Archive for the ‘Commercial print’ Category

The Next Chapter – Everything I Look For In an Event!

Monday, February 13th, 2012

Jim Lichtenberg, founder of Lightspeed, LLC, sheds light on the upcoming book publishing event and his excitement to ‘turn the next page’

Jim Lichtenberg, founder of Lightspeed, LLC


There is a lot of excitement surrounding the next generation of publishing and I’m thrilled to consider myself a part of it. Between industry demands shifting to an on-demand model and customer needs expanding to support new devices, the publishing market has entered a time of sustained evolutio n.  So when Ricoh invited me to speak at “The Next Chapter” event, it’s first-ever, books-driven event, I knew I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. This gathering aims to bridge the gap between publishers and book manufacturers by addressing the challenging business issues facing the market – I knew this was right up my alley.

Perhaps only a few years ago, there was still debate about the anticipated transformation of the entire publishing industry – especially around its speed, direction, and extent. But today, that debate is over. Well, the transformation is here and it’s radical. Yet, we’re still finalizing the details, especially about how, where and when we will reach a new plateau of stability – establishing a new standard different from the 250 year old structure.   Clarity about this is a long ways off.

What we do know is that publishing continues to grow in popularity as digital product.  There’s a collapse of retail for physical product, and there’s a trend toward shorter runs and less to zero inventory. Print on demand and, the equally important, new digital print engines have also garnered tremendous movement and development.

This development and resurgence of technology isn’t the only issue. Rather, companies have to consider the transformation of the business model and the pressures facing the entire supply chain. Printers included, the new business model requires adjustments to allow businesses processes to accelerate to meet new forms of customer demand.

One of the most important ways to address these new demands is through automation. Automation it is the key to creating a sustainable business in this new environment.  Even more importantly, the key to automation is understanding and evolving the workflow, ideally from author to reader, but at least and at first across the printing industry.

During my presentation at the Next Chapter I will highlight how transformation in workflow is now mission-critical, or addressing how a change in business model puts industries in peril. This event will undoubtedly explore the challenges and possible solutions in print, e-delivery and workflow.

All in all, I am very excited for the opportunity to discuss these issues, with a range of players in publishing, because it is only through dialogue across the supply chain that sustainable and sustaining solutions can be found.

What do you think?  Are you joining us to hear more about The Next Chapter?

Best,

Jim

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Posted in Commercial print, book printing, e-delivery, print on demand | No Comments »

Who Should Assess? YOU Should Assess!

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

This blog post is contributed from our colleague, Paul Abdool, an international thought leader in the production print space.  He is the National Practice Manager for the Production Print and Mail Practice Group within the Enterprise Solutions division of Ricoh. 

Paul Abdool, National Practice Manager, Ricoh

Don’t “Just Do It”

Nike™ and Wieden+Kennedy, Nike’s primary ad agency, coined the now-famous slogan “Just Do It” for a 1988 Nike ad campaign.  This statement encouraged us to get moving and get fit.  It inspired us to stop procrastinating with our fitness and make a spontaneous-like decision to improve ourselves. 

Although I am a big fan of spontaneity, fitness and focus, there are a few things in this world that need to be thought out to “do it” just right. 

The Patio Builder

A few years ago, I was in the market for a new deck, or at least I thought I was.  I wanted a stable, flat surface for my barbeque, a place to put a patio set to eat dinner at in the summer and a place to catch some rays.  So being a “due diligence” kind of guy, I thought I would call a few companies to get some quotes.  The approaches by the companies were very different.  Wood deck builders wanted to know where I lived and the size of the deck I wanted.  The concrete patio guys said, “We would like to schedule an appointment to check out your backyard and discuss your needs prior to providing available times and pricing.”  So I received my quote via email from the deck company in the afternoon and the next evening I met with the patio “pre-assessment” fellow.  The gentleman from the patio company inquired about my needs, asked about my time constraints and measured the area.  In about 45 minutes he gave me a description of their process, the staff, provided references and addresses in the area so I could check out their work.  He then provided an estimate and asked if that was around what I was thinking about spending.

