February 2012

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Exploring the Sina System The Meshkati family navigates within the hyper-competitive Toronto trade printing market with a new 50,000-square-foot plant

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drupa Spotlight: Production inkjet presses In the second article of a series designed to examine technology trends leading up to drupa 2012, PrintAction focuses on continuous inkjet and the arrival of cut-sheet inkjet

Print

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NEWS Langley Holdings invests in manroland sheetfed, Jeff Jacobson joins Xerox, and the industry remembers Doug Holmes of The Finishing House

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CALENDAR March 2012 Newspaper publishers arrive in Berlin, ryeTAGA heads to Jacksonville for TAGA, and some 2,000 Dscoop members arrive in Washington

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CLOUD The Little Printer An intriguing concept from London which attempts to reaffirm print’s beauty and relevance in today’s personalized age

Digital Printing

Features

Data Services & List Management

CONTENTS Volume 51, Number 2

e-tools

Variable Imaging

Columns

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TRISH WITKOWSKI Adventures in Calgary for International Print Week North America’s folding fanatic braves -28 degree weather to reinvigorate printing passion with students and professionals

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ZAC BOLAN Fear and Loathing in Gadget-Land Searching for emerging technology trends at CES, which has already started to shift away from last year’s bonanza of e-readers and tablets

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PETER EBNER Stop Making Complete Presentations Printing’s sales-training expert works through a Slick scenario to illustrate how you can convince prospects to make another appointment

Archive

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February 1992 Tiger Woods joins the PGA tour at age 16, Jeffrey Dahmer is brought to justice, and women in print continue to face the glass ceiling

Resources 19 Services to the Trade Cover Photo: Clive Chan

29 Marketplace

www.andrewsdm.com tel: 416.798.7557 email: info@andrewsdm.com 226 Industrial Parkway North, Aurora, ON Est. 1951 FEBRUARY 2012 • PRINTACTION • 3

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PERSPECTIVE

Training Printers in the West fter its strong introduction in March 2008, based largely on a Federal government investment of over $1.4 million, NorQuest College has decided to shift its printing Aprogram from a 2-year diploma curriculum into a yearlong certificate. According to

your link to print

officials, the move is largely based on a need to first build more awareness for the printing program, and to take advantage of NorQuest’s existing student body.

Over the past four years, however, NorQuest’s Centre for Excellence in Print Media (CEPM) in Edmonton has also served as a training facility for printing professionals in Western Canada. This proved to be an important initiative for the region, which has lacked an abundance of professional training options, and the CEPM continues to build on its engagement with the industry. This March, NorQuest will begin a tour of at least five Western cities to help small- and medium-sized printers engage in lean manufacturing.

A large part of NorQuest’s success with industry training is based on its ability to secure government funding from various levels, largely organized through CEPM principal Josh Ramsbottom, which allows the school to provide high-end training programs at a minimal cost. This will again be the case for its upcoming lean-manufacturing tour, kicking off on March 16 in Edmonton, followed by a March 19 date in Calgary, March 22 in Regina, April 20 in Winnipeg, as well as a potential April event in Vancouver.

Based on $77,500 in new funding from the National Research Council Canada, CEPM is able to charge printers just $79 (including breakfast and lunch) to attend these workshops, which are designed to show Josh Ramsbottom. an average commercial printer three key steps they can easily implement with little to no cost to their company. The workshops are to be cohosted by Cal-Poly State professor Dr. Ken Macro and Ramsbottom.

Macro, who previously spent two months with NorQuest’s printing program as a visiting professor, co-authored the book Lean Printing: Pathways to Success. “I am excited to take the lean message out to printers throughout Western Canada,” says Macro. “What differentiates this program from others is that we will provide participants with tangible tools and takeaways they can execute at their plants immediately.

It is a terrific opportunity for NorQuest and the graphic communications industry.”

As part of the program, CEPM is providing three to four companies with the opportunity to participate in a focused 3-day Lean Implementation Planning session.

Jon Robinson, Editor

one world – one drupa may 3 – 16, 2012 düsseldorf, germany www.drupa.com

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Editor Jon Robinson • 416.665.7333 ext. 30 • jon@printaction.com Associate Editor Clive Chan • 416.665.7333 ext. 25 • clive@printaction.com Contributing Writers Zac Bolan, Clint Bolte, Peter Ebner, Chris Fraser, Victoria Gaitskell, James Harvey, Nick Howard, Thad McIlroy, Gordon Pritchard, Josh Ramsbottom, Nicole Rycroft, Andrew Tribute, Trish Witkowski Publisher Sara Young • 416.665.7333 ext. 31 • sara@printaction.com Associate Publisher Stephen Longmire • 416.665.7333 ext. 26 • stephen@printaction.com Production Manager Anders Kohler • 416.665.7333 ext. 37 • anders@printaction.com Intern Tiffany Kay Garcia • 416.665.7333 ext. 34 • tiffany@printaction.com Advertising Sales Sara Young • 416.665.7333 ext. 31 • sara@printaction.com Stephen Longmire • 416.665.7333 ext. 26 • stephen@printaction.com Circulation ADPIC Subscription Services • 800.363.3261 • subscriptions@printaction.com PrintAction is published by Youngblood Publishing Limited and is Canada’s only national monthly publication serving the graphic arts industry. ISSN 1481-9287.

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LET’S EXPLODE SOME MYTHS

ABOUT THE PRICE OF KOMORI PRESSES Some people think KOMORI presses are expensive - as much as 20% more than the competitive makes. It just isn’t true.

Most KOMORI models are within the range of other makes. Some even closer than that. It just happens that our presses have more features, perform better and look as though they cost a lot. But, when it comes down to price, they don’t.

For example, we’ve unleashed the new GL40 platform machine that matches competitive brands on price and beats them on features.

Next time you’re considering a new press, don’t automatically assume that a KOMORI costs more. Check with K-North. You could end up with the very best press, exclusive features and industry’s lowest operational costs along with a price that surprises you. That’s no myth.

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PRINT NEWS DIGITAL EDGE PRINT of Mississauga is scheduled to become the first operation in Canada to install Fujifilm’s J Press 720, which is a sheetfed inkjet press designed for commercial printing. The J Press, or Jet Press 720 as it is branded in other parts of the world, has also been installed with a Michigan commercial printer, called Gilson Graphics, and at five beta sites in Japan. Digital Edge, which is heavily focused on in-house data capabilities with mailing services, also plans to place a 40JOEL QUADRACCI of U.S. printing giant inch, 6-colour Heidelberg CD press, with Quad/Graphics announced the purchase aqueous coating, on its production floor. of Dallas-based Williamson Printing Fujifilm’s J Press prints at 2,700 sheets per Corporation for an undisclosed sum. hour – on traditional coated and uncoated Williamson is one of the largest com- offset papers – with a maximum sheet size mercial printers in Texas and well known of 20.8 x 29.5 inches. around the printing world for its production quality. The operation will now operate under the QuadWilliamson brand and is to be headed by Jesse Williamson. Williamson Printing currently has over 400 employees generating over US$100 million in annual sales. The company itself has roots spanning back to 1884 when the Dorsey brothers opened a printing company and office supply store, styled as the “Business Man’s Department Store.”

