technologies the Obama Administration believed would be critical to the future of American fiber and textile manufacturing.

AFFOA is partially funded by the U.S. Government, but has also raised almost $340 million in direct investment and cost-sharing contributions to ensure its work is carried on beyond the start-up stage.

Cary Sherburne Cary Sherburne is a well-known author, journalist and marketing consultant whose practice is focused on marketing communications strategies for the printing and publishing industries.

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“Most people don’t think of off of those textiles. With MIT as an institution involved Dr. Fink at MIT, a fiber with textiles,” Spackey said. research physicist, we “They did have a significant realized we could make fiber and textile program at these fibers the next form of one time, given the proximity communications.” to powerhouse textile cities, As part of the such as Lowell and Lawrence, organization’s work, it but during the 1960s the study is helping to establish a Eric Spackey of textiles was significantly number of fabric discovery/ reduced as the focus shifted towards prototyping facilities (FDCs), one of bioengineering. Today, it is being which is located in its backyard in revived in the form of new discoveries Lowell, Mass., which was a textile at MIT enabling the creation of ‘fiber mill powerhouse back in the day. “It’s devices.’ What this means is that kind of cool, you have an old brick at the fiber or thread scale, we can mill on the outside, but inside is the incorporate devices—you might even future of manufacturing,” Spackey say the ability to process information says. “We’re literally revitalizing the like a computer—encased in the fiber textile industry from the inside out.” and draw it as you would a normal Spackey points out that a huge fiber, putting it into fabric. This is the part of the organization’s mission is next generation of what fabric will education of industry and the public look like.” about the possibilities this next Spackey categorizes these industrial revolution presents. “The developments as the next industrial FDCs will play a key role here,” he revolution—Industry 5.0. “Textiles says. “Between the FDCs and MIT, we basically haven’t changed for have hosted well-known technology millennia,” he said, “and they have executives who will help us in always been selected for look driving this revolution. Even there, and feel, and protection from the education is required. One computing environment, but not high-tech executive asked, ‘But where is the functionality.” Spackey, who comes hardware?’ Well, there isn’t any, from the telecom industry, sees a really. It’s an entire new form of convergence happening between packaging concept for computing. communications technology and But the question highlights the fabrics. “Now with cloud computing need for a different way of thinking, infrastructure,” he explains, “you can even among innovative technology think about creating applications leaders.”

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FIBER COMPUTING Moore’s Law and Fabric Computing Moore’s Law, of course, was named after Gordon Moore, co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel, who published a 1965 paper projecting that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit would double every year, later revising it to every two years, a projection that has stood the test of time. Sometimes the time period quoted is 18 months, a combination of the effect of more and faster transistors.

“We’ve developed the Moore’s Law of Fiber,” Spackey remarked. “It didn’t exist before, and it is actually happening. We can see the kind of trajectory in capacity and capability, but with a sharper curve because we are so new in the development process that things are happening faster than 18 months. Because this is a new greenfield area of technology, we are seeing close to a doubling of capacity and capability every 90 days.”

Spackey asks us to think about what it could mean to have all of the fundamentals of a computer inside a piece of thread, and what that can do with whatever devices you might have hanging off of your clothes, a car seat, or other materials. “It’s the next shift, just like mobility,” he says. He draws parallels with what happened in telecom, a revolution he lived through as part of what ultimately became T-Mobile—growing from what was a kernel of an idea to one of the largest mobile phone carriers in the U.S. “I’m seeing the same exact thing happening here as happened in telecom 30 years ago,” he says. “We’re building the ecosystem that will enable us to go from idea to product with fiber computing, not in just one sector or group, but in all industries—healthcare, architectural fabrics, apparel, the auto industry, with different uses for each one. You can see it happening, and it is up to our imaginations to think about where and how the technology can be used.”

Spackey is quick to explain that this does not mean putting wires in fabrics. “The fiber itself is the device,” he explains.

“Materials can include photo diodes, transistors and receivers.

It is a new form of packaging that will revolutionize the microelectronics industry. This is the biggest change in the electronics industry we will see in my lifetime.”

year, IBM announced it had developed a 300 x 300 micron computer with the processing power of an 8086 (remember that IBM computer?). That’s the size of a grain of salt. And in June, the University of Michigan announced a 100 x 100 micron computer.

“This changes how you think about a processor and how it is set up,” Spackey continues. “It is no longer a circuit board.

We can change the whole concept of what a circuit board looks like. It’s no longer flat like a chip. It can even be square, as long as we can draw it into a fiber. It is encased; it is waterproof, it is flexible. We’ve already proven the concept.”

Spackey cites an early example of LiFi communication using a fiber that can communicate through LED lights, modulating the lights to create bits and bytes of information.

“Through the modulation of the LED lights, you can have a fiber, connected to a small control board and ear buds, actually play music or you could walk through a building and experience someone speaking to you. Think about a museum where every light next to a painting would be transmitting information about that painting.”

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The Reinvention of Microelectronics The changes are happening rapidly. In July of this year, DARPA, under its Electronics Resurgence Initiative (ERI), a five-year, upwards of $1.5 billion investment to jumpstart innovation in the electronics industry, announced it has selected research teams from academia and industry to explore the development of flexible architectures capable of using specialized hardware to solve specific computing problems more quickly and efficiently. In March of this WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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For more information, visit PrintingNews.com/12270027 October 2018 Printing News

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SIGN CODES

Post-Reed, Communities Reevaluate their Sign Codes The landmark 2015 Supreme Court case Reed v. Town of Gilbert turned a sign code issue into a First Amendment battle, with its effects still being felt throughout the signage industry.

Story by Richard Romano

E

xperts who work with sign codes and regulations called it “the gift that keeps on giving.”

The landmark 2015 case Reed v. Town of Gilbert, in which a sign code issue turned into a First Amendment battle, continues to reverberate through the signage industry, with both positive and negative impacts.

“On the positive side, since nearly every community has had to go back to make sure their sign code is constitutionally compliant, it has given us the opportunity to work with many local officials to help them on the particular issue of content neutrality,” said David Hickey, VP of Advocacy for the International Sign Association (ISA). “It’s also given us the chance to work with these communities on broader aspects of their sign code.”

Another Roadside Attraction In essence, what the Reed decision meant was that any law or sign code that is based on the content of sign is unconstitutional. That is, the sign code must be content-neutral, and if it appears that a regulation is taking into account the sign’s message—as opposed to traditional sign code Richard Romano Richard Romano has been writing about the graphic communications industry for 20 years. He is an industry analyst and author or co-author of more than half a dozen books.

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issues such as size, dimensions, and placement—the code can be subject to judicial review.

Also, the Reed decision raised an issue related to on-premise vs. offpremise signage and content neutrality.

With a challenge to this distinction raised by billboard companies, there is a case making its way through Tennessee courts that could become the next Reed. In Thomas v. Schroer, William Thomas, an owner of roadside signs (i.e., billboards), fell afoul of the Tennessee Department of Transportation, which took issue with the content of his billboards. Thomas used the billboards to cheer U.S. Olympic athletes, proclaim the “glory of the season” during holidays, and other such non-commercial messages.

The local authorities took issue with the signage and in one case even tore one down. Thomas challenged the constitutionality of the sign laws and won in District Court, and the case is now headed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

“On-premise signs and billboards have been under separate regulatory and legal regimes for decades, most likely because they have different purposes, locations, owners, etc.,” said Hickey. “If the distinction is found to be unconstitutional and both kinds of signs are regulated the same way, there could be significant ramifications for our industry.”

There are other similar cases cropping up around the country, said Hickey. “I think there are also going to be some issues involving

commercial speech vs. noncommercial speech as a result of Reed that haven’t been played out as much as the on- vs. off-premises distinction, but that that could be another issue as well,” he said.

