The following post was contributed by Rick Ciordia, Territory Sales Manager at Standard Finishing Systems and member of the BIA Board of Directors. Traditional diecutting in the bindery has been around for many years. There are many types of diecutting. In this case we are discussing diecutting for the commercial print and light packaging industry. Rotary diecutting is one of those processes that has always given a printed piece a look and vision of class, elegance, function, and, most importantly, higher profit margins for the manufacturer. Diecutting had traditionally been an area of high investment, complex die creation, highly trained operators, and long runs. Today diecutting is getting a makeover. With the advent of digital print devices, shorter runs, fewer skilled operators, tighter margins, and turn-around, diecutting is now entering a new phase of simplicity, with the same qualities of higher-end machines in a small package. New small-format rotary magnetic diecutting units from several manufacturers allow the customer to use magnetic dies from a plethora of sources around the world. Many of the die manufacturers have been making these types of rotary magnetic dies for the flexographic, forms, and packaging industries for years. The dies have been manufactured for runs of hundreds of thousands to millions, depending on the requirements of the run length and substrate. Typically the rotary diecutting was used for webs and flat bed for cut sheet. Cut sheet diecutters are for medium to long runs but are very high in price ($450,000 and up). Older flatbed letterpress devices are typically modified for diecutting but hold mediocre registration, are complex to set up, and many times are unsafe. The new family of rotary magnetic diecutters, such as the Standard Horizon RD-4055, allow an unskilled operator to produce a very short run or a longer run with ease and quality. Kiss cutting, embossing, scoring, perfing, and stripping are all available on some of these systems at a much lower cost than traditional diecutters, along with exact registration and even the ability to step and repeat in order to keep die costs low, which is important for a very short run. The ability to store jobs in memory and recall them at the touch of a button is also very useful when there are many jobs that rerun on a regular basis. This allows your customers to truly request diecut work on an on-demand basis, saving them storage space and allowing more scheduling flexibility. Diecutting also increases your opportunities to bring higher-end work to your facility, as many jobs that are diecut are usually done on higher-end substrates with high color. Discover more resources that come with a BIA Membership by visiting...

The following post was contributed by Rick Ciordia, Territory Sales Manager at Standard Finishing Systems and member of the BIA Board of Directors. Traditional diecutting in the bindery has been around for many years. There are many types of diecutting. In this case we are discussing diecutting for the commercial print and light packaging industry. Rotary diecutting is one of those processes that has always given a printed piece a look and vision of class, elegance, function, and, most importantly, higher profit margins for the manufacturer. Diecutting had traditionally been an area of high investment, complex die creation, highly trained operators, and long runs. Today diecutting is getting a makeover. With the advent of digital print devices, shorter runs, fewer skilled operators, tighter margins, and turn-around, diecutting is now entering a new phase of simplicity, with the same qualities of higher-end machines in a small package. New small-format rotary magnetic diecutting units from several manufacturers allow the customer to use magnetic dies from a plethora of sources around the world. Many of the die manufacturers have been making these types of rotary magnetic dies for the flexographic, forms, and packaging industries for years. The dies have been manufactured for runs of hundreds of thousands to millions, depending on the requirements of the run length and substrate. Typically the rotary diecutting was used for webs and flat bed for cut sheet. Cut sheet diecutters are for medium to long runs but are very high in price ($450,000 and up). Older flatbed letterpress devices are typically modified for diecutting but hold mediocre registration, are complex to set up, and many times are unsafe. The new family of rotary magnetic diecutters, such as the Standard Horizon RD-4055, allow an unskilled operator to produce a very short run or a longer run with ease and quality. Kiss cutting, embossing, scoring, perfing, and stripping are all available on some of these systems at a much lower cost than traditional diecutters, along with exact registration and even the ability to step and repeat in order to keep die costs low, which is important for a very short run. The ability to store jobs in memory and recall them at the touch of a button is also very useful when there are many jobs that rerun on a regular basis. This allows your customers to truly request diecut work on an on-demand basis, saving them storage space and allowing more scheduling flexibility. Diecutting also increases your opportunities to bring higher-end work to your facility, as many jobs that are diecut are usually done on higher-end substrates with high color. Discover more resources that come with a BIA Membership by visiting...

