If you have not yet had a chance to read Adam Dewitz’s “The State of Printing Associations,” and the associated comments, it is worthwhile reading. Granted, since PIA MidAmerica is indirectly the target of these conversations, I am going to be somewhat defensive, but I truly think many important issues are raised. read more »
I was recently reading an article in “Business Week” by Rob Hof about Google’s newest tool and was pleasantly surprised to read these words by Hof, “Print has its advantages. In addition to its portability, a magazine or newspaper is easy to flip through to find what you’re looking for, or run across articles or ads you didn’t know you’d want to read.”
This issue of readability is one of the big advantages that print has over electronic media. BUT, Google is presently attacking this with the subject of his article, their Fast Flip tool.
If one is to find ways to defeat the Barbarians (or at least slow them down), one has to realize that today’s technocrats (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Adobe) are constantly finding ways to make visual communications easier AND more like print! Thus, it becomes more important than ever to look at print’s strengths and continue to explore ways to have our clients understand these strengths and how they can parlay them to help their business. Sticking our head in the sand and hoping the Barbarians will go away is not the answer. Of course, a long-term answer is to find ways to assimilate the Barbarians and make them part of our solution.
It never ceases to amaze me how people find creative ways to find revenue sources, but sometimes . . .
I was speaking to a member the other day who asked if I ever heard of a customer (ad agency in this case) “billing back” proofreading charges to the printer because of the time that it took to agency to review the proof for “errors.” Errors which occurred when the printer attempted to output the file the agency had supplied. I responded that in my 30+ years of industry experience and checking with PIA affiliates across the United States, the answer was a resounding no!
Many printing firms absorb the cost of file repair and proofing as part of their customer service. They know that very few files, because of the complexity of the process, ever output correctly (less than 3 out of 10). Thus, over the years, it’s been easier to fix the files and ensure the customer, who created the entire file, is getting what they need. And here’s someone saying, “Oh, I didn’t take the time to create the file properly and I want you to fix it. And here’s my bill.” Give me a break. Whatever happened to taking responsibility for your actions?
This next comment is directed to the printer and imaging providers reading this. It’s bad business for any print provider to bend to this type of business practice and thus create a precedence. Given that industry profits have dropped to 1.5% (based on the 2009-2010 Printing Industries of America Ratio Studies); we don’t have margins to absorb “bill-backs” of this nature. If customers insist on bill-backs, then insist that files output properly; otherwise they get billed for the fixes. Quid pro quo.
Several months ago I ran across commentary from individuals criticizing the industry for its lack of commitment in supporting educational institutions and training. While I agree that we have some real issues facing us regarding workforce development, attempting to re-create the trade/vocational programs in the high schools to solve this problem may not be viable – for a whole host of reasons. read more »
I was travelling to the office the other day listening to the radio (NPR if you really want to know) and heard a talking head say something that really got me excited. He was a proponent of a public insurance plan (although I’m not for it – we DO need health insurance reform – especially for small business!) and stated that by having this type of plan it would be competitive because “there would be no profits and other administrative costs.” And that’s when I lost it and started screaming at my radio – not a pretty site to the guy in the car next to me. read more »
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