July / August 2011 - Social Media for the Printer by Graphic Arts Magazine

July/August 2011

Vol. 14 No. 6

Social Media

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July / August 2011 Magazine

Social media for the printer

GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE is published ten times per year by B.K.L.K Inc. 72 Main St. Mount Albert, ON L0G 1M0 Phone: 905-473-9111 Fax: 905-830-9345 Outside Toronto: 1-877-513-3999 e-mail: info@graphicartsmag.com www.graphicartsmag.com Submission deadlines are as follows: August 16 for September 2011 September 14 for October 2011 Publications Mail Agreement No. 40029380 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Graphic Arts Magazine, 72 Main St. Mount Albert, ON L0G 1M0 email: circ@graphicartsmag.com

Publisher: Joe Mulcahy Associate Editors: Natalia Gilewicz

GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE would like to thank our contributing writers: C. Clint Bolte • Diana Brown • Tony Curcio • Peter Dulis Thomas Gagnon • Natalia Gilewicz • Martin Habekost Tim Mitra • Kristen Read • Kelley Robertson • Chris Smyth 2011 EDITORIAL BOARD

Javad Ahmadi, AliveProStudios.com Ernie Bardocz Danny Ionescu, HP Evan Cambray, Spicers Steve Klaric, Heidelberg Canada Jana Lucatch, Magnum Fine Commercial Printing George Mazzaferro, RP Graphics Group Brian O’Leary, Kwik Kopy Angus Pady, Digital Solutions Paul Tasker, Spicers CMCA AUDITED

Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily intended to reflect those of this publisher. Graphic Arts Magazine accepts no responsibility or liability for claims made for any product or service reported on or advertised in this issue. Graphic Arts Magazine also reserves the right to limit liability for omissions and errors to a printed correction in the next issue.

24 Financing 101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diana Brown Securing the capital to build your dream

26 Postal Vision 2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C. Clint Bolte Solutions for America’s postal dilemma

27 Canada Post wars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tony Curcio

Controversy and some common-sense strategies for your survival

28 For your print information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thomas Gagnon The importance of relative humidity

30 Copywriting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tony Curcio

22 practical tips on how to improve and what you should avoid!

34 Syncing contacts in the Cloud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tim Mitra Editing your contacts to avoid duplication

36 3D printer makes organs for transplant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Peter Dulis

Using human cells instead of ink

38 Google+ ...A plus for small businesses? . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kristen Read

The buzz about Google’s new social media tool

42 14 signs that you’re a sales zombie . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kelley Robertson

Failed, outdated methods you should avoid

44 Product Profile: Substrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diana Brown Epson’s proofing media and 3M’s adhesive options

50 Bioplastics an emerging trend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Martin Habekost What exactly are they and what will they replace

Installations & Investments

22 .comments 48 List of advertisers 49 Classified

SUBSCRIBER’S NOTICE: From time to time we may rent our mailing list (names and addresses only) to select third parties whose products or services may be of interest to our readers. Please contact us should you wish to be excluded from these mailings using the contact information at the top. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activites.

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Kristen Read Copy Editor: Mandy Bayrami Senior writer: Tony Curcio Columnist: Diana Brown Production Manager: Barb Vowles Account Managers: Maureen O’Sullivan Sandy Lee Tim Mulcahy Classified Manager: Bruce MacLean Creative Director: Javad Ahmadi AliveProStudios.com Layout: George Dedopoulos CTP supplied by: Sina Printing Paper: SNZ Trading Inc. Printing: Sina Printing

Social media for the printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

When making submissions, please forward to the following email addresses: ADS ads@graphicartsmag.com NEWS news@graphicartsmag.com CLASSIFIED classified@graphicartsmag.com ARTICLES articles@graphicartsmag.com INSTALLATIONS installations@graphicartsmag.com SUBSCRIPTIONS circ@graphicartsmag.com

Joe Mulcahy

View from the publisher Hopefully we’re all breathing a bit easier now because of the quick, legislated end to the strike at Canada Post Corporation. No matter where you stand on the issues (and feelings were flying high both in parliament, in the media and throughout the printing industry), you might want to check out the articles on pages 26 and27.

other details on our website and in our September issue. It’s always nice to hear some positive news, especially in this flat economy. Ever heard of Creem Magazine? It’s a Detroit-based Rock ‘n’ Roll magazine that stopped publishing a hard-copy edition more than 20 years ago and has only been available online since 2001. Well, its publishers intend to re-start the presses with a quarterly publication (that will include mobile apps and streaming music videos) of about 200,000 hard-copy magazines aimed at new and existing readers. Creem executives said that a desire amongst music fans for “something real” was a contributing factor for this decision. Let’s hope this is the tip of the iceberg and that this trend spreads to Canada.

Congratulations to two proud Canadian companies, Pacific Bindery Services and Anstey Book Binding. They were recently recognized as two the world’s finest print finishers by winning Product of Excellence (POE) Awards in the BIA’s (Binding Industries Association) annual competition. Vancouver-based Pacific won two POE Awards for technical flawlessness – in the Adhesive Binding and Mechanical Binding categories. Toronto-based Anstey won its POE Award in the Graphic Finisher Self Promotion category.

Many of you already know that Robert van Velzen, head of The FSA (Fulfillment Solutions Advantage Inc.) Group, died last month in Toronto. Rob was a pioneer and visionary and his company was recognized throughout the industry as one of the most innovative when it came to data processing and fulfillment. But he was also known for his volunteer work and leadership on several boards. He’ll be missed, that’s for sure.

Plans for our premiere Printing Survivor 2011 event in Toronto Thursday, October 13 are well underway. I’m delighted to report that we already have some exceptional sponsors including Konica Minolta, SNZ Trading Inc. and Green Dot Litho. I am also delighted that renowned industry leader in integrated multi-media marketing solutions, Wrich Printz, has agreed to be a keynote speaker. He will discuss workable digital marketing communications and digital printing solutions. Arjun Basu, Content Director, Spafax (Montreal), a worldwide leader in custom communication, branding and media services, is also scheduled to speak. For more information, check out the People and Events Page (16), visit www. graphicartsmag.com or call me toll-free at 1-877-513-3999. And watch for coming announcements regarding sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities, tickets, topics, additional speakers and

Enjoy the sun and summer weather. And, as always, stay positive. Joe Mulcahy Publisher, Graphic Arts Magazine joe@graphicartsmag.com

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Natalia Gilewicz

Highlights from this issue I hope that you are reading this issue the same way I’m writing this: with half of yourself diligently working and the other half on some sort of vacation! This month’s issue focuses on ways that printers can use social media to promote their business. Often summer is a great time to think about these types of initiatives. Our lead article, “Social media for the printer” is written from a novice perspective, but for those of you who are already engaging in social media, the article ends with a comprehensive list of resources that can continue to help you grow in the area. Mentally, the switch is starting to happen across our industry as consumers more than ever are expecting community and rejecting persuasion.

Packaging Association of Canada (PAC). Even if you have no interest in pursuing packaging as part of your business capabilities, you should attend this show! The event was held at the Toronto Congress Center, and the place was packed. In addition to what looked like kilometres of vendor booths, there were free seminars at the show as well as very affordable conferences running on location. I had the opportunity to attend the Walmart Sustainable Packaging Conference. The event was sold out with attendees filling every seat in the hall. It’s no surprise given the speaker line-up. David Cheesewright, president and CEO of Walmart, opened the show. The perspective on sustainability could not be more grounded. The discussion centered on industry openness as well as strategic benefits of developing a sustainable business.

I also wanted to take the opportunity to tell you about a couple of wonderful events that I had the pleasure of attending this past June. First on the list was an open house for Webcom Inc., a book printer in Toronto. Following an announcement last fall about its $12 million strategic investment centered on the HP T300 web press and new bindery equipment from Müller Martini, Webcom hosted an action packed two-day open house. In addition to an extensive tour of the new facilities, there was a line-up of speakers, great food and on site artists creating artwork with the rock, paper, scissors theme. The event was called Game Changers, which is exactly what this type of investment will do for our industry — change the rules of the game.

Everyone in your company can benefit from attending these types of events. You can network, learn and be inspired. Moreover, after reading this issue you could tweet about the experience as well! We wish you lots of sunshine for the summer. Natalia Gilewicz is a full-time Assistant Professor in the School of Graphic Communications Management at Ryerson University. Her teaching concentration is in areas of prepress, typography, and layout. In her research, she studies e-print and its applications. Contact her at ngilewic@ryerson.ca

I also attended PackEX, a packaging trade show hosted by the

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July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

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Installations & Investments

John Phan, Founder of Anvy Digital, and Bryan Hall, Display Graphics Sales Specialist for Fujifilm Canada’s Western Region

Larry Lippert (left) and Paul Grose, owners of BCT Southwest Ontario.

ANVY DIGITAL

BCT SOUTHWEST ONTARIO

Anvy Digital has recently installed some new equipment from Fujifilm. Canada’s first Acuity Advance HS X2 has made a new home at the Calgary-based company, as well as an Acuity Advance HS. Anvy Digital says the new printers have allowed them to lower costs, win business, and branch out into new market areas. “We’ve doubled the speed, with the same quality,” says John Phan, company founder. “We now have state-of-the-art equipment. We can offer customers new capabilities.”

BCT Southwest Ontario has recently installed a Ryobi 3404 DI press, purchased through Canadian Printing Equipment Ltd. In business since 1987, the company employs 15 staff and focuses on high quality quick turnaround production with UV coating ability. The 3404 DI offers 4-colour offset with built-in direct imaging. BCT Southwest Ontario says that its expansion into a Ryobi DI press complements its existing lineup of traditional Ryobi offset presses.

Salvatore Novello, vice president and chief operating officer of Netpak, Karl Belafi Jr., vice-president of sales and marketing at KBR Graphics; and Carlo Cammalleri, president and CEO of Netpak.

BURKE GROUP

NETPAK PACKAGING

Edmonton-based Burke Group has recently bought a new Komori GL40 offset press. Purchased through Canadian distributor K-North, the company says this press is part of its continuing efforts to expand its services to meet the growing customer demand. The 6-colour, 40-inch press was chosen for a variety of reasons, including its advanced colour technology and green initiatives. “This press uses - at a minimum - 35% less power and dramatically less waste than any similar press in its size and class,” says Barry Burke, GM.

Based in Anjou, Quebec, Netpak Packaging has recently installed a new KBA Rapida 106 six-colour press. The packaging and commercial printer purchased the press through KBR Graphics, a Canadian distributor of KBA products. The Rapida offers speeds up to 18,000 sph and is a world champion in makeready. A determining factor for Netpack was the Rapida’s ability to print on metallic, plastic and flute substrates. Daniel Filion, marketing director for Netpack says: “The KBA does it; it’s a big advantage.”

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

www.graphicartsmag.com

Kristen Read

Meet Canada’s new plastic banknotes

bills will take us from battle frontiers like Vimy Ridge to space frontiers like the Canadarm.

Starting in November 2011, The Bank of Canada will issue a new $100 bill into circulation, made of polymer and nearly impossible to fake. They will be durable, won’t tear, and for the first time, will be recycled into other products instead of destroyed.

• The BOC states that the polymer in the new notes has a lighter environmental footprint. The bills are 2.5 times more durable than their cotton-based counterparts and can be recycled after they are taken out of circulation.

The current banknotes lining Canadian wallets these days are made of a cotton-paper blend. Despite their own security features (including microprinting, a holographic strip and hidden images), the RCMP says it has noticed an alarming surge in counterfeiters’ ability to reproduce the bills.

• Security features now include more sophisticated holograms and raised ink on the prime ministers’ shoulders, on the biggest number and on the words “Bank of Canada.”

Printing a scent

At a recent briefing in Ottawa, Bank of Canada officials revealed the new design and technology that we’ll see on our new $100 bills in November, and new $50 bills next March. Twenty-dollar bills, which represent more than half of all notes in circulation, will also get a facelift sometime in late 2012.

Print is visual, print is tactile, and now it can also smell good. A recent scent application called Rub’nSmell by Scentisphere means that printers can embed a combination of 60 distinct smells during the printing process. An interesting offering to clients, you could run jobs with a scent of cherries, roses or… stinky cheese?

The Globe and Mail released a graphic, detailing the new security features:

The whole scratch-and-sniff technique is not new, but recent advancements in the field have resonated with some advertisers – and with their audiences. It can be used on items such as catalogues, coupons, labels, direct mail and packaging. Major brand-name companies have been using it as a way to attract customers for products like shampoos, soaps and detergents. “Research shows scents produce emotional responses, often leading people to spend more time considering a brand which can impact buying decisions,” says Nick Carafa, executive VP of sales for Packaging Graphics, a US-based printer who offers a Rub’nSmell application to its customers.

The CBC published a list of facts about differences seen in the new bills:

Scentisphere is the company behind the Rub’nSmell program. Here’s how it works: The scent (everything from mint to watermelon) is contained within thousands of microscopic urethane nanocapsules that are activated when rubbed. The product has an unlimited life cycle that remains dormant until called into action. The capsules are set in a varnish stage of the print process, applied inline as a fifth colour or coating. Transparent and non-obtrusive, they are usually applied over graphics.

• The film that coats the bills, each made from a single piece of polymer, has a smooth, plastic feel and two clear panels. • The windows feature metallic images as well as hidden numbers, visible when the bill is held up against a light source. • The BOC advises people to “feel, look, and flip” if searching for the new security features.

