NAPL

Ricoh Corp. has aligned with UNIX and Linux software developer Codehost Inc. Ricoh will offer its customers and dealers BrightQT, Codehost's suite of Linux and UNIX-based printing tools, for use with Ricoh networked output devices. Creo Inc. has received ISO-14001:1996 certification for environmental management of its Canadian operations. This completes environmental management certification for both of the Creo design and manufacturing operations. Creo operations in Israel recently underwent recertification for ISO-14001—a standard first achieved in February 2001. KBA North America has promoted Evan Heise as its sales representative for a six-state region, including Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho and New Mexico. Heise is now

Is the "Holy Grail" for Digital Printing Near? Some might argue that the quest to make money with color digital printing, especially incorporating variable data, is even more arduous than the quest for the Holy Grail. But before anyone accuses me of religious blasphemy or, in more modern times, falsely assumes I'm a card-carrying member of the Monty Python fan club, let me explain. For many of the early adopters, the road to building a successful digital printing operation turned out to be a failed leap of faith and even an experience more akin to a comedy of errors. But take heart; in

By Erik Cagle Of all the value-added services that printers offer their customers today, either as a generator of increased press work or as a cog in a one-stop service machine, fulfillment is one of the most economical—and popular—options. According to the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) "State-of-the-Industry Report," 58.6 percent of printers currently offer fulfillment services, while 12 percent say they will offer it by the year 2004, bringing the total to just under 71 percent. It is among the top non-printing services sought by commercial printers. K/P Corp. of San Ramon, CA, which generated $86 million in sales last year, is

Nobody likes it when an outsider tells them how they should be running their company—let alone a magazine editor who has never managed, or even worked for, a printing establishment. But wait. Having covered this industry since 1982, my life—and livelihood—revolves around printing. No Printing Impressions, no job. No income, no roof over my head nor hopes for a comfortable retirement some day. So, your pain truly is my pain, too. I've also been chastised in recent times by some that I'm overly optimistic about the fate of printing. Accusing me of calling print a sunrise, not sunset, industry. Haranguing me for ignoring the

It's early December, as I write this, and the first major snowstorm rocks the City of Brotherly Love. The storm takes a rare path of traveling due north up the eastern seaboard. For those of us living in southern New Jersey (or South Jersey to all us separatist hawks) this is odd. Weather reports always show major storms striking north and west of Philly, meaning those of us on the eastern side of the Delaware River get to enjoy light precipitation, primarily rain. But on this morning, the storm is making its way north via Washington, DC. What a time for PRINT Outlook 03.

This column is for women only! It is strictly private and confidential. Women should enter their user names, passwords and proceed to read my column. Men should just flip the page and read the equipment ads. About 18 years ago I wrote a column that predicted women would have a bigger role in printing management and printing sales. Didn't happen. What actually happened was that women who couldn't get a decent job in printing got jobs as print buyers. (And, by golly, female print buyers have noticed that the printing industry is male dominated and, as a result, they are irritated.) We have female

Quad Opens Regional Center SAN FRANCISCO—Quad/Graphics plans to open its newest regional imaging service center here next month. The new center, located in the China Basin area on the east side of the San Francisco peninsula, will become the 16th site in Quad/Graphics' imaging network of regional service centers, customer service centers, processing centers and print centers. The San Francisco site will offer clients face-to-face customer service and on-site color management and output services. Banta Boosts Fulfillment Centers MENASHA, WI—Banta Corp. will open a fourth packaging and fulfillment operation in the Fox Cities. The 210,000-square-foot facility, now under construction, is being developed by Warehouse Specialists and leased

The Label Printing Industry Association (LPIA), a special industry group of the Printing Industries of America, recently inducted William Smyth Jr., of Smyth Companies, St. Paul, MN, into the LPIA Hall of Fame. The Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation (GAERF) recently completed a total revision of the competencies that form the basis for instruction in PrintED, a national accreditation program for graphic communications at the secondary and post-secondary levels. In addition, GAERF has begun developing a national exit exam for students in PrintED classes to accommodate its adoption as a state-mandated program. The National Council for Skill Standards in Graphic Communications has announced

Howard Fenton has joined the staff of the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL), Paramus, NJ, as a senior consultant of digital technologies. Previously, Fenton served for six years as the senior consultant of digital technology for the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation. The Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation (PGSF) has granted $275,000 in scholarships to a total of 202 students pursuing careers in the graphic communications industry. PGSF awarded 99 of the scholarships to women and 103 to men. Also, Brown Printing, Waseca, MN, recently pledged $50,000 to establish the Wayne "Bumps" Brown Honorary Scholarship. After the fund matures, the scholarship will be awarded

BY MARK SMITH In the realm of economics, there is an important distinction between ambiguity and risk, asserts Andrew Paparozzi, chief economist and vice president of the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) in Paramus, NJ. People can come to terms with risk by first assessing the potential outcomes, then associating probabilities with the most likely results and ultimately deciding if the risk is worth taking. "With ambiguity, or uncertainty, you don't know what is likely to happen so you can't really assign probabilities to the different possible outcomes," Paparozzi explains. "That's a very different, and much more damaging, environment for the economy.