Business Management - Marketing/Sales

Andover, MA—October 30, 2006—Standard Finishing Systems, a leading supplier of automated post-press and paper handling solutions based in Andover, MA, has promoted George Vergilis to Director of Sales. Vergilis will retain overall sales responsibility, and a new National Sales Manager will be added to the team to coordinate field sales programs and activities. “George has done an outstanding job motivating our field sales team, managing our dealer channel, and achieving record sales over the past decade,” said Standard Managing Director David Reny. “We expect his continued leadership and customer focus will guide Standard to the next level of sales success.” Vergilis brings

WASHINGTON, DC—The Federal Emergency Management Agency is using GPOExpress to cost-effectively manage communications during response and recovery efforts following a national incident. GPOExpress is a convenience printing program offered through the U.S. Government Printing Office in partnership with FedEx Kinko’s that can be tailored to each agency’s communications needs.  Orders are walked-in or electronically transmitted directly from agency offices to FedEx Kinko’s for simultaneous printing and delivery at any of their locations throughout the United States. “FEMA can go directly to any FedEx Kinko’s location to fulfill a wide range of printing needs, including copying, binding, distribution, and delivery,” said Jim Bradley, GPO’s

WASHINGTON, DC—October 11, 2006—The Print Council, a national business development initiative dedicated to the promotion of greater use of printing and print media, today announced the publication of a new, 24-page marketing brochure demonstrating the extraordinary value and effectiveness of print communications. Titled “Why Print? The Top Ten Ways Print Helps You Prosper,” the full-color brochure marks the launch of an ongoing series of strategic activities by The Print Council designed to make a major impact on media decision makers, significantly elevating their awareness of, and appreciation for, the value of print. The first copies of “Why Print?” will be released

Joe Duncan has sat on both sides of the buyer/print provider fence, providing him with a unique industry perspective. With an extensive graphic arts industry background, Duncan joined Leo Burnett USA in 2001 where he currently serves as vice president, director of print innovation and technology. Past print production and sales positions included stints at Madden Communications and Sells Printing, among others.

FOR THE second consecutive year, Visant Corp. nailed down the top spot in Book Business’ Top 30 Book Manufacturers list—produced by Printing Impressions’ sister publication and ranked by 2005 book manufacturing revenue—in what was certainly an up-and-down year for many book printers. The book manufacturing landscape continues to change, with paper prices on the rise while availability declines. Publishers are being more vigilant than ever in controlling their costs, while Asia’s impact on the market increases each year. In its annual look at the state of the industry, Book Business sought insights from executives at four of the companies on the list—four companies,

ONE OF the topics the industry has been hearing a lot about lately is Web-to-print. As the business world increasingly shifts its marketing tasks to Internet-based models, it is no surprise that print would move in this direction, as well. But is success in Web-to-print as simple as adding an online interface for print ordering? If it were, Web-to-print would have caught on years ago. So what’s different now? Certainly, something has changed. Many of today’s top printers are offering Web-to-print capabilities, and many leading-edge marketers, especially those in the financial and pharmaceutical industries, are rapidly embracing them. Has the ability of printers to

I CAME across a terrific success story recently as I was researching the small commercial and quick printing market that I wanted to share with you. It demonstrates a unique sales and marketing approach, and the business results are incredible. Ron Weber founded Zip Mail Marketing in 2003. The company is located in Rancho Cordova, CA, a suburb of Sacramento. Prior to starting up Zip Mail, Weber had retired as a real estate developer, and prior to that was an internal theft investigator for 15 years. As he points out, neither of these professions had anything to do with the printing industry. And one could

SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS development leaders have a passion for their mission, and it generally shows in almost everything they do. By their positive attitude, intellectual quickness and exemplary work ethic, they inspire and lead the folks around them. However, education and training for business development management in graphic communications tends to be more self-taught than academic. It’s my opinion that not one graphic communications academic institution offers anything of substance regarding business development and marketing. Individuals who excel in our industry as business development leaders tend to come from other disciplines, having demonstrated professional leadership and management qualities that top senior management recognize

IN THE May 2003 edition of this magazine I predicted some mega deals would begin to occur. I also predicted that the number of printing companies would continue to shrink and that we would have less than 30,000 by 2006.

A reader, who will remain nameless, e-mailed me a few days ago and asked if there was going to be a follow-up column reporting on how well I did with my prophesies.

Hey! I am not a modern day Nostradamus. I’m just a mere mortal human being with, maybe, a tad more talent than the rest of you.

I am gonna stop for a minute and

A hot book this year has been The Long Tail by Christopher Anderson. He initially wrote about the concept in an article of the same name in Wired magazine about three years ago. Basically, he uses a concept of the statistical dispersion of observations to describe a world where “big hits,” like best selling books or the blockbuster movies comprise the bulk of company sales. This large amount of sales is the head of the curve. Anderson’s thesis, illustrated by examples ranging from the creation of the Sears catalog and its impact on early 20th Century rural consumers to today’s examples of amazon.com and