The reason this becomes an onpremises vs. off-premises issue that that billboards and other kinds of signage can be seen from other premises.

“The problem is when you have municipalities that are huge,” said Rick Hartwig, EHS Compliance Consultant, Frederick Hartwig Consulting. “You’re going to have certain signs that can be viewed from a city boundary or can be seen from the city limits or can be seen from the county line or further.

Therefore, there’s a prohibition. So it’s still the type-of-sign and placement-ofsign contention.”

Let There Be Less Light That these court decisions are causing community leaders to take a closer look at their sign codes is a good thing, because sign codes, like many kinds of regulations, often lag behind technology. As a result, many sign codes have not kept up with recent developments in things like digital and LED-based displays. The reason many municipalities draft limitations on signage is to attempt to reduce clutter and improve the aesthetics of a community, which is why even onpremise signs can have limitations on size and placement, and electric and electronic signs can have restrictions on brightness.

“There are a lot of LED and new type WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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SIGN CODES

of signage that the regulations are slow to pick up on,” said Hartwig. For the sign shop and the client, it’s important to know where the local government stands when a new kind of sign technology not specifically cited in a sign code is introduced or installed.

While electronic message centers (EMCs) and other LED or digital displays have been a traditional source of consternation for municipalities, some are starting to crack down on traditional illuminated signage. “Many

communities are fighting excessive sign brightness, or what they perceive as excessive sign brightness,” said Hickey. “A lot of communities went to the ‘dark sky’ concept and even though sign brightness is such a tiny segment of nighttime outdoor lighting, they view it as part of their mission.”

As a result, they are mandating that signs can only have certain illumination levels.

“It’s really hard to make all traditional illuminated signs the same brightness,” said Hickey. “We have communities trying to do this and we’re working with them saying, ‘Hey this is really difficult to do.’” The goal is to dissuade these communities from implementing these kinds of brightness standards and restrictions on traditional signage.

Code Comfort While the burden of compliance with sign codes is on the sign owner, helping customers navigate the sign codes is a highly valuable service that sign makers can provide. “What we hear from sign companies is that sign codes need to be easier to understand. We’ve seen some codes that are hundreds of pages long, and they can be much shorter and much easier for a lay person to understand.

The permitting process needs to be shorter and less arbitrary. Too many times we’ve heard about how it takes months and months for a [sign] permit to be approved—or even denied—and meanwhile the sign company and the end user are left hanging,” said Hickey.

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CHECKLIST

Print Software

Procurement Checklist S Story by Jennifer Matt

hopping for a print software solution? First, I would give the following advice. Take a few minutes and write down what problem you’re trying to solve in this format.

As a

,

I want/need to

,

so that I

.

■ “As a customer of ABC printing, I want to be able to provide my distributed sales team the ability to order online from an approved catalog of marketing materials so that they have 24/7 access to what they need.”

■ “As a customer service rep of my printing company, I want to be able to look up everything about an order in our Print MIS solution, so that I can tell all activity that has been applied to this job in one trusted system of record so I can service the customer better.”

If you’re buying a web-to-print solution, all of the statements will be about your customers. Web-to-print is a tool for your customers; too many printers shop for web-to-print with the focus on what’s good for the shop.

The solution will of course deliver benefits to the printer, but that should not be your focus. If your web-to-print doesn’t deliver value to your customers it has no chance of Jennifer Matt Jennifer Matt writes, speaks, and consults with printers worldwide who realize their ability to leverage software is critical to their success in the Information Age.

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delivering value to your business because your customers won’t adopt it.

If you’re buying a Print MIS, the majority of the statements will be about your staff. Print MIS is an internal facing toolset that runs your business from order entry to invoicing.

You might have several of these statements. Share them with your team (sales, production, operations, customer service) and see if they can come up with any others.

Then you should prioritize these statements for each solution you are shopping for. What is most important to your business?

Once you have those statements, you should do one more thing: create a list of just five things. If the software could only do five things, what would you choose as the most important to your company? List them in priority order. For example, “the web-to-print must integrate with our Print MIS solution” might be one of your must-haves.

Or, “our Print MIS must have integrated accounting.” Too often we get trapped in the “more is better” approach to buying software. Actually, more isn’t better; what’s better is your top priorities solved by the solution you purchase.

All the extra features might be helpful, or they could just make the software unnecessarily complicated.

Take these two things to begin shopping. What you will have is a clear definition of the problem(s) you’re trying to solve and your priorities. You will then have the opportunity to drive the conversation with vendors. Don’t accept a scripted demo of what they want to show you; make the interaction about what’s important to you! Find this article at www.PrintingNews.com/21023737 ■ WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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CHECKLIST Web-to-Print Procurement Considerations

……1. Hosting

……1. Hosting

…a. Cloud vs. On Premises

…a. Cloud vs. On Premises ……2. Technical Skills/Resources Required …a. What level of technical skills are required to “run” the solution? …b. Do you currently have the resources in your business? ……3. How much time does it take to learn/manage? …a. Do you have resources that can take on the extra work? ……4. What are your primary challenges you want to solve? …a. B2B stores for reorder across a large community? ……5.

hat ro ct wor to support?

ow t

es o o nee

…a. Variable data products? …i. Versioned products? …ii. Personalized products? …b. Cross-media products? …c. Print on-demand products? d ulfill e t/i

Print MIS Procurement Considerations

e tory

…e. Digital download? …f. Kits? ……6. What payment methods do you need to support? ……7. Do you need to support approvals? ……8. Do you have any localization needs? (languages, currency, etc.) ……9. What scale do you need to support? …a. Order volumes …b. Concurrent users ….10. What professional services are available from the vendor? ….11. What is the roadmap of the product? ….12. Who is leading the product roadmap (product manager)—is s/he at the show?

……2. Technical Skills/Resources Required …a. What level of technical skills are required to “run” the solution? …b. Do you currently have the resources in your business? ……3. How much time does it take to learn/manage? …a. Do you have resources that can take on the extra work? ……4. How long does the typical implementation take? ……5. What are your primary challenges you want to solve? …a. Speed-up estimating? …b. Make more data visible to all aspects of our company? …c. Get rid of legacy software? ……6.

hat ro ct wor to support? …a. Wide format …b. Web press jobs …c. Digital …d. Litho …e. Flexo

ow t

es o o nee

……7. Tax support/integration ……8. Shipping support/integration ……9. Do you have any localization needs? (languages, currency, etc.) ….10. What scale do you need to support? …a. Order volumes …b. Concurrent users ….11. What professional services are available from the vendor? ….12. What is the roadmap of the product? ….13. Who is leading the product roadmap (product manager)—is s/he at the show? ….14. Does the product have a documented API for integrations?

….13. Does the product have a documented API for integrations?

….15. Pricing support: …a. Cost-based estimating? …b. Price list pricing?

….14. How many printers are on the solution?

….16. How many printers are on the solution?

….15. Does the product have existing integrations?

….17. Does the product have existing integrations?

….16. Can I speak with some existing customers?

….18. Can I speak with some existing customers?

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October 2018 Printing News

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LED LIGHTING

LED Lighting in Retail: What’s the Impact on Color?

As brick-and-mortar retail works to streamline costs by updating facilities with LED lighting, are they overlooking an important effect—how LED lighting will affect the way customers see the color of their products? Senior Editor Cary Sherburne looks into the pros and cons of LED lighting and how the retail industry is approaching this conversion.

Story by Cary Sherburne

T

he International Commission on Illumination (CIE) has established a number of illuminant standards under which color should be evaluated. Standard illuminants include daylight (D50 for Cary Sherburne Cary Sherburne is a well-known author, journalist and marketing consultant whose practice is focused on marketing communications strategies for the printing and publishing industries.