KEVIN EDWARDS becomes a Field Service Technician for the Display Graphics sector of Fujifilm Canada. Edwards, who received a formal education in Electromechanical Engineering, developed his inkjet-oriented service experience while working at Toronto-based Gandi Innovations, which was purchased by Agfa in late-2009. Based in Mississauga, Ontario, Fujifilm Canada, and its Graphic Systems division, has regional offices in Montreal and Vancouver.

SINA BAGHERZADEH oversaw the installation of a new HP Designjet L25500 at Convenience Group’s Toronto location.

For the past 34 years, Convenience Group, which describes itself as architectural and window-film experts, has been establishing its 3M Certified Dealer/Applicator network across the country.

Convenience Group works with a diverse group of clientele in the property, facility and retail management fields, as well as the architectural and interior design community. Convenience Group is often asked to revamp corporate office spaces, which the company describes as work TC MEDIA, formerly Transcontinental well suited for HP’s Latex Ink technology Media, acquired Les Éditions Caractère, a – employed by the Designjet L25500. provider in the supplemental educational publishing market in Quebec. This transXPEDX made a surprise announcement on action, together with the company’s existits Facebook page stating it would cease ing holdings, is to make TC Media the top operating its Stores division, which is in player in the province’s supplemental edcharge of its retail locations serving ucational publishing market. In addition smaller printers, office workers and con- to Les Éditions Caractère’s supplemental sumers. The company also recently collections, which include bestsellers such announced the closure of its Canadian as Toute mon année, Les Incollables, Réussir facilities, blaming the Canadian son examen d’admission au secondaire and economic conditions and stating it will Plus de 30 tests pour réussir, the publishing focus its investments in the U.S. and house has a significant catalogue of genMexican markets. xpedx is an Interna- eral interest books. TC Media will regroup tional Paper company. It launched its Chenelière Éducation, Les Éditions CarCanadian operations in August 2007 and actère, Les Éditions Transcontinental and eventually acquired West Coast distribu- its distribution operations under a new tor Gould Paper in 2009.

Book group, led by Jacques Rochefort.

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CATALYST PAPER of Richmond, British Columbia, filed for bankruptcy protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The CCAA filing indicates that the company plans to restructure, but at press time, Catalyst had not yet determined the terms and conditions of the plan. Catalyst manufactures specialty printing papers, newsprint and pulp, with four mills located in British Columbia and Arizona. The comFRANÇOIS CHICOINE and Line Chamber- pany has a combined annual production land, owners of Imprimerie F.L Chicoine, capacity of 1.9-million tonnes. along with Stan Tranter, Agfa Account Manager for Quebec, celebrate the installation of an Agfa Avalon N16-50S computer-to-plate system into the company’s new F.L. Web division. In February 2011, F.L. Chicoine, traditionally a sheetfedpress printing operation, announced its acquisition of a 4-unit Goss Sunday 2000 web offset press. Founded in 1986, F.L. Chicoine is based in St. Germain-deGrantham, situated mid-way between Montreal and Quebec City. Today, five of the owners’ children are involved with the company, either as managers or JEFF JACOBSON, recently Chairman and CEO of Presstek, has left his position to shareholders. head up Xerox Global Graphic Communications. Jacobson served as Presstek’s President and CEO since 2007 and also became Chairman in 2009. He is being replaced by Stanley Freimuth. Presstek CFO, Jeff Cook, also departed Presstek, taking up the position of Chief Financial Officer at Schweitzer-Mauduit International (SWM), a specialty paper manufacturer which deals with applications such as cigarette paper and hemp straw.

Jacobson’s new role at Xerox will have him lead the company’s worldwide stratMICHAEL KUMMERT, on April 1, 2012, is to egy, operations, product development, become Executive Vice President of Pro- marketing, sales and support of Xerox’ duction for German press maker Koenig production systems. & Bauer AG (KBA). He is to takeover production responsibilities from company President and CEO, Claus BolzaSchünemann, at KBA’s primary sheetfed and web press factories in Radebeul and Würzburg. Kummert (49) was recruited from global roller-bearing manufacturer SKF in Schweinfurt, which he joined in 1990 after earning an engineering degree at the technical university in Karlsruhe, Germany, majoring in production technology. His last appointment with SKF was as head of a new business unit for large and taper roller bearings with a DOUGLAS HOLMES, founder of Markham, Ontario-based Holmes: The Finishing workforce of around 1,000.

House, passed away in January at age 81.

CANADIAN PRINTING EQUIPMENT has been He began his career in 1950 at Brookers named as the distribution and service Trade Bindery before starting up Holmes agent in the provinces of British Colum- Graphic Services in downtown Toronto, bia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba introducing innovative lines of collating for Ferrostaal Equipment Solutions North and wire-O binding. His son, Bob Holmes, America. Ferrostaal is a German-based in- took over the business in 1990, while four dustrial company covering several sectors, of Doug’s five daughters also work in the owned in majority by the International company. Today, The Finishing House Petroleum Investment Company from employs over 130 people running three Abu Dhabi. Founded in 1999, Canadian shifts on a 6-day schedule. “Dad’s most Printing Equipment (CPE) has five years endearing quality was that there was no of experience selling and servicing Ryobi task we could not do, and no job we could presses in Canada, which is to continue not do: ‘So either get on with it or get out’ under its agreement with Ferrostaal – a was his motto,” says Bob Holmes. “He knew how to encourage people to thrive.” worldwide Ryobi distributor.

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colour 64-inch solvent printer and the first to employ Epson’s MicroPiezo TFP print head. Epson’s new MicroPiezo TFP print head delivers droplets as small as 4.2 picolitres and doubles the nozzle density of Epson’s previous solvent printers. The one-inch-wide print head contains 720 nozzles per colour and is capable of printing up to 619 square feet per hour in draft mode (205 square feet per hour in normal signage production).

states it will include 860 employees from Offenbach in its plans, while also taking over the international marketing organization of manroland AG – currently with a presence in 40 countries.

