Cup-a-Joe

Baseball is on my mind right now.  The Texas Rangers are playing decent (it’s before the All Star break) and I’m headed to the Windy City later this week and going to catch a Cubs game.  What makes it special is that one of my brothers (there’s three) and my son (only one) will be joining me.

We’re not Cubs fans, but all of us played the game and enjoy the experience of being in a historical ball park like Wrigley Field.  Two of us bleed Dodger “blue,” and my son —- he committed the ultimate sin.  He became a San Francisco Giants fan when he lived in SF.  Now that he lives in San Diego and is following the Padres, we might forgive him.  Might.  If he starts following that east coast team in pinstripes, he’s out of the will.

The road trip will also be interesting because of the conversations.  James (son) is a web architect (he put together this site for the ol’ man) and is very much a Gen X’er having been born in 1976.  My brother and I grew up in the printing business and still think that paper is a wonderful vehicle.  More to come . . .

I’m observing the European meltdown, and the literal Greek Tragedy, which is presently occurring.  Although one wishes to blame the Greek populous and poor management by its politicians, it’s really all about entitlement.

Over the years, the Greeks have become accustomed to generous (by world standards) entitlements which quickly became their God-given right.  Now, when it’s time to re-trench for the good of the country, the riots have begun. read more »

In the past several weeks I’ve been in Southern California, Chicago, and Pittsburgh.  In each of those regions of the country there was a bit of optimism in the in air.  Granted, no one is happy with our nation’s economics.  The Tea Party is having hissy fits over the Administration’s direction, and the health care supporters are in nirvana.  As for the print industry in those areas of the country as well as the MidAmerica region, there is a glimmer of potential.   It’s like baseball.  When the season opens, everyone has a shot at the pennant, or at least being a division winner.

Yes, the business is not what it used to be, and there are still too many “dead printers walking,” as Tom Crouser says, but we’re seeing signs of life in the advertising/print community.  And as us baseball fans know, spring is always a great time of the year.

It’s been a pretty busy time the past week; thus, blogging was not top of mind — but it should have been with all the recent industry happenings! 

I saw that Bowne & Co., where I started my industry career many years ago, was bought out by RR Donnelley.  This repositions RRD into the document management business and gets rid of their biggest competitor in the financial printing biz.  This acquisition shows that they are further distancing themselves from the “traditional” world of print.  Given that Quad recently purchased World Color/Quebecor and Transcontinental spun off their U.S. facilities to IWCO, the landscape is changing rapidly.  And did you see that Heidelberg and Komori won’t be at GraphExpo this year?But the real question is, what does this mean to the privately held general commercial printer who is the backbone of the industry? 

I wish I knew, but I’ll say this much.  If the canaries are dropping off right and left, there’s something going on in the coal mine.

Did you see the “Advertisement” regarding the paper trade dispute in the recent issue of Graphic Arts Monthly?  My friend Bob Lindgren has been passionate about this issue (as are quite a few printers in Southern California).  His position, which I think has real merit, is that paper which is the largest component of cost (other than labor) for most printers “is about to become less plentiful and more expensive because a group of U.S. paper mills are trying to persuade the government to impose a tariff on certain types of coated paper from Asia.”  If you are not up on this issue, you may want to do a bit of research.

What I found interesting was that on the page following this “ad” was Trish Wales “Paperwatch.”  Trish stated that “These duties, if imposed could result in higher prices, but the likelihood is low.  Only sheets are included in the petitions, so large volume web grades will not be affected.”   Hmm.  Question Trish.  Supply & demand.  If the supply is reduced and demand remains the same — what happens to price?  Also, the vast majority of printers live in the sheetfed world; so, how can you so easily discount the impact to those folks?

Well February is quickly coming to a close, and I will share a bit of good news.  Word on the street is that estimating activity is busy — and that is normally a very good sign.  Keep the faith.

Newly elected Massachusetts’ Senator Scott Brown’s campaign frequently referenced the number forty-one — signifying that if elected he would be the 41st Republican senator.  Needless to say, the Democrats worse nightmare came to pass yesterday.  No longer do they have the leverage of 60 votes in the Senate.

What does this signify for small business — it’s momentous.  Although the health bill could still pass, the likelihood is greatly reduced.  Cap and trade is now no longer a slam dunk and any potential bills regarding “card check” become much more difficult to pass.  These are the pluses.