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graphic arts, D65 for industrial uses), Standard Illuminant A (incandescent), and a variety of standards for fluorescent lighting. But the CIE has yet to present standards or definitions for LED lighting. As anyone involved with color evaluation in colorcritical environments understands, evaluating color under controlled lighting conditions is a vital part of the quality control process. In the world of textiles and apparel, experts would recommend that color be evaluated under the most common lighting conditions the final product is likely to be subjected to “in the

wild.” Historically, this has been D65 daylight, incandescent for home use, and fluorescent lighting in the retail environment. These standards have been in place for many years, and that has allowed manufacturers and purchasers of controlled lighting systems to feel confident that issues with color differences, metamerism, and other color quality attributes can be uncovered and addressed early in the manufacturing process to avoid customer dissatisfaction with the color of the items they acquire.

There is nothing worse than a consumer selecting a garment or WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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LED LIGHTING home dĂŠcor item based on the color they perceived in the retail environment under fluorescent lighting, but then seeing an entirely different color once they bring the item home or view it outdoors. It happens. And these returns are costly for retailers.

Now, though, the situation is even more complicated. Both retailers and consumers are turning to LED lighting to reduce both costs and energy usage. That makes it easier, right, if everyone is looking at color under LED lights? Not really. That’s because the CIE has not yet issued any standards associated with the effect of LED lighting on color perception. This is partly due to the fact that developing standards is a painfully slow process. But the other issue is the rapidity with which the lights themselves are evolving; manufacturers are rapidly changing the LED products they bring to market, and there is a vast number of manufacturers bringing LED products to market. If you purchased an LED light from a specific manufacturer last year, and you return to the store to buy the same brand and SKU, the likelihood is that the lights will not be the same.

In addition, with no standards in place, manufacturers of controlled lighting systems are doing the best they can to meet the demand for light booths that include LED, but can users be assured they will have the same level of color perception reliability under LED lighting conditions as they did with previously established standards?

This isn’t even the biggest issue facing brands and retailers as LED lighting becomes more common. There are sufficient controlled lighting solutions and accompanying quality control software available that a brand or retailer can feel fairly confident about

their color assessments during the manufacturing and quality control process. But what about in-store lighting?

In 2016 and 2017, AATCC hosted conferences designed to bring together disparate stakeholders in

the retail, engineering, and lighting manufacturing communities. This was in response to the fact that these groups were often siloed and did not communicate with each other.

Industry expert Roland Connelly of Continue on page 55

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SIGNAGE

Chicago’s Graphic Alliance

Makes a Meal Out of Restaurant Signage Graphic Alliance, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, started as a commercial print shop but quickly adopted wide-format printing and has carved out a substantial niche in restaurant graphics and signage.

Story by Richard Romano

I

t could be argued that the restaurant is the perfect encapsulation of the entire graphic communications market.

Small-format print like menus, flyers, and promotional materials sit alongside wide-format and applied graphics like signage, wall graphics, floor graphics, and table graphics. Graphics can be applied to checkout counters—even salad bar sneezeguards. Depending on the restaurant, it can also include electronic signage, traditional exterior pylon signage, cut letters, neon, LED, even vehicle graphics. Then there is electronic media: the restaurant’s website, social media, non-print-based marketing. Any “full-service” print provider serving the restaurant market has likely discovered that those services are legion—and the time in which they need to be turned around is not quite “30 minutes or less” (as one pizza chain once advertised), Richard Romano Richard Romano has been writing about the graphic communications industry for 20 years. He is an industry analyst and author or co-author of more than half a dozen books.

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Graphic Alliance created the interior graphics for America’s Dog & Burger’s newest location. The company used actac edia to create a si ulated ric fi is (above left and right). Menu boards are a popular print appliction for restaurant interiors (right).

although it can seem like it.

“I think when people realize they need signage, they’re ready for it that second,” said Eric Grossman, founder and CEO of marketing agency Graphic Alliance. “The rush is mad for signage, the turnaround is extreme.”

Located in Wheeling, Ill., a suburb northwest of Chicago, Graphic Alliance has built up a steady clientele in the ever-changing, ever-growing restaurant business, and Grossman believes that one of the keys to the company’s success has been its ability to turn jobs around very quickly.

Founded in 1998—and celebrating its 20th anniversary this year— Graphic Alliance began, like many of today’s wide-format businesses, as a traditional commercial print business. Grossman himself started as a graphic designer, and began

adding print capabilities to his design business. As the commercial printing market started to contract after the turn of the millennium, he seized on emerging wide-format printing.

“The industry had changed from printing to large-format signage and we embraced it,” he said. He quickly found a niche serving the restaurant industry and it has only grown. There are currently about 150 restaurants that Graphic Alliance works with.

“We’ve been doing restaurant graphics for the past 15 years,” said Grossman, “and the restaurant industry is constantly changing.”

Currently, one major restaurant trend WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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SIGNAGE

Graphic Alliance’s clients include Roti Modern Mediterranean (top left) and America’s Dog & Burger (bottom left). The company created window and exterior graphics for several of these restaurants’ locations. o e rap ic llia ce o o ers ot er i ds o t ree dimensional sign and applied graphics.

is toward more organic, locally grown ingredients, as well as catering to various dietary restrictions. Adding “gluten-free” or “vegan” options to a menu means a lot of repeat business

to printers who produce menus, signage, and promotional materials.

But it has been the explosion of substrates that has helped Graphic Alliance’s business take off. One of Grossman’s clients is Roti Modern Mediterranean, a national restaurant chain with several Chicago locations.

Graphic Alliance produces window graphics, door graphics, menus, and

a wide variety of indoor graphics, including a large wall mural. “One of the problems we faced was the amount of different materials the walls are made of,” said Grossman.

One of Grossman’s go-to resources is Mactac, a supplier of adhesive substrates for many applications, including wide-format graphics.

“As new substrates are coming out, partnering with companies like Mactac, with the amount of materials that they have to be able to install graphics on brick, tile, and glass, has made it amazingly easy to give our clients anything they are currently looking for. I can get samples, and they help me learn how to do anything the customer wants, whether we’re wrapping Continue on page 58

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WORKFORCE

Make Your Business Work Smarter Working smarter is an evolution. Digital tools provide us with ways to work more efficiently, but it comes down to being able to work well with other humans. Efficient communication is the key to working smarter and optimizing the digital tools at our disposal.

Story by Jennifer Matt

I

just finished the book Principles

by Ray Dalio. I highly recommend this book; it packs so much wisdom from a man who is at the stage of his life where his primary focus is to pass it on. Radical transparency in your work life to achieve meaningful work and meaningful relationships—words to life by (literally).

I started writing down a list of what I’ll call rules to my work life—a list of things that I deem important to working smarter.

1. Make sure you understand the question before you answer it.

In my opinion we have a real challenge with communicating clearly. In our race to get things done quicker we have essentially killed off the “clarifying question.” Most people don’t speak clearly; they use terms that are not familiar to their audience, they leave out key context, and they don’t fully think through their ideas before talking. That’s a fact of life. Yet, when people who are on the other end of that unclear communication receive it, they race

Jennifer Matt Jennifer Matt writes, speaks, and consults with printers worldwide who realize their ability to leverage software is critical to their success in the Information Age.

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to an answer. I’m constantly amazed by this. The question couldn’t have been any more confusing, yet three people race to answer it by making a pile of assumptions. Then we’re off to the races of talking around potential answers to a question nobody clearly understood in the first place.

