Web Offset--Efficiency Is Inevitable
"A couple of years ago, printers on the WOA board were worried about the Internet and what it was going to do to their businesses. (Now they see) that it has actually increased the demand for printing," Basore explains. "Someone buys something (online), the box arrives with catalogs, forms, stickers, the packaging—a myriad of printed items.
"When television was introduced, we thought movies would disappear. There are 10 times more theaters now than even before the advent of VCRs. The printing industry is trending the same way," he concludes.
The forecast for the industry labor pool, however, does not include much rain. The positive side of any drought is how technology developers rally to compensate for such a resource drain. While working to retain current employees, take a look at new automation solutions and at strategies for streamlining prepress. Basore recommends that while shopping, keep a few things in mind. "When eveluating new technology, it will have to meet a few criteria: it has to meet or exceed the current level of quality; it has to be cost-effective; and it has to be user-friendly. Those three criteria are basic, good business practices."
A DRUPA year is the perfect time to do a systems overhaul, as every major technology developer will be pulling out all the stops to address web pressroom problems. Even if a new workflow or automated technology does not solve all problems, it could at least ease the burden of the current labor shortage.