Through this series of blogs, the campaign leaders of Value of Print, Choose Print, and Print Grows Trees are revealing the effects these campaigns are having on the industry and how they’re fighting to help educate print buyers. In Part One Lisa Rawa, Vice President of Marketing for Printing Industries of America, gave insights into the successful Value of Print campaign, including reactions from industry members. Here in Part Two, we travel to Printing Industries of America’s southern California affiliate, Printing Industries Association, Inc. of Southern California (PIASC), and their solid campaign to educate consumers about print. When we look at today’s marketing, we see that it’s heavily focused on “engaging” customers. Well what’s a more engaging medium than print? Print is tactile. It’s visual. And it is an essential part of a larger, interactive multi-channel marketing campaign. The tactility of print is just one of the key messages promoted by Choose Print, the powerful multimedia campaign by PIASC. Since the campaign launched in January 2011, Choose Print has become another integral go-to resource for print professionals in California and beyond and featured at trade shows and in articles from industry publications. We spoke with Ara Izquierdo, EVP/COO of PIASC as she shared how their strategic messaging is impacting consumers. 1. One significant advantage of print is no doubt its tangibility. How are you driving the tactile benefits of print, and what effects are you seeing from this messaging? ChoosePrint is a multi-media campaign, so we have taken a multimedia approach to driving home this message. Tactile Print Pieces are really our core medium.Among the pieces we have produced, there are two specific pieces that demonstrate the message. The first piece was “Print is Rich.” The front side of this postcard was 4-color process, embossed and engraved on 80# Classic Crest Smooth Cover Solar White stock. Mounted to this was the back side, which was Xerox color digital and foil stamped on 105# Esse Digital Cover Pearlized White. The second piece, “Touch,” is an engraved and blind embossed 8½ × 11-inch piece printed on Classic Crest Cover Avalanche White 100C Eggshell Finish. Print delivers tactile information—just one of the reasons you should Choose Print. These pieces have been used as Direct Mail and Magazine Inserts. “Print is Rich” was mailed out as part of a two-year postcard campaign targeting ad agencies and print buyers. The “Touch” piece was inserted into the May/June 2014 issue of GDUSA magazine. Additionally, Trade Shows offer an opportunity to reach consumers. “Print is Rich” was distributed to designers and print buyers at the 2013 HOW Design Conference as well as numerous industry and non-industry events. “Touch” will be distributed at the 2014 HOW Design...

Through this series of blogs, the campaign leaders of Value of Print, Choose Print, and Print Grows Trees are revealing the effects these campaigns are having on the industry and how they’re fighting to help educate print buyers. In Part One Lisa Rawa, Vice President of Marketing for Printing Industries of America, gave insights into the successful Value of Print campaign, including reactions from industry members. Here in Part Two, we travel to Printing Industries of America’s southern California affiliate, Printing Industries Association, Inc. of Southern California (PIASC), and their solid campaign to educate consumers about print. When we look at today’s marketing, we see that it’s heavily focused on “engaging” customers. Well what’s a more engaging medium than print? Print is tactile. It’s visual. And it is an essential part of a larger, interactive multi-channel marketing campaign. The tactility of print is just one of the key messages promoted by Choose Print, the powerful multimedia campaign by PIASC. Since the campaign launched in January 2011, Choose Print has become another integral go-to resource for print professionals in California and beyond and featured at trade shows and in articles from industry publications. We spoke with Ara Izquierdo, EVP/COO of PIASC as she shared how their strategic messaging is impacting consumers. 1. One significant advantage of print is no doubt its tangibility. How are you driving the tactile benefits of print, and what effects are you seeing from this messaging? ChoosePrint is a multi-media campaign, so we have taken a multimedia approach to driving home this message. Tactile Print Pieces are really our core medium.Among the pieces we have produced, there are two specific pieces that demonstrate the message. The first piece was “Print is Rich.” The front side of this postcard was 4-color process, embossed and engraved on 80# Classic Crest Smooth Cover Solar White stock. Mounted to this was the back side, which was Xerox color digital and foil stamped on 105# Esse Digital Cover Pearlized White. The second piece, “Touch,” is an engraved and blind embossed 8½ × 11-inch piece printed on Classic Crest Cover Avalanche White 100C Eggshell Finish. Print delivers tactile information—just one of the reasons you should Choose Print. These pieces have been used as Direct Mail and Magazine Inserts. “Print is Rich” was mailed out as part of a two-year postcard campaign targeting ad agencies and print buyers. The “Touch” piece was inserted into the May/June 2014 issue of GDUSA magazine. Additionally, Trade Shows offer an opportunity to reach consumers. “Print is Rich” was distributed to designers and print buyers at the 2013 HOW Design Conference as well as numerous industry and non-industry events. “Touch” will be distributed at the 2014 HOW Design...

