Does your team understand the value of what “good” customer relationships should look like? In the article, contributed by Leslie Groene, President, Groene Consulting, find out how “bad” customer service can hurt your company. It is interesting to look at the world around me through the eyes of a sales coach and consultant…always evaluating the service of a company’s personnel or their sales person. I seem to see and ultimately measure my experiences by asking the following questions: Do they treat all of their customers like that? Why did they say that? Do they have any clue what conclusion I come to when I hear that? I had a couple of interesting things happen while on a recent business trip…you decide how you would judge the companies… I boarded a one-hour flight at 9:30am out of the Los Angeles area and requested coffee. The flight attendant told me that there was no longer coffee on short flights after 9:30am.”oh really?” I said. He said that that was the new policy of the airline (He did not offer me any other explanation except that I could have Diet Coke.) Upon my return home from said business trip, I realized that I had left a small (high-end brand) travel case behind at the hotel. I called and was transferred to the security department. They said in fact they did have the case and would send it to me. I received it via registered mail a few days later with all of the contents intact. With the first story, I was disappointed that I could no longer get coffee but more displeased with his “dismissive, snotty” attitude and demeanor. The second story was worthy of a letter to the manager of the hotel to express a “thank you” to his staff for not only turning in the case but sending it to me so promptly. Below are some statistics about clients and what drives them away…make sure you are aware of how your service and attitude affect your clients! 96% of unhappy customers do not complain, they just stop doing business with you. 91% of those who don’t complain will share the negative story with at least 9 other people, 13% will tell more than 20 other people about their experience. The average unhappy customer will remember the incident for 23 years. The happy customer will talk about the pleasant experience for 18 months. For every complaint heard, the average company has 25 other customers with the same problem. Want to learn more about improving customer relationships for your company? Leslie is presenting “Who Is the Correct Customer for You and Your Company” at the 2013 BIA Annual Conference, April 8–10, in...

Below is an interview with Paul Cousineau, TAGA President. In this Q&A session, Paul explains the hidden benefits of the 65th Annual Technical Conference, what to expect of this year’s keynote presentations, and much more. Q: What level of understanding of the industry’s technological developments is required to benefit from the 65th Annual Technical Conference? A: The TAGA Conference content appeals to a broad base of academics, technologists, manufacturers, and managers of technology. Some level of understanding of graphics and related industries is helpful, but I never fail to be amazed at the nuggets of information I walk away with every year at this conference—topics I don’t know enough about or should know more about, several of which ultimately benefit my company. The great thing about the conference is the experts are present and attendees are encouraged to network and have discussions with the speakers. Q: A new addition to the conference this year is the addition of Technical Innovation Papers to the Scientific Papers. What can we look forward to from the addition of the Technical Innovation Papers? A: Technical Innovation papers were added as a category by the TAGA Board to recognize unique applications and integrations of existing technologies that in and of themselves are innovative. It provides a forum for going beyond research or the invention of technologies to provide a forum for how technology can be applied and successful in a manufacturing setting. Q: One of the major agenda topics of this year’s conference is inkjet technology. What are some of the exciting applications and changes in the inkjet industry? A: There is a lot of activity and investment in inkjet technologies and consumables. Between workflows, print engines, and finishing, it was clear at DRUPA 2012 this process has the potential to become the next “major” printing process. The most exciting is the bumper crop of new ways to integrate these devices into manufacturing systems capable of producing a wide variety of products. Several inkjet technology leaders will be present at this year’s TAGA—come meet them, ask questions. Q: How will understanding the new developments in technology impact an attendee’s day-to-day work performance? A: Two words: understanding and networking. Understanding. Each attendee has a different experience at the conference. They can participate as much or as little as they want. But it is the only conference I attend that has near full participation in every session. The content is that compelling—it leads to better understanding of what is behind the processes we use, and it helps the attendee to identify ways to apply this knowledge in their work careers. Networking. Meet the experts, talk with them, engage them. Attendees can learn from others and take...

