Independent Print Operators Increasingly Join FASTSIGNS® to Effectively Enter Wi
This post was submitted by 2016 President’s Conference sponsor, FASTSIGNS International. As the need to diversify service offerings grows, many independent print operators are turning to FASTSIGNS International, Inc. for direction and ongoing support to develop and sell wide-format signage. In 2015, the company’s Co-Brand program accounted for 20 percent of the franchise agreements it signed, a significant increase from prior years. Launched in 2012, the FASTSIGNS® Co-Brand program helps independent business operators with print-related services add the FASTSIGNS brand and full-suite of solutions, while retaining control of their existing businesses. Co-Brand franchise owners maximize their businesses’ true potential by expanding their service offerings and effectively marketing and selling the new services with ongoing guidance from FASTSIGNS. Franchisees in the program consistently report that the partnership is adding value for customers and promoting long-term growth opportunities for their businesses. For Donna Booth, a FASTSIGNS Co-Brand franchisee and owner of Prestige Printing, joining the company’s Co-Brand program in 2013 saved her significant time, resources, and money. She spent the previous year trying to maintain operations, while researching the equipment necessary to offer wide-format. After purchasing equipment, she came across FASTSIGNS at a trade show and began talking with a company representative. She quickly realized that she needed to change her equipment order and join the FASTSIGNS Co-Brand program. “Words can’t describe how much of a relief it is to have a business partner I can turn to on an ongoing basis who understands my business and knows the best way to continue moving it in the right direction,” Booth explained. “FASTSIGNS takes out much of the guess work and walks you through every aspect of moving into the signage and visual graphics industry. They helped me with everything from purchasing the right equipment to marketing the products and services to existing and potential customers.” FASTSIGNS also offers the leading brand name in the sign and graphics industry, as well as: The latest technology including product and printer reviews Negotiated discounts on equipment and supplies Extensive training opportunities Comprehensive marketing programs and support Mentorship program Check out the benefits of networking with FASTSIGNS centers nationwide. For information about the FASTSIGNS Co-Brand franchise opportunity, contact Mark Jameson (mark.jameson (@) fastsigns.com or 214-346-5679) or visit...
read moreWhy Use Commercial Printers?
By Dr. Ronnie H. Davis, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, and Tai McNaughton, Economist, Printing Industries of America Even companies with in-house printing capabilities rely heavily on commercial printers for their business printing needs. Why? A recent survey of 400-plus marketing and business executives jointly conducted by Printing Industries of America and FedEx Office revealed the answer. The survey respondents were managing marketing activities at medium and large companies across different industrial sectors. According to the survey respondents, there are several important reasons to use commercial printers—nine specific reasons listed in the survey were cited by over 7 out of 10 respondents. Product quality was given as the number one reason to rely on a commercial printer, followed by volume considerations, cost issues, color consistency, and color accuracy. A key takeaway is that customers recognize the array of advantages that commercial printers provide compared to their own in-house capabilities. The survey delved further into the quality and color complexities inherent in print jobs. According to the customers surveyed, commercial printers outperform in-house printers in meeting these challenges. Overall, respondents confirmed that there were lower instances of content being displayed incorrectly, color consistency problems, color accuracy problems, and product quality challenges when using a commercial printer over using an in-house printer. The most significant advantage for commercial printers over in-house shops was in product quality and color accuracy. Which of these Challenges Has Your Company Faced in the Last 12 Months? Customers also expressed the belief that commercial printers are better at addressing the various challenges of processing print projects, such as budgeting, time management, and communications issues. This is particularly true for completing jobs on budget. The only print process challenge in which in-house print shops outperform commercial printers is communicating the requirements for the job, and the difference was small. The findings, contained in an eight-page Flash Report, show a competitive advantage for commercial printers compared to customers’ in-house print capabilities. PIA Member companies can read the full...
read moreWhy Use Commercial Printers?
