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Things I Hear
What¹s In a Name?
I had the opportunity last week to attend a Kodak press conference and analyst meeting, the event served as a company update and a preview to new product announcements. The one message that came across clearly from the sessions is that Kodak is trying hard to unify all its acquired brands under one roof.
It's been only 14 months since the Creo deal closed, the culmination of acquisitions that included Encad, Versamark, KPG and Nexpress. The company's public face now is the new, yet familiar, red Kodak logo, and although the former brands continue to linger in people's minds, for the most part they've been eclipsed.
Jeff Hayzlett, chief marketing officer of the Graphic Communications Group summed it up, "We're moving from what could have been a house of brands, to a branded house."
Time and again we hear the greatest challenge to successful mergers and acquisitions is managing the transition of one operation into another. Blending cultures within and dealing with external resistance from outside the organization requires good management.
The recent $3 billion Domtar Weyerhaeuser deal is a curious transaction, whereby Weyerhaeuser will control 55% of the new company which will be incorporated in the U.S., but the operation will retain the Domtar name and a Quebec head office (for now).
Continued consolidation on the supply side of this industry creates fewer, stronger, brands which intend to rationalize their costs to be able to better serve customers, but ultimately these mergers eliminate alternatives, sever old relationships and require customers to adopt to new processes.
There are positives and negatives to be found in most consolidation stories, and the printing industry will continue to rationalize on both the supply side and the print operations side, that's for sure.
The best solution for consolidators is always keep the focus on the customer, making any transition as transparent and unassuming as possible. If you're already comfortable with the red Kodak logo then they've done their job, but if you're still partial to the cyan Creo name they've still got some work to do.
Best regards,
Doug Picklyk
Editor, Canadian Printer
Reader Feedback:
[I received this note regarding my recent comments on the lack of customer loyalty in this business:]
Loyalty might need to be earned, but reading this I think you were talking about customer retention.
You have to strive for excellence and if you can be excellent you might possibly retain your customer's in spite of price.
Loyalty is something different.
Loyalty means that you have established a relationship where respect is mutual and infers constancy.
Loyalty means that your first instinct is to stick by your customer through their cash flow crunch.
Loyalty means that your supplier will instinctively tell you ahead of time about their forthcoming cash flow crunch.
Loyalty means that when a plate change goes awry or a job occasionally ships a day late it will not automatically infer a jeopardized relationship but collectively signal an opportunity to improve, under the foregone conclusion that in such a steadfast relationship, this is possible.
Loyalty requires mutual commitment, and loyalty is essentially a human attribute.
In a business world where personal relationships are increasingly transient, and where individuals are replaced by committee, we have to accept that loyalty is fighting a rearguard action.
Companies that attain loyalty fall in to two main groups. There are those companies who repeatedly demonstrate an ability to establish meaningful inter-personal relationships with their customers and suppliers, and then there are those organizations that have woven a moral backbone into their corporate culture.
It is the latter of these that will ultimately prosper, to which we might aspire, and that lead us all in the corporate world by example.
Yours truly,
Jonathan Phillips
Poll
Schooling on the job
Last time we asked you, our readers, if you ever had any formal graphic arts education at the college level or above. From a pleasing 78 responses, 42% of you said yes, while the majority (the remaining 58%, or 45 respondents) indicated that no, you've never experienced any formal post-secondary graphic arts education. Should this result be surprising? Likely not, considering the low number of available schools and programs being offered. It does suggest that more than half of our sample perhaps didn't select graphic arts as career to pursue at an early age, but rather it's been something they've fallen into.
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Quick hit:
 Stamp Of Approval
Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC), celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, is being recognized on a 51-cent stamp. The stamps went on sale August 16. |
World Record Flexo
Excelsior Packaging Group, headquartered in Yonkers, New York, claim to have achieved a world record printing speed for flexible package printing at a kilometer-per-minute (3,281 fpm). The feat was achieved on a new wide web flexo press from Fischer & Krecke. "The sheer volume and quality of the output delivered by this technology will dramatically change the economics of flexographic printing," said Excelsior CEO, Ron Shemesh.
