This post was submitted by 2017 President’s Conference sponsor, Basys. Choosing a credit card processor for your business is an extremely important decision.  After all, they are handling your customer’s sensitive data and YOUR MONEY.  Here are 5 things to look for when choosing a credit card processor:  1.       Customer Service Many processors have taken a shortcut by contracting out their customer support.  You don’t want that.  You want to dial a specific number and be routed immediately to a live person who can help.  2.       Retention & Reputation A reputable credit card processor should have an A+ BBB rating and a retention rate of 80% or higher.  You should be suspicious of any credit card processor that cannot provide high quality information about their reputation.  3.       PCI Compliance Process Many credit card processors are happy to charge you a monthly fee for “non-compliance” and are not really concerned if you are compliant.  A credit card processor that is a true business partner strives for you to be PCI compliant because it protects your customer’s information while reducing risk and liability for your business.  4.       Products & Services Designed to Grow Your Business A great processor will help you implement products and services like fraud protection services, customer reporting, and recurring billing; these services help you lower risk, reduce cost, increase sales, and grow your business.  5.       Pricing Bottom line:  Can they save you money?  The best plan for your business depends on how many credit cards you process, what types of cards you process, your average ticket amount, and many other factors.  A quality processor will thoroughly investigate your business, then present the plan that will be most cost-effective for you.   Connect with us online at basyspro.com, on LinkedIn, and on Twitter...

This post was submitted by 2017 President’s Conference sponsor, Basys. Choosing a credit card processor for your business is an extremely important decision.  After all, they are handling your customer’s sensitive data and YOUR MONEY.  Here are 5 things to look for when choosing a credit card processor:  1.       Customer Service Many processors have taken a shortcut by contracting out their customer support.  You don’t want that.  You want to dial a specific number and be routed immediately to a live person who can help.  2.       Retention & Reputation A reputable credit card processor should have an A+ BBB rating and a retention rate of 80% or higher.  You should be suspicious of any credit card processor that cannot provide high quality information about their reputation.  3.       PCI Compliance Process Many credit card processors are happy to charge you a monthly fee for “non-compliance” and are not really concerned if you are compliant.  A credit card processor that is a true business partner strives for you to be PCI compliant because it protects your customer’s information while reducing risk and liability for your business.  4.       Products & Services Designed to Grow Your Business A great processor will help you implement products and services like fraud protection services, customer reporting, and recurring billing; these services help you lower risk, reduce cost, increase sales, and grow your business.  5.       Pricing Bottom line:  Can they save you money?  The best plan for your business depends on how many credit cards you process, what types of cards you process, your average ticket amount, and many other factors.  A quality processor will thoroughly investigate your business, then present the plan that will be most cost-effective for you.   Connect with us online at basyspro.com, on LinkedIn, and on Twitter...

This post was submitted by 2017 Continuous Improvement Conference sponsor, Heidelberg. Author: Tom McTernan, Vice President, National Consumables Sales Now more than ever, having a resource available to answer or work through a consumable issue is vital to a printer’s success. The days of “hang and bang” are dwindling. With the new technologies available to printers, like LED, low energy UV, and the assortment of custom presses, more and more printers need an expert resource to help maximize their production. It is evident that one consumable change anywhere on the press can cause “profit black holes” elsewhere. What solves one problem causes three others. Finding the right “mix” of inks, washes, fountain solutions, blankets, rollers, and coating is vital to get the work done fast and correctly the first time, therefore maximizing profit. How do you get your press to run at maximum speed while producing the best possible quality? Can you produce more saleable sheets on your floor in a shift than yesterday? More and more of the time, support and instructor’s time is being spent on how to adjust certain products in order to maximize output and quality. I use the analogy of the difference between a good cook and a “master chef.” They both use the same ingredients, but you can have totally different results in the final dish. This is a lot like consumables on a press. Just because you are using the same consumables doesn’t automatically mean your results will be the same between the two presses. You have to take into account environment (cooking temperature), press operator skill level (chef’s level of training), and how much you use (amount of ingredients). We wish it was as easy as 1-2-3 but it very seldom is. That’s where your contacts, associations, and vendors can help. Please reach out and use the resources available to...

