Business Management - Marketing/Sales

At the risk of being politically incorrect, I want you to know that Christmastime is my favorite time of the year. I'm a Presbyterian, so we celebrate Christmas. If I was Jewish, I'd be celebrating Hanukkah. If I was African American, I'd be celebrating Kwanza. If I were some other nationality, ethnicity or religion, I'd really be into celebrating whatever is appropriate. If I were agnostic or atheist, I'd probably make up something to celebrate. I think I've covered all the possibilities, so I'm now politically correct and not in violation of the U.S. Constitution or the East Goshen Township Code (where I live and where

CAPE TOWN, SA—Anderson Lithograph President Mark Tennant traveled from Los Angeles to the southern tip of the African continent to compete as a finalist in the Sappi International Printer of the Year awards and to tack on a little vacation time. But he didn't need to go on a safari to still come close to an elephant. That's because Cenveo Anderson Lithograph captured the elephant trophy as Sappi 2004 International Printer of the Year for its Cadillac XLR 2004 brochure entry. The award was announced Oct. 22 during an elegant awards gala hosted by South Africa-based Sappi Ltd. at the Vergelegen wine estate located near

Not much on TV interests me. For me, all of this new interest in televised poker is like watching soccer, which is like watching paint dry. I guess it helps printing. Somebody has to print all the poker playing cards and the government has to print the money. I don't understand why the Travel Channel shows so much poker, which has nothing to do with going anywhere. I guess poker is a sport and it's okay for ESPN, which got the idea from the Travel Channel, to show the poker tournaments. Then there are about five or six shows about building custom-made motorcycles. Watching heavily

This is my 20th anniversary column. I have written 220 columns. I don't have to write columns for the month of July because Printing Impressions always publishes a buyer's guide directory for that month. Otherwise, I would have written 240 columns. After I wrote them, Printing Impressions actually published all 220 columns, no matter what I said. For example, who can forget when, in December of 1984, I wrote, "Selling is probably the least important funkshun in the printing bidness. Somebody has to go out and pick up the orders." I added, "Salespeople are snakes and charlatans. Don't trust 'em. Just send 'em

People still have to eat and drink, in good times and bad. That's something technology is not likely to ever change. This means, by extension, there will always be a need for packaging. While oversimplified here, some variation of that argument is often made in support of commercial printers diversifying into package printing.

This column is being written on a sixth grade reading level so Marvelle Stump can understand it. Even so, America's worst printing salesman will call me and ask me to explain the column. Every once in a while I do the unthinkable and think. I'm doing that now while I try to come up with a topic. This is pressure. Thinking up a topic is pressure. Pressure. Wait that's it! I'll write about selling under pressure! I'll lay a little pressure on you and maybe you'll sell a little better. Let me tell you about pressure. I'm talkin' about intense pressure. This is the

By Noelle Skodzinski It's not likely a big surprise that Quebecor World held fast to its No. 1 spot among the Top Book Manufacturers—ranked by book manufacturing revenues—in the United States and Canada. With a $36 million lead over RR Donnelley, and a $273 million lead over third-ranked Von Hoffmann Corp., Quebecor World isn't likely to lose its position anytime soon. Both top seeds, however, saw book sales drop in 2003. In fact, revenues for three of the top five sank by a total of nearly $130 million. Arvato Print USA (a division of Bertelsmann) and Von Hoffmann were the only two in

Whither lies the future of the franchise printer? Well, while most observers agree that the bountiful years of the 1980s will likely never return, there is ample opportunity to enjoy growth for those who buy into a particular franchisor's mantra. Sure, there's been a lot of fireworks on the quick printer side in the past year.

All I had to do was hint that I might run for president in my June column and, you guessed it, there was an enormous groundswell of support. So far, I have $123.86 in my "Mañana Man for President" campaign fund. This is enough for a bus ticket to Manhattan where I will be making speeches on various high-traffic corners to capture all of New York state's electoral votes. I'm counting on this for a domino effect throughout the other 49 states. Enough of that. I have a better money-making scheme. It's the "Mañana Man Merger Diet!" I have lost 62 pounds since August of

I don't know what's wrong with me. I've written three of these columns in the past six days. I'm usually late with each column and here I am more than 60 days early with this column. I know! I'm inspired! Nothing worse than an inspired columnist. Topics just keep jumping in my head. Topics are the hardest part of this column-writing job.