Below, Michael Walters, Executive Director, Distributor Services, ASI, discusses how the newest National Buying Program will help your business. So what does the new National Buying Program with ASI mean to you and your business? More revenue! Distributors (like you) who sell promotional products find it very lucrative. Here’s a little background on this $18.5 billion industry and why it makes sense to offer a new service to your clients. What is a promotional product? Also known as ad specialties, promotional products are any item that can be imprinted with a company’s logo. Top Promotional Products in 2012 Shirts Bags Writing instruments Other apparel Caps/headwear Why would my customers want to use promotional products? Two main reasons: Exposure. Companies increase brand recognition with these products, because they are designed to be used or worn on a repetitive basis, constantly putting a company’s name and logo in front of potential buyers. Affordability. Promotional products are very affordable, with the cost per impression being less than other forms of popular media, including TV and radio. What kind of revenue can I expect? There’s a high profit margin on promotional products—up to 40%, and average yearly sales for a distributor are around $775,100. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Want to learn more? Offer customers a new service and gain new clients! Visit www.printing.org/asi to learn more about Printing Industries of America’s National Buying Program with...

This article was contributed by Larry Kroll, Vice President, Development, PGSF, whose ongoing commitment to expanding the printing industry by cultivating the next generations of printers and graphic artists through the PGSF has resulted in an incredibly successful foundation for the past 56 years. Graphic arts students pose with Ben before a pressroom tour of Printing Industries of America headquarters in Sewickley, PA. Twenty-eight years ago, long before our current Print and Graphic Scholarship Foundation (PGSF) scholarship applicants were even born, one of this country’s leading scientists, Dr. Egon Spengler, stated for the record that “Print is dead.” Here is the video clip you may remember from 1984 declaring, “Print is dead.” For almost three decades the “experts” have been declaring that the printing industry was either dead or dying. However, I don’t believe that there is any knowledgeable person out there today who would not say that the printing industry is still alive, however, gravely injured. The printing and graphic arts industry has endured major damage and critical injury. It is a victim of huge advances in productivity through the use of highly automated equipment, a revolution in competing technologies, and media coupled with the pressures to deliver a finished product “better, faster, and cheaper.” Even though severely wounded, the printing and graphics arts industry will survive. It will survive for the very reasons that it has prospered and grown over the past 562 years when Johannes Gutenberg started up his first printing press in 1450. Since the invention of the Gutenberg press and movable type, the printing industry has faced many life-threatening challenges. I am sure that at each of these crossroads, there were those who declared that “Print is dead.” Just in the last 60 years the industry has moved from hand-set type and letterpress and then from letterpress to lithography to electronic publishing and, of course, to digital printing. And with the introduction of each new advancement came the cry that “Print was dead.” It wasn’t dead…it was evolving…improving and progressing to the next level of accomplishment. What does all this talk of death, injury, and printing history have to do with the Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation (PGSF) and our young graphic arts scholars? In my opinion, everything. I believe that the print and graphics industry will once again rebound from adversity. I believe that once again it will find a way to redefine itself and to prosper. Not at the exceedingly high levels and accelerated rate that we experienced just five and ten years ago, but at a more conservative sustainable level—a level that makes sense for stability and long-term growth. Research Shows Americans Still Prefer Print and Paper – WhatTheyThink. One of the primary...

Join us for the Automation Solutions Network meeting hosted by the Japs-Olson Company on September 18-19, 2012, in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. You will have the opportunity to hear from Japs-Olson representatives, along with other industry leaders, about how to increase your profitability through automation. Specializing in direct mail and commercial printing, Japs-Olson Company is continually recognized as a leader in the printing industry. Tour this state-of-the-art plant and learn about the history that has helped shape this 512,000 square foot facility. Hear senior management expound upon the benefits of using automation as one strategy to maintain a leading competitive position. Learn how to continuously improve workflow while reducing touch points and improving your business model. Open Discussion SessionsNetwork with print leaders and peers as they discuss best practices to apply to your business. We invited the major suppliers to speak about Japs-Olson’s workflow solutions and integration techniques. Uncover the automation challenges and solutions to integrating inkjet and offset printing processes.  The Automation Solutions Network has established itself as the premiere event to exchange ideas and solutions for automated workflows. It focuses on the development and practical implementation of workflow automation and cross-vendor integration implementations. The group welcomes a wide range of users employing automated technology as well as suppliers of those systems. The steering committee of the Automation Solutions Network is made up entirely of printers who have either implemented systems or are in the process of doing so. If you have question about improving your workflow or for more information about the meeting, visit the Japs-Olson meeting page or contact Automation at 800-910-4283 or automation@printing.org. You don’t want to miss this chance to tour the integrated Japs-Olson facility and learn how to increase profitability through workflow automation.   We want to know: When you are looking at new software and equipment, what is the number one factor that goes in to your decision-making process? ROI calculations and strategy Stand alone performance of the software or equipment Integrating the software or equipment into your existing processes  Tell us, and Printing Industries of America can provide the solutions needed to achieve automation. See our links for more information: The Automation Solutions Network Japs-Olson Company meeting page Automated Solutions Network LinkedIn Page Become a Member of the Automated Solutions...