But let us not forget that for the past decade — and more so the last several years — we have congressional representatives who have become strident in moving their position forward rather than trying to work for a common good.  We need more statesman and less politicians in Washington.  Because there is a need to reform the health care system, and climate change IS an issue, and we do need regulations for financial institutions.  We just need balance and individuals who understand it’s not just about keeping the extreme left — or right — happy.

Let’s hope 41 understands these issues and Congress puts aside it’s “payback” mentality.

As business people, we can truly say that 2009 has not been pretty.  Yet, all of us can be thankful for many of the blessings we enjoy.

This became very clear last week when I celebrated a very special birthday — 60.  At the celebration, I was joined by my children from California and Texas along with long-time close friends, who really have become family.  It’s these folks, and my spouse, who really are life’s blessings.

It’s this time of year, as we celebrate the holiday season and the upcoming New Year, when we can easily be consumed by the frantic pace, and the “what-ifs” of life.  So, kick back and chill a bit.  Look at the many positives in your life rather than focusing on the negatives — and we all have those!  Don’t even get me started talking about back pain and arthritis *grin*

So, enjoy the season and let’s all look forward to a better 2010 — because it WILL be better.

Here’s wishing everone a wonderful Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

Obfuscate.  Merriam-Webster defines the word as “to make obscure” as in to darken or confuse.  I like Wikipedia’s definition, which reads, “Obfuscate is the concealment of intended meaning in communication, making communication confusing, intentionally ambiguous, and more difficult to interpret.”  It seems to be the word du jour, since no one really wants to tell, or hear, reality any more. 

Case in point is some of the recent forays of Xerox and HP into the “document management” arena.  When cornered by the print media, the responses are couched in phrases which in so many words say – trust us.

Let’s be candid.  These companies are in the business of document management.  This means they are in the business of creating the box that produces the document or the software which manages it.  If we think that they’re going to stop selling hardware to end users because it’s unfair to printers – think again.  And if we think that organizations like NAPL/NAQP or Printing Industries of America can put a stop to it, it ain’t going to happen.  And it’s not about loss of revenue dollars that both organizations garner from endorsement arrangements.  To use the Texas parlance, “it’s bidness.”

It would be nice to hear from the leadership of these companies that their business is the document business and they serve both producers and users.  In the short term it may hurt one group more than the other, but in the long term it will help these companies grow their business and provide a product which their customers’ desire.  It’s the plain ugly truth about business – especially in today’s world of digital media.

Thus, it’s time to either fight them or join them — and the latter may be more survivable.  By joining them, I mean study the business model which companies like Standard Register, Affiliated Computer Services, Xerox, etc. are using.  The vast majority of our print community can not replicate those type of enterprise services, but maybe they can be replicated in some simpler form to service smaller companies, which will be ignored by the larger corporations.  It’s the way to survive.  If we think that we can continue to “just be a printer,” our days become quickly numbered.  If we see ourselves as a document provider (I’m not using the word “print”), then a whole world of opportunity opens up.  So, let’s not obfuscate.  Let’s call it like it is.  Print IS going away, but it’s not going to disappear.  We just have to determine where the cheese is going to be.

Last week was a travel week, which means I spent time in airports.  They are not one of my favorite places, but there are lessons to be learned and shared.  I was sitting at Love Field in Dallas on a wet, rainy, fall day.  I was headed to Lubbock and weather was not making it easy.  My flight has been delayed twice and departure was going to be two hours later than planned.  Yet, things were not boring.  I was being entertained by a lady re-living the ‘glory’ days of WWII and regaling her audience of fellow octogerians with stories of her husband.  As she sat in her wheelchair, she easily spoke of POW camps and her husband being shot down in 1943.  It’s amazing how time blurs the edges of life.  She was able to tell entertaining stories about an era where the entire world was at war and millions were being killed.  I wonder how WWII would have been fought if our parents and grandparents had today’s methods of communication – but that’s another whole subject.

 We are presently facing extraordinary economic times and many want us to think that the world as we know it is rapidly coming to an end.  Yet, when you consider the adversity the “Great Generation” faced, or the situations our young men and women face on their third or fourth tour in Iraq or Afghanistan, things become a bit clearer.  It ain’t all that bad.

 So, as we approach the end of 2009 and look forward to a new year, let’s keep things in perspective.  2010 may or may not be the kind of year we’d like, but when you compare it to spending time in a POW camp or living through a time when 25% of our nation was unemployed.  It’s going to be a good year.

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 spent Memorial Day weekend with my family in California, which is always nice in a variety of ways.  It was a chance to see my parents, siblings, as well as my son and daughter-in-law.  I was able to catch-up with the various family issues AND wonder how in the world anyone does business in California! read more »