CORRECTION NOTICE: In PrintAction’s January photo gallery, we misidentified Agfa’s James Burghgraef (pictured above), Monika Patel of the Forest Stewardship Council, and Michael Corbett of Symcor Integrated Statement Services, which produces over 2-billion EPIC IMAGING of Burnaby, British Columimpressions per year. bia, celebrate the installation of its second Fujifilm Acuity HD2504 UV system. The LANGLEY HOLDINGS PLC of Nottinghamshire, company was founded over five years ago UK, has been unveiled as the investor by Chris Robinson (far right) and rebehind the takeover of manroland’s sheetfed cently doubled its production floor space. equipment division and associated real Its production portfolio includes many estate assets. In mid-January, administra- pieces from the 2010 Vancouver tor Werner Schneider announced that Olympics. Epic Imaging produces widemanroland AG would be split up and sold, format applications like floor graphics, with the Augsberg web press facility going window decals, and retail banners for to an investment group called L. Possehl clients throughout North America. The & Co., while the sheetfed operation in Acuity HD 2504 was first introduced in Offenbach was to be acquired by members 2007. It features a print head that can of management and an unnamed investor. produce droplets as small as six picolitres.

Langley Holdings is a privately owned The printer produces 16 square metres of British engineering group. The group print per hour in production mode.

ROBERT BURTON SR., Chairman and CEO of Cenveo Inc., agreed to sell the company’s Forms and Business Documents Group to Ennis Inc., a manufacturer of printed business products and apparel headquartered in Midlothian, Texas. The agreement includes Cenveo’s Printegra and PrintXcel brands. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but trade liabilities will be assumed by Ennis, which plans to continue marketing the PrintXcel and Printegra brands in addition to its own pressure-seal product line under the VersaSeal name. According to Ennis, the combined sales of PrintXcel and Printegra total approximately US$80 million annually.

PXLWORKS’ Rodney Groulx, Senior Partner and Business Development, Matt O’Keefe, and Blair Olson, Senior Partner and Creative Director, oversaw the installation of a Fujifilm Acuity Advance LT. Already employing five rollEPSON announced a new line of printers fed inkjet systems in its large-format called SureColor, from which the com- operation, the new Acuity is a UV flatbed pany has no immediate plans to OEM the to expand the company’s operation technology. The first machine in the se- in Almonte, Ontario, which serves the ries, the SureColor S30670, is a four- Ottawa/Gatineau region.

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PRINT CALENDAR Berlin is the largest city in the European union in size and second most populous city. The Brandenburg Gate, shown, was a key piece of the Berlin Wall, dividing East and West Germany. Ironically, the gate was commissioned as a symbol of peace in 1791.

Although it suffered significant damage in World War II, it was fully restored at the turn of the 21st century.

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Two months from today, printers and suppliers from around the globe converge in Dusseldorf, Germany, to open up the 13-day, quadrennial drupa 2012 print media fair.

TAGA’s 64th annual Technical Conference begins in Jacksonville, Florida, with four keynotes: Marc Olin, VP and GM of EFI; Steve Simske, Chief Technologist of HP Labs; Patrice Mangin, of the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières; and Mike Puyot, President of Memjet Wide Format.

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Print UV 2012, now in its fifth year, begins at the Encore Hotel in Las Vegas.

Organizers describe the conference as an intimate, peer-oriented event with examples from UV pressrooms, how to market and sell UV, and the newest advances in related technologies.

Newspaper publishers and printers head to Berlin, Germany for IFRA’s Printing Summit 2012. Organizers point to one of the highlights as discussing the first colour-density control system (Diamond Eye) to use Japanese style (a liner scanner) processes outside of the Asia country.

IDEAlliance hosts its 47th annual TechConference, focusing on premedia workflow, in Chicago. Entitled “Disruptive Workflow Strategies,” organizers describe the event as a window into the tools, techniques and technologies for tomorrow’s media-production world.

Sign Expo 2012 takes place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, featuring exhibitors and attendees from close to 90 countries and 50 U.S. states sharing innovations in the sign-printing sector.

Norquest College hosts a lean-manufacturing seminar in Edmonton, as part of a tour to show small- to medium-sized printers three key steps they can implement with little to no cost. The tour continues to Calgary on March 19, Regina March 22, Winnipeg April 20, and possibly in Vancouver this April.

Around 2,000 members of the Digital Solutions Cooperative (Dscoop) of HP Indigo and Scitex users converge in Washington D.C. for Dscoop 7, focusing on four primary tracks for business owners, technical professionals, label and packaging printers, and wide-format production.

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PRINT CLOUD

The Little Printer hile the tech chic crowd may be quick to dismiss print as something that belongs on their list of desired gadgets, The Little Printer, due to be released this year by London-based BERG, has captured the attention of many when it made its online debut recently.

The Little Printer, in concept, is a way to bridge print and Web 2.0 technologies. A small thermal printer connects wirelessly (and without the an intermediary PC) to BERG’s Cloud service and prints ticker scripts with contents of the user's choosing.

This can range from sports scores, crosswords or even shopping lists. The concept is based on the idea that, while people are increasingly connected, some forms of reminders are still better in print.

“We really love print,” says BERG CEO Matt Webb.

“There’s something really gorgeous about paper and the way it fits into your life. You can tear it, you can share it with friends, you can scribble on it and it’s always there.

The illustrations from the little printer are gorgeous.

They’re a cross between pen and ink and pixel art.”

BERG is a design consultancy involved in a wide range of projects, including prototypes for new e-readers. The company was recently named one of the 50 most innovative companies in the world by Fast Company magazine, among the likes of Apple, Facebook and Google.

The Little Printer is the vanguard for a new series of devices, all of which take advantage of the BERG Cloud system. According to Webb, small and simple

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devices, controlling anything from thermostats to electronic picture frames, will greatly reduce the need for the traditional home computer or even complex processing power, for most of it would reside online.

The company unveiled The Little Printer with a short video highlighting its potential uses. To date it has garnered over 1.4 million views, with many signing up to receive updates on BERG’s Website. Much of the attention was buoyed by the fact that BERG chose to anthropomorphize the device by giving it a face.

“We really love character,” explains Webb. “We like to mix utility – which we hope people find the Little Printer useful – and whimsical character. We want it to make something that belongs in people’s homes and someone you can hang out with.”

According to Webb, BERG is already working with many providers to come up with content for the diminutive printer. This includes names such as Nike, to produce a personalized training program; Google, to work on a to-do list integration; and media partners such as The Guardian, out of the UK. “What I find most exciting is the number of publishers and service providers who have gotten in contact to provide content for the Little Printer,” says Webb. “I think one of the things they like is that they see a medium which makes their content beautiful and that they can control. We’re running the whole gamut from pure publishing to apps and service providers.”

– Clive Chan

The content produced by The Little Printer will be completely controlled online through the BERG Cloud.

Little tickers of information can be produced in seconds.

With moderate use, the company says a roll of paper will last about six weeks.

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TRISH WITKOWSKI

Adventures in Calgary for International Print Week t was cold – unusually cold, even for Western Canada.

A bone-chilling -28°F during the day and -42°F in the evening. The cold front had just come in as we arrived, and was scheduled to leave with us three days later. Luckily, the folks at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) gave us a heads-up about the weather so we’d be prepared.