As you read through Printing Industries of America’s 2012 Forecast Part 1: Trends and Tactics, it becomes evident that there are many new challenges facing printers, but also, many new tactics to overcoming them. One of these challenges is the effects of the rise of Internet and e-media. The real culprit, however, is that today’s consumers are more demanding than ever. In an age where the most sought after goods and services are just a click away, business must redirect their focus to being more than just printers. Today, printers need to take effective steps to improve their customers’ ROI and transition to being total service providers. According to Printing Industries of America’s 2012 Forecast Part 1: Trends and Tactics, contributor Jack Miller, Principle Consultant for Market-Intel, LLC, printers are now in business to serve the customer.  They must evolve beyond the idea that they are a company that “puts ink on paper” and focus on “helping their customers improve their ROI on their marketing communications.”  For a successful customer-centered business, follow these top practices: Evolve into a “marketing services provider” or “solutions partner” Longer sales cycle, more loyalty Opportunity for cross selling Content delivery vs. multiple channels Focus on consumer retention more than acquisition Growth with existing customers: offer a broader range of services Balance—not putting too many eggs in one basket Integrate social media and search engine marketing into the mix Print as ink on paper, Miller predicts, will continue to play an important part in the media mix. The name of the game is adaptation. Printers must evolve and embrace new technologies and these value-added services to overcome a changing environment. Printing industries of America offers many publications to serve printers.  For a comprehensive look into the future of print, check out our Forecast Part 1:Trends and Tactics from The Magazine. It looks at many facets of the printing industry– from politics to prepress and from economics to print markets– and how they will be affected in the future.  Follow Printing Industries of America on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and, now, Google+ for updates. PIA Blog Opt-Out: ...

Granted, it is an honor just to be nominated. But winning a coveted “Benny” Award at the Premier Print Awards is an undeniable accomplishment both professionally and personally. Not merely a statue to keep on your desk, the “Benny” can be a tool to propel your business, attract new clients, and motivate your employees.  We have been bestowing this award for more than 60 years, and this year can be your year to take your place among the elite. We have a sneak peek at winners’ success stories where they share their proven ways to capitalize on winning a Premier Print Award. In addition to receiving the “Benny” statuette at the Premier Print Awards and InterTechTM Technology Awards Gala in Chicago, Printing Industries of America will: Provide winners with a self-promotion kit that include a press release template, Premier Print Awards image, and complimentary ticket to the Gala. Announce the winners to the trade press. Publish the winners list in the Premier Print Awards Annual and on our website, www.printing.org You may think the party ends here, but the key to prolonging the afterglow of winning a “Benny” is to utilize promotion and benefits. 2011 Premier Print Award winner, Jim Mayes, owner of ColorCraft of Virginia in Sterling, VA says his customers “are pleased when their piece wins an award.” Additionally, his team is, “proud of their work, and an award on something that they produced gives them a sense of pride.”  Their win has enabled them to “promote ColorCraft as a high-end digital and ink jet printer.” Ms. Tonya Spiers of Knight Abby Printing and Direct Mail in Biloxi, MS, earned a “Benny” in the 2011 Premier Print Awards and has seen her sales grow as a direct result. She told us how she profited from her accomplishment: What has winning a “Benny” meant to you and your business? We are so proud and honored to be recognized as part of such an elite group. Our sales professionals have a photo of the “Benny” in with their brochures. It really opens up a dialog with customers.  Has the way customers and your competitors view your business changed since your win? We have never been recognized like that before, and we are now able to have that level of conversation with our customers. We stand out among some of the best people in the U.S. and the world. In the suffering economy, we can still create great digital work and great pieces. How did you utilize the press kit from Printing Industries of America? The press kit was very helpful. We published the press release in articles we send out to companies and to customers. It was also seen...

You may have heard that QR Codes are dead. But, like print, QR codes must evolve to meet demands. Many companies are incorporating QR codes in their marketing mix (along with similar tools like Google Goggles, a “visual search application for Android phones”). They are a valuable use for direct mail because they integrate print with the Internet.  Used effectively, they can be powerful tools that yield successful results in your marketing campaign and link your customers from printed material to the Web. What Is a QR Code? If you have not used QR codes, this Quick Response code is a URL that is converted into a specific matrix (or two-dimensional) barcode using QR code generators like Kawa or QR Stuff. Using a smart phone, customers download a barcode scanner application for Android, iPhone, or other smart phones, scan this barcode, and reach a website, a YouTube video, company home page, or a discount offer like USPS recently promoted. Are They Successful? QR codes can work in favor of the printing industry if they are used effectively.  A recent promotion from USPS is a great example. To help boost direct mail marketing, they offered a 3% discount off bulk mail shipping in July and August of 2011 to companies that incorporated QR codes into their direct mail. This smart move was not only a momentous push for mainstream QR code use, but also an encouragement for businesses to send printed mail. The USPS plans on offering a similar discount program in the summer of 2012. In a recent study from comScore, 6.2% of all mobile phone users, or over 14,000 people, used QR code scanners. The highest users were males between the ages of 18–34 with an annual income over $100,000. Printed magazines and newspapers and product packages were the items most frequently scanned by these users.  There are still some drawbacks, however, as many consumers are still not using QR codes because they are 1) unaware of how to use them or 2) do not have a smart phone or the application required to read them.  Further issues with QR code usage include location of the code and the destination site. If a customer cannot access a code either because it is on the side of a moving bus or another inconvenient location, he or she is not very likely to scan it. Seventy-two percent of consumers say they have seen a QR code, but nearly 30% do not know what it is according to an October 2011 survey from strategic marketing firm Russell Herder (from Marketing Charts.com). Also, if a customer does scan the code but does not find the desired or useful information, the use is...