Creating a high-performance culture and an active program of continuous improvement results in better quality, efficiency, and a competitive advantage that’s hard to match. It can also earn you a 2014 Managing for Improvement Award. For Western Graphics, a 50-employee commercial printing company in St. Paul, Minnesota, and its CEO and owner, Timothy Keran, performance excellence is never an afterthought. Its constant striving to get better is what has allowed the company to prosper. An innovator who has spearheaded his company’s successful CI efforts, Keran was recently honored as the 2013 recipient of Printing Industries of America’s Managing for Improvement Award for creating real and lasting improvements for Western Graphics.  How can executives lead their companies to higher performance levels? Here are the three core beliefs that Keran has instilled at Western:personal continuous improvement, engagement,andgoals and values. 1.     Look first at your personal continuous improvement efforts. Keran knows that accomplishing continuous improvement is more than just collecting plaques on your wall. Successful leadership starts from within. He focused on developing himself over the last 20 years in the industry. Then, turning his concentration to his employees and his company values, Keran was able to create a strong culture that incubates positivity and drives the company’s continuous improvement initiatives. For these reasons, Keran was selected as the 2013 Managing for Improvement Award recipient.   2.     Make sure your employees are engaged. Western’s employees are motivated to help clients reach their goals and objectives because Keran has ensured they have an active voice in the company. Employees are expected to submit improvement ideas to which management listens carefully. The company wants to know what employees are thinking and keeps them focused on improvement—they receive brief daily performance reviews and quarterly one-on-one coaching conversations with management. For these reasons, if you work for Western Graphics, chances are you enjoy your work and will go above your requirements to truly “own” each project and delight your customers. 3.     Make sure your corporate mission, goals, and values are clear. Defining your company’s mission and values tells your employees and your customers who you are and what they can expect from you. It can empower employees who can be given more decision-making freedom with the caveat that they make decisions consistent with the corporate values. Western Graphics clearly articulates its responsibilities to its customers: 1) Help them reduce their print spend 2) Lower their time spent on managing print 3) Improve their print effectiveness These goals have focused Western’s improvement efforts. The application of Lean management practices has helped the company drive wasted time and resources out of its processes.   The results? Because of their improvements in the last five years, Western Graphics has...

Creating a high-performance culture and an active program of continuous improvement results in better quality, efficiency, and a competitive advantage that’s hard to match. It can also earn you a 2014 Managing for Improvement Award. For Western Graphics, a 50-employee commercial printing company in St. Paul, Minnesota, and its CEO and owner, Timothy Keran, performance excellence is never an afterthought. Its constant striving to get better is what has allowed the company to prosper. An innovator who has spearheaded his company’s successful CI efforts, Keran was recently honored as the 2013 recipient of Printing Industries of America’s Managing for Improvement Award for creating real and lasting improvements for Western Graphics.  How can executives lead their companies to higher performance levels? Here are the three core beliefs that Keran has instilled at Western:personal continuous improvement, engagement,andgoals and values. 1.     Look first at your personal continuous improvement efforts. Keran knows that accomplishing continuous improvement is more than just collecting plaques on your wall. Successful leadership starts from within. He focused on developing himself over the last 20 years in the industry. Then, turning his concentration to his employees and his company values, Keran was able to create a strong culture that incubates positivity and drives the company’s continuous improvement initiatives. For these reasons, Keran was selected as the 2013 Managing for Improvement Award recipient.   2.     Make sure your employees are engaged. Western’s employees are motivated to help clients reach their goals and objectives because Keran has ensured they have an active voice in the company. Employees are expected to submit improvement ideas to which management listens carefully. The company wants to know what employees are thinking and keeps them focused on improvement—they receive brief daily performance reviews and quarterly one-on-one coaching conversations with management. For these reasons, if you work for Western Graphics, chances are you enjoy your work and will go above your requirements to truly “own” each project and delight your customers. 3.     Make sure your corporate mission, goals, and values are clear. Defining your company’s mission and values tells your employees and your customers who you are and what they can expect from you. It can empower employees who can be given more decision-making freedom with the caveat that they make decisions consistent with the corporate values. Western Graphics clearly articulates its responsibilities to its customers: 1) Help them reduce their print spend 2) Lower their time spent on managing print 3) Improve their print effectiveness These goals have focused Western’s improvement efforts. The application of Lean management practices has helped the company drive wasted time and resources out of its processes.   The results? Because of their improvements in the last five years, Western Graphics has...