Scentisphere says: On-package sampling with Rub’nSmell not only creates a distinct competitive advantage at point of sale but also enables customers to engage and interact with the product without opening (and damaging) the product package.

• The $100 notes will start circulating in November 2011. The $50 will be released in March 2012. New $20 notes will also be issued in 2012, followed by new $10 and $5 notes in 2013.

Of the 60 scents available (it is also possible to use a custommade one), there are typical aromas such as apple, cherry, chocolate and rose. But then there are also a few more interesting and obscure scents such as asphalt, BBQ, cedar, french fries, grass, leather, smoke and even stinky cheese!

• Sir Robert Borden is still featured on the $100 note, and William Lyon Mackenzie King remains on the $50 note. Now both former prime ministers look you straight in the eye. • You’ll no longer see the tribute to the famous five of women’s suffrage on the $50 bill, nor the discovery-themed miscellany on the back of the old $100.

There is apparently virtually no visual effect to the printed graphics underneath. Scentisphere says it can be used for heat-set and sheet-fed offset overprint varnish, aqueous coating for offset, flex and silk screen applications, gravure overprint varnish, as well as UV and EB overprint varnish.

• The new theme is “frontiers,” with the $100 bill showcasing medical innovations, and the $50 paying tribute to Arctic research with the CCGS Amundsen. The as-yet unveiled

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

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World’s first portable, WiFienabled spectrophotometer

A company called Barbieri says it has developed the world’s first portable spectrophotometer for professional digital printing. Because the Spectropad is WiFienabled, it is interdependent from a computer – meaning it can be used directly on the printer. It is wireless and battery powered.

Because the device has a large measurement aperture, it is able to accurately measure a wide range of different media, including: banner, cardboard, textiles, canvas, PVC, fine art paper and vinyl. The spectrophotometer can be operated directly at the printer, without cutting the media. Jobs can be stored in the Spectropad and measurement results can be sent through WiFi to the computer.

The Meteor series is known in the printing industry for its versatility. The Meteor DP8700 XL can produce jobs on multiple substrates including paper, plastics and envelopes.

A recent press release from the company explains: The touch display makes the operation and job selection a breeze – it doesn’t matter whether you’re measuring a control bar, a linearization or profiling chart or just a simple spot colour. The measurement results will immediately be displayed or sent to the computer for further processing.

This 4-colour, multi-substrate digital press is targeted toward markets such as: commercial printing, in-plants, plastic card manufacturers, book printers and photo printers, among others.

The portable measurement device is targeted to professionals in digital printing, colour management and technicians for print installation.

- Largest sheet size among production sheetfed digital presses (up to 13” × 40” in production, up to 13” × 47” via manual bypass)

The new press includes updated features that MGI says are designed to maximize production and optimize the ease of operation:

- Increased production speed for up to 4,260 A4/letter pages per hour and up to 2,280 A3 pages per hour

Ricoh to cut 10,000 jobs worldwide

In an investors’ meeting held on May 26, Japanese office equipment maker Ricoh announced it will cut nearly 10 percent of its global workforce to try to reduce costs and boost profit. The restructuring means that about 10,000 people will lose their jobs, and 15,000 staff members will be relocated.

- Output quality at 3600 dpi (8 bit printing) and more than 20 line screen variations ranging from 95 to 270 lpi, in both regular and stochastic modes. Users also have the option to choose up to two different line screens within the same print job.

This year’s Graph Expo to debut Marketing Pavilion

Recently announced from the folks at Graph Expo is the debut of a Marketing Pavilion at this year’s show. The new feature centers around the transition that many graphic communications professionals are making, by expanding into the world of marketing services. It will be of interest to experienced marketers as well.

“We have become a big company and need to re-engineer our corporate structure throughout to become more muscular,” said Shiro Kondo, Ricoh president and chief executive. “We have done very little pruning of unprofitable business, and we need to pull out of some… we need to slim up, become healthy.” The company expects that the job cuts will cost around $733 USD million over two years, but in the longer term the measures are expected to boost operating profit by $1.7 billion in three years. Its current global workforce is around 109,000, with offices in 108 countries.

A press release says it will offer a complete, one-stop destination for marketing education, resources and networking. Sponsored by the Chicago chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA), the pavilion’s main attraction is expected to be the exhibits showcasing the latest and most innovative marketing and graphic communications tools and technologies that marketing professionals rely on today. These include: digital marketing services, social media, lead generation, search engine optimization, e-mail marketing, database management, mobile and Internet services, creative services, and more.

Ricoh, like many companies, was hit by the global financial crisis and is working to recover from it. The recently stronger Yen hasn’t helped. As well, some of the company’s facilities were damaged by the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in early March. Some Japanese companies are also having difficulties in competing with lower-priced rivals from South Korea and China. Panasonic, Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer, announced a reduction of 17,000 jobs around the world in April. Camera and medical equipment producer, Olympus has also announced plans to reduce its staff.

“Today’s graphic communications professionals are moving away from being exclusively print providers and transitioning into the world of marketing services,” explains Ralph Nappi, president of the Graphic Arts Show Company, which produces Graph Expo. “Given the expanded focus of these attendees, and to provide offerings for experienced marketers at the show, we determined the best way to meet

MGI introduces new Meteor press

The latest news from graphic equipment maker MGI is the introduction of a new press: the Meteor DP8700 XL. Making its North American debut at Graph Expo this fall, the new Meteor boasts the largest sheet size among production sheetfed digital presses – up to 13” × 47”.

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

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the increasing need for marketing products, information and knowledge was to provide a concentrated area right on the show floor where the emphasis is on all things marketing: hence, the global debut this fall of the Marketing Pavilion.”

reality, however, is that no individual or company is immune.” Eugene O’Brien, senior technical specialist, Prinect and CtP services, Heidelberg, USA is the author of the white paper. Eugene says that “until the unthinkable happens, printers typically do not see themselves as potential targets for attack. But as printers provide more and more Internet-based products and services to their customers, every company has a responsibility to evaluate its security risks and determine the best security practices to implement. ‘24 Ways A Printer Can Avoid Being Hacked’ is a practical guide to recognizing common security threats and taking effective measures to reduce or eliminate them.”

The pavilion will also feature a Marketing Theatre – a learning centre that will offer a series of educational presentations and workshops on the “how-tos” of marketing. Attendees to the show can also visit the Networking Lounge – a casual meeting place in which graphic communications professionals can network, exchange ideas with and learn from other like-minded professionals.

New white paper on cyber-threats to printing company security

Heidelberg has issued a free white paper focusing on security issues unique to modern printing facilities. Entitled “24 Ways A Printer Can Avoid Being Hacked,” Heidelberg says the white paper views security not as an unnecessary added cost, but as a real competitive advantage printers overlook at their peril. A press release from the company about the white paper explains that “security and privacy issues have taken on new urgency in light of stepped-up cyber attacks, virus infestations and network break-ins that target complex IT infrastructures and vital information processes. Unfortunately, back-up and data protection are not always a top priority for printers until job data loss and significant downtime occur, due to accidental data deletion, hardware failure, lost or stolen removable media-even natural disaster. As a result, printers may fail to take appropriate steps to safeguard employee or customer information, or to keep production running smoothly in spite of threats to plant security. The

O’Brien’s report describes both common methods used by hackers to disrupt and exploit other computer networks as well as common security lapses that invite such attacks. It debunks mistakenly held beliefs about the security of IT systems, and urges printers to show they take security and privacy seriously by adopting a proactive approach toward fending off unknown threats from outside and inside their companies. It also recommends that printers use industrystandard, vendor-recommended best practices to secure their plants.

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July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

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www.yourcompanyname.com

Tony Curcio

People and events

People and events Parker Pad & Printing celebrates 65 years

with the best possible on-site support in the pressroom. Each rep has over 25 years of hands-on experience in the printing industry as well as additional expertise in his assigned area(s). Their new responsibilities began July 1, 2011.

Parker Pad & Printing (with facilities in Markham and Haliburton) celebrated 65 years in business with over 200 guests at a special 65th Anniversary Gala last month. The event also included announcements of key staff appointments and internal moves. The company has over 50 employees. Its 37,000-sq.-ft. Markham Centrepiece at the festivities was headquarters offers a comthis beautiful display plete range of services including prepress, litho and digital printing, bindery, finishing and fulfillment services (including direct mail). Its Haliburton facility occupies 1,350 sq. ft. Frank Parker Sr., who worked on a single letterpress, founded Parker Pad in 1946. Now led by Janis Parker, the company has grown impressively under the direction of three generations of the Parker family. Fundamental to its success, says the company, is the experience of its people, its advanced prepress and post-press equipment, and its proven processes developed during its 65 years as an industry leader.

September 11-14 • Graph Expo • McCormick Place • Chicago, Illinois • www.graphexpo.com Explore the latest offset, digital and hybrid technologies. Special show floor sections include Prepress/Software/Workflow, Press/Finishing, Mailing & Fulfillment Centre, GREENspace, PackPrint/Future Print, Newsprint, Education Main Street and more. October 13, 2011 • Printing Survivor 2011 • Le Jardin Conference & Event Centre (Hwy 427 & Hwy 7), Vaughan, Ontario • www.graphicartsmag.com. November 10-12 • Graphics Canada Trade Show • Toronto International Centre • Toronto, Ontario, Canada • www. graphicscanada.com. Show features include PacPrint Canada Show, Canadian Printing Awards, Wide Format & Sign Pavilion, PacPrint Canada Conference, Design Canada Showcase, Printing Sales Training Day, Software & Automation Zone, Do More with Flexo Seminars, Graphics Canada Seminar Series and Graphics Software Theatre.

Konica Minolta and Wrich Printz to participate in Printing Survivor 2011 premiere event in Toronto

Unigraph holds technical conference

Unigraph International, the leading Canadian supplier of pressroom chemicals, held a two-day meeting with its technical support representatives in Montreal last month. Heading the agenda was the formation of its new Product, Printing and Technical Information (PPTI) Committee. More specific areas of responsibility were delegated based on the individual expertise of each rep in the committee. These included: President John Thibault (Silicone, Solvent and Specialty Products); Mike Thibault, V.P. of Techincal Services (Plates, Fountain Solution and Alcohol Replacement); Al Kershaw (Equipment and UV Coating); Mark Thomas (Ink); Rick Wheeler (Rollers & Blankets) and Paul Joseph (Paper). This move, says the company, simply reflects it’s ongoing commitment to providing its customers

Graphic Arts Magazine’s Printing Survivor 2011 town-hall-style event in Toronto Thursday, October 13 is gaining momentum. Attendees will get practical, workable, no BS strategies from industry leaders who have not only weathered the economic storm, but are still prospering. At press time, Konica Minolta, SNZ Trading Inc. are Green Dot Litho already signed as sponsors. One of the afternoon’s planned keynote speakers will be Wrich Printz, president and CEO of L2 Inc. since 2001. His Californiabased company is an industry leader in cross-media technology and integrated multi-channel marketing solutions. His flagship product (called Fuse) allows users to launch all integrated marketing from one platform driven by a database. It’s been an instant success industry-wide. He’ll deliver some workable strategies on how printers can take their products and services to the next level by incorporating them with mobile technologies and the internet. Then he’ll tell you, in plain English, how to use these secrets to earn new clients and upsell current customers. Arjun Basu, Content Director, Spafax (Montreal), a worldwide leader in custom communication, branding and media services, is also scheduled to speak. The complete list of event topics, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors and other details will soon be released on the magazine’s website and in the September issue. Tickets are $100 each for the afternoon event and are available on a first-come-firstserved basis. Go to graphicartsmag.com/survivor2011 or call toll-free: 1-877-513-3999.

Unigraph’s new PPTI Committee (L-R): Rick Wheeler, Al Kershaw, Mike Thibault, Leo Thibault (sitting) Mark Thomas, Line Perron (Customer Service Representative), John Thibault and Paul Joseph

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Tech News

tion and content up-to-date across all your devices,” says Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iCloud keeps your important information and content up to date across all your devices. All of this happens automatically and wirelessly, and because it’s integrated into our apps you don’t even need to think about it — it all just works.”

How your smartphone can make your wallet…disappear?

On graphicartsmag.com in May, we posted an article about how a smartphone app called CardStar is making wallets lighter by eliminating the need for membership cards. Now it seems – if Google has its way – that you might not need a wallet at all. The company is launching a mobile platform that lets users pay with their phones.

iCloud users will get 5GB of storage for free. The system becomes available in the fall. It replaces the current MobileMe program, which is a less-functional server for email, contacts, calendars and other data. All MobileMe services will be moved over to iCloud.

Imagine walking into a grocery store and paying the bill with your cellphone – even easier than using your credit card. After weeks of rumours, Google has finally revealed the Google Wallet.

MacWorld.com posted an article about the release and noted how news of the iCloud could be important for enterprises – not just consumers, especially where security issues are concerned:

The system works by utilizing nearfield communication (NFC) chips inside the smartphone. Financial data is transferred by waving or swiping the phone at the checkout counter. Google incorporated these NFC chips into its recently-released “Nexus-S” smartphone, allowing it to become a “virtual wallet” where users “tap and pay” for money transactions.