The clarifying question is the best answer to any question because it proves that you were not only listening to the speaker, but you were actually trying to understand them. I think clarifying questions are the most powerful tool in the salesperson’s toolkit. When you are speaking, and you get asked clarifying questions, you feel listened to. People buy from people who listen to them. People who ask clarifying questions talk less and learn more.

2. One of my favorite things to hear someone say in a meeting is, “I’m going to say that back to you so I’m sure I understand.”

This is the best way to absolutely assure you understand the question.

Can you say it back to the person in your own words and come into alignment about what question they want answered? You would be amazed how often you do this and the speaker says, “Nope that’s not what I was asking.” Some people think this makes them look stupid. We all have to let down that expectation in our head that we’re supposed to know everything—nobody knows

everything. The people who think they do aren’t listening anyway. “I don’t know, I don’t understand, I want to say that back to you,” is the most liberating thing you can learn. I wish I knew that when I was 20.

3. Don’t interrupt or talk over people.

This isn’t just rude, it basically prevents everyone in the conversation from hearing what’s going on. I don’t know what it is about some people, but some people just end up talking over other people quite often. Don’t ever interrupt the person you’re trying to sell to—that is a sure way to lose a sale.

4. Don’t try and answer your own estions o erin multiple choice answers.

I guess people do this because they want to show the person they are asking either that they have thought about it, or that they know something about the possible answers. They ask a question and then they list what they think are possible answers. A conversation is not the S.A.T. test; don’t give people multiple choice answers. Just ask the question with a full-stop period at the end. When you do that you are not leading the person to a certain answer. The worst possible scenario is when you give the multiple-choice selection trying to prove you know something and the answer is “none of the above”! In your attempt to look smart you did the opposite.

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WORKFORCE 5. Don’t create unnecessary artifacts.

We are creating digital messes everywhere. Just look at the desktop on your computer—does it have a random set of files and a couple folders labeled Sort, Super Sort, Never Will Be Sorted? Stop creating unnecessary artifacts. Most documents and/or spreadsheets are created to get alignment, not for publishing. If you are writing to get alignment/agreement, then don’t create an artifact that requires people to manage that artifact individually (a Word document attached to an email). Alignment is best achieved by a shared document that everyone has access to and can contribute to equally; then there is only one version (the latest) and an audit trail of all the changes made to that document.

I cringe every time I get an email with an attachment. My team knows better, and I’ve trained most of my customers. It’s inefficient, it creates a mess, and it’s based on the old paper document model of getting to alignment—we are not living under that model anymore. We need to update our behavior to the new model of getting alignment via a shared view of information that isn’t locked into a new version every time someone shares it.

6. Be a good muter.

So much of our business life is done via conference calls now. I don’t know what it is about some people, but they simply are not aware of the noise they are bringing to the call. I have listened to someone noisily eat their entire lunch, visit the bathroom, transact with the UPS delivery man, and settle a dispute between their kids. There is this beautiful feature on every phone today that allows you to mute all background noise—use it.

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7. Stop looking at your phone.

When we are in person, we should be in person unless we take specific breaks to take care of our digital lives.

One of my biggest frustrations is when we spend the time, effort, and money for face-to-face time together and the participants are on their digital devices.

This has become acceptable behavior. I see it all the time. We’re in the middle of a meeting and we lose a few people to their phones—a signal to the room that something more important is going on outside this room.

One of most memorable business meetings I ever attended was at Staples. One of the things I loved was that all the executives at Staples were at least five minutes early, all had paper/pen in front of them, and there were no phones in sight. The start of that meeting displayed a culture that really impressed me. Full disclosure: it also impressed me that most of the executives at the time were women.

8. Failures are the richest sources of learning and growth.

When you lose you learn—if, and only if, you choose to. It’s a choice.

Most people don’t choose it. In every loss there is learning, even if you can justify the loss as primarily due to outside factors. The key to making failures a source of learning and growth is to have an event (meeting, conversation, debrief) that openly discusses why you lost. The more comfortable your culture is with doing “post-mortems” (why did you fail?), the better learning culture you’ll create. When the leader starts these post-mortems with how she/ he could have done better it sets the tone for the company to follow.

9. Have one “trusted system of record” for your projects.

A project is a set of tasks that need to be accomplished to meet some goal

or objective. If your project involves more than one person, you need a trusted system of record for keeping track of who is doing what, when, etc. There are lots of technology solutions to project management (e.g., Basecamp, Trello, etc.). The tool isn’t as important as how you use it.

There must be one trusted system of record for the project. For software projects, we use a tool called JIRA. The JIRA project board is a list of issues that need to be done on the software. On software project calls, you’ll hear me ask, “What JIRA issue are you talking about?” This is to remind the team that everything we’re working on must be in JIRA. The project must have one trusted system of record otherwise we’ll go crazy trying to keep everything straight.

Your trusted system of record can be a list of to-do’s on a white board in the owner’s office, or a notepad pinned to a cork board in the prepress department. It just must be one trusted system of record that has all the things that need to get done to meet your project’s objective.

As soon as you say, “We’re running the project over emails and attachments with conference calls to bring everyone together once a week,” I say there is not one place where everyone can look to see what’s been done, what’s left, and whose responsible for it. Don’t get me wrong—lots of projects get done like this. It’s just not very efficient and it’s not smart.

So much of work today is about efficient communication, internally with our teams and externally with our customers. Our learned behaviors in the paper-based workflow that a lot of us grew up with is out-of-date with our current digital reality. We must “think different,” and we have to act different to optimize the way we work in the digital world. Find article here: PrintingNews.com/21024333 ■ October 2018 Printing News

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10/4/18 4:04 PM

E-COMMERCE

Print E-commerce Marches On,

Consumes More of Total Shipments E-commerce activities continue to ramp up in the printing industry. Thanks to the proliferation of digital printing technologies, the number of products within consumers’ reach is simply remarkable. This article explores how print service providers can take advantage of online print growth.

Story by Ryan McAbee

C

lick-click-click…that’s the sound of the increasing amount of e-commerce activity in the printing industry.

Today’s consumers love having the ability to customize, and even personalize, printed products online whenever and wherever they choose.

Thanks to the proliferation of digital printing technologies, the number of products within consumers’ reach is simply remarkable. Everything from personalized clothing to home décor and photo products can be customized and ordered online. In industry lingo, this is a trend toward mass customization.

Businesses are jumping onto the e-commerce bandwagon, too. Online design tools dropped into controlled and branded web storefronts enable business users to customize materials to local markets and tastes while maintaining compliance and brand controls. With capabilities like these in high demand, online design tools (e.g., Chili Publish and Silicon Publishing) are expected to

Ryan McAbee is an Associate Director for

Keypoint Intelligence – InfoTrends’ Production or o on ltin er ice hich foc e on ro i in technolo ine an ar et in i ht to client in the i ital ar etin e ia an ro ction or o ar et n thi role he i re on i le for con ctin ar et re earch ar et anal i an foreca tin content e elo ent in tr trainin an con ltin ith rint er ice ro i er

50

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Online design tools dropped into controlled and branded web storefronts enable business users to customize materials to local markets and tastes while maintaining compliance and brand controls.

that the U.S. e-commerce industry will demonstrate a CAGR of 5.2% between 2016 and 2021, reaching $48 billion by 2021. Meanwhile, the value of shipments ordered offline will decrease at a CAGR of -6.0% during the same timeframe. Some of the e-commerce value has been consolidated by large online print service providers like Vistaprint. The majority, as mirrored by the number and size of industry establishments, is generated by a high number of PSPs that are generating far less online sales and shipments.

