Harry Waldman About

I look at my 2000 Toyota Rav 4 with admiration. And, yes, I now drive and have owned the exotic cars that make men behave like little boys. But when you cut to the chase, an automobile's job is to efficiently take you where you want to go without you having to take it where it needs to go. More than five years after I drove my Rav 4 out of the dealer's showroom, other than the usual oil changes, it has never needed a single repair. So my Boxter may be more fun and far more appealing, but it's my dependable Rav 4

Another new year and, at my age, I feel the need to look back and reflect on an event and some people that shaped my business life and the printing industry. In retrospect, I would have to say that the single most important event in the printing industry during my business career occurred more than 20 years ago. Often overlooked, the introduction of the Apple Macintosh personal computer and the Apple LaserWriter, along with Adobe PostScript and Aldus (later Adobe) PageMaker software, in my judgment, began the march to what was to become a revolutionary change in printing and publishing. Actually, the Apple Macintosh—sans

I dropped my fork and asked David Motheral to repeat what he had just said. Some at the table stared while others continued eating as if they hadn't heard. However, as David began to talk all eyes were riveted on him and the food quickly became incidental. It was lunchtime, August 30th, at the 2004 PIA/GATF Digital Workflow Conference in Pittsburgh. I was there as both a speaker and a roundtable discussion moderator. My talk, scheduled for the afternoon, was "Digital Workflows: Does It Matter How or Where I Print It?" The topic covered how digital workflows increasingly need to be versatile since, in

To thine own self be true and thou cannot be false to any other printer. A little twist on Shakespeare to remind me that if I am going to write a column, it should be as truthful as possible, particularly in the case of critical issues where all sides should be presented. In the past, I have written much about JDF (Job Definition Format) and the enormous impact I believe it will have on our industry. Am I caught up in all the hype? My passion is evident, thus I am being true to my own self, so Shakespeare can rest easy. But

You guessed it, I just saw Momma Mia and "Like a Super Drupa" keeps rolling around in my head. For those of you not familiar with the show Momma Mia, which is based on the music of ABBA, it's a must see. Super Trooper, one of ABBA's huge hits 24 years ago, is one of the show's toe-tapping standouts with the catchy "Like a Super Trooper." Being a printer to the core, I just couldn't help putting my own spin to the tune. A Super Drupa it should be and, by the time you read this, many will be on their way to Germany

Every now and then, somewhere in Florida, a group of former printing plant owners lunch together. I have it on reliable sources that most are relieved to be out of the business—an industry they once knew and loved and was so good to them. But, oh my, scary future changes will for sure shake print's very foundation, leading to tough times, declining profits and perhaps more failures than growth. This is not a unique viewpoint. As a former owner myself, I have talked to many other former industry executives and, all too often, I hear thinking similar to the Florida lunch discussion. No