My business partner and I were scheduled to meet with students and industry professionals at SAIT over a two-day educational event to celebrate International Print Week (January 16-20). We were there courtesy of the Centre for Excellence in Print Media at Norquest College. The Centre, located in Edmonton, Alberta, is funded by Western Economic Diversity Canada, and supports activities and events around Western Canada for the printing and graphic arts industry. They contacted us a while back, interested in the energy foldfactory has built around creativity and education in print, and our use of social media and video to get the message out. The students love my “Fold of the Week” series. We were told they had done their homework and were ready to learn some new things.

My first order of business was to give a three-hour workshop called “Escape the Tri-fold Funk!” once in the morning for students, and again in the afternoon for industry professionals. The presentation focused on foundation material and covered folding basics, direct mail, tips and tricks, specialty folding, and of course showcased lots and lots of exciting real-world solutions from my sample library. There was even a hands-on creativity session at the end, which is always a hit.

We had awake and enthusiastic students in the

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Back row (L to R): Luda Paul, Bain Spielman, Josh Ramsbottom, Janice Reese, Trish Witkowski, Rick Brunt, Shelly Tupper. Front row (L to R): Adam Glendon, Willem Sijpheer

morning. I was amazed at how many showed up in the frigid weather. The afternoon session for the pros was also well-attended and filled with creatives and printers and a few paper professionals, too. Kallen Printing of Calgary – long-time foldfactory fans – even brought me a fabulous box of print samples (a trip highlight!). One of the samples was ultimately named a “Fold of the Week” in late January.

The next day was filled with meetings, a tour of the school, and a short, tag-team keynote address we were scheduled to give at the evening dinner event. By then it was smooth sailing for me and I could really relax and enjoy the visit. Once I was in observation mode, I noticed something really interesting. The halls were full, and the Graphic Communications and Print Technology Program was alive with energy!

There were projects on display, presses running with students actively working around them, and, much to my surprise, students working on projects with some of the more difficult folded solutions that I had featured – most notably an iron cross and a checkbook fold! We stopped to talk to one of the instructors who was running one of the printing labs and he said he had never seen the students “so stoked” after a presentation. He said they immediately came back to class anxious to try something new and more advanced, so they decided not to get in the students‘ way: they were exploring and learning.

It’s always a good feeling to see students show a passion for their work. SAIT GCPT student Caezar Roji, 25, says the workshop changed his view of how print media can be presented. “We are not limited to the traditional tri-fold. It was good to see this first hand. And the workshop opened my Student presentations emphasized their enthusiasm in the world mind on how to get clients involved in the of print.

production of their materials.”

In the evening, it was the students‘ turn to show off.

Organized by SAIT and aGAIN (Alberta Graphic Arts Industry Network), the students split up and studied different printing methods in teams, working with an industry mentor and creating four short presentations about relevant topics: web printing, art reproduction, flexography, and photo-book printing.

“The response to the event was overwhelming,” says aGAIN President, and former SAIT GCPT instructor Luda Paul. “The industry was quite impressed with the SAIT students’ work. SAIT GCPT students were first involved in Print Week two years ago. They were impressive then, but did even better this year.”

As we left Western Canada for the States (and warmer weather), I couldn’t help but to think about how important it is to get students and industry professionals together, and how sometimes we underestimate the motivation or abilities of young adults. I had heard ahead of time that the students were very nervous about presenting to the industry professionals, but you’d never know it on the night of the event. They were poised and prepared and dressed well and they did a great job.

I think the key to getting young people interested in careers in the graphic arts is to challenge the students, giving them lots of opportunities to go above and beyond, and to use other forms of media to get them engaged. The kids watched tons of foldfactory YouTube videos and got interested beforehand. Many of them are Linked to me now and following us on Twitter and liking us on Facebook. Times have definitely changed in the industry, but I feel very good about what is ahead.

Trish Witkowski is Chief Folding Fanatic at the online community foldfactory.com. An educator, author, speaker and award-winning designer, Trish has a specialized expertise in folding and is the creator of the FOLDRite system, and host of the popular weekly e-video, “60-second Super-cool FOLD of the WEEK.” Contact Trish at trish@foldfactory.com FEBRUARY 2012 • PRINTACTION • 11

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ZAC BOLAN

Fear and Loathing in Gadget-Land he aging casino monorail pulled into the vast Las Vegas Convention Center like some relic from Disney’s Tomorrowland, circa 1955.

Simulating rush hour in w Tokyo, throngs of people in tech logoed polos jostled for position with suit-n-tie buyers at the entrance of the world’s largest consumer tech show.

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e Photos by Zac Bolan

Since 1967, global technology manufacturers, buyers, sellers and press have converged at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to fawn over the very latest in gear and gadgets. Held annually in Las Vegas, CES has become the preeminent trendsetting event for personal tech.

Recent years have seen the gradual incursion of consumer tech into the world of print through the pervasive growth of eReaders and tablet computers causing many to fear CES and loath each new printdecimating product announcement. That wave appears to have crested however, as there was little evidence of eReader mania at this year’s show.

At CES 2012 the inevitable evolution of appliances, home entertainment systems, cars and even personal biometric devices appears to be clearly focused on interconnectivity and mobility.

Tech Trends for 2012

Intelligent TV – Long considered the Holy Grail of home electronics, major television manufacturers are offering a staggering array of “smart” TV products in an attempt to finally bring online content delivery to the living room. Most notably Samsung and Panasonic have the concept dialed-in with a seamless user experience offering streaming content from YouTube and other sources.

Additionally major Chinese manufacturers Haier and Hisence are raising their profile before the North American TV and appliance consumer. While 3D TV technology is increasingly prevalent in this year’s TV sets, the lack of 3D content is still proving to be a barrier to widespread acceptance.

Take Two Tablets – Once again the burgeoning tablet market scrambled to compete with the iPad, and once again no viable contender emerged from the pack. Obscure tablet manufacturers from Asia show-

q A dancer controls her avatar using Kinect-like natural interaction technology at the OpenNI Arena.

w The Alibaba robot extols… “Outsource to China, Outsource to China!”

e Record crowds throng through CES 2012 on opening day.

r Panasonic was just one of many high-end TV exhibitors at CES.

t An olympic-hopeful trampolinist proves that Polk Audio UltraFit 500 earphones stay put.

y Bridgeport Education introduced the Thuze digital textbook platform at CES 2012.

cased their products along side major players such as Samsung and Sony, all trying to emulate the iPad user experience and Apple’s App Store ecosystem. With the imminent release of the iPad 3, Apple appears to be in a position to solidify the stranglehold it has on this market.

Home Automation – CES 2012 highlighted an increasing emphasis on the home with a barrage of appliances empowering the laundry room, kitchen and household power management with smart technology. Samsung showcased an extensive array of interactive appliances designed to communicate with smartphones and tablets. However, while many predict smart appliances will revolutionize the home, I could only see it happening if some form of common protocol similar to JDF existed between manufacturers – currently none exists. Meanwhile accessory manufacturers Belkin and Monster introduced a variety of power management products designed to reduce ambient electrical consumption.