What do you want to gain at GRAPH EXPO 14? If it’s strategies you can apply to your business, consider attending one or more GRAPH EXPO seminars presented by several Printing Industries of America experts while you’re there! To get the most out of your experience at the biggest trade show in our industry, come pencils in hand and ready with your most vital questions—What are the smartest new technologies to invest in, and how can we apply them to our business? How can we survive in a changing market? What best practices can we use to produce the optimum output for our customers? For eager professionals like you, there are plenty of opportunities to learn at GRAPH EXPO 14. Unfortunately, there’s just not enough time to experience it all. To help you decide which seminars are right for you, take this four-question quiz. We’ll give you your recommended GRAPH EXPO seminar, and you can learn which sessions will be the best investment of your valuable time at the show!   1. What do I most want to learn at GRAPH EXPO 14 and take back to my company? A. How to stay at the forefront of new growth industries as a commercial printer. B. How to keep up to date with evolving markets. C. How the changing economy will impact my business. D. How to get better quality digital files in prepress.   2. If I could get insight into one aspect about my competitors’ business and strategies, it would be: A. What do they know about some of the most out-there technologies that we don’t? B. How are they creating new business opportunities in areas like packaging and short-run markets? C. What strategies are different size companies using to survive in the current economy? D. How do they consistently create color-managed, output-ready files and deliver to their customers on time?   3. My ideal learning environment includes A. Learning the ins and outs of new technologies. B. Hearing actual industry case studies based on other companies’ experiences. C. Focusing on the big picture data then honing down to the micro-details. D. Hands on instruction!   4. At my facility my primarily responsibilities include A. Finding and assessing the newest technologies and business avenues for potential investments for sales and marketing opportunities. B. Keeping up with industry trends so that my company doesn’t miss a profitable opportunity, whether it be for operations or sales. C. Continuously assessing the economy and how it’s affecting our industry, our firm, and our competitors. D. Learning the latest prepress techniques to keep my company competitive and profitable.   Your Results Mostly As Your GRAPH EXPO Seminar—3D Printing: NEW Profit Pathway for Commercial...

What do you want to gain at GRAPH EXPO 14? If it’s strategies you can apply to your business, consider attending one or more GRAPH EXPO seminars presented by several Printing Industries of America experts while you’re there! To get the most out of your experience at the biggest trade show in our industry, come pencils in hand and ready with your most vital questions—What are the smartest new technologies to invest in, and how can we apply them to our business? How can we survive in a changing market? What best practices can we use to produce the optimum output for our customers? For eager professionals like you, there are plenty of opportunities to learn at GRAPH EXPO 14. Unfortunately, there’s just not enough time to experience it all. To help you decide which seminars are right for you, take this four-question quiz. We’ll give you your recommended GRAPH EXPO seminar, and you can learn which sessions will be the best investment of your valuable time at the show!   1. What do I most want to learn at GRAPH EXPO 14 and take back to my company? A. How to stay at the forefront of new growth industries as a commercial printer. B. How to keep up to date with evolving markets. C. How the changing economy will impact my business. D. How to get better quality digital files in prepress.   2. If I could get insight into one aspect about my competitors’ business and strategies, it would be: A. What do they know about some of the most out-there technologies that we don’t? B. How are they creating new business opportunities in areas like packaging and short-run markets? C. What strategies are different size companies using to survive in the current economy? D. How do they consistently create color-managed, output-ready files and deliver to their customers on time?   3. My ideal learning environment includes A. Learning the ins and outs of new technologies. B. Hearing actual industry case studies based on other companies’ experiences. C. Focusing on the big picture data then honing down to the micro-details. D. Hands on instruction!   4. At my facility my primarily responsibilities include A. Finding and assessing the newest technologies and business avenues for potential investments for sales and marketing opportunities. B. Keeping up with industry trends so that my company doesn’t miss a profitable opportunity, whether it be for operations or sales. C. Continuously assessing the economy and how it’s affecting our industry, our firm, and our competitors. D. Learning the latest prepress techniques to keep my company competitive and profitable.   Your Results Mostly As Your GRAPH EXPO Seminar—3D Printing: NEW Profit Pathway for Commercial...