PSPs expect the growth in print ordered online to continue. Although the adoption of web-to-print solutions hovers at about 64% in the U.S., only about 22% of PSPs’ print volume originated online in 2018. There is plenty of runway to increase the amount of print ordered online, and

demonstrate a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.4% between 2017 and 2021. Businesses can also set ordering, monetary limits, and thresholds in the storefronts to save more money.

E-Commerce Continues to Grow Based on government NAICS data and the percentage of work that U.S.-based PSPs say is being ordered online, Keypoint Intelligence – InfoTrends projects WhatTheyThink - Printing News

10/4/18 4:06 PM

E-COMMERCE Fi

re

nline an

ine rint n

str

hi ment al e U

Primary Print Industry Shipments (excl. e-Commerce)

Print e-Commerce Shipments

-6.0%

5.2%

CAGR: $140

Total CAGR: -2.0%

$120 $37

$Billions

$100

$40

$43

$43

$45

$48

$77

$71

$70

$66

$62

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

$80 $60 $84

$40

$20 $0 2016

Source: Keypoint Intelligence – InfoTrends 2018

Fi

re

rint ol me that

ri inates

nline

What percentage of the total print volume produced at your site is submitted via Web-to-Print? (Means)

100%

None

Less than 10%

10% to 15%

16% to 20%

31% to 50%

51% to 75%

Over 75%

Don't Know

Mean =

80% 60%

21% to 30%

22%

35%

9% 7% 8% 5%

16%

15%

11%

14%

19%

24%

10%

40%

8%

9%

12%

20%

19%

7% 10%

2018

2020

0%

N = 93 Print-for-Pay Respondents Source: Nort h American Software Investment

this starts with extending online ordering to every customer. Many PSPs, especially those that are focused on the B2B market, only create online shops for their top customers. These efforts should expand out to most customers,

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PSP to print and fulfill.

Regardless of the path that today’s PSPs take, there are customers to reach and money to be made from selling print online. Customers will increasingly expect more from the experience, including the ability to customize a multitude of products, a simplified ordering experience, and update notifications. Smart print shops will move to offer these capabilities or partner with companies that have already built a platform for doing so.

and all PSPs should consider developing an open storefront as part of their primary website.

The Bottom Line For businesses that have yet to adopt a web-to-print or e-commerce solution, there are still opportunities to capitalize on the growth that online print is currently experiencing.

Become a fulfilment arm for online print customization platforms that have global growth targets. Platforms from Cimpress, Gelato, and InkRouter consolidate online print orders from various sources and route those through a network of approved print providers so the work can be produced closest to the point of shipment. These platforms take a percentage of the revenue to supply the technology and order volume, then pass the rest to the

Although only about 22% of PSPs’ print volume originated online in 2018, this share is expected to rise to 35% by 2020.

If you want to continue this conversation, I’d love to hear from you! Reach out to me via @mbossed on Twitter or at Ryan.McAbee@ KeypointIntelligence.com. Keypoint Intelligence – InfoTrends’ Production Workflow Consulting Service helps vendors define their future through consulting, market analysis, research, and forecasting. PSPs can also benefit by improving operations through workflow audits, based on Workflow Journey Mapping and the Digital Transformation Model of Print Workflows. For more information on how to engage these services, contact Deanna Flanick today at deanna. flanick@KeypointIntelligence.com.

Find article here: PrintingNews.com/ 21025570 ■ October 2018 Printing News

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The printing industry is changing faster than the Las Vegas Strip. To be part of what’s ahead, you need to be at the 2018 SGIA Expo. Technology is expanding, what you can do — and the SGIA Expo is here to help you make the most of it!

Join SGIA at the Las Vegas Convention Center, October 18–20. Connect with the peers and suppliers of your community.

Explore the latest technologies and trends in printing. Learn from industry experts. The 2018 SGIA Expo will bring more than 550 exhibitors and tens of thousands of registrants together.

Vanguard Digital Awarded Three SGIA Product of the Year Awards Vanguard Digital Printing Systems have been honored with the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association’s [SGIA] prestigious Product of the Year award in three unique printer categories: The four-time award winning VK300D remains the industry game-changing high production flatbed UV printer, featuring unrivaled quality, output, and design.

The VK300D digital printer can print substrates up to 4” thick and with the ability to add up to 10 printheads, it can produce an impressive 40 boards per hour with sellable quality. This year at the SGIA Expo in Booth 1173, Vanguard Digital Printing Systems is excited to demonstrate their two award winning printers, their VSP1400 single pass UV printer printing 4’x8’ boards in 6 seconds, along with the introduction of a NEW robust flatbed cutter and NEW 3.2m roll-to-roll UV printer.

PrintingNews.com/12428095

UniNet to Highlight Digital Transfer Printing Solutions at SGIA 2018 UniNet will be showcasing a wide range of digital transfer printing products from their iColor Printing Solutions line at SGIA in Las Vegas, NV. Taking place in booth #4502, UniNet will cover all aspects of digital toner transfer process for garments and hard surfaces using white toner - ranging from printing, to pressing, to decorating.

Taking the place of many printers, the iColor 550 is a multipurpose printing solution developed for the transfer production of garments, hard surface, and marketing customization, as well as print production of labels, banners, stationery, and more.

Mutoh Wins Four Product of the Year Awards at 2018 SGIA Expo Mutoh America, Inc., was honored with the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association’s (SGIA) Product of the Year award for the ValueJet 1624X - 64 inch printer in the Solvent or Latex Ink Under 80” category, the ValueJet 2638X - 104 inch printer in the Solvent or Latex Ink Over 80” category, the ValueJet 1638UH - 64 inch UV-LED hybrid printer in the “Flatbed/Hybrid Under $100k” and ValueJet 626UF UV/LED flatbed in the “Tabletop Flatbed - industrial small item decoration” category.

PrintingNews.com/12428095

PrintingNews.com/21024378

Fisher Textiles Wins Three Product of the Year Awards from SGIA The Specialty Graphic Imaging Association recognized three of Fisher Textiles’ fabric medias in the categories of Apparel, Banner and Flag for the Association’s prestigious 2018 Product of the Year competition. This year’s competition included 68 categories and a record setting field of 255 submissions. Fisher’s winning fabric medias include ET 3200 Hoodie, GF 4019 Nirvana B.O.B. and DD 7801 Flag.

ET 3200 Hoodie, winner of the 2018 Product of the Year Award for Media — Textile Apparel, is a French terry sweatshirt material that is made in the USA from recycled yarns spun from PET bottles.

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EFI Nozomi and VUTEk h3 Win a Pair of Prestigious SGIA Product of the Year Awards SGIA has recognized Electronics For Imaging, Inc. technologies with two prestigious SGIA Product of the Year Awards.

The EFI Nozomi press employs LED UV inkjet technology for ultrahigh-speed, high quality printing on corrugated board for premium-quality packaging and display graphics applications.

PrintingNews.com/21024373

WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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Rollem’s SGIA Las Vegas Exhibit Will Feature The New Insignia 6 Die Cutter

Roland DGA Wins Two SGIA 2018 Product of the Year Awards

Rollem’s Insignia 6 offers new solutions to die cutting demands in the digital market. With a 20x20” sheet size, this model is built to convert a wide variety of products in the growing markets of tags, labels and packaging. Retail hang tag finishing is the featured demo. A 13x19” sheet of 30 up hang tags will be die cut, hole punch, and edge perforated all in one pass delivering the hang tags ready for retail use. Insignia also performs kisscutting, scoring, cut-scoring embossing and in-line folding/gluing, ideal for producing folded carton work. Insignia leads its class in speed, up to 4,000 sph, versatility and the ability to cut up to 30 pt. thickness. It is offered in three other sizes, 15x20”, 24x30” B2 sheet size, and the new Insignia X3 which offers a 24x24” sheet size.

