The 2016 Premier Print Awards opened for submissions in February, and all of us at PIA headquarters are excited to see what printers around the world have produced over the past year. Often referred to as “The Oscars of the Industry,” this international competition brings together printers from around the globe to have their pieces meticulously judged by our panel of industry experts. Together, our judges have over 100 years of industry experience and will thoroughly examine each piece down to the last drop of ink. Now in its 67th year, the Premier Print Awards prides itself on honoring every deserving company no matter their size; from the mom-and-pop shop to the million dollar franchise, every organization has their fair shot at the prestigious, coveted Benny statue. Recipients of the Premier Print Awards benefit from substantial industry exposure. Winners are announced to a list of over 800 industry media contacts and included in the PPA Supplement that is available at the Premier Print Awards Gala as well as the Printing Industries of America GRAPH EXPO booth. Winners are also invited to attend the Premier Print Awards Gala featuring the InterTech™ Technology Awards, where the Best of Show winners collect their Benny statues. During this event, print’s biggest winners gather to rub elbows and show off their winning pieces. Shortly after the results are announced, self-promotion kits are mailed to help you highlight your win. As a recipient of a Premier Print Award, you have access to a pre-drafted press release and Premier Print Award logos. By prominently displaying your statue, certificate, and logo, you let the whole world know that you are the best of the best in print! There are lots of ways to use award wins to grow your customer base. Join us on March 2 at 4:00 p.m. EST when we co-host Print Chat and talk about your options. Simply log on to http://nurph.com/PrintChat/chats/3135 with your Twitter handle and join the conversation. We hope to see you...

The 2016 Premier Print Awards opened for submissions in February, and all of us at PIA headquarters are excited to see what printers around the world have produced over the past year. Often referred to as “The Oscars of the Industry,” this international competition brings together printers from around the globe to have their pieces meticulously judged by our panel of industry experts. Together, our judges have over 100 years of industry experience and will thoroughly examine each piece down to the last drop of ink. Now in its 67th year, the Premier Print Awards prides itself on honoring every deserving company no matter their size; from the mom-and-pop shop to the million dollar franchise, every organization has their fair shot at the prestigious, coveted Benny statue. Recipients of the Premier Print Awards benefit from substantial industry exposure. Winners are announced to a list of over 800 industry media contacts and included in the PPA Supplement that is available at the Premier Print Awards Gala as well as the Printing Industries of America GRAPH EXPO booth. Winners are also invited to attend the Premier Print Awards Gala featuring the InterTech™ Technology Awards, where the Best of Show winners collect their Benny statues. During this event, print’s biggest winners gather to rub elbows and show off their winning pieces. Shortly after the results are announced, self-promotion kits are mailed to help you highlight your win. As a recipient of a Premier Print Award, you have access to a pre-drafted press release and Premier Print Award logos. By prominently displaying your statue, certificate, and logo, you let the whole world know that you are the best of the best in print! There are lots of ways to use award wins to grow your customer base. Join us on March 2 at 4:00 p.m. EST when we co-host Print Chat and talk about your options. Simply log on to http://nurph.com/PrintChat/chats/3135 with your Twitter handle and join the conversation. We hope to see you...

Jim Workman, Vice President, Center for Technology and Research, Printing Industries of America Technological capability is a critical competitive advantage for commercial printers. It is one reason that even companies with in-house printing capabilities rely heavily on commercial printers for their business printing needs. The issue came to the forefront again during a recent survey of 400-plus marketing and business executives at medium and large companies across different industrial sectors. Printing Industries of America and FedEx Office jointly conducted the survey, which delved into the executives’ use of and attitudes toward business printing. Among the many topics explored in the survey, respondents indicated if they would like more services in seven specific areas. Technology-related services were three of the top four print-related requests by business and marketing executives. The top four included the ability to print from the Cloud, access to advanced technology for color printing, access to advanced digital imaging, and the management of digital assets. Print’s marketspace is evolving in a very specific direction—from the simple provision of printed products to adding ancillary services to providing communications solutions. It’s not uncommon for in-plant operations, such as those at universities, businesses, and government entities, to be well behind the curve when it comes to reacting to changing customer needs. It is doubtful, for example, that most of them can provide an easy way of submitting files and ordering print via Web portals. They are unlikely to be able to enhance direct marketing campaigns with customized and variable-data printing. Nor are they as responsive as commercial printers to providing new digital print technologies and applications, such as signage, posters, and point-of-purchase displays. Make sure your firm is on the proper trajectory in technological evolution and in thinking about how you can take advantage of technical and process superiority when selling against in-house print resources. Emphasize the careful attention given to product quality, since the survey showed that product quality was the number one reason why customers rely on commercial printers compared to in-house resources. Customers of commercial printers reported lower instances of content being displayed incorrectly, color consistency problems, color accuracy problems, and product quality challenges. You might even consider joining the group of printers that are getting involved with print management services, by which we mean the practice of a customer outsourcing all of their print needs to a commercial printer—not just on a job-by-job basis. In that situation the commercial printer is managing the overall printing process for the customer. This may even include operating and staffing the customer’s existing in-plant facility. The complete survey findings, contained in an eight-page Flash Report, should be very helpful to company owners and executives determining how best to position their...