When it comes to image and color management, it’s best to look at the big picture—your whole workflow. When you capture a digital photograph, you are making essential decisions that impact your entire workflow. Some people are right-brain, and some are left-brain. But everyone can learn how to capture and process high-quality images by learning the fundamentals from image capture to output. Few professionals know this better than Dr. Taz Tally, Taz Tally Photography and Director of the Digital Print Production Program, Sessions.edu—The Online School of Design. He is leading “The Fine Art of Digital Photography and Workflow,” one of the most talked-about sessions of this conference. Now less than one month before he presents at the 2012 Color Management Conference, we have an exclusive interview with Dr. Tally on his much-anticipated session. See what you will experience during a day with this self-described adventure seeker! What makes you excited about your pre-conference session, and what makes this conference unique? This is an all-day, hands-on session that lets you capture and create color-managed images from start to finish. I take you through the whole color management workflow, from image capture to color correction to preparing your images for viewing and printing. You will see your finished product at the conclusion of the day. The Arizona landscape is spectacular with endless opportunities. If I am not a photographer, will this session be useful? Absolutely. We will be covering both the fundamentals of image composition as well as adjusting and  managing files in a Photoshop-based workflow for creating high-quality images for viewing and printing. We will first focus on capturing well-composed images, which is the first step in a high-quality image and color management process. We will then apply Photoshop image correction and management fundamentals to our well-composed images. This information will result in having better composed and higher-quality images and better color—it also makes you a more valuable and/or marketable employee! For this session, I recommend having a basic knowledge of Photoshop. Have you created this session from a technical or creative perspective? Both, actually. Some people lean more toward the creative side, some the more technical, while others see the whole process. The information is developed and presented to include photographers and pre-media personnel, and anyone involved in the image and color management process, whether you are design, photography, or production oriented. I teach trainable skills—you learn the fundamentals to get you started and fill in any gaps in your workflow. Can you describe what attendees will experience? We will be shooting at a prime location in Scottsdale, not far from the conference venue, the Hotel Valley Ho. We will go through the entire process of capturing the image,...

Professor Fritz Bircher, Printing Competence Center, University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland, Fribourg, will present Beyond Standard Inkjet Printing at the TAGA 65th Annual Technical Conference, February 3–6, 2013, in Portland, Oregon. Below, Professor Bircher recalls his experience of learning about inkjet technology, a hot topic at this year’s conference. The range of standard inkjetInkjet technology nowadays is state-of-the-art for small office/home office printers, coding, large-format printing or as add-on units to provide flexible data within traditional printing processes. Drupa 2012 showed, that more and more application fields are being covered now, even if inkjet is not the only digital technology on the market. Commercially available inkjet printing systems and printheads provide a certain range of operating specifications and conditions. It is important to understand that for good printing results, printhead, ink, substrate, and drying principle or unit have to be well-adapted to each other. Motivation to break these limitsSome five years ago, with the increasing pressure in the industry to have to go digital with their processes, many companies realized that interesting fields of application appeared outside these known ranges. They promised attractive new markets besides the difficult traditional business. In their search of innovation, some companies increasingly began to go beyond the limits of the known and commercially available technologies. But they mostly failed or it took them much too long to succeed in a first step on their own. They underestimated the complexity of all involved parameters. Much more profound knowledge of all involved subsystems and their way of interaction was needed. This was why I was often asked about feasibility studies to support the breaking of these limits. Different applicationsMany different printing applications have been tackled to address different printing requirements, including large outside advertising on grass and concrete. Their JumboJET was designed and developed for commercial use in advertising and art applications, printing with a resolution of about 1 dpi (pixel diameter can be selected 20 or 40 mm) and a print width of 5 m. Every pixel is linked to his exact final position so that the software can control the print process by GPS. The driver then is independent of any given path, he only has to provide, that he covered every spot of the image at least once at the end. Learn about other applications including printing on snow and the challenges introduced by the low temperatures, the influence of particle size and viscosity on performance. For more information about the keynote presentations at the TAGA 65th Annual Technical Conference, or to register, visit...