Health and Wellness – Numerous iOS and Android enabled biometric monitors introduced at CES 2012 enable users to accurately monitor exercise, food intake and sleep. When combined with application-based or online tools, users can track progress towards achieving health goals. On the medical side of CES, Life Technologies introduced the Ion Proton Gene Sequencer at this year’s show. This bench top device offers cost-effective human genome and exome sequencing in a fraction of the time conventional methods require.

Smart Cars – Ford, Kia and Mercedes all showed interactive car technologies at CES. The MyFord Touch system is an elegant combination of steering wheel controls with a mid-console touch screen nicely

t

y u

1)

Continued on page 27

u Ryan Seacrest pretending he really likes

i

Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer during the final MS keynote at CES.

i In the connected Samsung home you can start the washing machine with your Galaxy S Smartphone. Now if you could only get your Sony Aibo robot to do the ironing!

o Justin Bieber signing autographs at the Tosy exhibit. Tosy is Vietnam’s leading robotic toy manufacturer.

1) Not every product at CES is high-tech. The Simple brand MegaPhone is a latex acoustic horn that naturally amplifies an iPhone.

o

PrintAction 02-2012 FINAL v8.0_PrintAction 02/22/12 12:48 AM Page 14

B

L

A

C

PETER EBNER

K

(Other letters and colours available upon request.)

At we’ll go to the mat for our Customers!

Stop Making Complete Presentations

MONTHLY SPECIAL!

905.738.1485 Debbie Martins ext. 11 debbie@blackiprint.com

www.blackiprint.com Frank Patriarca ext. 17 frankp@blackiprint.com

Canada’s Graphic Communications Magazine

14 • PRINTACTION • FEBRUARY 2012

seasoned sales rep with over four years of experience, Slick recently completed an intensive 3-day workshop about power presentations and closing the sale. Driving to his first appointment after the workshop, Slick began to mentally review his new presentation skills and could still hear the instructor stressing the importance of always making a complete presentation: “If you don’t make a complete presentation that differentiates your services from the competition, the only difference between you and your competitor will be the price, and as you know, there is always someone who will print the same job for a few dollars less.”

Suddenly, everything looked clear to Slick. Once the prospect recognizes all the advantages of ordering from Lucky Printing, he can’t help but order from us – “After all we are the best equipped printer in the city,” he said to himself out loud.

Slick finally fully understood the importance of making strong presentations. Even before the special workshop, in fact, he had been working at it for months, hoping to master the powerpoint sale. He dressed well; used all the right catchphrases to grab his prospect’s attention; he even injected a bit of humour into his presentation. And when he showed the prospect a portfolio to describe his services, Slick did it with unfettered enthusiasm.

Where Slick really excels, however, is in his uncanny ability to instantly solve a prospect’s printing problems. Slick often boasts, that within 10 minutes, he can take any job and show the prospect how to print it for less, while at the same time improving its quality. And nine out of 10 times Slick is able to do just that. On top of this, Slick felt he was on his way to becoming the undisputed presentation champ, particularly when coupled with his almost magical ability to close the sale. If the prospect needed something printed, Slick always walked away with the order, but unfortunately it seemed fewer prospects needed his services.

More often than not, the prospect would say, “We don’t need anything right now, so why don’t you give me a call in about six weeks.” Even when Slick walked away empty-handed, he never felt defeated. After all, his prospects always seemed extremely interested in his recommendations and ideas and they usually invited him to call back. So Slick simply marked the callback date on his calendar and proceeded to call on his next prospect.

Slick was very busy and the weeks seemed to fly by. As he reviewed his schedule for the day, he was pleased to see

A

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the callback reminder. This is going to be a sure order, Slick thought as he dialed the prospect’s number: Slick: “Mr. Prospect, good morning, it’s Slick from Lucky Printing. How are you today?”

Prospect: “Fine thank you.”

Slick: “Mr. Prospect, I was in to see you about six weeks ago and you suggested that I call back at this time. Is the job we talked about ready to go?”

Prospect: “No it’s not. Why don’t you try me in about a month.”

Slick: “Okay, I’ll call you in four weeks.

Thank you for your time – goodbye.”

“Oh well,” Slick mumbled as he hung up the phone and began to record the callback date – “I guess the next four weeks will go by quickly.”

As the callback date approached, Slick decided on a new strategy. During the presentation workshop he had taken, it was suggested that a face-to-face meeting would increase his sales. So Slick decided to visit the prospect’s office instead of just contacting him by phone.

Slick: “Mr. Prospect, it’s nice to see you again.”

Prospect: “Good to see you, Slick. What can I do for you?”

Slick was just about to ask for the order when he suddenly realized that over two months had past since his first meeting with the prospect. He may have forgotten about all the advantages of dealing with Lucky Printing, Slick thought, I had better make a complete presentation to remind him.

Prospect: “Sorry to interrupt you, Slick, but you’ve told me all this before and I really don’t have time today to listen to it again. Why don’t you just leave me your card and I’ll call you when I need your services.”

Slick could not understand what went wrong; as he got into his car and drove away. “I made a complete presentation that solved the prospect’s problem. I showed him how to run the job for less, and I even improved the quality. Why didn’t I get the order?”

Two types of presentations

Although Slick recognized the importance of making a strong presentation, he failed to recognize that there are two different types of presentations: The Complete Presentation, which is designed to close sales, and The Partial Presentation, which is designed to sell the next appointment.

The type of presentation you should Continued on page 28

PrintAction 02-2012 FINAL v8.0_PrintAction 12-02-23 3:59 PM Page 15

EXPLORING

System SINA

the

Story and Photos by Clive Chan

it

is said that within Greater Toronto’s L3R postal code

there was once upwards of 1,000 printing and printingrelated companies. This region is where Sina Printing, run by the Meshkati family, has operated for over 15 years, seeing a tremendous amount of growth in the process. The company has just moved into a 55,000-square-foot facility in an effort to not only increase capacity, but to add services and to speed up its already quick turnaround.

Mike, Fara, and Oscar Meshkati of Markham’s Sina Printing in front of their new plant.

PrintAction 02-2012 FINAL_PrintAction 12-02-24 11:54 AM Page 16

Sina’s patriarch, Oscar Meshkati, immigrated to Canada in 1995. Oscar, his wife Fara, along with his three sons, chose Canada based on Oscar’s knowledge from running an export/import trading company.

“For the first six months I did research and used to go to seminars to see what was going on here,” recalls Oscar Meshkati. “At that time I saw that the automotive and printing markets were very good.

So I decided to choose printing, even though I did not know anything about it.”

“It was trial and error basically,” adds Mike, Oscar’s middle son, who was only in high school at the time and now serves as Sina’s President.

“Imagine, you are brand new to the country and brand new into the market. So you’re learning; you’re trying your best.”

