Cup-a-Joe

We’ve all heard the stories and anecdotal information about the dismal prospects of our industry.  Throw on top the economic and political climate and one is left to wonder – what future is there? read more »

I guess if you can’t beat them join them — that seems to be the approach the Government Printing Office is taking.  I recently received an email from the GPO announcing a partnership with Google ebookstore to electronically publish government publications “a fraction of the GPO printed version.”

At first, I was a bit taken aback, but realized that as a publisher, which is one of GPO’s role, this is an effective way of distributing content. 

 Interesting times.

That was the headline in an online Bloomberg/Business Week article on Friday, November 19.  It went on to say, “’Creative destruction,’ the term popularized by Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter, refers to the process by which entrepreneurs introduce innovations that force established businesses to adapt or die. What does the adaptive process look like on the ground? For small business owners across the U.S., in struggling sectors that range from independent amusement park operators to shoemakers, hobby shops, and travel agencies, survival strategies range from severe service cuts to bold expansion.”  One of the industries highlighted was the Commercial Print Industry. read more »

At one time, in very recent memory, attending Graph Expo in Chicago was a must for anyone who was serious about being a printer.  You were able to talk to equipment vendors, who were ready to close deals.  You attended workshops to help you better understand the intricacies of the business and the trade which was printing.  For those of us who lived in Texas, it was welcome relief from a long summer. A trip to Chicago and McCormick Place was something to anticipate.

I did not make the trip last year, but decided it was important to make the trip this year to our industry’s annual “overcapacity fest,” as the late Dick Gorelick liked to call it.  Needless to say, it wasn’t the same.  Gone was the heavy iron – Heidelberg did not have a single square foot at the show. Rather than seeing the familiar blue/white logo when entering, you saw the Xerox and HP booths.  Then Kodak, EFI, Ricoh, Canon, and Konica Minolta.  You eventually got to KBA, ManRoland, and Goss – but there weren’t any presses in those booths.  As one of the attendees said to me, “The clicks you hear are not coming from sheets running through presses.

Yet, the same energy and networking and sharing of ideas was still evident.  The overall mood was upbeat and many of the exhibitors I spoke with were very positive about the show.  There was a heavy presence of mailing and ink jet equipment along with various finishing devices.  I did not see as many stand-alone MIS and workflow providers as in the past, and the amount of square footage utilized was much less than two years ago. 

When you walked the floor, it was very apparent that change was everywhere, and that’s not a bad thing.  Overall the show was a very positive event, and in my mind, it’s just another message that print continues to be a viable medium – we’re just going to produce it differently.

North Texas is dealing with the remnants of hurricane Hermine, which translates into a lot of rain and traffic congestion.  I was slowly making my way into the office this morning listening to my usual updates re: political issues.  Of course, the talk was about the President’s upcoming proposal to help stimulate business and the contrarian perspectives from the Republicans.  As with the traffic patterns being brought to a halt by the rain, I see the same pattern with our economy.

Until the rain stops, traffic will not get better.  Until Washington stops messing with taxes and the economy, business will not improve.  It’s the unknown which slows business decisions.  And with all the proposals in the pipeline (tax changes, health care, cap & trade, more stimulus, etc.), business is not about to start spending – and the same goes for the consumer.  So, the question remains, how do we get our leaders in Washington to get it?

Next week many of our industry’s leaders will have that chance by participating in Printing Industries of America’s Print’s Voice 2010 in Washington D.C.   Yes, sometimes it seems futile talking to our Congressman and Senators – but the alternative is that they will never hear about our concerns, and that’s a scary thought.  So, come on in the water’s fine!

If you are waiting for things to get better, it might be a long wait.  There are too many unknowns out there and the folks in Washington aren’t making many of us in small business feel better.  Thus, we wait for things to get better.  The folks with money wait for it to get better.  And we all sit and watch to see who’s going to blink first. read more »

I received a press release last week from Reed Business Information regarding the closure of Graphic Arts Monthly.  GAM had been one of the industry’s main-stay business journals for over 80 years.

Is it a surprise?  To those of use who have been reading GAM for decades probably not.  The size of the magazine had been reduced dramatically and it seemed as if the articles in the past several years were written as an infomercial about a specific technology or manufacturer. 

Was the closure a vote of no-confidence regarding print?  Possibly, since Reed shuttered 23 other magazines – all focused on other industries (construction, food services, materials handling, hotels).  But more than likely it was a sign of the economic times.  Reed’s CEO, Kieth Jones, specifically stated that the impact of the recession as well as media migration forced the decision.

Magazines need advertising revenue to survive and when manufacturers and suppliers drastically reduce their budgets, magazines are the first to suffer.  When one looks at the newspaper biz, the lack of advertising dollars accelerated its shrinking. Yet, as those doors close others will open.  The advent of the iPad and other tools will permit the publisher to use another medium to communicate; so for those with vision and a willingness to recommit to another channel, opportunity knocks.

Earlier this week, US Postmaster General, John Potter sent up the red flares regarding the coming train wreck.  Facing a $238 Billion deficit by 2020, the USPS is looking at a a wide range of options including closing post offices and five-day delivery.  A recent report from McKinsey & Co. stated that the USPS should consider three-day delivery to make ends meet.

Although the post office might not be high on your list of model organizations, we as an industry desperately need them to survive.  If rates continue to escalate and if the McKinsey model is seen as viable. we are in deep doo-doo. read more »

I recently read a short article titled “What We Have to Do” by NAPL’s Andy Paparozzi.  As far as I’m concerned, Andy hit a home run with this short article.  Why?  Because he dealt with the elephant in the room – the printing business is never going to be the same. 

He could have spent hundreds of words talking about shrinking markets or the need to add ancillary services or digital printing.  Rather, he focused on what company mangers/owners must do to succeed. Here in a nutshell are the key takeaways –

We need to get better at what we’re doing.  Are we still relevant to our clients?  Will we be relevant to our clients in six months?  Eighteen months?  We can no longer afford to focus internally on “managing” the print shop.  We need to become much more marketing oriented.

We have to commit ourselves to being a low-cost producer.

We are going to grow on the backs of our competitors.  There’s not enough print to allow everyone to grow (there’s no rising tide to lift the boats); thus, we need to determine strategies which will allow us to increase market share.  Paparozzi said, “Remember, market share is being redistributed from companies that print to companies that put print to work for their clients.”  ‘Nuff said.

One of the true values of the Internet is the ability to quickly (if not instantly) communicate with one another.  And I’m not talking about the irrelevant messaging of “I’m headed off to Starbucks for a double skinny latte.”   Another value is the opportunity to create community and share with one another, and I think that’s very important for those of us in the visual communications industry a.k.a. print.

As I’ve discovered with Cup-a-Joe, through blogging we have the ability to share thoughts, which hopefully create dialogue on issues of importance to us.  More importantly, our willingness to share can create a stronger community.  When you get a chance, check out this blog by PIA MidAmerica member Cathy Lawrimore, who has some neat thoughts to share about print sales.  Of course, Cathy’s not the only member in the blogosphere; so, if you want to share your thoughts with your industry peers – let me know!