Jim Workman, Vice President, Center for Technology and Research, Printing Industries of America Technological capability is a critical competitive advantage for commercial printers. It is one reason that even companies with in-house printing capabilities rely heavily on commercial printers for their business printing needs. The issue came to the forefront again during a recent survey of 400-plus marketing and business executives at medium and large companies across different industrial sectors. Printing Industries of America and FedEx Office jointly conducted the survey, which delved into the executives’ use of and attitudes toward business printing. Among the many topics explored in the survey, respondents indicated if they would like more services in seven specific areas. Technology-related services were three of the top four print-related requests by business and marketing executives. The top four included the ability to print from the Cloud, access to advanced technology for color printing, access to advanced digital imaging, and the management of digital assets. Print’s marketspace is evolving in a very specific direction—from the simple provision of printed products to adding ancillary services to providing communications solutions. It’s not uncommon for in-plant operations, such as those at universities, businesses, and government entities, to be well behind the curve when it comes to reacting to changing customer needs. It is doubtful, for example, that most of them can provide an easy way of submitting files and ordering print via Web portals. They are unlikely to be able to enhance direct marketing campaigns with customized and variable-data printing. Nor are they as responsive as commercial printers to providing new digital print technologies and applications, such as signage, posters, and point-of-purchase displays. Make sure your firm is on the proper trajectory in technological evolution and in thinking about how you can take advantage of technical and process superiority when selling against in-house print resources. Emphasize the careful attention given to product quality, since the survey showed that product quality was the number one reason why customers rely on commercial printers compared to in-house resources. Customers of commercial printers reported lower instances of content being displayed incorrectly, color consistency problems, color accuracy problems, and product quality challenges. You might even consider joining the group of printers that are getting involved with print management services, by which we mean the practice of a customer outsourcing all of their print needs to a commercial printer—not just on a job-by-job basis. In that situation the commercial printer is managing the overall printing process for the customer. This may even include operating and staffing the customer’s existing in-plant facility. The complete survey findings, contained in an eight-page Flash Report, should be very helpful to company owners and executives determining how best to position their...

The following post was submitted by 2016 President’s Conference sponsor, Heidelberg. Your profit per job should be the driver of which technology and processes you use to produce a job. Think of an ideal production scenario: 1) Your MIS/workflow would determine (based on cost parameters) how a job is scheduled and produced to maximize your return on that entire job. 2) Your color management is so well defined that quality across technologies is a given and will match. 3) Data from your production devices would provide exact and timely feedback for that critical information loop on cost versus estimate. With Heidelberg, that production scenario is a reality today, not a futuristic “wish list”! Heidelberg is committed to improving and expanding its digital solutions as its customers need to run jobs from one to a million sheets. The crossover cost point of digital versus offset technology is much, much lower than people think! Generally, customers compare the cost per copy of a new digital device versus their old offset press, but if you compare the latest Anicolor 75 offset press, it breaks even at 250 sheets versus a 29-in. digital device. In reality, you only need ultra-short run and personalized digital output, a gap which is nicely filled by the latest Linoprint CV (90ppm) & CP (130ppm). At the end of the day, the questions to ask are: –  What volume can you bring in to utilize an asset? –  What’s your cost per sheet based on that volume and the asset price? –   What can you charge for that sheet? Those questions lead to the investment decision, not the technology...