 Check Out These Ads
An outfit in the U.S. is selling and placing advertising on conveyer belts at grocery store checkouts. EnVision Marketing Group http://www.envisionmarketinggroup.com/ from Little Rock, Arkansas, has a patented system to digitally print ads and place them onto the belts. A couple large chains in the U.S. are testing the Ads-N-Motion system. For the grocery stores, they receive a percentage of the gross ad sales on top of having their conveyor belts maintained by EnVision. |
Printer Turns to the Wind
Monroe Litho of Rochester, New York, has signed on to purchase approximately 1.8 million kilowatt hours of power each year from wind-generated sources. "We're one of the first commercial printers in the U.S.—and one of the first local businesses—to go with 100 percent wind power," says Chris Pape, CEO of Monroe Litho.
http://renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=45384
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New Talent Resource
 Mary Black, past Chair of the School of Graphic Communications Management (GCM) at Ryerson University (from 1996 to 2005), has launched Mary Black Recruiting, an executive recruitment firm dedicated to the Canadian printing and graphic arts industry.
Over her 10-year term as Chair of Ryerson's GCM program Black doubled the school's enrollment, and for years has established herself as a strong advocate for the printing industry.
"This new venture is a natural for me since a big part of my job at Ryerson was recruiting. As a result, I now have access to the talent the printing and industry companies need and want. My task as a recruiter for my clients will be to match the talent to the jobs," says Black.
Her new office is located in downtown Toronto and the company will launch a website www.maryblackrecuiting.com in days to come.
NAPL Index Continues Decline
The June reading of NAPL's Printing Business Index, a barometer of print activity in North America, fell to 52.8 in June from 55.6 in May and 59.9 in March. The June drop marks the Index's lowest level in three years. Although companies have been reporting sales growth, the scores on the Index reflect challenging times ahead.
"Sales performance may suggest that business is good and there's little to worry about. Unfortunately, that's not the case," notes Joseph V. Vincenzino, NAPL senior economist. "Going forward, the economy will slow and growing and even maintaining profits will get a lot more difficult. Companies must be prepared."
2006 InterTech Technology Award Recipients
Eleven technologies were selected this year to receive InterTech Technology awards from a list of 35 nominations. To even be considered the technologies must be recently developed and proven in industrial application, but not yet in widespread use:
This year's winners (in alphabetical order by vendor):
Adobe Systems' PDF Print Engine http://www.adobe.com/products/pdfprintengine/, able to render PDF files natively without requiring conversion to PostScript, making processing faster and more prediectable;
C&P Microsystems' Microcip Software http://www.cp-microsystems.com imports and converts standardized CIP3 and CIP4 files into cutting programs for Microsystems' cutter automation system;
Dalim Software's MiSTRAL software http://www.dalim.com/en/ coordinates with any premedia workflow as a JDF-enabled, Web-based submission interface and print production management system;
Esko-Graphics WebCenter http://www.esko.com/ is a sophisticated communication platform designed for the packaging market;
GFI Innovations' Magnum MX6 http://www.gfiinnovations.com/magnum.htm automated ink formulation dispenser designed to simplify mixing and dispensing custom colours;
Goss International's Zero-slip Nip http://www.gossinternational.com/, a web offset folder development that reduces makeready times;
KBA' Genius 52 UV http://www.kba-northamerica.com/ 14 x 20-1/2-inch sheetfed offset press with extended delivery and UV dryer. The press is waterless and has a keyless inking system, and with UV it prints on a variety of substrates including paper, board and plastics.
MAN Roland Inc.'s InlineFoiler Prindor http://www.manroland.ca/H000.asp, an on-press device that can be installed on two printing units of a ROLAND 41-inch press providing cold foil transfer followed by inline printing.
