Offset Printing - Web

Few commercial offset printers, if any, can lay claim to growing their businesses organically by 45 percent in 2009, let alone up another 60 percent in the first quarter of this year.

To be successful, printers must learn to manage their businesses in a manner that addresses today’s market conditions. One of the challenges this presents is a reconfiguration of the print production platform to efficiently and cost effectively produce the full gamut of run lengths.  This white paper authored by WhatTheyThink.com’s Cary Sherburne discusses how to meet this requirement.

Amidst the rising cost of postal rates and major cutbacks, publishers and catalogers have been forced to reevaluate their marketing and business strategies. Companies in both sectors looked at cost reduction, how to gain stronger customer loyalty and better ROIs, as well as adopting multi-channel strategies.

It is fascinating to note what market influence the recession has visited on the book market, beyond the tempering of consumer confidence. But even in an atmosphere of printing platform right sizing and other business-related reconciliation, it is difficult to take any view but an optimistic one of the past year and the coming fortunes in 2010.

Concord Litho, the pride of the New Hampshire town that bears its name, has captured more than 50 awards in the past three years from entries in various worldwide printing contests. Augmenting the powerful designs and superior printing jobs from this independent web and sheetfed printer, in some cases, is a breath of fresh air in the form of chocolate, fresh-cut grass, popcorn, Oreo cookies and pickles. Yes, pickles.

The growth of multi-faceted Creel, a reputable Las Vegas-based sheetfed and heatset and coldset web printer since 1953, flies in the face of the difficulty being experienced by the casinos. The publication, catalog, direct mail and commercial printer has cruised along the fast track during the past 10 years, growing its staff from 160 employees to 600 and two plants

PRINT 09 sheetfed and web offset press exhibitors were all singing the same tune that the "holy grail" to achieving profitability in these tough times lies in a print shop's 
efficiency—quick makereadies, waste reduction, higher productivity with less people, as well as value-added capabilities to diversify and differentiate one's offerings.

HOW OFTEN does a 12-year-old have a strong sense of what he/she wants to become in life? Even most 22-year-olds haven't a clue as to what their future holds. Well, Ralph Pontillo knew. Roughly 46 years ago, he stepped into a printing shop as a seventh grader and found his destiny staring right back at him. Call it focus, call it motivation, call it determination. It doesn't matter.

WHAT LESSONS can be gleaned from working at a 150-year-old business? First and foremost, where you've been is not nearly as important as where you're going. Secondly, there is no room for loyalty and tradition when it comes to products and services, which have a tendency to come and go from the business landscape.

HAUPPAUGE, NY—Muller Martini has acquired patents for the variable sleeve offset press (VSOP) technology from Drent Goebel, which declared bankruptcy in July. As a result, a new Muller Martini VSOP press series, offering flexible package and cardboard printing, will be launched by the end of 2009. By combining the new VSOP series with its existing Alprinta and Concepta product lines, Muller Martini will provide printers with a comprehensive array of web printing solutions.