Dr. Taz Tally, Taz Tally Photography and Director of the Digital Print Production Program, Sessions.edu—The Online School of Design, has been practicing, teaching, and writing about photography for more than 30 years. Specializing in black and white landscape photography, Dr. Tally is an expert in controlling image color and quality, and reproducing his awe-inspiring images using Adobe Creative Suite.  Creating high-quality color images requires a combination of both creative image capture skills and technically competent image adjustment and management expertise. Achieving high-quality final color photographic output depends upon: Developing and utilizing high-quality techniques and processes throughout your color workflow, including composing eye-catching image compositions, Capturing images with Photoshop in mind Accurately and efficiently evaluating the color quality of your images Utilizing nondestructive image adjustment and editing techniques Accurately and efficiently adjusting your color, preparing your image for your final output device(s) Exporting and/or printing your final image—all while managing your color consistently throughout the process. So, consistently creating good, quality color images requires a mixture of both right-brain creative judgment and left-brain analytical and technical skills and organization. Most of us tend to favor one side of the brain or the other. Those who are more left-brain oriented may find the creative aspects of image capture to be a bit outside of our comfort zone. Similarly, those who are more right-brain oriented can be thoroughly intimidated by the analytical and technical aspects of color correction and color management. The reality of today’s creative and business life is that the same individual is often tasked with having both the creative insights and the technical competence to produce and output high-quality images. The good news is that the fundamentals of designing eye-catching image compositions and executing technically competent color correction and management are both learnable skills! During a full-day color image seminar in Scottsdale, Arizona, we will work our way through the entire high-quality color image creation workflow. We will begin with learning and then using a four-step process for composing eye-catching images. Then using the images we captured in the composition portion of the seminar we will step through the process of image evaluation, nondestructive color correction, and image editing. We will then finish up with preparing our images for final output, including printing. Throughout the entire process, we will be conscious of developing then maintaining the color quality of our images. Dr. Taz Tally will be presenting The Fine Art of Digital Photography and Workflow pre-conference workshop at the 2012 Color Management Conference, December 1–4, in Scottsdale, Arizona. Experience this valuable creative learning experience in a gorgeous desert setting. Find more information on this session and more...

Some people just don’t “get” social media for business. Sure, they think it’s OK to keep up with Cousin Charlie, but they just haven’t gotten a grasp on how they can use it for marketing or business growth. Facebook isn’t just for catching up with your friends, and Twitter can be more than idle chit-chat. Truth is, intelligent use of social platforms helps a company track who visits the company site, reveals what customers say about the business, showcases a company’s services, and amplifies the message of a printed piece! You can learn more about social media at Integrated Print Forum 2012. This event will take place October 29–30 at Printing Industries of America’s headquarters in Sewickley, PA. The focus of the event will be the hottest trends today in the graphic communications industry that you need to implement into your printing business. Sessions will not only focus on social media but on topics such as, the future of digital and how print is a big part of it, the potential goldmine that is the self-publishing boom, the income potential for ePubs, driving business to your website with SEO, branding, and much more. In its second year, Integrated Print Forum is gearing up to be the top event of the year. Renee Berger, Marketing Manager at Western States Envelope & Label, attended the event in 2011 and was so taken by the information she received—and with her experience in the graphic communications industry—she has been invited back in 2012 as a speaker. Her knowledge can help business professionals understand how important social media is for their business, brand, and profits. Here’s what she has to say about this year’s Forum: “What a great program—I am so excited to participate! Coming from a traditional graphic design and marketing background, I understand marketing is comprised of four facets that I like to call the four Ps: Price, Product, Placement, and Promotion. How does social media fit into your picture? Could it be a fifth category all on its own? I think so. How about another P–People. Social media sits on top of the four Ps— as an ‘integrator’ of all the channels. Whether it’s a first impression, teaching someone about your product or service, or best case, having a ‘brand ally.’ Social media further supports your price model as others will affirm your brand promise. Thinking like the consumer is a valuable part of humanizing any brand, and gaining intelligence about what’s next is really important. Don’t miss the opportunities to see what’s next in this excellent Integrated Print Forum–can’t wait to see you there!” Tracking Tools for Super Sleuths: Managing Your Social Engagement, will be the session presented by Renee...