What did he really do?

  • He listened to my needs – he did not provide a cookie cutter quote
  • He created credibility – he explained the designs he had done for others with similar wishes
  • He established my budget – he ensured that he was only going to do what I could afford
  • He knew what type of effort it would take so that I knew what to expect
  • He answered all of my questions

Now that I had an idea of the budget, the temporary disruption level and project timing, he sent in his “technical” crew leader to double check the quote, take final measurements, create a project plan and to ensure that he had a full understanding of my needs.  Ultimately, I was satisfied.  Why?  Because they did not “just do it”.

Why do we do assessments?

Like the patio builder, I do “pre-assessments” before digging into a project – pun intended.  The pre-assessments allow me to better understand the project and the potential for improving the current state.  I also conduct assessments or discoveries, as we call them, if the organization wants to optimize their document production operation and processes.

My point is simple.  Professionals from all industries conduct assessments. 

And here’s why:

  • To establish a current state = this is critical for measuring against in the future
  • customers need to know how much the proposed changes will improve their operation
  • To build a Return on Investment model – in these times of shrinking budgets and shortened timelines, a good ROI is critical
  • To create a plan = a well thought out plan is critical to reaching goals and measuring success

 So, why should you budget time and money for professionals to conduct assessments? 

  • To gain access to technical skills -it is impossible to be an expert in all areas, professionals have tools and methodologies to gather information quickly, a specialist will notice things that you may not
  • To experience and benchmark – since the specialist conducting the assessment does it every day, they are able to discuss trends and how you compare to others professionals will continually improve their processes to get better results for the next customer so you benefit from their past
  • Because you don’t know what you don’t know – professionals have to stay abreast of the latest technology and offerings in the market they know the answers to questions you have not even thought of asking yet or how to find answers through their network of expert peers
  • To deliver concise presentations – professionals can summarize goals, issues, data and other facts into a succinct message so all stakeholders involved understand the options and what is in it for them

Ben Franklin was right

In 1736, Ben Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  He was referring to insurance but it certainly applies to anything that you can avoid messing up by doing your due diligence or homework – including print!  Anything that is significant to you or your organization, whether it is building a deck, running a business, or even selecting a new workflow should be thought through thoroughly to truly understand to meaning and value of your ultimate decision.  

What do you think?  Do you share my practice of assessing before making large business decisions?  Please share!

Best,

Paul Abdool

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Posted in ADF, AFP, Commercial print, Precision Marketing, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Pizza, Lobster and Print…What Do They Have in Common?

Thursday, December 1st, 2011

Print is perishable. Like a pizza, printers have to deliver while the job is “fresh.” In our world, “fresh” means according to a sales order, from a menu of choices, and delivered in a timely manner.

Simple, right? And if the printer can’t deliver, the job doesn’t disappear….it simply moves to another shop.

It is hard to imagine any manufacturing business model where the manufacturer never gets the same raw materials to build their product.  Think about any industry – the auto industry, the computer industry, the fragrance industry… heck even the restaurant industry – where all their
work is perishable. Thinking of it this way, print is very similar to most of these industries.

What if you visited your favorite restaurant chain, lets say Red Lobster (since it is the world’s largest chain, who knew!) and you were there expecting to order the Shrimpfest. Except on this visit, Red Lobster only has monkfish, no shrimp. (Sidebar: If you have been around a monkfish, you’ll know it’s virtually impossible to confuse it with a shrimp. I just saw someone on an old TopChef episode try to clean one and prepare it; it officially cured me of eating any fish for about a year, but I digress.)

Back to the Red Lobster example. They may even have another type of fish aside from monkfish – but whatever the case is, it’s not exactly the same dish you had on your previous vist…which made you want to come back.  Maybe their oven has been replaced by a microwave. Maybe they don’t have panko breadcrumbs and have to use crackers this time.  No matter the reason, all the materials are slightly different, but it’s the same order!
This will not meet your expectations and you won’t be happy.  You may even stop visiting Red Lobster. The point is, due to the variation in an order, the restaurant may lose a customer and in the service industry, food or print, customers keep us alive. Consistency is vital to making customers happy.