PrintSoft's DeskDirect, http://www.deskdirect.net/ an integrated system that aggregates mail jobs from desktop environments making them suitable for automated production environments.
Sun Chemical 's Liberty http://www.sunchemical.com/ inks for sheetfed presses can stay open on press for days without drying, yet they dry quickly once printed.
XMPie's uImage, http://www.xmpie.com/index.php?id=462 a solution for personalizing images used within variable data print documents or Web pages.
- GBC Canada, a division of ACCO Brands Canada, has reached an agreement to become the exclusive distributor for Duplo finishing and binding equipment in Canada.
- Canadian colour management specialist Angus Pady has launched www.colourmanagement.com to deliver answers and solutions to any colour management challenges for printers and designers.
- Press makers are showing positive results at mid-year: Heidelberg's first quarter results (April 1 to June 30) reveal a 9% increase in sales over last year (719 million Euro versus 660 million Euro), and incoming orders in the quarter increased by around 21% to 1 billion Euro (compared to 886 million Euro last year). Net profit in the first quarter was 5 million Euro (previous year: minus one million Euro) turning positive for the first time in four years.
- MAN Roland announced its best mid-year sales figures in the company's history. Sales revenues were up 20% to US$1.13 billion (908 million Euro) the first six months of this year, compared to US$943 million (755 million Euro) during the first-half of 2005. MAN Roland's profits were US$60 million, compared to a loss of US$8 million for the same period in 2005.
- KBA reports a 5% lift in overall sales for the first six months to 726.5 million Euro (compared to 691 million Euro for the same period in 2005). The company is reporting overall profit of 12.5 million Euro versus a loss after six months last year of 6.6 million Euro.
- Agfa reports first half sales for the graphics division are up slightly over last year. As part of a new cost-cutting plan the company is looking at a reduction of around 2,000 positions worldwide across all three of its divisions (graphics, healthcare and specialty).
- Ciba Specialty Chemicals, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, has acquired a majority share in UK-based MetalFX, creator of the multi-colour metallic print system.
- Punch Graphix, through its Xeikon brand, has announced a rental program for the Xeikon 5000 digital colour press in North America. The press will be available to qualified customers at monthly payments with terms as short as one year and no termination penalty.
- Independent Machinery Inc. of Palatine, Illinois, is now representing Italian-made FIDIA (www.fidia-graf.com) folding and gluing machines in North America
- Atlas Software, makers of vdp software PrintShop Mail, have announced a Web-to-print solution called PrintShop Web. (www.printshopweb.com)
- Dynagram's version 7 of INposition, its QuarkXPress XTension for imposition, will be available by the end of the third quarter.
- Apple's newest Xserve servers, running on two Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors and running up to 3.0 GHz, are scheduled to be available in October.
- Verso Paper Holdings has completed its acquisition of International Paper's coated and supercalendered papers business for approximately US$1.4 billion, including four paper mills (Jay, Maine; Bucksport, Maine; Quinnesec, Michigan; and Sartell, Minnesota).
- Stora Enso's premium coated paper Centura is now Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified.
- Ahearn & Soper Inc., based in Toronto with seven branches across Canada, is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year.
- RISI, a leading information source for the pulp.paper and forest industries, has acquired The Seybold Report from CMP Media LLC. Launched in 1971, The Seybold Report is well known as a resource for information on trendsetting tools and technologies affecting the print and publishing industries.
Resources:
Digital Printing Trends
According to a new report from TrendWatch Graphic Arts, 41% of all graphic arts firms now say they offer some type of digital printing in-house. The new study, Digital Printing 2006: Growth and Convergence in the Marketplace looks at the growth of digital printing and finds both printers and their customers are showing growth in their use of applications like Web-to-print, variable data printing and short-run digital printing.