“Yes, most of the features mentioned are geared toward the consumer market rather than the enterprise market. But as we’ve seen over the last few years, workers who have consumer-centric devices will want to have access to work e-mail and data on their iPhones, Droids, and Evos as well as their BlackBerrys. So if you’re working in an IT department, now’s a good time to figure out ways to wall off sensitive corporate data from being tossed into the Cloud. After all, let’s say that Jimmy the Engineer meant to upload pictures of his kids’ graduation onto the iCloud but also accidentally uploads pictures of his company’s new device prototype onto the iCloud as well. Then if a hacker somehow gets access to Jimmy’s iCloud account, well, it could be bad news…In other words, IT departments are going to have to find a way to deny permission to sync sensitive corporate documents or pictures over the iCloud.”

Before Google released the Nexus S, the company’s chief executive, Eric Schmidt said that he expects this type of technology to “eventually replace credit cards.” The UK’s The Guardian made some interesting points from a marketing outlook: “With Google Wallet […] on your smartphone, you’ll get much more than a contact-less credit card replacement. You’ll see ads and receive promotional emails, store coupons for this weekend’s deals – from pizza to electronics – and be able to use payment alternatives such as Google Checkout. Compare this with the “old” process: see an ad in the Sunday supplement, clip the coupon, make sure you stuff it in your wallet, go shopping, whip out the coupon at the cash register, pay with your card. For merchants, Google’s NFC is the link to a seamless marketing campaign: lure customers with special offers and then offer a smooth transition from promotion to ‘e-coupon’ to purchase and payment.”

Think iCloud is a funny name? Apple doesn’t. Reportedly, the company spent $4.5 million in purchasing the domain name from a Swedish-based service company.

Amazon sells more Kindle books than all print books combined

With technology evolving like this, it is hard to imagine a far-reaching future for paper money and credit cards. However, it’s not likely that we’ll see substantial implementation of “tap-and-pay” anytime soon. Think of the millions of credit card terminals at cash registers around the world – they would be extremely expensive to replace. Also, credit card companies like Visa and American Express would probably try to get in the way.

In November of 2007, Amazon introduced the Kindle and started selling e-books. By July of last year, sales of Kindle books had surpassed sales of hardcover books and, six months later, exceeded sales of paperback books. Now Amazon is selling more Kindle books than all print books combined.

The iCloud

“Customers are now choosing Kindle books more often than print books,” says Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. “We had high hopes that this would happen eventually, but we never imagined it would happen this quickly – we’ve been selling print books for 15 years and Kindle books for less than four years.”

What’s the technological buzzword we’re all hearing these days? Cloud. As in, Cloud Computing. Apple has been in the spotlight recently for unveiling a new web service called the iCloud. This will allow users to store content like music, movies and other files on the Internet so they can be accessed from any Apple device.

The US Kindle Store now has more than 950,000 books. The majority of these are $9.99 or less. Compare that with the average cost for a new hardcover printed book, which is around $25. Since April 1, for every 100 print books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 105 Kindle books (and that’s not including the number of free Kindle books it has available.) Amazon is selling more than three times as many Kindle books so far in 2011 as it did during the same period last year (Amazon has not released sales figures for the Kindle e-reader device itself, however).

The Vancouver Sun says: “For Apple, the long-awaited iCloud service represents Apple’s boldest move yet to counter the growing influence of web-based companies such as Google Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., which have both recently launched cloud-based storage services for consumers.” Apple explains in a press release that the iCloud is a breakthrough set of free new cloud services that work seamlessly with applications on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC automatically. It will wirelessly store your content in iCloud and automatically and wirelessly push it to all your devices. When anything changes on one of your devices, all of your devices are updated almost instantly.

A recent press release about the milestone from Amazon states: “All Kindle Books let you ‘Buy Once, Read Everywhere’ – on all generation Kindles, as well as on the largest number of devices and platforms, including iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, Android-based devices, and soon HP TouchPads and BlackBerry PlayBooks.

“Today it is a real hassle and very frustrating to keep all your informa-

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For several years social media has been a hot topic; however, now we are seeing an industry beginning to build around this new means of communication. There was a period during which it was hard to tell what business impact social media would have, if any! Today, a majority agree that social media is not a disappearing fad. This new way of communicating with customers needs to be understood by companies both large and small. To define social media, what better resource to use than the seventh most visited website and collaborative encyclopedia, Wikipedia? There are three essential pegs to the definition: social media involves technology, some form of social interaction and, typically, creation or co-creation. This definition offers a much better perspective than just thinking about Facebook. This article will give you an overview of the social media landscape. Along with explaining some key concepts, it will also provide you with examples of social media in action, as well as resources that you can use to further your knowledge. It is not an article about social campaigns that printers helped execute, but rather a look at how printers themselves can participate. Why should you keep reading? Social media is especially important for the small- to medium-sized companies (about 80 percent of printers). It is a â&#x20AC;&#x153;power to the peopleâ&#x20AC;? method of advertising that is not costly. And while the matrices for measuring the effectiveness of using social media are still in development, this is an area where you are more likely to gain than lose. After all, not joining the conversation doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop people from talking about you, so you are much better off being involved than not.

Categorizing social media

One of the obstacles of social media is that the amount and variety of sites available can be overwhelming. It is useful then to categorize the general uses of social media. This can be done in many ways, with categories ranging from three to almost 30. Here we will discuss a categorization of three types (not because it is the correct way, but rather because three is a manageable number). Along with an explanation of each of the types, we will take a look at opportunities to use them.

Type 1: Social Bookmarking When you are browsing the web and you come across a website you like, you can bookmark it so that your browser remembers how to take you back there. Social bookmarking is similar to this, with many added advantages. For one, your bookmarks are hosted so that you can access them from multiple computers. Two, you can share your bookmarks with friends, colleagues and customers. Lastly, you begin to browse the Internet in a whole new way, driven by the recommendations of other like-minded people. A fringe benefit can also be that most social bookmarking is well integrated into mobile devices, from where we are increasingly browsing the Internet. A practical example of social bookmarking is using stumbleupon.com (although there are many similar websites such as digg.com and delicious.com). Once you create a profile, you can download the toolbar for your browser and/or a free application for your smartphone. You begin by identifying your areas of interest by check-marking categorized topics. Once you have those selected, you press the stumble button and a site in your area of interest appears. You can give it a thumbs-up, which will bookmark it, or simply continue to the next site. While the business applications of using social bookmarking are a bit more limited than the other two categories of social media, they are a wonderful way to share what you (personally, or as a company) find interesting. They make it is easy to share online resources with contacts and customers. In addition, you can be recognized for a project you participated in. Below is an example of sticky notes that went viral on sumbleupon.com for a company that specializes in hair loss.

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Type 2: Social Networking Social networking sites are likely the ones you are most familiar with. This assumption is largely based on the fact that more than 500 million users are on Facebook, spending a cumulative 700 billion minutes per month making it the second most popular site on the Internet. Another notable example is LinkedIn, a Facebook-like network geared towards professionals. Today there are a variety of ways you can use social networks, which I will divide into two categories: participate and advertise. Creating a Facebook page (once called a fan page) is one way of connecting to friends, clients and prospects. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you need to create opportunities for engagement, not simply list the same set of services you already have on your website. A good example of this is the Cober Facebook page where the company shares photos of community events such as a food drive (most recently). Using the page as a way to tell your customers about a sale should be done sparingly as the purpose here is largely different. Think of it as a date (but with your potential client) — you wouldn’t make a good first impression if you yammered on about work the entire time. The Facebook page is an important piece of the puzzle because it allows for customer-driven recommendations. When a person likes your page, their network of friends see it. Another method of using Facebook is to advertise by purchasing ads. Ads on Facebook can allow you to link to outside websites, to create events and to take polls. The investment is highly manageable — you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, and you can set a daily maximum so that you never overspend. Although the click-through-rates (CTRs) are not high, remember that the ads are still seen by users. This peripheral vision presence is much harder to measure but still highly beneficial.

Watching videos is high on client preference lists. As such, YouTube is an important tool in connecting with people. However, taking a demanding approach to video production can be overwhelming. It’s important to remember that on sites like YouTube content is more important than quality. Some of the most viewed videos on the Internet are caught with a simple digital point and shoot camera. A quick search of terms like “printing company” reveals that a lot of what printers are still doing is highly promotional. As an example, a video of loudly running equipment offers little value to the client; you are much better off recording your prepress expert explaining how to make a PDF. If you want to use video for promotional purposes, it seems that humour goes a long way. Take the Printing’s Alive video by Pazazz Printing or the Off Register video series by Sappi as examples. There are many advantages to hosting a video on YouTube as opposed to hosting internally. YouTube can drive people back to your website, it can make sharing the video easier so more people are likely to see it and it’s an interface that people are familiar with.

One of the other obstacles for printers is that we are typically working in a business-to-business (B2B) environment. On Facebook, the target audience is largely the end consumer. However, you can still use ads as a way to promote your business. For example, you can create a product like the sticky notes discussed earlier in the article to sell to the general public, with the hope that at least some percentage of that public may need a printer at some point. After all, one of the areas in which this industry really needs to improve is self-promotion; we do a much better job at promoting others than we do ourselves. LinkedIn also has similar advertising capabilities. There is an added benefit to participating on LinkedIn for companies in the B2B space because everyone is linked professionally (the companies and industries for which people work are identified as parts of their profiles). In this space, you could feasibly market printing services to manufacturers in Canada, for example. The other strength of LinkedIn is to recruit potential employees. While basic membership is free, with a paid subscription the ability to recruit and be recruited improves. For companies that have restricted the use of Facebook, LinkedIn is a good way to have employees engaged in social media in a more professional capacity.

However, creating videos can be a lot of hard work from concept to finished product. It makes sense to be strategic in the way you approach them. If your videos are going to be informative, you should build them around a concept that can be spun into a series of videos. If you are anxious to get something on YouTube but don’t think that it’s viable for you to update the content often, you can create one slightly longer video that doesn’t leave customers expecting more. Another great business tool for building brand and engaging customers and prospects is blogging. There are different types of blogs you can use. You can go the traditional route of writing article-type entries that your clients can comment on. This typically works well when it becomes a mix of professional and more social content. You can use a blog to explain a new printing process that you’ve invested in, then follow that post with your company’s experience with the install, and maybe some photos to go along with the text. This will better build relationships with your clients.

Type 3: Media Sharing The last category of social media is media sharing sites. Here I define media as the ability to share photos (Flikr.com), videos (YouTube), and text (Twitter). Investing in media sharing can start to hold some great value in the B2B market. The core of using this technology is sharing information and allowing others to have a say at the same time. Most importantly, participating in media sharing can improve your ranking in search results (search engine optimization (SEO) is what you want to research to understand this better).

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Blogs tend to work better when they are associated with an actual person. If having multiple users is too complicated, make sure that employees sign the entries and tag them with the author’s names.

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While traditional blogging is very good for sharing larger amounts of information, micro-blogging is also very popular. In a micro-blog, you have to communicate in 140 characters or less. Twitter is the number one micro-blogging website. In our experience, Twitter seems to be the biggest mystery to printers and rightfully so — the professional value of Twitter is only beginning to take shape. The general idea is that you can have a conversation about a topic with a very large number of people by tagging it with a hash tag (#socialmedia). When others like what you have to say, they start to follow you and then they are exposed to all of your future conversations. This is another example where just talking about your company’s capabilities is not likely to be engaging. The idea is to share interesting facts with others. As with regular blogs, when you set up a company account (ex. Toronto_Printer) it is becoming commonplace to initial entries by starting with an underscore at the end of the passage. If you have employees that enjoy contributing to Twitter on an ongoing basis, you can include their names in their profile names to further personalize the interactions (ex. Bob_Toronto_Printer). Above all, with media sharing, it’s important that you set an achievable goal for yourself because cutting back content looks bad, while increasing content is a positive sign. So if you are going to blog, start monthly — if you find that you have time for more, move to twice a month, then weekly, and so on. There is a general expectation for consistency when it comes to new content online, which you have to manage. Now that we have established some of the common categories of social media, as well as investigated some opportunities for printers to use them, I wanted to share with you some expert industry opinions. Let’s focus on the topic from both the perspective of a printing company (CJ Graphics, in particular) as well as sharing some expertise from some social media professionals.

Talking to Social Media Experts:

Before taking a look at social media through the experiences of a printing company, I wanted to share with you some opinions from expert social media professionals. First, I had the opportunity to chat with Mitch Joel, president of Twist Image, renowned speaker and author of Six Pixels of Separation (a great read!). I was first introduced to Mitch at a Fujifilm seminar. This is not surprising as Fuji is heavily engaged in the social media space. Mitch is a wonderful speaker who has plenty of advice to give. Mitch suggests some best practices for using social media: 1. Find an interesting angle for your content. There are many ways to think about this, however, I would suggest that personifying your social media presence, or giving it some personality is key. 2. Connect and interact with the people who are already in your area of interest. Remember that social media is a great place to build relationships with other like-minded professionals. 3. Don’t shill your wares. Be helpful. Again, don’t just promote product — connect and communicate with your clients. Mitch also suggested that printers who are starting out in the social media space should take a look at the business book, Social Marketing to the Business Customer, by Paul Gillen and Eric Schwartzman. My favourite piece of advice from Mitch’s book, Six Pixels of Separation, though seemingly less significant, is to maintain the same profile photo across all social media sites to help others recognize you in a variety of locations. In addition to talking to Mitch, I wanted to talk to another professional

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with expertise in the B2B marketplace specifically – Eliot Johnson, senior manager of social media strategy at KPMG International, an accountancy firm. Eliot described himself as a social media enthusiast, interacting online on a personal and professional basis. What is unusual about Eliot (relative to the printing industry) is his position at KPMG. His mandate is to develop the enterprise global social media strategy and address governance issues. There have been increasing numbers of companies that hire a specific individual to create strategy for social media, and printing companies have the ability to take this approach. Increasingly, we are seeing positions such as Digital Innovation Specialist posted in our industry.