By Dr. Ronnie H. Davis, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, and Tai McNaughton, Economist, Printing Industries of America Even companies with in-house printing capabilities rely heavily on commercial printers for their business printing needs. Why? A recent survey of 400-plus marketing and business executives jointly conducted by Printing Industries of America and FedEx Office revealed the answer. The survey respondents were managing marketing activities at medium and large companies across different industrial sectors. According to the survey respondents, there are several important reasons to use commercial printers—nine specific reasons listed in the survey were cited by over 7 out of 10 respondents. Product quality was given as the number one reason to rely on a commercial printer, followed by volume considerations, cost issues, color consistency, and color accuracy. A key takeaway is that customers recognize the array of advantages that commercial printers provide compared to their own in-house capabilities. The survey delved further into the quality and color complexities inherent in print jobs. According to the customers surveyed, commercial printers outperform in-house printers in meeting these challenges. Overall, respondents confirmed that there were lower instances of content being displayed incorrectly, color consistency problems, color accuracy problems, and product quality challenges when using a commercial printer over using an in-house printer. The most significant advantage for commercial printers over in-house shops was in product quality and color accuracy. Which of these Challenges Has Your Company Faced in the Last 12 Months? Customers also expressed the belief that commercial printers are better at addressing the various challenges of processing print projects, such as budgeting, time management, and communications issues. This is particularly true for completing jobs on budget. The only print process challenge in which in-house print shops outperform commercial printers is communicating the requirements for the job, and the difference was small. The findings, contained in an eight-page Flash Report, show a competitive advantage for commercial printers compared to customers’ in-house print capabilities. PIA Member companies can read the full...
read moreWhat Can You Expect from the TAGA Annual Technical Conference?
For someone who has never been to the TAGA Annual Technical Conference, the thought of attending might seem a little daunting. Organized by PIA’s Technical Association of the Graphic Arts (TAGA) group, the conference provides the opportunity for members to learn about the latest industry advances and those of related fields, as well as brainstorm with other experts about solving problems and roadblocks in order to move our industry forward. Members come to the Annual Technical Conference from all over the world and from all facets of the graphic arts industry. To give you a better understanding about what you can expect at your first TAGA Annual Technical Conference, we spoke with Birgit Plautz, TAGA Board Member, Manager of Technical Services at GMG Americas, and longtime conference attendee. PIA: Thanks for speaking with us Birgit. Can you tell us a little bit about what you do at GMG Americas? BP: Here at GMG Americas I oversee our support and service department as Manager of Technical Services. This means leading a great team of help desk and field engineers throughout the Americas. Typically I also support our sales team on trade shows, work with our customers and channel partners, and interface with the printing industry through various organizations, technical committees, and conferences. PIA: Sounds like you don’t have a problem staying busy! How did you first learn about the TAGA Annual Technical Conference? BP: I met the former Managing Director, Dr. Mark Bohan, at the Color Management Conference in Phoenix in 2011. I was new in the role and in the country at that time, and this was my first conference in the United States. We ended up having a longer conversation about conferences in our industry, which is when he suggested I should participate at TAGA. PIA: So you’ve had other experiences with PIA conferences. That’s interesting. What was your first experience at the TAGA Annual Technical conference like? BP: That’s actually a quite funny story. I got a call on a Friday afternoon from my German colleague Juergen Seitz. He was supposed to speak at TAGA in Albuquerque last year. He said he couldn’t go, due to a strike at the airline, asking me to sub for him on Sunday. So, I got on a plane and learned the presentation a day before my speaking slot. Luckily I was familiar with the topic, so I just had to learn how to convey his intention. The best thing about it was that it got me to go to the conference, even though I usually like a little bit more lead time. It turned out that it was actually the most interesting conference I’ve been to so far—at least when you’re a little bit of a color nerd as I am. Nearly every presentation was exactly the right mix of technical depth without it being too dry. Also, I was impressed by the number of university students and their presented work. PIA: That’s what’s great about the industry. Whether you’re a color nerd or an offset nerd, we all can learn from each other. What do you think was the most beneficial part about attending the TAGA Annual Technical conference? BP: TAGA is really a place where the smart heads of the current and the future industry come together...
read moreWhat Can You Expect from the TAGA Annual Technical Conference?