The 100+ page report is available at www.trendwatchgraphicarts.com
 Analyzing Digital Colour Potential
"We expect the volume produced on digital full-colour production systems by graphic arts print providers to increase by 35% per year from 2005 through 2010," says Gilles Biscos, president of INTERQUEST, a Virginia-based technology research and consulting firm specializing in digital printing and publishing. His comments stem from the firm's new report Color Production Printing & Variable Imaging in Graphic Arts.
"By 2010, we expect variable data will represent 31% of the total digital colour print volume produced by graphic arts providers," says Biscos.
The study is available for US$1,095 in a 200-page hardcopy or can be licensed for electronic distribution.
http://www.inter-quest.com/ColorProductioninGraphicArts.html |
Tool For Growth
 Point Balance has issued a new series of resources designed specifically for graphic communications companies. The "Manager's Toolkit" series of publications address issues in a concise way, each containing forms, checklists and spreadsheets that can be duplicated to meet a firms requirements. The first Manager's Toolkit, "Cracking the Growth Code", describes a four-step process for achieving sustained, profitable growth, exploring how to define your core business, identify new market opportunities, assess the growth opportunities and measure odds of success in new markets.
Cracking the Growth Code is US$29 and available at http://stores.skipjack.com/PointBalancePubs/StoreFront.bok
»Top
Events
Xerox 's "Innovate 06" seminar series will be in Edmonton on Sept 12th. For more info, visit www.innovate06.com
CMM International is launching a new business conference, the Converting Summit 2006, to the held September 12 - 14 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center in Schaumburg, Illinois. Registration is US$695 for "early bird'' registration and US$795 thereafter. For more information contact Andrea Flaherty andreaf@pennwell.com.
R&E COUNCIL of NAPL is holding its Bindery, Finishing and Mailing Operations Conference from September 25-27 at the Marriott O'Hare Hotel in Chicago. This conference is tailored to bindery managers, operations executives and warehouse supervisors.
www.napl.org
SGIA '06 will be held in Las Vegas (Las Vegas Convention Center) from September 26 to 29.
www.sgia.org
Certified Paper: Cents and Sustainability is the name of an afternoon conference in Montreal being hosted by FSC Canada. The event will feature keynote speaker Bob Willard, author of the Sustainability Advantage followed by a panel of corporate executives. The Forum runs from noon to 5:30 pm, Friday, September 29 at the Hall Panoramique, Montreal Science Centre. Registration is $150/person. http://www.fsccanada.org/Register.htm#bf
PISEC '06, the international conference and exhibition for the brand protection, product authentication, document security and RFID industries, takes place in Barcelona, Spain October 2-4. This year's event: "Counterfeit Business - Fighting Forgery, Fakes and Fraud" will focus on the importance of adding intelligence into security products www.pisec-world.com
FSC Canada is hosting a series of conferences in Western Canada entitled, The Moral Fibre Workshop Series. Antony Marcil, President and CEO, the Forest Stewardship Council Canada hosts the event promoting the adoption of FSC certified paper and process as a visible way to show environmental leadership. The sessions run in Calgary - October 3, Executive Royal Inn; Saskatoon - October 4, Sheraton Cavalier; Regina - October 5, Delta Regina; and Edmonton - October 6, Day Inn & Suites West Edmonton . Visit http://www.fsccanada.org/moralfibre.htm
The International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA), is holding its annual ICMA EXPO October 8-11 at the Athenaeum Intercontinental Hote in Athens, Greece. For full details visit www.icma.com.
The National Association for Quick Printers (NAQP) Owners Conference is being held October 12-15 at the InterContinental Hotel in Chicago . This three-day event will cover business strategies, financial management, sales management and more, with a focus on small print shop owners. For more information visit: http://www.napl.org/events/NAQP_Final_Owners_Conf_brochure.pdf
The annual Graph Expo and Converting Expo , held at McCormick Place in Chicago will run from October 15 to 18. And don't forget Executive Outlook, a top-level conference held at McCormick Place on October 14, the day before Graph Expo opens. For more details visit http://www.gasc.org
While you're in Chicago don't miss the R&E Council's Critical Trends Breakfast, October 16 at McCormick Place, Chicago, highlighting technology and trends from the floor of Graph Expo.
http://www.napl.org/events/CTB_2006/Crit_Trends_WebBro_000.pdf
The 5th annual PIA/GATF Variable Data and Personalization Conference will be held November 5–7, in Phoenix, Arizona. This is a don't miss event if your company is in the VDP business. Visit http://www.gain.net for more details.