Interview with Erica Aitken, President, Rods and Cones, Inc. Color workflow innovation is one of Erica Aitken’s main focuses as founder and president of her company, Rods and Cones. We asked Erica, one of our featured speakers at this year’s Color Management Conference, about some of the challenges her clients face with color management today, as well as her insights and recommended solutions. Q: Erica, with today’s technologies rapidly changing, our daily workflows are being affected. Where can print and graphic arts professionals find solutions? What are the resources you recommend most often for those beginning their search for the perfect color management system? Erica Aitken: I have found webinars to be efficient and very beneficial resources. Workshops and conferences can offer great hands-on experience and networking. But when clients are looking for go-to guidebooks for everything on color management, the Color Management Handbook: A Practical Guide is a handy resource for every aspect. The guide is well organized, you can keep it right on your desk, and it’s there when you need it. Also Datacolor, whose Spyder monitor calibrating system you may know, publishes a very good book about color management. It’s called Calibrate Your World and is available at no cost on their website. This excellent 90-page digital book explains digital color, calibrating cameras and monitors, making ICC profiles, etc. If you’re beginning your search for the perfect color management system, read these booklets and come talk to me at the conference with your questions. Q: You’ll be speaking at the 2013 Color Management Conference about one major challenge expanding technology has created: color management on tablet devices. Can you give us one tip to improve customer proofing on tablets? EA: With pleasure. I found that color managing iPads is still very much in its infancy and, as it’s often the case in very young industries, people try to find the right approach to something that they’re not even sure is needed. I will outline what’s available today and how effective today’s existing iPad color management solutions are. Q: You help your clients evolve with new technologies and optimize their color workflow.  You’ve worked in-depth with streamlining and automating workflows in addition to marketing and developing your business. As an industry professional, what are you most looking forward to at this year’s conference? EA: What excites me the most about this year’s Color Management Conference is the introduction of tracks geared toward brand managers and creatives. It makes sense since color is critical from beginning to end, and it’s easier to control color if it’s considered right at the start of a project. The most efficient workflows are the result of communication between creator and prepress/printer at every stage of...

Interview with Erica Aitken, President, Rods and Cones, Inc. Color workflow innovation is one of Erica Aitken’s main focuses as founder and president of her company, Rods and Cones. We asked Erica, one of our featured speakers at this year’s Color Management Conference, about some of the challenges her clients face with color management today, as well as her insights and recommended solutions. Q: Erica, with today’s technologies rapidly changing, our daily workflows are being affected. Where can print and graphic arts professionals find solutions? What are the resources you recommend most often for those beginning their search for the perfect color management system? Erica Aitken: I have found webinars to be efficient and very beneficial resources. Workshops and conferences can offer great hands-on experience and networking. But when clients are looking for go-to guidebooks for everything on color management, the Color Management Handbook: A Practical Guide is a handy resource for every aspect. The guide is well organized, you can keep it right on your desk, and it’s there when you need it. Also Datacolor, whose Spyder monitor calibrating system you may know, publishes a very good book about color management. It’s called Calibrate Your World and is available at no cost on their website. This excellent 90-page digital book explains digital color, calibrating cameras and monitors, making ICC profiles, etc. If you’re beginning your search for the perfect color management system, read these booklets and come talk to me at the conference with your questions. Q: You’ll be speaking at the 2013 Color Management Conference about one major challenge expanding technology has created: color management on tablet devices. Can you give us one tip to improve customer proofing on tablets? EA: With pleasure. I found that color managing iPads is still very much in its infancy and, as it’s often the case in very young industries, people try to find the right approach to something that they’re not even sure is needed. I will outline what’s available today and how effective today’s existing iPad color management solutions are. Q: You help your clients evolve with new technologies and optimize their color workflow.  You’ve worked in-depth with streamlining and automating workflows in addition to marketing and developing your business. As an industry professional, what are you most looking forward to at this year’s conference? EA: What excites me the most about this year’s Color Management Conference is the introduction of tracks geared toward brand managers and creatives. It makes sense since color is critical from beginning to end, and it’s easier to control color if it’s considered right at the start of a project. The most efficient workflows are the result of communication between creator and prepress/printer at every stage of...