Mike started by working summers at the company, anything from boxing print to making deliveries. Mike attributes his initial motive for working in the family business as the desire to purchase his own car, but eventually he gained an appreciation for the trade and became involved in all aspects of production. “In my first couple of months in the printing world, I worked with a cutter operator. I think cutting gave me very practical insights into layout and printing.”

Mike worked backwards in the production chain, familiarizing himself with each step and its challenges. At the time, the operation only had five people, three of which were from the Meshkati family. Mike found his niche in estimating, for he had a strong mathematical background: “There

The Big Move

were a lot of phone calls that were coming in requesting estimates,” recalls Mike. “[Oscar] needed someone to do estimating and I became the company’s first estimator.” Oscar’s wife, Fara, headed up the accounting department, while also monitoring customer relations as a whole. It is a role she continues even today.

Even though Mike migrated to the front office, he still engages himself on the production floor regularly. “He wants to feel, he wants to have the same feeling as the person that is packing,” says Oscar.

“Sometimes he goes and cuts some jobs, even though he has no time to do those things. When I ask him why, he says ‘I want to feel the environment of my cutter operator – what he’s doing.’”

Oscar’s youngest son, Brian, just graduated from Schulich business school, also entered the family business. Like his older brother, Brian is starting at Sina by familiarizing himself with every aspect of its operation.

“Right now he’s in customer service. Probably in the next five to six months he’s going to be in another department then after that another department until he’s gone through all of the departments,” says Mike. “Then he could bring his knowledge into our firm and start analyzing our different channels that we work with, our environment and stuff like that. I think some of the best leaders within companies are those who have experience in the different departments. And this is why some of the most successful companies in the world have leaders who did not necessarily start from the top.”

Although Sina relocated less than five minutes away from its previous location, the move was six months in the making and executed with precision: going from empty building to fully operational shop in just over three months.

The company’s new Heidelberg CX102 was installed first, followed by transfers of its Heidelberg CDs and its HP Indigo and wide format equipment. Sina’s 10-colour roll-to-sheet press marked the complete transfer.

November 4:

November 25:

December 28:

Excavation and pouring of press pads

New Heidelberg CX arrives

Prepress, bindery, and offices move

16 • PRINTACTION • FEBRUARY 2012

PrintAction 02-2012 FINAL_PrintAction 12-02-24 11:58 AM Page 17

Photos by Clive Chan

There are companies that are going 10-micron and spend three or four hours on makeready and approvals. With the Internet technology these days, I don’t think there is anybody who is willing to pay for that anymore.

I love the printing trade; there’s a certain craft to it, but times have changed.

Trade printer central

February 9: The final piece, a 10-colour Heidelberg perfector, is installed

When the Meshkatis entered the printing trade, the Canadian economy was only just emerging from a major recession. The family started with a small strip-mall storefront in North York (now part of Toronto) with a Canon photocopier and a used 1-colour AB Dick press. After one year working the printing market, the Meshkatis moved to an industrial plaza in Markham, just North of Toronto. It was a single unit with 1,400 square feet.

Markham was chosen because it was close to where the Meshkatis reside.

While the single unit grew into two after just one year, the company did not really start to flourish until the start of the new millennium. Years of printing pizza flyers and letterhead paid off as the company went into what Mike calls a high growth curve.

It was at this time when the Meshkatis acquired Sina Prepress, a small operation nearby. The

Meshkatis have promoted the company under that brand ever since.

The definition of a trade printer can be described as nebulous at best. Traditionally, it referred to an operation that lent its printing efficiencies to fellow printers to handle overflow work or for special requirements. In recent years, some use the moniker in a derogatory sense, as printers scramble to readjust their margins and workflows to keep clients happy.

“I think what defines a trade printer is one that uses its high level of technology and equipment, to offer resellers quick turnaround with good prices and service,” says Mike. “In the past [as a print broker], you used to supply your own film.

Trade printers like us were just selling you hours of our presses: You supplied your own paper, you supplied your own plates, you did your own bindery. Ninety-nine percent of our clients these Continued on page 24

FEBRUARY 2012 • PRINTACTION • 17

PrintAction 02-2012 FINAL v8.0_PrintAction 02/27/12 12:55 AM Page 18

By Jon Robinson

Inkjet Production Presses In the second installment of the drupa Spotlight series, PrintAction spoke with two key Canadian leaders in the production inkjet press space, Alec Couckuyt of Océ and Tony Karg of Fujifilm, to better understand the direction and potential of this maturing technology. While Couckuyt and Océ’s press line are now supported by one of the world’s most powerful imaging companies in Canon, Karg has spent the past year on special assignment in Tokyo to help Japan’s other imaging giant prepare for this May’s drupa tradeshow.

Xerox CiPress 500 In September 2011, Xerox debuted its four-colour CiPress 500 system, which the company describes as the world’s only high-speed waterless inkjet device, available in various singleand twin-engine configurations. The twin-engine system (listed at US$3.8 million, with the FreeFlow Print Server) prints at 500 feet or 2,180 full-colour pages per minute. Based on Xerox’ patented solid-ink technology, the CiPress is aimed at applications like direct-mail, books and manuals and transactional work that use uncoated paper stocks, as well as newsprint, calendared, ground wood, mechanical fiber, bond, and laser substrates of up to 160 gsm.

Tony Karg Sr. Director of Business Development & Marketing, Fujifilm Canada, Graphic Systems How far has the J Press come since its 2008 unveiling?

The print heads and the inks went through much iteration before it became a commercially viable product. I have a press sheet of what we showed at drupa in 2008, when people were really excited.

I have a press sheet now of what that press is doing in its commercial iteration, and it is light years of difference in terms of quality and production. Now this press is literally producing offset-equivalent stuff on a digital sheet in a 4-page format size – it really is very exciting to see how it has all come together.

Does the J Press give Fujifilm a unique technology position?

HP T Series In mid-2011, HP introduced a larger T400 model to its line of inkjet web presses, which also includes the T200, T300 and T350. The T Series of presses, built around jetting waterbased pigment inks and a bonding agent, is primarily aimed at book manufacturing, as well as direct mail, transactional printing, and newspapers. The smallest format machine, T200, carries a 20.5-inch wide web width and prints full colour work at 200 feet per minute. The T400, with a 42-inch scalable web width, reaches a top speed of 600 feet per minute.

It is rated for a monthly duty cycle of 100 million letter-sized, four-colour images per month.

Continued on page 20

18 • PRINTACTION • FEBRUARY 2012

I have been pretty honoured to go to our global R&D centre outside of Tokyo to see how they actually develop these types of presses. There are rooms full of people testing ink formulations, firing them through print heads onto test sheets. It takes hundreds of thousands of man hours to develop – to formulate the ink to jet through at the quality and speed you need. Watching the development process, I thought to myself how there are probably not two companies in the entire world that have the R&D and expertise necessary to build this type of press.

