Training and Education

ARE YOU going to Drupa 2008? In its 14th edition (the first Drupa was in 1951, 57 years ago!), it will be the largest ever, with more than 1,800 exhibitors from 50 countries and more than 1.8 million square feet of exhibit space. More than 400,000 visitors are expected during its two-week run, beginning May 29th. Why do I bring that up in a column about marketing? Classic marketing texts talk about the “4Ps” of marketing: Product, Price, Promotion and Place. • Product: This is the physical product or service offered to the customer. It also refers to any services or conveniences that are

WHAT IF you could find one basic concept that would have a powerfully positive impact on all aspects of personnel management at your printing establishment? What if it would do more to help you avoid employee lawsuits than any compliance training you could provide to your managers or employees? What if it would do more to boost employee morale and overall performance than any set of policies, evaluation protocols or progressive discipline system? And, what if this concept came as close to “the answer” to successful human resources management as any company is likely to ever get? The answer lies in monkeys, rocks, cucumbers

ALEXANDRIA, VA—February 28, 2008FOCUS trade shows, hosted by the Print Services & Distribution Association (PSDA), will bring a new level of education to regional print distributors at they tour the country. Rick Farrell, one of the industry’s leading print sales motivators and professional sales coach, will lead the events’ in-depth presentation “How to Sell into Vertical Markets”. Farrell has over 25 years of professional sales and business development experience. His out of the box approach will demonstrate creative tactics print sales professionals can adopt to get in the door and start a business relationship with print buyers across a range of vertical markets.

LAS VEGAS—Print UV 2008, a peer-oriented industry conference aimed at growing UV print markets, will take place here March 2-4 at the Wynn Las Vegas Resort.

PITTSBURGH—February 20, 2008—The Binding Industries Association (BIA) has finalized the key sessions at its Mid-Management Conference which will be held April 28–29, 2008 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Conference Center in Schaumburg, IL. This meeting will be the first international mid-management conference in over seven years. The conference targets the mid-management of graphic finishing, information packaging, custom loose-leaf manufacturing, trade binderies, and the suppliers to those ind ustries. Some of the sessions at the conference include: Regional Trends in Binding & Finishing, Lessons in Leadership—The HR Side of the Business, Lean Manufacturing, Being Green—Customer Expectations & The Impact to Your Business, and a

NEWTON, MA—February 19, 2008 -- Questex Media Group’s On Demand Conference & Exposition (ondemandexpo.com), the preeminent event for commercial printers, publishers, and in-plant printing professionals, will present a marketing focused keynote panel titled “The Changing Media Mix: A Marketing Perspective” on Wednesday, March 5 at 11:10 a.m. Senior executives from InfoTrends, the CMO Council and the Direct Marketing Association will discuss critical industry trends and priorities of marketing executives. The On Demand Conference & Exposition will take place at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center from March 4-6, with tutorials on Monday, March 3, 2008. This keynote panel is designed to provide first-hand

KENNESAW, GA—February 1, 2008—As part of its ongoing commitment to print industry education, Heidelberg’s Print Media Academy will host operator training classes on basic and advanced folding techniques this month at Hennepin Technical College in Brooklyn Park, Minn. The training classes, which are open to the public, will be conducted on an automated Heidelberg Stahlfolder TH 66 folder, and will assist operators of small and mid-size businesses in building their knowledge and skills on some of the industry’s most advanced folding equipment. “Well-trained operators are a critical component to the success of every print shop,” said Dan Maurer, director of postpress product management

IN TODAY’S market, there is an overwhelming selection of print suppliers from which to choose. As more and more new technologies become available and the printing industry diversifies, traditional sales methods are becoming less effective—and less efficient—with the new breed of print buyers. Gone are the days of cold calls and fruit baskets. So what can give a print supplier the competitive advantage in today’s market? At Print Buyers Online.com (PBO), we set out to answer this question by polling major print buyers. One of our Quick Poll surveys confirmed 68 percent of people agreed with the following statement: “Most print sales reps believe

THOSE OF you in Southern California may be familiar with PrintFest 2008, which will be held at the Anaheim (CA) Conference Center March 27-29. The predecessor of this show was the Gutenberg Festival that was founded in 1973 and sold to GASC in 1999. Following the final year of the Gutenberg Festival in 2005, Chris Jacobson, whose father founded the Gutenberg Festival and Horse Trader magazine, resur-rected the Southern California show in 2006 as PrintFest and has been gradually rebuilding attendance and exhibitor levels. The reason I am writing about this show is the unique approach that is being taken this year. Jacobson is

DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY—January 22, 2008—Visitors to drupa 2008, print media trade fair, can look forward to a first-class ancillary program. Seminars, workshops, talks, individual tours of the trade fair as well as special presentations such as the “drupa innovation parc presented by HP” and “drupacube” add up to unparalleled knowledge transfer for international experts. “The ancillary programme is a key building block in the overall drupa concept and the ideal complement to the exhibitors’ technology offerings,” said drupa Project Director Manuel Mataré. The program’s individual building blocks are modular, allowing them to be freely combined according to visitors’ interests. “Our priority is achieving a target-group-specific