L: Over time we’ve come to realize that (for us, at least) it needs to be a team effort to be truly successful, and that having a welldefined and specified strategy is key. Like most aspects of business, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. We’ve also needed to re-examine how we process most of our outgoing messages, as the dialogue on social media sites is constant and ongoing; any model in which communications need to be filtered or approved by several individuals is almost doomed to failure in a social media context, as it stifles the ability to connect with your clients, peers and audience. N: What are some lessons learned that you could share with other printers starting to become involved in social media?

Eliot began his career as a Web and graphic designer, moving his way into developing integrated media campaigns and managing accounts for ad agencies. Since then, his career has turned toward primarily focusing on the social media space.

L: The unfortunate truth is that most self proclaimed “social media gurus” have a lot of difficulty coming to grips with an industry that specializes in custom manufacture for a predominantly B2B environment. Marketing a local coffee shop, top-100 band, or chain of fashion retail stores requires a very different approach to social media then a professional print-service provider. Particularly in that some of the best work we do is rarely attributed back to the printer by the end-user or consumer of the printed product.

During our talk, Eliot stressed the importance of developing a strategy first, before dabbling in social media. He explained that the value of social media is partly in the accomplishment of social reach (sometimes also referred to as earned media). This is where you have built relationships with clients that center around trust and loyalty. Once established, the promotion cost of this type of community is exceptionally low, which is great for smallto medium-sized companies.

The greatest truth about social media is that there is no straightforward path to success or catch-all strategy. The way to use social media effectively is going to be as unique as each individual company.

Eliot also believes that one of the current pitfalls of social media currently is that it is addressed as simply an ad hoc activity or has been placed on the shoulder of marketing teams without additional staffing. This is problematic because their previous duties have not disappeared, making the workload unmanageable. In a world that is constantly connected, social media can take a considerable amount of time and effort. And like any other marketing discipline, it requires a knowledge base.

The best advice that can be given to anyone who wants to get started in social media? Do extraordinary things, talk about them, listen and respond. Given that there is no magic weapon when it comes to social media, your last step in internalizing this article is to continue to read and learn about social media. Below are some ideas on various types of reading/watching/listening materials that can help you in this regard (in addition to the ones already mentioned earlier).

His most important piece of advice was to be authentic. The real opportunity in social media is to be able to communicate with customers as people and not consumers. Once you develop a strategy around the message, and properly distribute the work, your last task is to remember that you are building a community around people, and when it comes to social media, people are what you need in order to drive your message forward.

One Printer’s Take on Social Media: CJ Graphics

Lee Eldridge, director of interactive solutions at CJ Graphics, is one of those individuals who seems to be very comfortable with technology, embracing the opportunities it delivers, and his title is a good indication that social media is a big part of CJ’s business strategy. His advice for social media strategy is very pragmatic coming from an expert. N: What social media websites do you currently participate in and why? L: The C.J. Group of companies tailors our approach to social media differently depending on the specific brand in question. Our wide format division, for example, is very active on Twitter, while other divisions use Facebook, YouTube and blogging sites. Our approach to social media – like other areas of business – is utilizing the right tools for the job rather then chasing trends. We’ve had some great successes using Twitter, Quora and the LinkedIn forums/discussions to identify leads and start dialogues with potential new clients. Too many companies focus on the “broadcast” aspect of social media and ignore the ability to participate in the conversations going on. N: How has CJ’s strategy to social media evolved?

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Books:

• Social Media Field Guide: A Resource for Graphic Communicators Julie Shaffer and Mary Garnett • Success Secrets of Social Media Marketing Superstars Mitch Meyerson • The New Social Learning: A Guide to Transforming Organizations Through Social Media Tony Bingham, Marcia Conner, Daniel H. Pink • Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business Ann Handley, David Meerman Scott, C.C. Chapman

Podcasts:

• Internet Marketing: Insider Tips and Advice for Online Marketing • iTunes: podcasts > Business > Management and Marketing > SiteVisibility • Six Pixels of Separation – Marketing and Communications Insights • iTunes: podcasts > Business > Management and Marketing > Mitch Joel • Social Media Podcast and Sales Training by Shane Gibson • iTunes: podcasts > Business > Management and Marketing > Shane Gibson

Follow on Twitter:

• FernReiss (twitter.com/fernreiss) • PrintWeek (twitter.com/printweek) • David Meerman Scott (twitter.com/dmscott) • Andy Sernovitz (twitter.com/sernovitz) • Jay Baer (twitter.com/jaybaer)

Blogs:

• The human side of media and the social side of marketing (dannybrown.me) • Media Emerging (mediaemerging.com) • Social Media Explorer (socialmediaexplorer.com) • The Social Media Marketing Blog (scottmonty.com) • Dave Fleet (davefleet.com)

Videos:

• Clay Shirky: How social media can make history http://bit.ly/qVxDRy • Social Media Revolution 2 (Refresh) http://bit.ly/oVw7Ue • Social Media ROI: Socialnomics http://bit.ly/oV3GUX • How to Be a Social Media Change Agent http://bit.ly/pTc598 • Measuring the Effectiveness of Social Media http://bit.ly/pjl7dd (Special thanks to Mitch Joel, Eliot Johnson, and Lee Eldridge for participating in the interviews and Anna Whatman for compiling the list of resources.) Natalia Gilewicz is a full-time Assistant Professor in the School of Graphic Communications Management at Ryerson University. Her teaching concentration is in areas of prepress, typography, and layout. In her research, she studies e-print and its applications. Contact her at ngilewic@ryerson.ca

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

Your perfect connection to the printing and graphic arts industry

Kristen Read

.comments

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Talkback Topics - check out what the industry is saying about some of the latest news:

What’s hot? Check out the top 5 most read stories from graphicartsmag.com:

Printing a Scent

Re: Canada Post: here’s the latest “Make it an essential service… NO strikes allowed. Just because they work for the government doesn’t mean they have to have the best of everything. It’s my money we’re paying them and I say they get enough benefits & wages. Better yet, get rid of the CUPW.” -Patrolus

your smartphone can make 2 How your wallet … disappear? Wired.com: 5 reasons why 3 E-Books aren’t there yet

Re: How your smartphone can make your wallet … disappear? “The second this becomes available, I will dump my newspaper flyers, email promotions, wallet, credit cards, loyalty cards. I will adopt this technology in a second!!! About time, we live in an age where our lives can be enhanced by technology, this would free up all physical payment methods. I can also see that you would get account balances immediately and know what your status is. Absolutely a must have.” -Bruno

Traceless anti-counter4 Kodak’s feiting system sells more Kindle books 5 Amazon than all print books combined

Thank you for your overwhelming response to Graphic Arts Magazine’s Android Tablet Giveaway. To determine the winner, we entered all of your entries into a spreadsheet, including multiple entries for liking us on Facebook and/or following us on twitter. We used a random number generator to determine which one of our entries would be the winner.

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

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Congratulations to Kenneth Ghazi of Mississauga ON. You are the winner of a new Android Tablet. We hope you enjoy it.

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D V

E R T O

Award-winning Konica Minolta digital press a breakthrough for Edmonton printer and a first in Alberta!

Edmonton-based Scan Copy Print Inc. is poised to take its printing services to an extraordinary new level as it becomes Alberta’s first shop to install Konica Minolta’s imPRESSive bizhub PRESS C8000 Scan Copy Print Inc. and its owner Ashraf Jaffer have been serving the city of Edmonton, Alberta for more than 16 years. His well-known shop handles just about every facet of printing, from initial concept to final delivery. This includes graphic design services, media support, photocopying, digital and offset printing, print on demand, bindery services and even archiving documents.

Optional print controllers that drive the bizhub PRESS C8000 include: • Konica Minolta’s own IC-601, a compact and powerful RIP with standard features that the industry demands such as support for PPML variable data format.

Jaffer’s “all under one roof” operation has been thriving since it was established in 1995, with clients ranging from government to corporate to walk-ins. “Colour is becoming more popular and cheaper to produce,” says Jaffer. “Technology has come a long way and done wonders in improving quality and reducing turnaround times. It used to be that clients would not consider printing such things as books or annual reports unless they involved running thousands of units at a time. That’s all changed. Today, short-run on-demand colour documents are about 70 percent of our business – and our customers demand and expect the best quality.”

• EFI’s Fiery IC-306 that gives Scan Copy Print’s press operators the expert tools they need to handle any job. • Kodak’s Creo IC-307, exceptional in its workflow connectivity via built-in JDF capabilities and comprehensive variable data printing functions.

So with such an emphasis on short-run capabilities, colour quality, fast turnaround and flexible finishing options, Jaffer turned to Konica Minolta. And why not? For the past six years, he had come to depend on his Konica Minolta bizhub PRO 6500 press and the manufacturer’s ongoing technical support. With new opportunities on the horizon, especially in the realms of variable printing and additional short-run colour, it was definitely time to upgrade.

C8000 wins BERTL exceptional quality award

Konica Minolta customers are not the only ones whose heads have been turned by the impressive quality of the company’s flagship digital press. The device received the BERTL “Exceptional Certified Five Star” Award for production printing, an honour given only to products judged to be “extraordinary.”

The C8000 was the logical choice. With a maximum sheet size of 13” x 19.2”, output speeds of up to 80 ppm (and a 500,000-page monthly duty cycle) and a variety of finishing and media-handling capabilities, the bizhub PRESS C8000 gave Jaffer the quality, productivity and flexibility he needed to grow his business. Most of all, it gave him digital quality (true 1200 × 1200 dpi with 8-bit colour print resolution) comparable to some offset presses. “I especially like the fact that I can quickly show my customer such an accurate colour proof, rather than deal with press proofing which is more expensive and time consuming,” adds Jaffer.

The renowned, independent testing lab pointed to the C8000’s colour and print quality, productivity, comprehensive media handling and user friendliness. In fact, the press achieved 5-star ratings in 7 out of 13 categories. BERTL also praised the device’s security, workflow and image control options. Its 60-page report concludes: “The bizhub PRESS C8000 delivers market-leading innovation in the areas of productivity, reliability and workflow enhancement and raises the bar in the production print industry.”

To achieve this offset-like image quality, the C8000 uses Konica Minolta’s Simitri® HD+ colour polymerized toner, an Image Density Control (IDC) sensor for real-time colour adjustments, a new Dual Fusing system to maintain productivity (even while running heavy stocks), and a vacuum-belt paper feeding system (10,760-sheet maximum paper capacity) for reliable substrate handling. Powerful inline finishing options include saddle-stitch booklets, perfect binding and multi-folding – a crucial consideration when 50 percent of your business involves short-run book publishing.

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

Jenianne Boyda, account manager, production print, Konica Minolta, congratulates Scan Copy Print Inc. owner Ashraf Jaffer

Now while this is certainly a feather in the cap of a respected industry leader such as Konica Minolta, the other smiles the company really appreciates are from satisfied clients such as Ashraf Jaffer and Scan Copy Print Inc. Because in this industry, as we all know, when printers succeed, manufacturers succeed – and so does the Canadian economy. For more information about the award-winning Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS C8000 please call Jenianne Boyda at Konica Minolta: (780) 465-6232 or visit www.konicaminolta.ca.

Your perfect connection to the printing and graphic arts industry

Diana Brown

Education

Financing 101 So you have a great business idea and you’re ready to move forward with it, but how do you secure the necessary capital to build your dream? There are a number of options available, which will be discussed in brief and additional insights will be left up to the financial pros in the “Resources” section.

its realized by a successful company will be dispersed amongst the owners, decreasing the amount of profit realized by the original business startup owner(s). This is how investors recoup their costs. Therefore, equity financing can be more costly than debt financing in the long term. Depending on the share of ownership, the founder may also feel a loss of control over key decisions in the organization, which can be a difficult notion for an entrepreneur. As an upside, equity financing may increase the credibility of a new start-up venture, depending on the investor associated. Knowledge and expertise of the investor can also be drawn upon to better the business.

Debt vs. Equity Financing

What’s the difference between debt and equity financing? How do I know which to use? What makes sense for my business? Debt and equity financing are the two methods of obtaining capital to start and grow a business. There are pros and cons to each, and it is recommended that for a business to be financially healthy, it should secure a mix of both options. Here is a brief introduction into each source: Debt financing simply means borrowing money (a loan from a bank or through government grants, for example) and must be repaid over time with interest. There may be a higher level of risk associated with debt financing because start-ups may not have reliable cash flow in the beginning to consistently pay back the loan. Debt financing is beneficial to businesses because the interest paid on loans is typically tax-deductible. Additionally, the lender does not have ownership in the company, allowing for greater profits realized for the owners if the business is successful.