For someone who has never been to the TAGA Annual Technical Conference, the thought of attending might seem a little daunting. Organized by PIA’s Technical Association of the Graphic Arts (TAGA) group, the conference provides the opportunity for members to learn about the latest industry advances and those of related fields, as well as brainstorm with other experts about solving problems and roadblocks in order to move our industry forward. Members come to the Annual Technical Conference from all over the world and from all facets of the graphic arts industry. To give you a better understanding about what you can expect at your first TAGA Annual Technical Conference, we spoke with Birgit Plautz, TAGA Board Member, Manager of Technical Services at GMG Americas, and longtime conference attendee. PIA: Thanks for speaking with us Birgit. Can you tell us a little bit about what you do at GMG Americas? BP: Here at GMG Americas I oversee our support and service department as Manager of Technical Services. This means leading a great team of help desk and field engineers throughout the Americas. Typically I also support our sales team on trade shows, work with our customers and channel partners, and interface with the printing industry through various organizations, technical committees, and conferences. PIA: Sounds like you don’t have a problem staying busy! How did you first learn about the TAGA Annual Technical Conference? BP: I met the former Managing Director, Dr. Mark Bohan, at the Color Management Conference in Phoenix in 2011. I was new in the role and in the country at that time, and this was my first conference in the United States. We ended up having a longer conversation about conferences in our industry, which is when he suggested I should participate at TAGA. PIA: So you’ve had other experiences with PIA conferences. That’s interesting. What was your first experience at the TAGA Annual Technical conference like? BP: That’s actually a quite funny story. I got a call on a Friday afternoon from my German colleague Juergen Seitz. He was supposed to speak at TAGA in Albuquerque last year. He said he couldn’t go, due to a strike at the airline, asking me to sub for him on Sunday. So, I got on a plane and learned the presentation a day before my speaking slot. Luckily I was familiar with the topic, so I just had to learn how to convey his intention. The best thing about it was that it got me to go to the conference, even though I usually like a little bit more lead time. It turned out that it was actually the most interesting conference I’ve been to so far—at least when you’re a little bit of a color nerd as I am. Nearly every presentation was exactly the right mix of technical depth without it being too dry. Also, I was impressed by the number of university students and their presented work. PIA: That’s what’s great about the industry. Whether you’re a color nerd or an offset nerd, we all can learn from each other. What do you think was the most beneficial part about attending the TAGA Annual Technical conference? BP: TAGA is really a place where the smart heads of the current and the future industry come together...
read moreSeven Deadly Wastes of Lean Manufacturing
Companies adopting a Lean philosophy strive to remove or shorten time spent on activities that the customer doesn’t value. For example, although steps like estimating and makeready are thought of as necessary in the business, they are branded as non-value-added for the customer and targeted for reduction. The basic concept of the Lean philosophy focuses on the removal of the seven deadly wastes in manufacturing and business processes in order to reduce overall waste in the company. What are these deadly wastes, and how do they affect the productivity of a plant? Find the answers below. 1. Defects Often thought of as the most simple of the deadly wastes, defects can lead to many additional problems you didn’t know you had. When the quality of your work isn’t up to par with a customer’s expectations, it often leads to replacements or refunds. Because of this, defects lead to wasted manpower, resources, and costs. 2. Overproduction Although being prepared for any circumstances is a good thing, producing too much of a product too soon leads to wasted manpower and resources. Most of the time, managers end up throwing away these products or giving them away for free. When you overproduce, you waste time, resources, and costs. 3. Transportation Do you transport your resources from one location to another? This is another one of the deadly wastes where expenses could hide. It’s much better to have all of your materials at one location. When doing so, you don’t have to pay for extra manpower or equipment to move pieces. This process doesn’t add to the quality of your finished piece and extends lead time. 4. Waiting When you send an email with a question, how long does it normally take for the other person to respond—hours, weeks? This time spent waiting for information is time that you or your employees could be spending on creating a product or improving the quality on a finished piece. Companies committed to Lean manufacturing believe that by addressing this deadly waste, you help create a better flowing plant. 5. Inventory It’s impossible to create a product without an inventory. However, excessive inventory ties up costs in unused materials. Not to mention, you need somewhere to store the inventory, a way to package and keep it safe from damage, and you need to move it around. By only purchasing what you need at the time you need it, you save costs, space, and manpower. 6. Motion Think about the way your plant is designed. Are your employees walking around to retrieve materials or look for tools? Are they bending down to lift heavy equipment? These kinds of things relate to the deadly waste of motion. If not kept in check, this waste not only adds time and worker fatigue, but it could potentially lead to safety hazards in the workplace—ultimately resulting in employee injuries and worker compensation payouts. 7. Excessive processing Why spend an excess amount of time working on an aspect of your product that your customer doesn’t care about? For example, cleaning and polishing beyond a required level or painting an area that a customer can’t see requires extra energy that the customer isn’t likely to notice. It’s great to go above and beyond in terms of quality, but saving that manpower for when...