Like lots of manufacturers, commercial printers bring together an amalgamation of different materials and technologies from different sources, some old and some very new, to fulfill an expectation.  Many times, the printer does not receive the exact same materials each time they manufacture the job.  The printer might have to chase the exact same paper, though the vendors and mills change all the time. Their conventional versus digital print processes work on completely different technologies and standards, often difficult to even get close. And the actual content or digital files they get to build the job probably have the widest variation, and unfortunately this issue is getting worse as customers create files and images from more and more digital devices and channels.

It is not a surprise that the printing industry has so much variation; the advent of new technologies has allowed many exciting new ways to capture the imagination and expectations of the print buyer.  But the industry have done little to lessen the load on the commercial printer to juggle the manufacturing process around the ever shifting sands of supplies, suppliers, people and presses, and those pesky digital file formats.  To help alleviate this issue, commercial printers should seek out true “partners” (not vendors) to aid them in adjusting to this ongoing shift and to embrace these new technologies.  Some say food is the way to one’s soul…but for many its consistent print output!

Til next time,

Joey Print Pants

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Posted in Commercial print, Precision Marketing | No Comments »

What Does Stuart Smalley Have to Do With Digital Newspapers? More Than You Know…

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

What Does Stuart Smalley Have to Do With Digital Newspapers?  More Than You Know…

This is the first installment on our InfoPrint Insights blog from our new contributor…some simply call him Joe, but here we’ll call him Joey Print Pants.  In this series, Joey Print Pants will tackle the real issues facing commercial printers as they look to successfully deploy digital presses.  Who better to advise on such a drastic shift than a man who wears print as pants?

Joey Print Pants

Newspapers are the Stuart Smalley of print. They’re good enough, they’re smart enough, and wow, people like them. In fact in most mid markets and small towns, people LOVE them.
So why aren’t newspapers pushing the “go” button on digital presses?

The simple answer is that digital presses don’t always make economic sense as a replacement to offset or conventional print in most traditional application environments. In fact, the successful installations of digital newspaper printing are for specialty short run product for international papers, and on islands with time constraints and ultra short runs.

Globally, there are only about 14 or 15 digital newspaper installations – that’s it. There were more, but the companies building these businesses missed the initial market demand and ultimately failed. They were irrelevant the minute they turned on the press, because their thinking was that people will purchase newspapers if the print is fresher and up to the minute with news. In one word – they were WRONG.

Today, people actually get real-time news.  It’s on their iPad, their smartphone, their tablet and the best part is – it’s free.  Why would they want hard copy print records of things that happened hours or days ago? The answer is they likely wouldn’t – unless it’s a story about their kid kicking the winning goal, or their parents’ anniversary. Its relevancy man! Relevant content is what continues to sell newspapers in any town USA and even beyond our borders.

The target should be advertising content, like inserts, onserts, response cards and coupons. Newspapers already know a ton of information about their subscription base (yes some people still subscribe!) They know how to bundle and distribute right down to the smallest carrier route. In many locations, the newspaper might compete as the largest commercial printer in the area.  This then begs the question, why aren’t newspapers morphing into the direct mail and advertising business?

So back to Stuart Smalley: the newspapers. The real digital opportunity for newspaper to succeed in digital print is in Precision Marketing and extending the ad window by days not just hours.  Think about your local grocery store, now hawking wines and cheese and trying to move upscale. Wouldn’t they love to target a specific neighborhood or street in town with their ads?  Or the car dealer that might want to market their vans to families but their imports to others?  This can excite all advertisers because we are talking about response rates driven by relevance. And when was the last time you heard the term relevance and newspapers in the same sentence?

So newspaper lovers, put on your favorite cardigan, put a big smile on your face, and sit down in front of a mirror and tell yourself you are good and smart and relevant. Then call your favorite digital print company and have a discussion about changing their business model ASAP…

‘til next time –

Joey Print Pants

…also known as

Joe Caruso

Global Business Development, Commercial Print

Connect with him here

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Posted in Commercial print, Precision Marketing | No Comments »