Rollem is the industry’s premier manufacturer of semi-slitting machines and we offer the SS in five different widths starting at 18” up to 42” models.

See these live at SGIA.

Roland DGA Corporation announced that two of its products – the Roland VersaUV LEC-540 printer/cutter and ECO-UV ink – have won coveted 2018 Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA) “Product of the Year” Awards. Roland’s VersaUV LEC-540 received top honors within the “Roll-to-Roll UV Printer” category, while the company’s ECO-UV ink was recognized as the best product in the “Digital Inks – UV” category. This year’s competition featured a record-setting 255 submissions, with winners selected in 68 different product categories.

The 54-inch VersaUV LEC-540 printer/cutter is ideal for producing everything from vibrant signs, labels, decals and specialty graphics to realistic packaging prototypes on actual press substrates. With its integrated cutting capabilities, the LEC-540 scores and contour cuts in one seamless workflow, maximizing efficiency, productivity and convenience.

Also winning a 2018 SGIA Product of the Year Award was Roland’s ECO-UV ink, which come in CMYK, Gloss and White and are specially formulated to bring out the best in the company’s VersaUV LEC, LEF and LEJ series printers. In addition to imaging beautifully, these premium inks cure instantly and are extremely flexible, producing graphics that can stretch around curved surfaces and edges without cracking. Gloss and White ECO-UV inks enable users to incorporate stunning dimensional and textural effects into prints, adding appeal and value.

Roland’s UV printing technologies will be on display in the Roland DGA booth, 1137, at the 2018 SGIA Expo, October 18-20, in Las Vegas.

PrintingNews.com/12427257

PrintingNews.com/21023899

Statement of Ownership Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation

13. Publication Title:

2. Publication Number

3. Filing Date

Printing News

500-850

September 12, 2018

4. Issue Frequency

5. Number of Issues Published Annually

6. Annual Subscription Price

January, March, April, May, June, August, September, 10 October, November and December

Contact Person

WTT Media, Inc. 2038 Ford Parkway #218 Saint Paul, MN 55116

Telephone

Outside County Paid/Requested Mail Subscriptions stated on (1) b. Legitimate

No. Copies of Single

Each Issue During

Issue Published

Preceding 12 Months

Nearest to Filing Date

34266

35889

20791

20694

0

0

5

4

PS Form 3541. (Include direct written request from recipient, telemarketing and Internet requests from recipient, paid subscriptions including nominal rate subscriptions,

Paid and/or

employer requests, advertiser's proof copies, and exchange copies.)

(2)

In-County Paid/Requested Mail Subscriptions stated on PS

Distribution

Form 3451. (Include direct written request from recipient, telemarketing and internet

(By Mail

requests from recipient, paid subscriptions including nominal rate subscriptions,

and Outside

employer requests, advertiser's proof copies, and exchange copies.)

the Mail)

8. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher

Average No. Copies

a. Total Number of Copies (net press run)

Requested

612-424-5090

September 2018

15. Extent and Nature of Circulation

Free to Qualified Subscribers

7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication (Street, City, County, State, and Zip+4)

14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below

PRINTING NEWS

(Requester Publications Only) 1. Publication Title

(3)

Sales Through Dealers & Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Paid or Requested distribution Outside USPS.

WTT Media, Inc., 2038 Ford Parkway #218, Saint Paul, MN 55116

(4)

Requested Copies Distributed by Other Mail Classes

0

0

20796

20698

12892

13001

0

0

Through the USPS. (e.g. first-Class Mail)

9. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor

c. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation

Publisher (Name and Complete Mailing Address)

[Sum of 15b(1), (2), (3), (4)]

Kelley Holmes, Publisher 2038 Ford Parkway #218 Saint Paul, MN 55116

(1)

Outside County Nonrequested Copies stated on PS form 3541.

(Include Sample copies, Requests Over 3 years old, Requests induced by a Premium,

Editor (Name and Complete Mailing Address)

d. Nonrequested

Amy Hahn, Production Editor 2038 Ford Parkway #218 Saint Paul, MN 55116

Distribution

Managing Editor (Name and Complete Mailing Address)

the Mail)

(By Mail

Bulk Sales and Requests including Association Requests, Names obtained from Business directories, Lists, and other sources.)

(2)

and Outside

In-County Nonrequested Copies stated on PS form 3541.

(Include Sample copies, Requests Over 3 years old, Requests induced by a Premium, Bulk Sales and Requests including Association Requests, Names obtained from

Richard Romano, Managing Editor 2038 Ford Parkway #218 Saint Paul, MN 55116

(3)

10. Owner (Do not leave blank. If the publication is owned by a corporation, give the name and address of the corporation immediately followed by the

(4)

Business Directories, Lists, and other sources.)

Nonrequested Copies Distributed Through the USPS by

0

0

385

2014

e. Total Nonrequested Distribution (Sum of 15d (1), (2), and (3))

13277

15015

f. Total Distribution (Sum of 15c and e)

34073

35713

Other Classes of Mail.(e.g. First-Class Mail, Nonrequestor Copies mailed in excess of 10% Limit mailed at Standard Mail or Package Services Rates)

names and addresses of all stockholders owning or holding 1 percent or more of the total amount of stock . If not owned by a corporation, give the names and addresses of the individual owners. If owned by a partnership or other unincorporated firm, give its name and address as well as those of

Nonrequested Copies Distributed Outside the Mail (Include Pickup Stands, Trade Shows, Showrooms, & other sources)

each individual owner. If the publication is published by a nonprofit organization, give its name and address.)

Full Name

Complete Mailing Address

WTT Media, Inc. Eric Vessels Kelley Holmes Adam Dewitz

2038 2038 2038 2038

Ford Ford Ford Ford

Parkway Parkway Parkway Parkway

#218, #218, #218, #218,

Saint Saint Saint Saint

Paul, Paul, Paul, Paul,

MN 55116 MN 55116 MN 55116 MN 55116

g. Copies Not Distributed

194

176

h. Total (Sum of 15f and g)

34266

35889

i. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation

61.0%

58.0%

(15c / 15f x 100) 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or more of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages or Other Securities. If none, check here. ¨ None Full Name

Complete Mailing Address

None

16. x Total circulation includes electronic copies. Report circulation on PS Form 3526-X worksheet.

17. Publication of Statement of Ownership for a Requester Publication is required and will be printed in the October issue of this publication.

18. Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager, or Owner

12. Tax Status (For completion by nonprofit organizations authorized to mail at nonprofit rates) . (Check One) The purpose, function, and nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt status for federal income tax purposes:

¨ Has Not Changed During Preceding 12 Months

Adam Dewitz, COO

Date

September 12, 2018

I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalties).

¨ Has Changed During Preceding 12 Months

PS Form 3526-R Facsimile

PS Form 3526 -R Facsimile

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INX Digital To Introduce A New Inkjet Ink And Feature Proven Technology at SGIA Expo INX Digital (booth 2149) will introduce a new inkjet ink and offer proven ink technology at the 2018 SGIA Expo. The lineup of leading digital solutions includes a trio of TRIANGLE brand alternative inks and the increasingly popular ProdigyT industrial and packaging application inks.

Prodigy EBGA is a new and unique premium inkjet ink as it cures by electron beam, with no need for photoinitiators. It recently won SGIA’s 2018 Product of the Year for Digital Inks - Industrial and Packaging. EBGA’s physical properties are optimized to jet from Xaar print heads, offering strong adhesion to a variety of traditional label material and film.

PrintingNews.com/12430414

Sakurai’s exhibit at SGIA EXPO 18 to Focus on Screen Press Automation Sakurai will conduct live demonstrations of its highly automated Maestro MS-80SD cylinder screen press and introduce the Sakurai MS-102INS printed sheet inspection system to the North American market in Booth 3077 at SGIA Expo 18.