Use this 10/20/30 rule to ensure your PowerPoint presentations are concise and poignant when pitching ideas to venture capitalists: 10 slides, 20 minutes and font no smaller than 30 points. Kawasaki’s 10 PowerPoint slides: 1. Problem 2. Your solution 3. Business model 4. Underlying magic/technology 5. Marketing and sales 6. Competition 7. Team 8. Projections and milestones 9. Status and timeline 10. Summary and call to action Find out more on http://blog.guykawasaki.com/

Although there is no one-sizefits-all answer for business financing solutions, experts suggest that businesses find a balance between debt and equity options, as well as varied sources of this funding. This is referred to as the debt-to-equity ratio and a ratio between 1:1 – 1:2 is considered a reasonable ratio for a business. Analysts use this ratio to determine how well a business is run.

Equity financing means receiving funding in exchange for partial ownership in the business (from venture capitalists, “angel” investors, stock exchange, or friends and family). The loan does not have to be repaid overtime, however, the prof-

Resources

will provide more information about the government loans and grants for which your business may be eligible.

Book

Blog

How to Get the Financing for Your New Small Business: Innovative Solutions from the Experts Who Do It Every Day (Paperback) by Sharon Fullen $39.95

AVC: Musings of a VC in NYC http://www.avc.com/a_vc/about.html Created by Fred Wilson, venture capitalist for 25 years, this blog provides a unique perspective into the mind of a venture capitalist. Where is he spending his money? What companies and businesses stand out amongst the crowd? Wilson also blogs about financing options for small businesses, as well as other funding resources he finds useful. This is a rare insight into the mind of someone who could make or break your business finances.

This resource is a ideal for anyone looking to learn the basics about small business financing. It is an excellent place to start because it breaks down essential information; including how and why to use debt and equity financing, creative financing methods, your loan proposal, links to additional resources and more. 5 out of 5 stars on Amazon.com (8 customer reviews)

Website

Whether it’s a large or small figure, every business needs some amount of capital for start-up. Perhaps it’s a bank, a family member or a venture capitalist that fronts the cash, but now it’s in your hands to make it work.

Canada Business: Government Services for Entrepreneurs http://www.canadabusiness.ca/eng/82/ The Government of Canada’s website for entrepreneurs has lots of information about running an entrepreneurial effort, including how to finance your business, and descriptions of the available government grants and loan. There is a short questionnaire on the homepage to narrow down the grants available to your business. This questionnaire asks about the purpose of the financing, business location, targeted demographic and type of business. Depending on your answers, it

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint

Diana Brown is the Owner of ON-SITE First Aid & CPR Training Group, a health & safety company who provides training to the Graphic Arts industry. diana@onsitefirstaid.ca

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Your perfect connection to the printing and graphic arts industry

C. Clint Bolte

Management

Postal Vision 2020

Experts gather to offer solutions for America’s postal dilemma Digital Innovation and Alternatives

In a discussion on Digital Innovation and Alternatives, Jennifer Tomlinson, Director of Growth and Strategy for Innovapost (which is 51% owned by Canada Post), explained that Denmark has the strongest digital infrastructure of any national postal service. Many Danish communities have agreed to accept physical mail only once a week because of the increased speed and reliability of their postal digital network and personal digital mailboxes. This would be consistent with InfoTrend’s survey revealing that 79% of consumers still want bills and statements sent physically by USPS. The actual information is received in Denmark in a more timely fashion than in the U.S. via the USPS. This consolidation of physical mail for once-a-week delivery would be much less expensive than 6-day-a-week delivery.

Edited excerpts from an article by Clint Bolte, Growth Management Consultant to the printing industry worldwide (www. clintbolte.com)

The past is but a prologue

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is suffering dramatic losses due primarily to electronic substitution of conventional mail. Its traditional operating model is clearly not sustainable. So, about 150 innovative thinkers gathered in Arlington, Virginia June 15 to craft a new vision for the USPS looking ahead to 2020. Below are some edited highlights from the Postal Vision 2020 Conference.

Technology partnering implies joint ventures with private-sector vendors with expertise in digital communications. If even one joint venture allows the integration of digital communications to supplement current analog mail services, progress will be made. In his keynote presentation, The Age of Digital Disruption, speaker Jeff Jarvis followed the theme of his book What Would Google Do? by presenting these future scenarios: The letter dies; if it can be digital, it will; future is not analog to the past; first-class mail disappears; junk direct mail dies. Jarvis insisted that entrepreneurs who seek efficiencies and savings for their clients will succeed. For example, Craigslist destroyed $13 billion in annual newspaper classified advertising, all to the benefit of consumers.

The current perception is that the USPS is rigid and can’t change. Washington attorney and consultant (specializing in the history and development of national and international postal law) James I. Campbell Jr. gave the following perspective. From its inception in 1792 to the 1830s, the U.S. Post Office was charged with distributing news as a means of building the first continental democracy. It did this by establishing rapid and reliable long-distance transportation that included relay stations for stagecoaches. This monopoly was lost to the new technology of the industrial revolution – steam-powered railroads and ships. Innovations in the 1830s-1840s included cheaper and faster national service by private express companies, and city collection and delivery by local express companies. The U.S. Post Office was given a national monopoly on the collection and delivery of letters in the mid-19th century. And yet the technology of telegraph (1840s) and telephone (1880s) eroded what the Post Office hoped would be a communications monopoly. The car and airplane improved the service and the economics of delivery in the 20th century. But the emergence of FedEx and UPS in the 1970s virtually eliminated USPS’ dominance in parcel delivery.

Digital Mailbox opportunities

Implications for the Postal Service in the Digital Age

Matt Swain, Associate Director, InfoTrends, outlined the existing array of digital mailbox providers; DOXO, Volly (Pitney Bowes), Manilla, Zumbox (oldest in the USA since 2009), ePost (by Canada Post), NetPost (in Finland with 12% of population signed up), and eBoks.dk (Denmark). For example, Manilla (first introduced in January of 2011), is a free, secure, personal account management service – a digital concierge if you will – targeting the USPS’ most profitable first-class transaction document mail streams. It’s launched with bills, finances, travel rewards and subscriptions, but designed to deliver data, documents and alerts/reminders for all personal account categories (medical, insurance, warranties, government documentss, catalogs, etc.). There are easy (and secure) links back to websites to pay the bills or get more detailed background information on any single transaction. Remembering and processing a myriad of identifiers and passwords is no longer necessary.

Campbell concluded with 3 policy choices based upon the actual history of the United States Postal Service: 1. Dissolve the Postal Service in an orderly manner. 2. Extend the monopoly/privileges of the Postal Service into related fields. 3. Privatize and give the Postal Service a chance to adapt. Short-term priorities of our Federal legislators are not expected to include anything as drastic as these 3 policies, however, there is a chance that the digital technology partnerships discussed at the Postal Vision 2020 Conference may be considered as workable options in the future.

Technology partnering for USPS holds promise

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

C. Clint Bolte & Associates, Chambersburg, PA. T: 717-263-5768 F: 717-263-8945 E: cbolte3@comcast.net

www.graphicartsmag.com

Tony Curcio

Controversy and some commonsense strategies for your survival So while some of the best U.S. thinkers gathered at the Postal Vision 2020 Conference June 15 to offer workable strategies to rescue their postal service, what did we do afterwards here in Canada? We endured another strike! As a result, many printers and related service providers lost income – even though postal workers were legislated back to work in a relatively short time.

interest payments. • If you have a backlog of printed invoices, receipts or other important hardcopy documents, scan and e-mail them or send them by fax.

I did a mini-survey of printers two weeks after back-to-work legislation was imposed by the Conservative government amidst vitriolic debate. Most feedback I got from shop owners was so critical of the union that I can’t repeat it in print. But, to be fair, I chose this next comment because it reflected the ongoing union/management problem in this country that has become a divisive double-edged sword:

• Team up with others in the industry and see if you can help each other. Even competitors might be open to your suggestions if they’re mutually beneficial.

“If my company lost business every year and I asked my boss for a raise, or asked him to pay me for 3 weeks of work I’ll never do, he’d call in a psychiatrist. Even this short strike nearly crippled us. Sometimes I have to work 12 hours a day, but I never complain because others have no job at all. I’m tired of hearing union workers complain when they have it so easy. I know others that make about 20% – 30% less than postal workers for doing similar work – and get zero benefits.

• Determine alternative methods to perform daily tasks usually carried out by Canada Post. Ask employees or family members to help with important deliveries, if you must. They’ll understand. • Try to negotiate any of Canada Post’s services with other companies on a contra (i.e. barter) basis. For example, during the strike, I wrote some promotional material for a personal fitness trainer (a long-time friend) who had access to a car and lots of spare time. In return, he delivered my parcels and important letters around the GTA.

On the other hand, collective bargaining rights are extremely important and I personally understand why they want to hold on to previously won concessions. But more importantly, Canada Post’s services for delivering print are still cheaper than using couriers or other companies. You also pay more using postal services in retail stores. Plus, we have a wonderful postman – always on time and a real pleasure to talk to. I wouldn’t want to see him, or anyone else, lose their job.”

• M aintain regular contact with your customers and suppliers. Discuss options, even if it means sharing the costs. • If you’re mailing to the U. S. or outside of Canada, use the U.S. Postal Service. One friend used a courier service to send a bulk package containing stamped letters across the border to a colleague. His U.S. colleague delivered the letters by hand to his nearest Post Office.

Well, regardless of where you stand on this issue, one thing is crystal clear: The public is losing patience – and Canada Post Corporation is losing customers who are staying away in droves, mostly because they are finding cheaper alternatives via the internet. So here’s my unbiased advice:

• Deflect blame. Explain the situation to your customers and suppliers personally by telephone. It’ll show that you value the relationship. They won’t hold you accountable for disruptions.

Hello both sides! Understand that you will NEVER EVER get these customers back – especially if they are in the shrinking-margin printing industry. Get it? NEVER!

• O nly use expensive courier services for must-deliver parcels or time-sensitive items.

I suggest they take a close look at the newspaper industry which has had to cut staff, reduce ad rates and re-create themselves online in order to survive.

• Talk to your bank and try to work out options or postponements. Ask for short-term help if necessary.

What can printers do now?

• Stay informed and plan ahead. Do what you can beforehand to avoid bottlenecks. Have everything ready to go when things get back to normal.

Unfortunately, not much if you rely on Canada Post’s monopoly. However, consider action NOW to cope better with any future labour disruptions. Here are a few common-sense strategies you might want to consider:

Tony Curcio ajg.curcio@gmail.com

• S et up Electronic Funds Transfers for all payables and receivables. You’ll save courier costs (for mailing cheques and invoices), be able to pay suppliers faster, avoid holds on funds because of lack of payment and reduce or eliminate

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

Your perfect connection to the printing and graphic arts industry

Management

Canada Post wars

Thomas Gagnon

FYPI

For your print information: The importance of relative humidity

Relative humidity and the temperature of the pressroom contribute significantly to the paper’s “runnability” on press. To ensure dimensional stability of the paper, it is important to measure the relative humidity of the paper and pressroom on a regular basis.

Furthermore, creating tall stacks of paper can cause wavy edges due to the uneven pressure on the centre and the edges of the stack, especially in cases where the paper must be stacked higher than usual. Another consideration printers should take into account is how the paper is packaged during shipping. Tightly packaged stacks of paper can cause delays for the printers and hold up the printing job because the moisture content in the stack of paper will be reduced due to the pressure from the tight packaging. This causes the paper to become hard and brittle, decreasing resiliency and smoothness under printing impressions. Therefore, the printer must wait for the paper to reach its equilibrium in order to print. Furthermore, when the relative humidity of the surrounding air is lowered, the paper will lose moisture. In dry conditions, moisture is drawn from the exposed surfaces of the paper stack and paper will shrink, but the centre of the paper still maintains its original moisture content, which causes tight edges. Taking into account the moisture content of the paper is essential for printers to be familiar with as it leads to dimensional changes and can cause problems such as curl, paper distortion and major register problems.

What is relative humidity?

Relative humidity can be defined as the amount of moisture, in vapour form, in relation to the amount of moisture the air can contain at a given temperature. It is important to consider the relative humidity of the pressroom environment as it has a direct impact on the paper. Paper is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs and loses water readily. When the moisture in the paper is in balance with the air’s relative humidity, the paper is in equilibrium with its surrounding atmosphere. At equilibrium, the paper can neither gain nor lose moisture. This is a characteristic that the printer must ensure that the paper adapts to. To achieve this, the printer should conduct a test that measures the relative humidity and the temperature of the immediate surroundings, while eliminating any influences in the external atmosphere. The ideal relative humidity of a paper’s dimensional stability is between 35-50 percent. With that said, the 40-45 percent range has been found optimum for many sheetfed-offset plants with a pressroom temperature of 21-29 degrees celsius. Pressrooms that are kept at this temperature along with the relative humidity helps to facilitate faster drying time; the environment is more conducive to the oxidation and polymerization because of the higher temperature and lower relative humidity. As a result of obtaining a balance between the RH of the paper and pressroom, there will be fewer mis-registers and paper-edge problems.

Conclusion

The temperature and humidity in the pressroom and stockroom should be kept as stable as possible at all times. When moving paper to the pressroom, a sufficient amount of time must be allowed for the paper to properly adjust to the humidity change (attempting to keep the pressroom and stock room at the same humidity will decrease the amount of time and lower the risk of paper damage). Before running a job on press ensure that the operator checks the humidity of the pressroom and paper to avoid any possible problems that may occur. Lastly, be aware of the weather changes, as this can affect your pressroom temperature and humidity levels of the paper stacks.