This post was submitted by 2017 Continuous Improvement Conference sponsor, Heidelberg. Author: Tom McTernan, Vice President, National Consumables Sales Now more than ever, having a resource available to answer or work through a consumable issue is vital to a printer’s success. The days of “hang and bang” are dwindling. With the new technologies available to printers, like LED, low energy UV, and the assortment of custom presses, more and more printers need an expert resource to help maximize their production. It is evident that one consumable change anywhere on the press can cause “profit black holes” elsewhere. What solves one problem causes three others. Finding the right “mix” of inks, washes, fountain solutions, blankets, rollers, and coating is vital to get the work done fast and correctly the first time, therefore maximizing profit. How do you get your press to run at maximum speed while producing the best possible quality? Can you produce more saleable sheets on your floor in a shift than yesterday? More and more of the time, support and instructor’s time is being spent on how to adjust certain products in order to maximize output and quality. I use the analogy of the difference between a good cook and a “master chef.” They both use the same ingredients, but you can have totally different results in the final dish. This is a lot like consumables on a press. Just because you are using the same consumables doesn’t automatically mean your results will be the same between the two presses. You have to take into account environment (cooking temperature), press operator skill level (chef’s level of training), and how much you use (amount of ingredients). We wish it was as easy as 1-2-3 but it very seldom is. That’s where your contacts, associations, and vendors can help. Please reach out and use the resources available to...

This post was submitted by 2017 Continuous Improvement Conference sponsor, Heidelberg. Author: Oliver Demus, Director, Business Consulting Today, most print shops have an up-to-date estimating system and prepress workflow. However, many are not taking full advantage of its capabilities. How is your workflow utilized? Consider this scenario: A request for quote (RFQ) comes in with some major information missing such as delivery date, color, or even the exact quantity. Your sales representative promises to provide the information at a later date. The estimator provides a quote based on the information given. Later, the sales representative gives the OK for production and provides updated information for the delivery date and quantity. The estimate gets converted, and a job ticket is written. Production Starts! In theory, the job should already exist in prepress through the connectivity between estimating and workflow. In most cases, however, the job is manually created again. Then the job flows through the shop in many manual steps depending on the degree of automation of the print shop’s system. This example is just one of many. When a print shop implements a new system, they typically want it to replace their old software plus provide additional features and benefits. In order to fully utilize the system to its best ability, the print shop will likely need to change some internal processes to match the automation of the software. If done correctly, you could ideally achieve a zero touchpoint process from RFQ through to platemaking. Take a look at your own print shop to see how often someone touches a job (beginning with estimating). How close are you to zero...

This post was submitted by 2017 Continuous Improvement Conference sponsor, Heidelberg. Author: Oliver Demus, Director, Business Consulting Today, most print shops have an up-to-date estimating system and prepress workflow. However, many are not taking full advantage of its capabilities. How is your workflow utilized? Consider this scenario: A request for quote (RFQ) comes in with some major information missing such as delivery date, color, or even the exact quantity. Your sales representative promises to provide the information at a later date. The estimator provides a quote based on the information given. Later, the sales representative gives the OK for production and provides updated information for the delivery date and quantity. The estimate gets converted, and a job ticket is written. Production Starts! In theory, the job should already exist in prepress through the connectivity between estimating and workflow. In most cases, however, the job is manually created again. Then the job flows through the shop in many manual steps depending on the degree of automation of the print shop’s system. This example is just one of many. When a print shop implements a new system, they typically want it to replace their old software plus provide additional features and benefits. In order to fully utilize the system to its best ability, the print shop will likely need to change some internal processes to match the automation of the software. If done correctly, you could ideally achieve a zero touchpoint process from RFQ through to platemaking. Take a look at your own print shop to see how often someone touches a job (beginning with estimating). How close are you to zero...