The Sakurai Servo Driven MS-80SD is the most precise cylinder screen press available for industrial and multicolor overlay printing. The highly automated Maestro is equipped with numerous standard features including independent servomotors, automatic squeegee control and a print elongation system that stretches or shrinks the printed image with the touch of a button.

The MS-102INS is a sheet-fed inspection device that combines the accurate conveying and positioning technology of Sakurai’s presses with elaborate camera technology. Compared to conventional flat belt transport, Sakurai’s method, with cylinder suction has made it possible to stabilize the transport for precise inspection of printed sheets. Sakurai’s MS-102INS accepts sheets up to 41 ½” x 29 5/8” and allows you to identify and reduce defective printed products in line during printing or offline.

PrintingNews.com/21024369

Trotec’s SP2000 Large Format Laser Cutter Honored with SGIA 2018 Product of the Year Award Trotec Laser is proud to announce that its SP2000 laser cutter for large format materials has received the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association’s (SGIA) Product of the Year Award in the Lasers-Routers-Cutters 4 x 8’ or larger category.

The SP2000 combines a robust, ergonomic, and low-maintenance system design with high-speed, high power precision processing capabilities in the largest safety class 2 laser cutter on the market.The system was designed for efficient processing of large-format materials such as acrylics, wood, textiles and cardboard, to name a few. With a working area of 66 x 98 inches and access from all four sides, the system offers a generous working area with an ergonomic design.

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Onyx Graphics, Inc. to debut ONYX 18.5 with APPE 5 at SGIA 2018 Onyx Graphics, Inc. announced it will debut ONYX 18.5 software at the upcoming SGIA Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. Following the successful release of ONYX 18 that ushered in industry-defining new technologies for color accuracy, consistency, and conformance to standards that can be validated to customers, ONYX 18.5 achieves another first for the wideformat print industry being the first RIP solution with the Adobe PDF Print Engine 5 (APPE 5). Attendees are invited to see this new version at the Onyx Graphics booth 1032.

PrintingNews.com/21023795

Drytac Wins Two SGIA Product of the Year Awards Ahead of 2018 expo Drytac topped the Laminates, Adhesives, Films, Coatings category with ReTac WipeErase a product that turns standard surfaces into whiteboards. The 6 mil (150 micron) white dry erase film features a chemical- and scratch-resistant UV hard coat and a clear gloss surface that allows the film to be written on and wiped off easily.

At the SGIA awards, Drytac also won the Media - Adhesive Back Vinyl category for SpotOn Floor 200. This monomeric PVC film is designed for short-term indoor floor graphics, offering a non-slip surface and a Class B1 Fire Rating without lamination.

Both award-winning products will be demonstrated at Drytac’s show space (booth #2341).

PrintingNews.com/12428102 WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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LED LIGHTING

LED Lighting Continue from page 45

RoLyn Group, commented, “One of the biggest things we learned at our first conference is that retailers choosing color palettes for their stores, product marketers at brands and retailers, and the lighting people didn’t even know each other, much less talk to each other. At the conference, the largest retailer in the world didn’t even know what the lighting was in their stores.

Engineering is more concerned with cost, not with color. The lighting industry was concerned with lighting big stores but didn’t think about the textiles and apparel supply chain and color quality control around the world. Once these different disciplines began talking with each other, we started making progress. If nothing else has happened, we have done a great service to the industry to get this conversation going. One thing we insisted on at the first conference was that everyone that came had to bring representatives from engineering, product marketing, and quality control.” The next LED conference will be held in 2019, giving the CIE an opportunity to release its Colorimetry Publication 15, which will include typical spectra for LED lighting that can be used by LED and lighting system manufacturers to achieve some level of standardization.

This work, and the publication of typical spectra by the CIE, will help, but there are other things to take into consideration beyond store lighting with respect to color perception.

According to lighting expert Ann Laidlaw of ACL Color Consulting, “There are many factors to take into consideration in addition to ceiling lighting in retail spaces. One client had a strong brand color and painted some of the walls in that color in retail locations. There was also the issue of windows with daylight, lighting from the mall entrance, spotlights, dressing room lighting, and all sorts of other influences. The resulting lighting in WhatTheyThink - Printing News

44-45, 55_LEDLighting.indd 55

any given area of the store doesn’t exist in any standard, and that lighting can vary from location to location within the store.”

Adding to the confusion is the often-complex manufacturing supply chain for apparel. Laidlaw uses intimate apparel as an example, saying, “The two most common colors are black and skin tone, dark and neutral, which happen to be the perfect storm of where humans are most critical of color differences.

These products consist of fabrics, laces, elastics, straps, all created in different factories in different countries. It is important to resolve color issues before money is spent manufacturing components.” She cites common customer complaints that black intimate apparel looks blue under store lighting, while skin tone or beige intimate apparel may look pink, making the selection process trickier for customers.

Additionally, since the garments are fabricated from multiple different materials (which are dyed with different formulas), there are plenty of opportunities for metamerism.

Connelly adds, “You can duplicate store lighting in a quality control environment, but regardless of the lighting you choose, once you put red signs, red walls, red dresses, or whatever other color you choose into the retail environment, it will affect the perceived color. It’s not so much about duplicating store lighting in the quality control process; it is more about having a good quality control process in place that maintains the ability to make good color choices in the supply chain. That can be difficult to do under unknown lighting conditions unless you evaluate color under multiple lighting conditions. I recommend choosing three different lighting sources that are as far from each other as possible. One of these should clearly

be daylight, since clothing is worn outside. Daylight is more heavily weighted on the blue side but has a broad distribution of light across the spectrum. Incandescent has little blue energy and lots of red energy.

The third should be the primary light source in-store; in this case, the LED spectrum is quite different than the others. If the color looks good under all three lighting conditions, chances are it will look good in the retail environment as well and will also allow you to deal with metamerism among multiple components.”

Kudos to AATCC for bringing the disparate communities together to encourage more collaboration on changes to retail lighting.

This sharing of knowledge and requirements will certainly help educate everyone on the impact of changing store lighting on color perception and help them modify processes across the supply chain to accommodate these changes.

There are many benefits to our planet in converting the vast amount of retail lighting to more environmentally friendly LEDs. But the AATCC conferences brought attention to the fact that there is more to this switch than simply saving money and conserving energy.

In addition, as Laidlaw and Connelly point out, retailers must also look at the total in-store environment and make critical judgments about how the overall environment affects color perception in their stores.

It would seem that the message is getting through. I was recently in a retail store that previously had used a significant amount of red in its walls and furniture. I noticed a shift to a Munsell-like gray on some of the walls. Moves like this, combined with in-store lighting, will only be a benefit long term—for retailers and customers alike. Find article here: PrintingNews.com/21024330 ■ October 2018 Printing News

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SIGNAGE Signage Continued from page 47

wood telephone poles or cement sidewalks.” A number of Graphic Alliance’s customers are chain restaurants, and as they open new locations, there are new challenges involving the specifics of the new space, while at the same time having to match the new graphics to those in the older locations.

The capabilities of new wideformat printing and substrate technologies have transformed restaurant interiors. “In the past, somebody would need to paint the walls,” said Grossman. “Now it’s easier to put up vinyl graphics and cover the walls with images.”

Graphic Alliance works with a local designer named Brian Chojnowski.

“He uses us for all of his restaurants,” said Grossman. “He’s done graphics for 25 or 30 different restaurants.

He hires us as he sees that our turnaround time is extremely fast.”

A major recent project was for America’s Dog & Burger, a threegenerations-old local institution, which has grown to four Chicagoland locations.