Impact of relative humidity

One of the most significant issues that occurs in the pressroom is the waving of paper, which is a result of humidity. This is why it is important that printers have a thorough understanding of the effects that relative humidity and temperature have on paper through its life cycle, as a lack of knowledge can lead to unnecessary expenses and frustrations. The printer must take into consideration how the paper is stored and the piling techniques, as improperly managed stock can lead to damages and thus make the paper unprintable.

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

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Tony Curcio

Marketing

Copywriting 22 practical tips on how to improve and what you should avoid! First, a good writer must break through to the reader on an emotional level, and second, genuinely care about a client’s success. These are arguably the two most important things that I’ve learned in my 45 years as a writer.

sider how “I’ll meet you Sunday” sounds – as opposed to “I shall meet with you on Sunday.” Subtle, but people don’t talk like that, so don’t write like that.

4. Look to the second paragraph

1. Appeal to the reader’s emotions Most writing will fail, or at best be very forgettable, if this doesn’t happen. Break through that barrier of indifference. And don’t be afraid to zero-in on financial benefits. Making (or saving) extra money can be pretty emotional, especially in this lousy economy. If you’re not excited about your topic, don’t expect your readers to be.

A good car dealer embellishes the truth by saying your new vehicle will make you the sexiest person on earth. The same is true with writing, especially writing to persuade. Try this. Check previously written promotional text and see how it reads when you remove the first paragraph. That paragraph likely contains “hype” while the second (or third) gets to the real facts. This will help you with editing and future writing.

2. Brand yourself

5. Use humour sparingly

Large companies spend millions of dollars to achieve “top-ofmind recognition.” For example, when you think of colas, “Coke” and “Pepsi” rule. You don’t have that kind of money, so do the next best thing: Always have a positioning statement (tagline) below your logo. This is a short statement that summarizes what your company’s all about. It should answer the key question: “How do you want to be portrayed throughout the industry or marketplace?”

It’s great to put a smile on a reader’s face while conveying your message. But humour does have a short lifespan. In general, the same joke repeated will elicit a smile the first time, indifference the second and annoyance the third.

6. What a difference a day makes After you’ve written your masterpiece, put it aside for one day. Look at it with a clear mind the next morning before you begin work. This will help you trim more fat.

3. Keep it conversational

7. A camel is a horse designed by a committee

Write as if you’re chatting with, not writing to, the reader. Use lots of contractions. You’re not writing a legal document. Con-

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

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Thursday, October 13, 2011 Le Jardin Conference & Event Centre, Vaughan, Ontario

Printing Survivor 2011

Why survive when you can thrive? Graphic Arts Magazine’s Printing Survivor 2011 town-hall-style event in Toronto October 13 is gaining momentum. Attendees will get practical, workable, no BS strategies from industry leaders who have not only weathered the economic storm, but are prospering.

Confirmed Event speakers as of press time Wrich Printz President / CEO L2, Inc. For the last ten years Wrich Printz has been held captive by really exciting technology, focused on multichannel, cross-media marketing. His strategy is on using different channels (SMS, Direct Mail, Email, pURLs) to deliver automated, high touch, relevant messaging for B2B, and B2C campaigns. Wrich will be speaking at Survivor 2011 to give you insight into how you can leverage these exciting technologies to revitalize your business.

Arjun Basu Content Director, Spafax Content Director for Spafax, one of the world’s leading providers of both custom marketing solutions and in-flight entertainment, Arjun has held numerous roles with the company. He served as editor-in-chief of enRoute, Air Canada’s in-flight magazine from 2000 to 2008, during which time the magazine was twice named the world’s best in-flight magazine. He now oversees all content direction, strategy and creative development of all Spafax products worldwide across all media channels and platforms.

Sponsored by:

Sponsorships and exhibit opportunities are still available

Tickets are $100 and are available at: graphicartsmag.com/survivor2011 31 or contact us toll free at: 877-513-3999 July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

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Tony Curcio

Marketing

16. Investigate social media advertising

reader for syntax errors and an industry colleague for technical accuracy. I once worked at a newspaper where 6 different department managers had input into each project I wrote. The re-written versions looked like failed ESL tests!

This is the future, so do a pre-emptive strike now. Consider creating virtual tours of your shop, online client testimonials, in-shop product demos, webinars, facebook ads, etc.

8. Don’t rely totally on spellcheck

17. Blogs work – go figure!

Spellcheck apps are handy tools for catching basic errors. However, they’re usually U.S.-style-based and miss errors that can make you look bad. Potential clients might think you’ll be as careless with their job as you are with your spelling. You do quality work, so make sure your writing (and design) reflects that same high standard.

I see intelligent adults on the subway every morning reading inane celebrity blogs talking about their pet’s suicidal depression. Well, blogs (and tweets) work! Almost every client tells me this. I can only conclude that their inherent gossipy nature is the reason for their popularity. Example: You could write a standard piece about your fast service. Or, you could construct a blog something like this: “A bride-to-be came by the shop this morning. Her dog had chewed up her wedding invitations. I told her to come back at lunch time and pick up her reprint. She returned at noon, was thrilled with everything, and promised to bring me a piece of wedding cake!”

9. Too much grey text is visually exhausting It’s not that your writing isn’t compelling; it’s the reader’s eye saying to the brain “I don’t have time to read all this stuff.” So add photos to boost recognition by up to 35%! Subheads, bulleted points, quoted callouts and numerals will also help break up a page.

And if you’re thinking of using a freelance writer…

10. Highlight everything and you highlight nothing

18. Don’t settle for “lazy” writing

I have one client who invariably asks “Tony, can we underline this, bold face this, box this off…..?” By the time I do what he wants, I can’t figure out what’s important on the page! Limit text emphasis to your headline, reader benefits and your call to action.

This occurs when writers plagiarize text when they should be creating new content. A good writer will write using original content derived (at least in part) from interviews with your company’s key personnel. They will write with passion and genuine empathy – as if they owned the company themselves.

11. Have a forceful call to action Sometimes we get so involved in the writing, we forget to ask for a response. Always end your piece by conveying a sense of urgency along with your contact information.

19. Beware the “specialist” internet writer I came across one website proclaiming that using traditional, experienced copywriters for website text is a mistake because internet writing is so specialized. Mule fritters! Not surprisingly, it was a website promoting its overpriced webwriting courses (then offering an insulting $25 for a 1,000-word article). Well, you get what you pay for! The truth is that website writing is almost always an edited, re-arranged or expanded version of existing text. It might also use more bulleted points, fewer or more graphics, or incorporate more “linked” text.

12. Avoid clichés If you must use them, at least try to be more specific. For example, instead of saying “for all your printing needs at the lowest prices” say “10% off all orders over $500 until August 31.” Leave the clichés to the big-box discount chains (like Bad Boy). If you don’t, do you know who’ll eventually read your material? “Nooooobody!”

13. Emphasize client benefits, not device features

20. Ask for discounts

Congratulations to the printing industry for being superb at this. Again, instead of saying “we have a new digital press” say (to trade printers) “higher mark-ups, offset quality and great turnaround” and (to consumers) “vibrant colour, faster service, lower prices.”

Offer continuous work in return for lower fees. You’ll not only save money, the ongoing work will force a writer to learn more about your company in order to be proficient. After a while, a writer who actually cares about your business should then be able to offer bold new marketing ideas – not just produce text. If they don’t, then they don’t really care. They’ll simply take your money and run.

14. Talk slightly above your audience The worst strategy is to talk down to a reader and insult his or her intelligence. If you’re trying to score points with potential clients, try this (but be careful): Talk slightly above their heads. This should flatter them and give them a sense that they can learn from you – even if they don’t fully understand what you’re talking about. But never talk too far above their heads. Either you’ll frustrate readers or they’ll think you’re arrogant.

21. Don’t pay for corrections Before you pay a dime, ask about author’s corrections. You’re entitled to at least one set at no extra charge (but ask for 2). If you need more, the writer has a hearing problem.

22. Disregard “I’m the best” Any time I hear that coming from a writer, I think of trash-talking basketball players. Dismiss it as such, ask for actual samples of previous work and always check references. Oh, and you might want to remind the writer that the most revealing letters in the word “best” are “B” and “S”!

15. Get into SEO writing SEO (Search Engine Optimized) text is designed to put you on the first page when people use the internet to search for (Google) a product or service. You should appear in the first 3 pages or you’re wasting your time. For example, Google “Toronto printers.” The 2 or 3 at the top of page 1 (usually with a light-coloured background) have paid dearly for this positioning. The others on page 1 have wisely written text with keywords inserted so that internet search engines seek them out first when users type in “Toronto printers.” Get a good SEO writer or risk losing business, lots of business.

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

Tony Curcio ajg.curcio@gmail.com

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Your perfect connection to the printingwww.graphicartsmag.com and graphic arts industry

Tim Mitra

Te c h n o l o g y

Syncing contacts in the Cloud Q. I have thousands of contacts in my MobileMe account, and I am having trouble editing them. If I edit them on my iPhone, iPad or my Mac the old contact records keep coming back. How can I edit them and stop the duplicate address?

restore the records you can replace the entire Address Book from this file. Now you can connect your Mac with the master Address Book to MobileMe. Again using the System Preferences, you should connect to your account. Once you reconnect to MobileMe, the service will notice that the records have changed and you will be asked how to sync the records. Do not choose “Merge Records” or you will restore the incorrect mix of records. Instead, choose to “Replace the Records on MobileMe.” (You did remember to create the archive I mentioned earlier, didn’t you?) This will delete the files on MobileMe’s online and replace them with those on your Mac. Be patient; this will take a few minutes.

A. One of the great things about MobileMe, Exchange, Kerio and Apple’s new iCloud is that you can sync your contacts and calendars between your Macs, iPhones, iPads and even with a PC. By using cardDav, calDev, Active Sync or Exchange, the online account is the central point that connects the devices regularly throughout the day. (We’ll refer to them as MobileMe to keep this simple.) The problem you’ve encountered is that while you can add new addresses, removing old ones can be a problem because they may come back when the other devices with the incorrect contacts sync back.

If you have more than one Mac, you can choose to replace the contacts on the second Mac by restoring them with the archive we made earlier. After you have checked that the contacts match on MobileMe and your master Mac, you can reconnect the second Mac. If you chose not to restore from the archive, you should carefully choose to replace the contacts on the Mac with the contacts on MobileMe.

Your best plan of action is to choose one device that you will edit as the master Address Book while it is not connected to MobileMe. Once it’s cleaned up, sync it with MobileMe and replace the data, then reset the synced data on your other device. That way you’ll stop the old records from coming back the next time MobileMe syncs. MobileMe is set up to ask for confirmation when a certain percentage of records are different.

Before you reconnect your iPhone to MobileMe, you should choose to remove the contacts. This is done by setting the Address Book syncing to “off”. This is done by choosing the MobileMe account in Mail, Contacts, Calendar view of the Settings app. When you set the switch to off, the app will ask what to do with the existing contacts. Since you have a more reliable set on MobileMe, you can choose to not Merge with MobileMe and then to delete the contacts. You will be asked to confirm the decision to delete.

To begin editing the master list, disconnect all of your devices from MobileMe by signing out from System Preferences (or the MobileMe control panel on Windows). You can also disconnect your iPhones (iPads and iPods) from MobileMe. When you first switch off Address Book syncing on the iPhone, you will be asked what you’d like to do with the existingt contacts; either “Merge with MobileMe” or not. Since you are going to replace these eventually you should choose not to merge them. If you do, choose to “Keep the Records” on your device – we will fix them up later.

After a few seconds your contacts on the iPhone will be cleared of contacts. You can confirm this by opening the Contacts app. Go back to the MobileMe account and set the sync switch to “on”. In a few minutes or so your iPhone will sync with MobileMe and the cleaned contacts will be on your iPhone as well.

Choose one computer to edit the records in your Address Book while you’re not connected to a network. Once you have completed editing your contacts it would be wise to back up by creating an Address Book archive file (From the File menu choose Export and then Address Book Archive). It should go without saying that you should back up the information on your Macs and sync you iPhones with iTunes before you start. Later if there’s a problem and you need to

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

A. Timothy Mitra, BFA Application Developer and iT Guy iT Guy Technologies www.it-guy.com

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July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

Your perfect connection to the printing and graphic arts industry

Peter Dulis

Te c h n o l o g y

3D printer makes organs for transplant

In January 2011, we reported on the rapid growth of 3D design technology in product development and online consumer 3D print services, and the growing adoption of 3D software in architecture, interior design and manufacturing, resulting in a strong demand for 3D printers to produce these prototypes.

find in my previous articles. Current 3D printers used in building prototype models deposit droplets of polymer which fuse together to form a structure. With each pass of the printing heads, the base on which the object is being made moves down a notch. In this way, little by little, the object takes shape. Voids in the structure and complex shapes are supported by printing a “scaffold” of water-soluble material. Once the object is complete, the scaffold is washed away.

As of lately, we have had some more exciting announcements from Anthony Atala, M.D., who is a professor and director at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

Though printing organs is new, growing them from scratch on scaffolds has already been done successfully (see May 2010 issue of GAM). In 2006, Anthony Atala and his colleagues at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in North Carolina made new bladders for seven patients. These are still working today in these patients.