At 10 miles up you look at it and think, wow, that is such an elegant solution but then you start to really tunnel into the technology and you realize just how incredibly complex offset printing is mechanically, and then trying to produce the equivalent end result in a digital format is really incredibly hard, which is the reason why we really don’t have any competitors in that space.

If you look at some of traditional sheetfed press manufacturers, for example, they don’t own the print heads and they don’t own the ability to make their own ink. It is such a massive uphill climb for them to develop something.

How is the Gilson Graphics J Press install going – the first in North America?

The machine has been in for a few months now and they are utilizing it for commercial work.

They have HP [Indigo] digital technology in their shop.

[Owner] Dave Gilson has said in public statements that the format size and the capability of the J Press adds a whole new dimension to what he can do within the digital printing space. He has 40-inch presses as well, so the J Press actually fits in between those two technologies and it has opened up an entirely new business segment for them in terms of print applications. It allows them to create new print applications that he can sell at a profit.

What type of print applications can a commercial printer produce with the J Press?

The existing install base of presses in the United States, Japan and Canada do a variety of different work like photo albums of a larger format size, CD and DVD covers… certainly what we would describe as general commercial printing.

And then there are a number of specialty applications that I can’t talk about for proprietary reasons. But what it really comes down to is the 4-page format size creates an entirely new set of applications that were traditionally restricted to offset printing.

One of the biggest challenges with presentation folders, for example, is the size of the flat sheet. It is bigger than 12 x 18 so it doesn’t fit on a digital [toner] press. It is a perfect digital press application because you typically don’t need a bunch of them, but it just doesn’t fit on existing digital presses. So that is an example of a specialty printing application that was typically restricted to offset that J Press now opens up.

That's just one example of the new range of print applications that the J Press technology enables.

Would you say then that the 4-up size is the biggest draw of the J Press?

It is the format size and the fact that the sheet is offset-equivalent quality. That is really key.

There are some fantastic digital web-roll technologies from our competitors who play in that space, even beyond transactional printing. As we see it, the colour quality you get off of those presses, while good enough for printing sale, doesn’t really represent an offset-equivalent quality. They have their market, and J Press has its own.

We specifically designed our technology to produce an offset equivalent sheet because that is where we felt that sweet spot was. Printers with offset presses have conditioned their customers to a certain quality level. Digital printing technology over the last few years has improved its quality, but there are some real limitations to toner technologies in terms of ink saturation. When you start to get heavy ink coverage, really dark solids and things like that, you can really tell that it is toner printed.

PrintAction 02-2012 FINAL v8.0_PrintAction 02/22/12 12:54 AM Page 19

With the J Press technology we overcame that limitation in toner, while at the same time opening up a flexible marketplace because you can produce one of those sheets cost effectively. On an offset press you have to produce hundreds before you start making any money.

Can the J Press, based on inkjet technology, surpass traditional offset quality?

I think it can but people can’t wrap their heads around that yet, because the technology is literally one year into commercialization.

How flexible is the J Press?

Customers are going to use this technology in ways we haven’t even dreamed of yet and we are actually seeing it from the install base.

You take the format size, the offset-equivalent sheet, and now you start throwing all kinds of finishing options at it. All of a sudden they can produce small-run quantities that are highly targeted, highly customized, highly versioned print production pieces – at moneymaking quantities.

With a brochure for example, a very typical commercial printing application, you would have to produce 10,000 on an offset press before there is any kind of cost efficiency for the buyer. Now you can give them the 10,000, but I can produce 1,000 of 10 versioned pieces for their Top 10 markets – they can sell it at a higher price and make more profit.

What can you share about Canada’s first J Press?

USED EQUIPMENT

Digital Edge will be the first installation, which they have already announced on their Website. I would describe them as a digital printer with data management, fulfillment and mailing capabilities. Bob Shea is the President.

I actually find them quite fascinating because they are in the digital print space right now and they are moving upwards in terms of the format size and quality. For them, the J Press technology really represents an expansion of their existing print capabilities. There is a great deal of nimbleness in the back end for them to be able to crank stuff out in really small quantities.

Does a printer need data management expertise to bring in the J Press?

If I am a commercial printer without data management capabilities up front that doesn’t mean this press isn’t viable for them, because they may have a specialty printing application with appropriate run lengths.

A commercial printer, depending on his print application can use the technology in different ways. Digital Edge is clearly going to use it as an extension of their digital printing, mailing and fulfillment business, but somebody else may take that technology in a completely different direction.

Continued on page 20

Alec Couckuyt Vice President of Sales, Production Printing Systems, Océ-Canada How is Océ’s continuous inkjet portfolio unique?

What is Océ’s position in the continuous inkjet market?

When you look at InfoTrends reports, they show how Océ has a market leadership in continuous-feed colour, as well as blackand-white. We have grown very rapidly over the last couple of years and have expanded our product portfolio extensively. JetStream is based on an offset frame on which you have inkjet technology built with our controllers and software.

That is where we started – really high-end in terms of volume. We have equipment that is 20- to 30-inches wide and reaches up to 200 metres per minute. We have controllers to push enough variable data to make it run at that speed – it’s phenomenal.

Back in November 2010, the [ColorStream] 3500 was introduced. It is built on Océ’s paper transport mechanism, so it’s all in-house development. We call it the twin series, so you can start with one engine for simplex printing and expand with a second engine for duplex printing. It is also 21 1/4inches wide and runs at 75 metres per minute. Yesterday, we just introduced the ColorStream 3700 and it runs at 100 metres per minute with up to six colours.

Depending on application and depending on the size or volume you want, there is a solution. There is a growth path for everybody and it is based on what we call Future Safe Investment. If you want to upgrade to a faster speed, for some models, you do not need to buy a new piece of equipment – the print heads and software can be upgraded.

What is the size and scope of Océ-Canada?

In Canada, we are the market leader with the JetStream. I would say 60 percent, if not more, of all statement printing from the banks is done on Océ inkjet technology. We have made real inroads there. We have hired professionalservices people with extensive application and colour-management knowledge – and most are out of the offset world.

Why have you hired staff from the offset world?

Because knowing colour and knowing workflow are two of the critical elements of being successful. You cannot go into an offset printer, or any printer for that matter, and not know what colour is all about or what the applications are. If you have people who come out of the offset Continued on page 22

FEBRUARY 2012 • PRINTACTION • 19

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TRADE PRINTING

drupa Spotlight – Tony Karg Continued from page 19

How does Fujifilm view the J Press’ Total Cost of Ownership?

To be honest with you, we took a page out of the offset-press sales book. This is not a toner-based press. This technology has considerably more cost associated to it, so we sit down and go through a fairly complex ROI calculator. We really target what their print applications are going to be, so they can correctly calculate how many shifts they need and how many types of jobs they need to produce in order to generate sufficient cash flow.

One of the things we fundamentally decided up front with the J Press technology is that we are not going to treat it like all of the toner presses that have click charges.