We’re all trying to adjust to color standards updates, new automated workflow systems, and a steady flow of emerging technologies. Everyone in the workflow is responsible for ensuring that the color of a printed piece is accurate and consistent all the way from concept to customer. If you’re like Elizabeth Nolden, a production manager at Sign-Zone, Inc., you are looking to stay competitive in today’s market and find the latest information on color technologies and trends. As a long-time attendee of the Color Management Conference, we asked her how this particular event helps her stay fresh in her career. Q: As a printer aiming to stay up-to-date on color management tech, why is this conference unique in the industry, and why is it important for workflow and production? Elizabeth Nolden: This conference is unique in a sense that it gathers all print professionals together to talk about one issue they can all relate to, color. Whether you’re a designer at an ad agency or a print operator, offset or wide format, we all deal with color. This year’s conference in particular is geared toward brand management through the entire process. It will also be uniquely structured from previous years. I’m excited to see where it takes us. Q: What can attendees expect to learn and how can they prepare to get the most out of the conference when they come? EN: My recommendation would be to look at the schedule early and plan your path ahead of time. The conference is segmented out for different levels of expertise. Make sure you’re attending the sessions you’ll get the most out of. Attendees can expect to learn a lot of technical pieces of print, but also some good tips and tricks to increase your productivity. Q: What can production professionals, who need to learn to speak the language of brand managers, designers, and standards experts, expect to get out of it? EN: It’s important for production professionals to understand all aspects of print, including design and brand management. With the collaboration effort of this conference and wide variety of attendees it’s a great opportunity for everyone to speak the same language to reduce communication gaps. Q: What do you personally learn when you attend the conference, and how has this event helped you keep up to date on color tech, standards, and specifications? EN: I can always count on learning something new at this conference. As a print professional, it’s always helpful to keep track of all standards, but also to learn where the industry is going, not just where our little niche is. It’s also a great opportunity to network with other print professionals. Q: What sessions are you most...

We’re all trying to adjust to color standards updates, new automated workflow systems, and a steady flow of emerging technologies. Everyone in the workflow is responsible for ensuring that the color of a printed piece is accurate and consistent all the way from concept to customer. If you’re like Elizabeth Nolden, a production manager at Sign-Zone, Inc., you are looking to stay competitive in today’s market and find the latest information on color technologies and trends. As a long-time attendee of the Color Management Conference, we asked her how this particular event helps her stay fresh in her career. Q: As a printer aiming to stay up-to-date on color management tech, why is this conference unique in the industry, and why is it important for workflow and production? Elizabeth Nolden: This conference is unique in a sense that it gathers all print professionals together to talk about one issue they can all relate to, color. Whether you’re a designer at an ad agency or a print operator, offset or wide format, we all deal with color. This year’s conference in particular is geared toward brand management through the entire process. It will also be uniquely structured from previous years. I’m excited to see where it takes us. Q: What can attendees expect to learn and how can they prepare to get the most out of the conference when they come? EN: My recommendation would be to look at the schedule early and plan your path ahead of time. The conference is segmented out for different levels of expertise. Make sure you’re attending the sessions you’ll get the most out of. Attendees can expect to learn a lot of technical pieces of print, but also some good tips and tricks to increase your productivity. Q: What can production professionals, who need to learn to speak the language of brand managers, designers, and standards experts, expect to get out of it? EN: It’s important for production professionals to understand all aspects of print, including design and brand management. With the collaboration effort of this conference and wide variety of attendees it’s a great opportunity for everyone to speak the same language to reduce communication gaps. Q: What do you personally learn when you attend the conference, and how has this event helped you keep up to date on color tech, standards, and specifications? EN: I can always count on learning something new at this conference. As a print professional, it’s always helpful to keep track of all standards, but also to learn where the industry is going, not just where our little niche is. It’s also a great opportunity to network with other print professionals. Q: What sessions are you most...