In the near future, patients who need a kidney or heart transplant may be able to get a new organ designed and manufactured just for them. This work is extremely important due to shortages in the organ-donor program. The number of patients needing organ transplants has doubled in the last 10 years. Soon, it may be possible to custom-print a new organ, layer by layer, using a 3D organ inkjet printer.

The advantage of using a bio-printer is that it eliminates the need for a scaffold. The Organovo machine uses stem cells extracted from adult bone marrow and fat as the precursors. These cells can be coaxed into differentiating into many other types of cells by the application of appropriate growth factors. The cells are formed into droplets 100-500 microns in diameter and containing 10,000 – 30,000 cells each. The droplets retain their shape well and pass easily through the inkjet printing process.

“Instead of using ink in the inkjet cartridge, we use cells,” says Dr. Anthony Atala. Yet, the possibility of transplanting such organs is still years away. But researchers have already used printers to build quarter-sized two-chamber hearts, Atala told CBC Radio’s Quirks & Quarks. They spontaneously start beating about four to six hours later. “All the cells in your body are already pre-programmed,” Atala said. “There’s a genetic code within all your cells that drives them to do what they are supposed to do if you place them in the right environment.”

A second printing head is used to deposit scaffolding—a sugar-based hydrogel. This does not interfere with the cells or stick to them. Once the printing is complete, the structure is left for a day or two, to allow the droplets to fuse together. For tubular structures, such as blood vessels, the hydrogel is printed in the center and around the outside of the ring of each cross-section before the cells are added. When the part has matured, the hydrogel is peeled away from the outside and pulled from the center like a piece of string.

Researchers have already taken advantage of that programming to build and implant simpler organs like urethras and bladders. They layer the appropriate types of cells from the patient’s own body on a dissolvable scaffold. After implantation, the cells mature inside the body, connecting to blood vessels and nerves.

Invetech has developed a laser-based calibration system to ensure that both print heads deposit their materials accurately, and a computer-graphics system allows cross-sections of body parts to be designed.

In an interview with Quirks & Quarks host Bob McDonald, Atala describes the state of technology to engineer human organs and how it works. Those who might be interested to learn more can see this live interview with Atala on www.ted. com. Simply look for Atala on the search button.

Some researchers think 3D organ printers like this may one day be capable of printing tissues and organs directly into the body. Indeed, Dr. Atala is working on one that would scan the contours of the part of a body where a skin graft was needed and then print skin onto it. We wish them all the best of luck in their research.

How does this 3D Organ Printer Work?

These new printers have already been developed by a couple of companies, Organovo, a company in San Diego that specializes in regenerative medicine; and Invetech, an engineering and automation firm in Melbourne, Australia.

Peter Dulis Wide Format Printing Specialist Canon Canada pdulis@rogers.com

Organovo’s 3D bio-printer works in a similar way to some rapid-prototyping machines used in industry, of which you can

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

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or call 1 -877-513-3999 July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

Your perfect connection to the printing and graphic arts industry

Kristen Read

Te c h n o l o g y

Google+

...A plus for small businesses? If you weren’t already overwhelmed with the number of online networking platforms floating around on the Web, Google has just launched a new social media tool called Google+. In hopes of competing with Facebook (after previous attempts at social networking by Google have gone the way of the Dodo) this service is looking like it might actually stick around. Though it is still in its early days and not everyone has access yet, the positive buzz around Google+ can’t be ignored. Many professionals have chosen to keep their Facebook profiles strictly for their personal life, and use LinkedIn for business networking. The new G+ seems like it might offer the best of both worlds. Your Google+ network is organized into circles: family, friends, business, and so on. Users can easily segment their business activity from their personal life (like the ‘group’ feature on Facebook, but simpler). Which circle you select also determines whose updates appear in your news feed. Business users can take the G+ “circles” concept a step further. Imagine setting up specific circles for existing clients, leads, suppliers, and other professional contacts. Content can be shared based on the interests of each circle, giving more value to the information you provide a specific group.

facilitate webinars, group presentation development and group sharing of content.” [Michael Fauscette, mfauscette. com]

Why should small businesses pay attention? It is rumoured that Google+ will change the way search engine results are produced. Among other things, factors like keywords and links are currently used to determine which websites come up first. Now that Google+ is being thrown into the mix, social media will reportedly become one of the key influences in a website’s search engine ranking.

“If Google can persuade users to come back every day, it has a winner. But the company will have to do even more to provide a truly compelling alternative to Facebook. At the moment, Google+ cannot compete with the king of social, but Google doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to take on Mark Zuckerberg’s giant quite yet.” [Ben Parr, Mashable.com] While it’s doubtful that Facebook users will suddenly jump ship to Google+, the new social networking platform is expected by many to be an additional avenue for consumers and companies to share content and connect with others. Those who have gotten an early invitation to play around in Google+ have found it easy to understand and use. It will likely become a useful tool for entrepreneurs and small businesses to enhance their online presence.

Have you noticed the small +1 button next to the websites that come up in your Google searches yet? This is a way that users can “Like” (to use a familiar Facebook term) websites, boosting their popularity. URLs that you’ve given a +1 will appear in a section on your profile. Businesses are already adopting the +1 button on their websites. Another tool: online “hangouts” let users meet up with contacts in a chat room. This could be useful for business meetings and connecting with remote employees or customers. Up to 10 users with webcams can collaborate in a video hangout (which some say is apparently better than Skype).

Business profiles don’t exist yet on Google+, but keep your eyes peeled — because they’re coming soon. In the meantime, why not learn a little more about Google+? Read up on some of the other features like Sparks and Huddles. It’s not a bad idea to start thinking about a strategy that your company can use to make the most out of this new social networking tool. When it becomes available, you will be one of the first on the scene, setting your company apart from the rest.

What are people saying about it so far? “If Google+ provides an advantage to communicators over other social channels, it’s the ability to reach a well-defined, targeted audience.” [Shel Holtz, socialmediatoday.com]

Kristen Read kread@graphicartsmag.com

“If Google rolls out deep integration with Google Apps then the collaboration story gets even stronger. Group/team workflow inside docs or spreadsheets would be even more useful than it is today. The addition of video to that mix adds to that. The addition of support for presentations could

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

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July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

Your perfect connection to the printing and graphic arts industry

Kelley Robertson

Sales

14 signs

that you’re a sales zombie

9 10 11

A recent editor’s note in a sleep products magazine discussed how many people suffer from poor sleep and the editor referred to these individuals as zombies. Instantly, I thought of dozens of salespeople I have encountered over the years who could be classified as zombies, too.

You don’t clarify objections. You’ve been selling so long that you “know” what someone means when they say, “you’re too expensive” or “let me think about it.” As a result, you just plunge ahead and rebut the objection hoping that you will overcome it.

Here are 14 signs that you might be turning into a sales zombie.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

You no longer ask high-value qualifying questions. Asking questions takes too long and you’d rather spend your time talking about your product so let’s not waste time. Besides, prospects won’t tell you the truth anyway, so it’s better just to move past this step.

You believe that sales is a numbers game. The more doors you knock on and the more calls you make, the more sales you make. While this may be true, your time is valuable and you can invest more effectively. Focus on talking to high-value prospect instead of pitching to anyone who will listen.

You launch into your sales pitch as quickly as possible. Telling is selling and if you’re not talking about your product, you will lose the sale.

You make quick assumptions about your customers and prospects. “They said no last time so I won’t call them today” or “They can’t afford our product.” Assumptions are deal killers and you need to avoid them. You use the same sales pitch with every customer. You have refined your pitch so why should you change it? It’s been working just fine and besides no one has complained. Plus, you’re closing about 20 percent of your sales opportunities.

13 14

You frequently refer to the “good old days.” Nothing like the good old days when you could take a prospect out for lunch and close a deal over a few beers. Or, you could make a few calls and reach your quota. Times have changed but you haven’t. You don’t seek clarification. Prospects and customer don’t always clearly articulate their thoughts, but that doesn’t matter because you understand everything they say anyway.

You believe that research is for scientists. Who has time to research every prospect? You don’t need to understand their business challenges or how changes are occurring in their company in order to close a deal. It’s just as effective to show up or make that call and pitch your latest solution (see point 8).

You think that price is a buying motivator. Let’s face it; most buying decisions are made based on the price of a product or service. People don’t care about value so let’s just offer a discount and move on. You think that social media is just a fad. Who needs to blog, podcast, or produce webinars or create a business presence on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or other social media sites? Besides, I don’t have time to engage in this social chit-chat; I’d rather make cold calls and appointments.

If you want to succeed in today’s sales environment and increase your sales, it’s critical that you avoid becoming one of these sales zombies!

You don’t listen for underlying clues. Many people say one thing, but mean something else. If you’re not listening for those nuances and underlying clues, you are missing sales opportunities. You pitch your most popular/current product. We’ve all been there. The latest product with all the bells and whistles has finally been released, so let’s suggest that product to all of our prospects and customers even though it may not be appropriate. At least they’ll know about it, right?

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

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Your perfect connection to the printing and graphic arts industry

Diana Brown

Product Profile

Product Profile 3M Scotchprint Wrap Film Series 1080

This month’s topic: Substrates Epson’s Proofing Media for the Packaging Industry

Automation is the process of using technology to make repetitive tasks easier and to reduce human intervention to a minimum. Increased technological advancements enable enhanced levels of productivity in our everyday lives, from automated home appliances to alarm clocks that wake us up when we want, to cars that automatically regulate the internal temperature of the vehicle. We all experience automation daily in our personal lives, and we can also experience automation in our printing lives, too. From frontend processes, to the pressroom floor, to bindery and post-bindery, the automated options for our industry are growing at a steady pace.

With the capabilities of GMGColor’s proofing software and the power of the Epson Stylus Pro WT7900, a new innovation in packaging prototyping and proofing has been born. This Epson Stylus Pro WT7900 is a white ink printer, which allows a white base to be printed on transparent film or metal foil. Paired with this base layer, the printer’s extended gamut can reproduce 98 percent of the Pantone GOE colours to accurately create an example of the finished product much faster and less costly than traditional press proofing methods. The time and cost savings, as well as increased consistency achieved using this system, are revolutionary for packaging designers and printers alike.

Paper and plastic and film, oh my! Paper and plastic and film, oh my! There are no tin men or ruby red slippers in this story, but there is a discussion about new proofing material that mimics printing on tin, as well as adhesive film options for the store window where they sell ruby red slippers. This month’s discussion of substrates will focus on Epson’s line of proofing media, as well as unique adhesive options in 3M’s line of commercial Graphic Solutions substrates.

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

The proofing media for the Epson Stylus Pro WT7900 includes: CrystalClear Film, ClearProof Film, ClearProof Thin Film, ClearProof Adhesive Film and MetallicProof Silver Film. All substrates are available in 17-inch and 24-inch roll widths.

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Sherbrand Industries

Tel: (519) 621-1729 • 866-621-1729 • Fax: (519) 621-1936 E-mail: sherbrand@rogers.com • www.sherbrand.ca

WE NEED USED EQUIPMENT - PRESSES, BINDERY, CONVERTING, ETC

SHEET FED PRESSES 1997 ROLAND 300, SERIAL NO: NR26969B 325 SERIES, 53 MILLIONS IMPRESSIONS HEIDELBERG SM 72- 4 COLORS,1991, 130 MILLIONS IMPRESSIONS AND PERFECTOR 1985 HEIDELBERG GTO 52 5 COLOR, COATER, EPIC DAMPENING, ONLY 38 MILLION IMPRESSIONS, DIAMOND GRIPPERS ON ALL UNITS, 2000 HEIDELBERG QMDI46-4+, 3+ MILLION IMP, AIRTECH DRYER, PDR SPRAY, HARLEQUIN RIP 1994 RYOBI 3302, 2 COLOR, CRESTLINE DAMPS, POWDER SPRAY, UV, SUPER BLUE 1997 AB DICK CENTURY 3500 OFFSET PRESS, 1 COLOR, BROWN, ALCOHOL DAMPENING, CHILLER, CHAIN DELIVERY, VERY GOOD CONDITION AB DICK 9810 OFFSET PRESS, 1 COLOR, BROWN, CHAIN DELIVERY, ALCOHOL DAMPENING, 13-1/2" X 17-3/4", T-HEAD ALSO AVAILABLE WEB & FLEXO PRESS KOMORI-CHAMBON 8C ROTOGRAVURE PRESS # 3 (1994-98) 8 UNIT PRESS, 28” APECO WEB O PRESS16 UNIT PRESS, 16” DIDDE/ TANDEMERE MODEL# 176-597 14"W. 8 1/2 TO 17" CUTOFF, ROLL TO SHEET MARK ANDY 820, 7”, 3 COLOR, FLEXO PRESS CUTTERS 2000 LAWSON 60" MPU CUTTER ,LAWSON COMPUTER, DOUBLE END PULL 1986 LAWSON MODEL MPU100, 70" GUILLOTINE CUTTER, WITH LAWSON DIGITAL SPACER; 85” SEYBOLD HYDRAULIC GUILLOTINE CUTTER, MICROCUT COMPUTER, AIR TABLES 1987 LAWSON 87: CUTTER, MICROCUT COMPUTER 100” SEYBOLD CUTTER, MICROCUT COMPUTER 2000 LAWSON 110 ‘ MILL TRIMMER (CUTTER), LAWSON MCC COMPUTER, SAFETY LIGHTS, BINDERY 1989 NORMBINDER BINDER NB2,20 CLAMPS, 24 STATIONS, 3670 THREE KNIFE TRIMMER, 1504 ASTRO STACKER, 3 PUMPS 1997 MULLER MARTIN PRESTO STITCHER, 4 POCKETS, COVER FEEDER, TRIMMER, BELT DELIVERY, 10+ HRS 2005 BOURG COLLATOR 2 10 BIN TOWERS,STITCHER, FOLDER, SHEETER, STITCHER, FOLDER, SHEETER STAHL FOLDER , 20” W/ R ANGLE, KNIFE FOLD UNIT SULBY VACUUMATIC PAPER COUNTER 2000 DIGICOIL 4.25 X 5” X 14.5” X 12”, COIL AND PUNCH BELL & HOWELL INSERTERS, 4 POCKET