Print World, formerly called Print Ontario, will happen November 18 to 20 at the National Trade Centre, Exhibition Place in Toronto. For information visit http://www.printworldshow.com
"Expansion Through Acquisition" an International Symposium, is being held Wednesday, November 29, at the Doubletree International Plaza, located close to the Toronto airport. This event will explore how to develop a corporate acquisition strategy, cross border transactions, due diligence and successfully integrating a new acquisition. The event will be hosted by the law firm of Cassels, Brock & Blackwell; international m&a consortium, the International Corporate Finance Group; and intermediary firm, Robbinex Inc.
For more information call 888-762-2463
2007
The 2007 PIA/GATF Executive Leadership Conference will be held at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa in Chandler, Arizona, March 4-8. For more information, call 412-259-1803.
The NAPL Top Management Conference is being held at the Four Seasons in Santa Barbara, California from March 7-11 . Visit http://www.napl.org/events/TMC/TMC%2007/TMC_07.htm
PRINT OUTLOOK 2007, hosted by the NPES, will be held March 27-28 in Chicago. This annual marketing and economic conference features top-level presentations specific to the future of the printing industry in North America . For information visit http://www.npes.org
ON DEMAND 2007 moves to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center for the dates of April 16-19. This annual expo and conference features the latest in digital printing technology and software solutions. http://www.ondemandexpo.com
The International Association of Diecutting and Diemaking (IADD) and the Foil Stamping and Embossing Association (FSEA) will host 2007 IADD/FSEA Odyssey - May 2-4, 2007, at the Midwest Airlines Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For more information visit www.iadd.org/odyssey.
CMM International 2007, a showcase and educational forum for the converting and package printing industries, will take place June 4th - 7th, 2007 in Rosemont, Illinois. For more information contact Andrea Flaherty at (603) 891-9477 or andreaf@pennwell.com.
FESPA, the European-based show for screen and digital sign printers, is being held June 5-9 in Berlin, Germany. The theme for FESPA 2007 is The Power Of Imaging. www.fespa2007.com
Graph Expo and PackPrint, 2007 will be co-located at McCormick Place in Chicago from September 9-12. Visit www.gasc.org for more info.
The IGAS (International Graphic Arts Show) is being held at the Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo, Japan from September 21 to 27, 2007. Held every four years, last time this week-long expo attracted over 120,000 visitors. For information www.igas-tokyo.jp
2008
Drupa 2008 will be held from May 29 to June 11, 2008 at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf Germany. There will be over 2,400,000 square feet of exhibition space with an expected attendance of over 300,000. www.drupa.com
For more events in your area, here are links to regional associations:
B.C. http://www.bcpia.org; http://www.vcphc.org/
Southern Alberta http://www.pgia.ca
Saskatchewan http://www.sgaia.org
Ontario http://www.opia.on.ca, www.digital-imaging-assoc.org
Quebec http://www.aagq.qc.ca
New Brunswick http://www.nbpia.org
Canadian Printer E-News
Keep up to date on the big picture of the printing industry in Canada with a voice you can trust in Canadian Printer magazine. The national business publication for printers since 1892, Canadian Printer is recognized for leadership on business issues and editorial integrity.
For more information get in touch with editor Doug Picklyk (phone: (416) 764-1530, email: doug.picklyk@printer.rogers.com).
For advertising and marketing opportunities, contact Michael Falbo (phone: (416) 764-1544, email: michael.falbo@printer.rogers.com).
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