They had just added a new location at Navy Pier, and needed to decorate the interior. Founders Manolis and George Alpogianis wanted the interior walls and windows to depict a storyboard of the restaurant’s history.

However, when we say “walls,” that can involve a wide variety of interior surfaces, each of which requires different materials. Again, Grossman partnered with Mactac for these materials, which included: IMAGin B-free Frosted Window Films for the restaurant’s front window and other glass surfaces and salad bar sneeze guards.

REBEL media with PERMACOLOR ColorGard LUV matte overlaminate for a wall comprising subway tiles.

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letters applied to the doors.

ROODLE media with PERMACOLOR ColorGard LUV matte overlaminate to create a simulated brick finish that replicated the walls of the other locations.

For the printing, Graphic Alliance used its workhorse, a 64-inch Roland SOLJET Pro 4. It was a lot of work, but here’s the rub: “We had one day to turn around the graphics,” said Grossman. You’ve heard of fast food? This is fast food graphics. But, Graphic Alliance made it happen. And it paid off. “They have two more stores coming up, so we’ve got two more on our plate,” said Grossman. “They love our turnaround and our quality and it’s very easy to work with them.”

Despite the consistency in appearance with other locations, the similarities end there, as each new location has different dimensions and wall and window characteristics, so it’s difficult to take a templated approach to the interior graphics. “You form to the store you’re in,” said Grossman.

“Once we get the dimensions and we get some architectural drawings, we’re able to lay it out in Photoshop and do all our mock-up. If needed, we contact our Mactac rep who tells us what we can use on the different surfaces. If we can’t figure it out, we call in the experts.”

The Roland SOLJET is his go-to printer, but Grossman has recently started partnering with a company that has a flatbed printer and a router. “It can print up to six-inchthick material and go straight to a router, so we’re able to now use that direct-to-print flatbed for some of the needs that our customers have,” he said. “The flatbed is the future of this industry, because you can print on so many different substrates. Combining vinyl with these direct-to-print flatbeds, it’s an artist’s dreamland.”

The advent of new substrates has also helped Graphic Alliance add new

Graphic Alliance has grown from restaurant interiors to eet a d e icle raps or restaura ts deli ery e icles

kinds of applied graphics. “We started to see new materials coming out in the automotive industry and that’s been an opportunity for our customers to start seeing these new products,” said Grossman. “We’ve started producing vehicle and fleet graphics for different restaurants.” That has led Graphic Alliance to offer vehicle wrapping to businesses, as well as restaurants.

“Vehicle wrapping is hot right now, “ he said. “We see the industry changing as we’re able to now offer software where people can buy a car and change up the designs before they take ownership of it.”

He has also started pursuing custom digital décor in residential locations. “That’s a new direction that we’re going in,” Grossman said.

“We’re actually finishing up our website for a new concept called Doors where you can do wall wraps for your kids or yourself.”

In addition to a flatbed printer, a router is also on Grossman’s wish list. “Being able to cut out threedimensional letters, symbols, and logos and start incorporating them into vehicle wraps and wall graphics is the next thing I’m looking to do, as well as incorporate some LED lights into signage on trucks for night-time advertising.” For Grossman, it’s a never-ending learning process, but one that continually pays off in new products to offer customers.

“Everything is difficult until it isn’t,” he says. Find article here PrintingNews.com/21024262 ■ WhatTheyThink - Printing News

10/4/18 4:02 PM

FiberComputing

Sign Codes

Continued from page 39

Continued from page 41

Changing the Concept of Wearables and Connectivity The LOOKs technology platform developed by AFFOA does not require batteries; it’s a 24-bit code woven into fabric. That alone is huge. He reports that many tech companies are actively working to figure out how all of this might fit in future product plans.

Spackey also looks forward to a time in the next five years or so where augmented reality glasses will become as common as cell phones are today and where smart garments are common as well. “Think about a jacket,” he says, “that has woven patterns you can’t see with the human eye, but that a QR code reader on your phone or AR glasses can distinguish. You could, for example, turn on the functionality as you are going into a meeting, and the other attendees can see your LinkedIn profile right from your jacket with their AR glasses. Sharing information will be a big part of this future.”

Another development that will speed fiber electronics into common use is 5G cellular. “There are already developments underway for Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technologies that will, for example, let your car know you are there before you can even see it, and that will enable your car to connect and see the world around it.”

He also envisions clothing that will be able to help us for protection purposes. “Consider a lone worker in an oil field working on equipment,” he says. “A lot of things could potentially happen, and with smart clothing, the environment will know you are there. Heating and cooling are other areas of interest. There can be fibers that incorporate certain bacteria that can sense sweat. If it occurs, they cause the material to open up the fibers, and then close them when you cool down. It creates new forms of venting. That work is already underway in MIT’s Media Lab.” Other applications include thermochromatic fibers that can change color, fibers that can release medications or cleansers on demand (self-cleaning clothing!) that are time-released and can recharge themselves.

“In five to 10 years,” Spackey concludes, “I expect fiber computers to be in common use. It will be inherently part of what we wear.

Your T-shirt will be functional, will be able to tell you your heart rate, or can call your family or healthcare provider if you are in distress. There will be no reason to carry a cell phone in your pocket. Your eyewear and your clothing will replace mobile devices.

Part of the challenge in getting there is that we have to change the way we think. It is important to understand where we are today and how this future can fit into your processes. And it will require software development for this to work as well.”

Spackey and the team at AFFOA are excited about this opportunity to help develop the next generation of U.S. manufacturing, to create sustainable U.S. jobs. “Our work is just a piece of the platform for the future,” he says. “It requires a whole lot of people working together—a collaboration of the willing is what will make it work. And it’s already starting to happen.”

Find article here: PrintingNews.com/21024330 ■ WhatTheyThink - Printing News

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WhatTheyThink, in conjunction with APTech, produced a webinar series on “Tax Reform for Print Businesses,” and it turns out there are provisions in the new tax law that offer specific advantages to sign shops and graphics providers, especially, said Hickey, “when it comes to capital investments that can be fully and immediately expensed.” The new law allows full and immediate expensing of short-lived capital investments for five years and also increases the Section 179 expensing cap from $500,000 to $1 million. “This means you’re going to help sign companies and print suppliers buy and sell printers or other sorts of equipment that the sign industry uses,” he said. “They’ll be able to expense them much more quickly, which will help out their bottom line.” At the same time, he added, “sign companies should be able to educate their customers to take advantage of this provision because permanent signs can be expensed.”

Another positive provision that was always in existence, a temporary sign can be deducted as an advertising expense for a business, while permanent signs can be deducted as a capital expense.

As communities reexamine and reevaluate their sign codes, it behooves sign shops—and other print businesses that would like to offer signage—to be at least conversant in the local sign regulations and, if they have customers in multiple municipalities, what the codes in each of those jurisdictions are.

Design De Sign It’s funny; when it comes to city planners’ aversion to signage, it can be kind of a catch-22.

“Lots of local officials complain about ugly signs,” said Hickey, “and a lot of the time that’s just because the code has not allowed the creativity that so many in the sign industry and design community have to create signs that are more attractive and aesthetically pleasing.” Near the top of sign companies’ wish lists is flexibility in the code to allow them to become more creative. Earlier this year, ISA offered a session at the American Planning Association (APA) National Planning Conference on sign regulations that encourage creative sign design.

“This was our third consecutive year presenting a session at a national APA,” said Hickey. “The previous two years, about Reed, had hundreds of planners come to these presentations. “We’re going to get the word out about how they can come up with sign codes to encourage creative sign design. I think that’s going to make communities happier.” ■ October 2018 Printing News

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