read moreSeven Deadly Wastes of Lean Manufacturing
Companies adopting a Lean philosophy strive to remove or shorten time spent on activities that the customer doesn’t value. For example, although steps like estimating and makeready are thought of as necessary in the business, they are branded as non-value-added for the customer and targeted for reduction. The basic concept of the Lean philosophy focuses on the removal of the seven deadly wastes in manufacturing and business processes in order to reduce overall waste in the company. What are these deadly wastes, and how do they affect the productivity of a plant? Find the answers below. 1. Defects Often thought of as the most simple of the deadly wastes, defects can lead to many additional problems you didn’t know you had. When the quality of your work isn’t up to par with a customer’s expectations, it often leads to replacements or refunds. Because of this, defects lead to wasted manpower, resources, and costs. 2. Overproduction Although being prepared for any circumstances is a good thing, producing too much of a product too soon leads to wasted manpower and resources. Most of the time, managers end up throwing away these products or giving them away for free. When you overproduce, you waste time, resources, and costs. 3. Transportation Do you transport your resources from one location to another? This is another one of the deadly wastes where expenses could hide. It’s much better to have all of your materials at one location. When doing so, you don’t have to pay for extra manpower or equipment to move pieces. This process doesn’t add to the quality of your finished piece and extends lead time. 4. Waiting When you send an email with a question, how long does it normally take for the other person to respond—hours, weeks? This time spent waiting for information is time that you or your employees could be spending on creating a product or improving the quality on a finished piece. Companies committed to Lean manufacturing believe that by addressing this deadly waste, you help create a better flowing plant. 5. Inventory It’s impossible to create a product without an inventory. However, excessive inventory ties up costs in unused materials. Not to mention, you need somewhere to store the inventory, a way to package and keep it safe from damage, and you need to move it around. By only purchasing what you need at the time you need it, you save costs, space, and manpower. 6. Motion Think about the way your plant is designed. Are your employees walking around to retrieve materials or look for tools? Are they bending down to lift heavy equipment? These kinds of things relate to the deadly waste of motion. If not kept in check, this waste not only adds time and worker fatigue, but it could potentially lead to safety hazards in the workplace—ultimately resulting in employee injuries and worker compensation payouts. 7. Excessive processing Why spend an excess amount of time working on an aspect of your product that your customer doesn’t care about? For example, cleaning and polishing beyond a required level or painting an area that a customer can’t see requires extra energy that the customer isn’t likely to notice. It’s great to go above and beyond in terms of quality, but saving that manpower for when...
read moreFive New Year’s Resolutions For Great Business Leaders
The New Year is quickly approaching – the traditional time to reflect on the past year and think about the future. What were our greatest successes in 2015? What could we have done better? What do we want to accomplish in 2016? We all try to make New Year’s resolutions and stick with them, but they often fall by the wayside. Here are five practical, achievable resolutions to consider for 2016 (and beyond). 1. Practice what you preach. In the New Year, make a plan to really be the leader that people want to follow. If you say one thing and do another, it diminishes your credibility and makes your followers nervous about trusting your judgement. Whatever kind of leader you decide to embody, stay consistent in what you say and do. 2. Invest in your staff’s careers. As a younger crowd enters the workforce, they look for a position that will better themselves as an individual and further their aspirations. Take advantage of this quality and foster their need for growth. Whether it is through career development programs or a mentoring program from senior staff members, look for ways to unleash their potential. By providing this opportunity to your staff, it shows you have a personal interest in the employee they’re trying to become. 3. Open up to new ideas. As the old adage goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither were most great companies. Understand that each idea (no matter how small or unrealistic) expressed by your staff shows that they consider themselves part of your team and want the business to grow too. Try to be open to suggestions and if it isn’t the direction you’re headed, explain your position and build from there. 4. Loosen the reins. This one goes hand-in-hand with resolution #3. Sometimes the best way to come up with new ideas of your own is to let go of the daily operational reins and let your trusted staff drive for a while. You may find that some people really come alive when granted increased responsibility and become ever more vested in the company and its success. Leaving you time to look around at the company with a little bit of distance and a fresh perspective. . 5. Learn something new. While it can seem like there’s not enough time in a day to get everything done, learning something entirely new can have a tremendous positive impact. For example, recent MRI studies show that learning a new language can actually increase the size of your brain (if you’re going to DRUPA in 2016, consider learning some German!) Other studies show that learning a brand new skill strengthens entire networks in the brain. So take a class, learn a new skill and you may just power up some new ideas to help grow your business! As 2015 draws to a close, we wish you, your family, and your business a happy and prosperous 2016! Why not join us and other print leaders in Palm Desert, CA, March 6-9 for the 2016 President’s Conference? Early-bird rates expire on January 29, so sign up now at...
