“It’s not rocket science.” That same reply was given by two players in the market when asked about the challenges facing a printer looking to diversify into digital wide-format printing services. Adding this service seems like a natural extension of the printing industry’s digital evolution. Large-format ink-jet print engines have all but become the norm for some level of proofing, ranging from digital bluelines up to contract color. Putting aside the finishing requirements, digital color printing presents much the same proposition whether the output be an 8.5x11˝ sheet or large banner. Why, then, have so relatively few commercial printers gotten into the business? “Less
When the editor in the June issue of Business 2.0 wanted to seek out the 10 most successful electronic firms, he or she selected cash as the primary criterion. "...Cash flow is much more difficult to fake with accounting tricks, but also because the ability to generate cash is ultimately the key to any company's prosperity. . ." Still, in a recent survey, we read that accounts receivable are more than 50 days old for 90-plus commercial printing firms. Is this the typical cash realization from printing? Yes, I think it is. Does it mean that commercial printing companies place less value on cash as
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
Somebody, anybody, tell me I'm wrong. Pick a fight with me. Start an argument. Anything. Don't just sit there like a bump on a log. I've taken positions in this column that are heretical. I think. I've sent out copies of a putative book to a number of friends, including printers, and asked for their reactions a couple of months ago. Not a word have I heard. I'll send copies of Monday Morning Manager, A 12-Step Program to Printing Profitability, my book, in PDF format over the Internet, FREE, to anyone who requests a copy. All you need to do is drop me an
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.
BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor The end had to come sooner or later. Everyone knew the buyer's market for printing stocks simply couldn't last forever. Eventually, the adjustments made in papermaking capacity by suppliers and increasing demand fueled by the economic recovery had to bring price increases that stick. Paper companies have announced or already implemented price hikes for most grades, and another round of increases may be in the offing before the end of the year. There's little reason to hope for a repeat of 2003, when increases were floated, but never fully implemented or were subsequently rolled back. Perhaps the clearest
Misunderstanding surrounds the term "capacity" in our industry. Definition of this word has profound consequences for commercial printing. But I'm not sure that we're all singing from the same hymnal when we use that word. First, we speak of "capacity" in terms of hours of time in production centers. But we don't really mean hours of time—we mean units of throughput. But we don't really mean units of throughput because the length of runs is constantly changing—increasing or decreasing the number and complexity of machine changes. This increases or decreases the units of throughput that we can predict from a production center. It constantly
There is some considerable confusion over the pronunciation of Mañana Man. The "Man" part is easy. It's the "Mañana" that befuddles many of you readers. Many people rhyme their pronunciation with "banana," the long yellow fruit grown in the tropics that we peel before we eat. That pronunciation is incorrect. I will help correct your pronunciation with a phonetic explanation. Follow along with this exercise. First, say "mawn" and pronounce it with a Jamaican accent so it comes out as in "Hey Mon, let's have some rum when we've beaten our sales objectives by 20 percent." Got it? First syllable is "Mawn." Next syllable. It's "yah." As
Follow the paper is the axiom of a successful printing firm of the present. The need to follow the paper will grow as the application of RFID takes shape over this next year or so. RFID in printing stands for Radio Frequency Identification tagging of inventories. Get ready for it, if you're not already. It's coming on like gangbusters. RFID isn't a new technology. It's been around for at least 15 years. It can give us more current information than a barcode—and faster. In fact, one of the problems is what to do with all of the current data RFID can supply. We're facing
Valentine's Day just passed. I'm a hopeless romantic and I went a little nuts with gifts for all the women in my life; one wife, three daughters and four granddaughters. Some people have said that I'm a "man's man." But, I'm confessin' that as I grow older, I'm getting more and more in touch with what some experts refer to as my "feminine side." It's got something to do with men's testosterone leaking out or evaporating or something. Whew! I'm glad to get that little tidbit off my chest. I have to be careful with the rest of this so as not to be