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

DIE CUTTERS HEIDELBERG 10 X 15 WINDMILL HEIDELBERG 10 X 15 WINDMILL W/ FOIL 1981 HEIDELBERG GTP 68,000 13X18 FOILSTAMPER HEIDELBERG 28” CYLINDER DIE CUTTER HEIDELBERG SBG CYLINDER DIE CUTTER 22” X 30” 1996 BLUMER PB-18-1 LABEL HIGH DIE CUTTER, FEEDER, BELT CONVEYOR DELIVERY, COMPUTERIZED 1974 BOBST SP 1080E, 28” X 40”, 32 CHASES,2 PLATES, 1978 BOBST 102E, 2 CHASES, 2 PLATES,NICE MACHINE 1994 GEITZ FSA 7905, 2 DRAW FOILER, DIE CUTTER CHASE & PLATE NON STOP FEEDER & DELIVERY, 2 HONEYCOMBS 2005 BRAUSSE CLAM SHELL DIE CUTTER 50” X 60” 1994THOMSON 29”X 41”, CLAM SHELL DIE CUTTER THOMSON 28” X 41” CLAM SHELL DIE CUTTER KENSOL HOT STAMPER #K36F3 SHEETERS & SLITTERS 1977 MAXSON MSH/600 SHEETER, MAXSON DUAL MOTER DRIVE SYSTEM (RETROFITTED IN 2000) 72” ROLL DIA. 2 ( TWO) G. MARTIN SHAFTLESS SELF LOADING ROLL STANDS, DUAL AIR DISC BRAKES (RETROFITTED 2002), PROPORTIONAL AUTOMATIC TENSION CONTROL (RETROFITTED 2002) MAXSON WEB CONDITIONING UNIT BECK 45 SHEETER, W/ LAYBOY DELIVERY 1998 JAGENBERG SYNCHRO-SPRINT 65” SHEETER, 2 SHAFTLESS UNWIND STAND, SLITTING, 2000 CONTECH 80” SHEETER W/SHAFTLESS ROLL STAND KOLBUS SLITTER 55” #KS702 WESTERN GRAPHIC SLITTER 59” PRE-PRESS HEIDELBERG PROSETTER 52. HEIDELBERG'S VIOLET CTP DEVICE. THE PROSETTER COMES WITH A 30MW LASER CAPABLE OF IMAGING SILVER HALIDE AND PHOTOPOYMER VIOLET PLATES @ 20PPH. IT IS ALSO FIELD UPGRADEABLE TO A PROSETTER 74." HEIDELBERG DELTA WORKFLOW INCLUDING P/S LEVEL 3 RIP, ROOM SOLUTION, SCREENING TOWER, IBM PC SERVER AND COLOUR MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE. HP 5000 INKJET PROOFING/ POSTER PRINTER

Your perfect connection to the printing and graphic arts industry

Diana Brown

Product Profile

out the remorse)! The adhesive films are ready for use out of the box and can be applied to a number of surfaces on the vehicle. There is a series of matte options, as well as brushed metallic finishes and carbon fiber patterns. The film is 60-inches wide, therefore entire sections of the car can be covered without the need for seams. The film is pressure activated so it can be repositioned until it is just right. 3M’s non-visible air release channels, paired with firm pressure, ensure a smooth and consistent application.

Epson Stylus Pro WT7900

3M Scotchcal Clear View 8150 Graphic Film This removable transparent film allows for unparalleled printing on a film substrate, as the unprinted areas remain vividly clear (cast PVC film). Therefore, there is no need for contour cutting around images in order to see through the non-printed areas when adhered to glass. This naturally allows for a wide array of applications, such as retail window displays, mobile displays and informational signs. It is compatible with all digital and screenprinting systems, which further broadens the scope of this product. It can be used on both indoor and outdoor applications (durability of seven years outdoors), and as 3M articulates, this technology “opens up new possibilities for the future – in architecture, shop design or advertising on vehicles.” Special effects like frosted glass can be achieved by printing white ink. It is also possible to print a hole matrix pattern and apply it to the entire vehicle, where one-way vision is achieved without having to perforate the film.

Epson CrystalClear Film: An optically clear polyester film that is 114 microns thick with a gloss finish. It has 11 percent opacity and can accept all colours in any print order (“colour on white” or “white on colour”). It has a “five-minute dry time with amazing image quality,” according to Epson.

All of these products from Epson and 3M expand the current capabilities of how, what and where we imagine, design and print products. Substrates with increased functionality and flexibility, like those described here, provide an excellent foundation for the continued growth of packing and promotional printing.

Epson ClearProof Film: An optically clear PET film that is 120 microns thick with a gloss finish. It is very similar to Epson’s CrystalClear Film except that it is described by Epson as “instant dry with extreme image quality.” Epson ClearProof Thin Film: This substrate has the same properties as the ClearProof film, but 70 microns thick. Epson ClearProof Adhesive Film: This substrate has the same properties as the ClearProof film, but with an adhesive backing. MetallicProof Silver Film: A high-gloss silver metallic PET film that is 150 microns thick and enables production of contract proofs with metallic effects. Projects such as flexible packaging, labels and other related products can be simulated by printing either “colour on white” or “white on colour.” If the ink is applied directly to the silver film, metallic colours will be achieved. This substrate is fast drying due to its specially designed coating.

3M’s Commercial Graphic Solutions Film Products

3M is known for ‘bringing sticky back.’ From Post-it notes to Scotch tape to Nexcare adhesive bandages, 3M has a long history of “sticking” their ideas and products all over the world. They are viewed as leaders and innovators in this industry because of their long history of originality, and the two products outlined below are no exception.

3M Scotchcal Clear View 8150 Graphic Film

3M Scotchprint Wrap Film Series 1080

Diana Brown is the Owner of ON-SITE First Aid & CPR Training Group, a health & safety company who provides training to the Graphic Arts industry. diana@onsitefirstaid.ca

This 3M product is a unique solution for customers who are looking to customize their vehicle in a non-permanent way. We have semi-permanent hair dye and temporary tattoos, and we can now demonstrate the same creativity with our cars (with-

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

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Canadian Printing Equipment Ph.1 (800) 665-7450 www.canprintequip.ca July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

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SIZES STYLES - OVER 200 DIES LOTS OF STYLES ANDLOTS SIZESOF - AS FEWAND AS 250, FROM 1- 4 COLOURS AS FEW AS 250 IN 1 TO 4 COLOURS WE CARRY BLANK FOLDERS IN STOCK IN WHITE AND 10 SOLID WE STOCK FOLDERS IN WHITES AND COLOURS FOR FOIL EMBOSSING OR LETTER PRESS IMPRINTING 10 SOLID COLOURS, PERFECT FOR FOIL STAMPING IF IT’S NOT IN STOCK, WE CAN MAKE THEM UP FOR YOU IF IT’S NOT IN STOCK, WE CAN MAKE THEM UP FOR YOU CALL OR OR FAX FAX FOR FOR TRADE TRADE PRICE PRICE LIST LIST & CALL & SAMPLES SAMPLES

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July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

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Classified FINE ART INK FOR EPSON Very high quality pigmented fine art ink for Epson Up to 12 colours, archival quality made by a master Symphonic Inks, from A.I.C. inks@scan11.com www.scan11.com

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MBO FOLDER T-67, complete with right angle and delivery , refurbished complete, new belts and new compressor. also 1999 STAHL T-36 folder complete with continuous feeder excellent condition. MBO T-49 pile feeder complete with right angle and mbo stacker , batch counter. Phone: 416-580-0185

ADVERTISE WITH US Best deal in print. Only $40 for 25 words in our classifieds pages. Call 877-513-3999 or email classified@graphicartsmag.com

CLEAR PLASTIC BUSINESS CARDS Special bulk print rates. 4 over 4 plus white! On clear or frosted plastic 85.5mm x 54mm x 0.76mm Samples available http://plasticbusinesscards.ca or call Paul at 416-693-8530

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Tel: (905) 889-2634 July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

Your perfect connection to the printing and graphic arts industry

Martin Habekost

Te c h n o l o g y

s c i t s opla end

Bioplastics are an emerging and growing trend in the packaging industry. But before these plastics are discussed in more detail one needs to know what bioplastics are. Bioplastics are plastics that are based on raw materials from renewable sources and that they can be recycled through composting. Most of us have come in contact with a bioplastic in the form of the liner bag for the kitchen garbage that goes into the green bin for curb-side collection. The first time I came in contact with this type of plastic I realized that it felt different from the known plastics. This is quite understandable since bioplastics are made from a different type of polymer than the plastics that are based on petrochemicals.

One company showed many different items that were made from bioplastics and they include clear or coloured drinking cups, cutlery, food plates and small boxes for transporting takeout food. These items looked like the ones based on petrochemicals, but in contrast to the current products they are fully compostable. One company handed out candy bags that were also made from a compostable bag, but the bag looked and felt like one made from petrochemicals. A few multinational plastic and ink manufacturing companies were behind this product to showcase what is already possible today. A large multinational dairy company announced that they will be using yoghurt cups made from bioplasctic as they handed out filled yoghurt cups together with a compostable spoon. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s see how long it will take for these products to hit the Canadian market.

Bioplastics are made from starch which is derived from potato peels and corn husk and from polylactic acid (PLA), which is obtained from the same type of raw material source. The raw materials for bioplastics are not specifically grown for this purpose, but rather the leftovers from corn and potato processing are used to manufacture these new plastic materials. This means that no agricultural area is taken out of the food chain to grow the raw material base for bioplastics.

Bioplastics are manufactured by companies in Germany and Asia. Large and well-known chemical companies are going into the manufacturing of bioplastics and they presented their line of products at the Interpack trade show. Everyday plastic products based on bioplastics will start to replace their petrochemical cousins. Soon one will be able to throw the yoghurt cup and other items made from bioplastics into the green bin, knowing very well that they will decompose and transform into soil that can be used in anyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s garden. Plastic products will lose their stigma of being wasteful once they are replaced by biodegradeable ones.

Starch and polylactic acid can be mixed and together with a now available biodegradable polyethylene can form a variety of foils and packaging items. Manufacturers of these materials are striving to get the products certified for use in industrial composting facilities. In order to achieve this certification the product needs to fully decompose within 90 days in an industrial composting facility. This means the bioplastic is really decomposing and not breaking up into smaller particles, like oxo-degradable plastics, which are not visible anymore, but the plastic is still there; only the particles are quite small and therefore not visible.

The only difficulty at this point in time is, that the consumer needs to pay very good attention to what type of plastic he or she holds in his/her hands and puts them in the proper recycling bin. Bioplastics should be thrown into the green bin and other plastics into the blue bin. When more bioplastic-based items come onto the market it might be a good idea to have manufacturers put a well identifiable logo onto bioplastics so the consumer knows that this item can be thrown into the green bin.

During the InterPack trade show in May 2011 there was a special exhibition in regards to bioplastics. Manufacturers of the resins used for manufacturing bioplastic-based materials were present, as well as distributors and manufacturers of items made from these materials. This starts with the compostable bag for kitchen garbage and the compostable shopping bag. A compostable shopping bag can be used many times and does not rot as soon as it comes in contact with food and moisture. The decomposing only takes place in the composting facility.

July / August 2011 | Graphic Arts Magazine

ing g r e em

Dr. Martin Habekost is an assistant professor at the School of Graphic Communications Management, Ryerson University. He teaches off set print technology. Martin has worked in the ink industry in Germany and Canada for 10 years and has a degree in chemistry. He can be reached at mhabekos@ryerson.ca

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World of Paper... is just a phone call away. SNZ Trading Inc. is the fastest growing paper distribution company in Canada. Established in 2005, our unprecedented growth from a mere 3,600 sq. ft. to a more than 40,000 sq. ft. facility in ve short years can be attributed to our customers’ loyalty and our high standard of customer service. At SNZ, we ensure your performance expectations are met and exceeded, and it is our commitment to help our customers succeed in their businesses. Today, we stock all substance and size of paper and cover including coated two-side gloss and silk, offset paper and copy paper. We can also supply SBS, CCNB, Security Paper for Bank Notes, Passport, Cheques, Bank Drafts, Metalized Paper and Board, Cigarette Tipping Paper, Carbonless Paper and Hot Stamping Foil.

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Ofce: (905) 370-1197 Fax: (416) 987-1997 Email: siraj@paperforbusiness.com 61 Rayette Road, Concord ON, L4K2E8