read moreFive New Year’s Resolutions For Great Business Leaders
The New Year is quickly approaching – the traditional time to reflect on the past year and think about the future. What were our greatest successes in 2015? What could we have done better? What do we want to accomplish in 2016? We all try to make New Year’s resolutions and stick with them, but they often fall by the wayside. Here are five practical, achievable resolutions to consider for 2016 (and beyond). 1. Practice what you preach. In the New Year, make a plan to really be the leader that people want to follow. If you say one thing and do another, it diminishes your credibility and makes your followers nervous about trusting your judgement. Whatever kind of leader you decide to embody, stay consistent in what you say and do. 2. Invest in your staff’s careers. As a younger crowd enters the workforce, they look for a position that will better themselves as an individual and further their aspirations. Take advantage of this quality and foster their need for growth. Whether it is through career development programs or a mentoring program from senior staff members, look for ways to unleash their potential. By providing this opportunity to your staff, it shows you have a personal interest in the employee they’re trying to become. 3. Open up to new ideas. As the old adage goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither were most great companies. Understand that each idea (no matter how small or unrealistic) expressed by your staff shows that they consider themselves part of your team and want the business to grow too. Try to be open to suggestions and if it isn’t the direction you’re headed, explain your position and build from there. 4. Loosen the reins. This one goes hand-in-hand with resolution #3. Sometimes the best way to come up with new ideas of your own is to let go of the daily operational reins and let your trusted staff drive for a while. You may find that some people really come alive when granted increased responsibility and become ever more vested in the company and its success. Leaving you time to look around at the company with a little bit of distance and a fresh perspective. . 5. Learn something new. While it can seem like there’s not enough time in a day to get everything done, learning something entirely new can have a tremendous positive impact. For example, recent MRI studies show that learning a new language can actually increase the size of your brain (if you’re going to DRUPA in 2016, consider learning some German!) Other studies show that learning a brand new skill strengthens entire networks in the brain. So take a class, learn a new skill and you may just power up some new ideas to help grow your business! As 2015 draws to a close, we wish you, your family, and your business a happy and prosperous 2016! Why not join us and other print leaders in Palm Desert, CA, March 6-9 for the 2016 President’s Conference? Early-bird rates expire on January 29, so sign up now at...
read moreThe EXTENDED GAMUT Advantage for Printers
The following post was submitted by Color 2015 sponsor, X-Rite Pantone.Author: Mark Gundlach, Solutions Architect, X-Rite Pantone PANTONE® Spot Colors have always been the best way to achieve brand colors, but they’re not always feasible or affordable. With the introduction of the EXTENDED GAMUT 7-color printing process, Pantone is giving printers and converters a way to determine how closely seven-color printing (CMYK+OGV) can achieve PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM® Colors. Why Extended Gamut? By incorporating Orange, Green and Violet PANTONE XG Base Inks with the traditional Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (CMYK) process colors in a 7-color printing process, you can achieve a much broader range of vibrant colors than traditional four-color process without the need to mix custom inks or wash up between press runs. The EXTENDED GAMUT Guide provides 1,729 seven-color simulations of PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM Colors printed on coated stock. Each color is matched with an in-line aqueous coating, created with a maximum of three Base Ink combinations, and is optimized to be viewed under D50 lighting (5000°). How does it work? The PANTONE EXTENDED GAMUT Guide can be used as a visual reference to determine when you can accurately reproduce a solid PANTONE Color using CMYK + PANTONE XG Orange, Green, and Violet (OGV) Inks. Each color is named with its corresponding PANTONE Number and an XGC suffix. Select the desired PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM Color from a current PLUS SERIES FORMULA or Color Bridge Guide. Using the same page number in the EXTENDED GAMUT Guide, locate the corresponding PANTONE Color. You will see the closest 7-color process match and its screen tint percentages. Compare both guides side-by-side. Since the colors bleed off page edges, it’s easy to visually evaluate color differences. If the PANTONE Extended Gamut color is not a visually acceptable match, the color should remain specified as a solid. When the PANTONE Extended Gamut color appears adequate, print using those inks. The benefits of 7-color printing Demands in the industry have made it even more difficult to print packaging using CMYK alone. Although it’s the most economical printing process, it provides a very limited gamut of color, and even in the best conditions can only hit about half of the PantonePLUS colors. There’s just no comparison in color vibrancy between CMYK and spot color inks. To hit special colors, many printers choose to add spot color inks to their CMYK process. Spots provide the best quality, but they’re also expensive, increase makeready time, contribute to large ink inventories, and are cumbersome for short runs. And what happens to the extra ink you don’t use? Above: Extended Gamut printing provides a larger palette of colors for reproduction than you can get from CMYK alone. In this graphic, the smaller area shows the range of colors in CMYK printing, while the larger area shows the range of colors that can be produced with CMYKOGV. With Extended Color Gamut (ECG) printing, you can achieve a good visual match for approximately 90% of spot colors without color mixing. When used with photographic images, it can greatly enhance the saturated colors, especially those in the areas of Violet, Green, and Orange. Another advantage of ECG is the ability to gang up jobs on the same plate set that would normally require different spot color inks. This helps meet today’s requirements...
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