GRAPH EXPO may be over, but that doesn’t have to stop you from reliving the show through the eyes of Printing Industries of America! I’m very pleased to present our “GRAPH EXPO Recap Video.” We’ve somehow crammed four days of GRAPH EXPO into a video that spans a mere one minute and thirty-three seconds. Highlights of the video include the Premier Print Awards & InterTech Awards Gala, backstage with Michael Makin, and so much more. Enjoy the video and stay tuned for more GRAPH EXPO content in the...

Bernard Martin, a speaker at the upcoming Integrated Print Forum, talked to me for a bit about how getting started in social media is like building a house. Trust me, it makes much more sense when you listen to the Audioboo.  Bernard Martin, a speaker at the Integrated Print Forum, gives some LinkedIn and social media pointers. (mp3) If you’re looking for more social media resources, Bernard has an extensive social media FAQ available for free. It’s great to see more and more printers embracing these tools and we are always looking for stories about how social media has expanded business or found printers opportunities. If you have a social media story, share it in the...

Rick Gardiner will be presenting, Digital Acument: How to Hire the Staff of Tomorrow, Today!, at the Integrated Print Forum in Pittsburgh this October 24-25. Rick took the time to talk with me about how Brunner has adapted to change and how this all relates to the printing industry.  How has Brunner evolved to be who they are today? Our agency was founded over 20 years ago and our focus initially was print design and production.  In the early 90’s, as the company started to become known for other services, like creative, some thought the ownership was crazy for getting into services like database marketing.  Decisions like that went completely against the grain from what other agencies were doing. Then we acquired an early iteration of an Internet marketing company. So, I don’t know if, at the time, they knew how visionary it was. But they always believed in having technology at the core. There are pundits that believe it’s not about technology, but printers love technology and the iterations they make revolve around technology. What do you have to say about that? It’s the marriage of both. If you make decisions only about technology and not about ideas or creativity, then that’s not going to cut it. But if you can successfully combine both, you’ll find some success. That’s what worked for us. There are some downsides, too—having to invest earlier than your clients or customers are ready in order to stay ahead of the curve. Obviously, there’s a cost implication of staying the course. I remember I was here during the dotcom bust in 1999 and 2000 and we at Brunner were talking about how committed we should stay to this “Internet” thing. Michael Brunner said, “You know what? It’s not going away and it’s a blip. We’re going to stay the course.” Turned out to be a great decision. That’s great, that’s visionary stuff. That was a weird time for printers since we were just hearing about Web-to-print. Printers hated the business model of only taking a percentage of the sale because no one was self-hosting. The printers that stayed the course then were Vista Print and Mimeo.com, the ones that are big and strong now. I think now there’s a similar message to those guys. Even though we started out as a print focused business (print-design and print-production) we were always positioned as an agency, but there are a lot of parallels. There are a lot of agencies going out of business who can’t keep up with the times, which results in consolidation in the industry. While there are some agencies that have turned the corner and are successful and thriving, there are just as many...

Can you believe GRAPH EXPO is less than a week away? Look, they’re already setting up the show floor.As we ramp up for the conference, I’ll do my best to highlight some of what Printing Industries of America is bringing to the show.  In this Audioboo, Mark Bohan talks with me about the seminars our staff is putting on at the show as well at the InterTech Gala. Enjoy!    Talking with @markbohan about his @Graph_Expo plans....

Dillon Mooney, Technical Consultant at Printing Industries of America, answers some of the frequently asked questions he receives through the technical hotline. In this episode, he answers the question, “Are you aware of any resources that outline the tolerance for quality in the printing industry?”  We’re very excited to be able to present these bite-sized chunks of information for your viewing pleasure. We have more in the works and, if these are are well received, will consider doing more of these in the future....