Those things drive commercial printers insane. I have heard commercial printers describe it as always feeling like somebody has a hand in their pockets. I don’t know whether Continued from page 18

Screen Truepress Jet520 At IPEX 2010, Screen previewed its upcoming Truepress JetSX as a sheetfed inkjet production system for commercial printing. The B2-format JetSX is rated to produce 1,620 simplex sheets or 810 duplex sheets per hour. It accommodates coated and uncoated cut sheets up to 20.8 x 29.1 inches, while the press’ grayscale printheads produce a maximum resolution of 1,440 x 1,440 dpi. Screen also develops a line of Jet520 web-fed inkjet systems, which includes the base model (20.4 inches wide with a top printing speed of 420 feet per minute), Jet520EX-Color system and the flagship Jet520ZZ model. The Jet520ZZ reaches a top speed of 721.7 feet per minute, which the company translates as approximately 190,000 8-1/2 x 11-inch colour pages per hour.

Kodak Prosper At IPEX 2010, Kodak unveiled a new press within its continuous inkjet press line called the Prosper 5000XL, joining the Prosper 1000, both of which are based on the company’s Stream Inkjet Technology. The Stream inkjet concept allows Kodak to offer what it refers to as technology packages that include the writing head, inks, data controller and workflow. The Prosper 5000XL, with a web width of up to 24.5 inches and a resolution of around 175 lpi, reaches speeds of up to 650 feet per minute with 8-, 12- or 16-page signatures. It is rated for a monthly duty cycle of up to 90 million A4 impressions.

20 • PRINTACTION • FEBRUARY 2012

that is true or not, but I can understand how certain printers feel that way. This is a substantial investment, so – yes – you need a pretty defined business plan for what you are going to do to make this a viable investment.

However, because it is a capital investment, if you are smart enough to create new printing applications using this technology you are the sole beneficiary of that value.

As an inkjet engine, is the J Press limited by the substrates it can run?

J Press technology can run coated and uncoated offset sheets within a specification range up to 300 gsm. That is a pretty broad marketplace in terms of sheets. We do not guarantee that every type of paper within that specification will run on our press, but quite frankly everybody who has an offset press faces the same challenge. Just because a paper company carries a certain type of sheet, doesn’t mean you will get perfect print results off of it on your press.

Beyond the J Press itself, what significant developments has Fujifilm made with production-inkjet technology over the past year, whether related to ink, print head, etc.

We continue to make substantial investments in print heads. You can see the stream of new print head announcements and press releases from our sister company Fujifilm Dimatix for specifics about that. On the ink side there is always ongoing development, some specifics of which will be shared at drupa 2012.

We’ve seen some major suppliers stumble in the past year, why should a printer be comfortable in purchasing Fujifilm?

We run a very diversified business and we operate in a lot of different segments of the printing industry. We are heavily invested in toner and digital inkjet printing, in offset printing, and in packaging printing with our plate technologies and pressroom chemistries.

The graphics business, I believe, is a $2 to $3 billion business for Fujifilm, but we are a $24 billion business, so we are diversified in a lot of different segments. By having a diversified business structure, we have a much more stable business and that affords us the ability to fund all of the developments going on in different segments.

We have a continued focus on R&D with anywhere from upwards of six percent or more of our annual sales reinvested into R&D – every year. We are talking about billions of dollars, so you have the ability to continually develop these next-generation technologies.

The J Press is just one example of that.

What should commercial printers prioritize in terms of strategy as sheetfed inkjet presses become commercially viable?

Printers – we have been telling them this for a long time – have to market their businesses. Because printing is competing so heavily with digital delivery, they need to be thinking of their business in terms of what is their value proposition in print relative to these competing digital delivery forms of information and how do I position my company with the marketing buyer.

This isn’t new, but I think there are some trends in the marketplace that are starting to swing back because we are starting to see the oversaturation of digital advertising messages – to a point where people are tuning out. Now, a properly crafted print piece is actually highly effective at engaging people in certain types of sales cycles.

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DIGITAL PRINTING

drupa Spotlight – Alec Couckuyt Continued from page 19

world, talking the language and making the link to digital printing for the client, you can [address concerns early] and start moving the mist away. It has proven to be extremely helpful with our clients. A digital press is all bits and bytes, so all of your prep work has to be done up front. Your file has to be optimized before it reaches the press.

Beyond the press itself, what should a printer’s main consideration be if investing with inkjet?

You are not just buying a press. You better look at your total workflow, from prepress to finishing. This is where we come in with our professional-services team. We always make a solutions plan by sitting down with the client and going over the nagging details, because I cannot afford to sell the wrong piece of equipment to a client and the client cannot afford to buy the wrong equipment.

Is continuous inkjet breaking free of its transactional printing stigma?

We see direct marketing jumping on it as well, because of the variability not only in text but also in image – full colour. You have a controller that is able to steer enough data to keep the press going at the fastest speed.

You can be as variable as you want and the press can handle it. Now it is a different business model. Now as a client, I have to wrap my head around what I can do.

Do you expect to see more newspapers produced with inkjet?

Especially here in Canada where we have so many regional and local newspapers. We actually do have discussions in this regard and it is a different business model that you have to embrace, but I believe there is absolutely huge potential with all of the short-run papers in Canada. We will see some more happening in this sector for sure.

Are printers waiting for larger format size inkjet presses?

It is not necessarily that bigger is better.

It is all application related. Océ technology allows for wide-format presses to better handle shorter runs more efficiently and with less waste and cost to the client. One of the big advantages of ColorStream, for instance, is that we have essentially eliminated paper waste – your first sellable copy comes off with your first print.

With the 3500 and 3700, you can park all of your colour heads when running black-and-white only – literally cap the colour heads – keeping them moist. With other inkjet presses in the market, you have to spit ink through those [colour heads] even if you are just printing black. If you want to engage in digital printing, make sure you clearly understand the waste factor related to your setup.

22 • PRINTACTION • FEBRUARY 2012

eration between companies to set all of this up, but Océ takes full responsibility for the complete line. Of course, we master the inkjet presses but we need to master the whole line for the client because they cannot afford to have the system down.

All of our people in Canada are trained on the maintenance of the complete line.

How does Océ’s DigiDot print-head technology contribute to press speed and media usage?

It splits up into two parts. Typically, you are in what we call bi-mode that gives you nice dots all of the same size. And then you have multi-level mode that changes the size of the dots, much like stochastic screening, to provide a much more detailed look – it looks like 1,200 dpi. DigiDot allows you to adjust your droplet size depending on what paper is being used, whether it is more or less absorbent, allowing you to print on a range of paper.

With DigiDot technology you are looking at the longest-lasting heads in the industry. Not to say it is the norm, but our very first install in 2008 is still running with the same heads.

What market advantages does Océ’s PRISMA software provide?

The openness of the PRISMA software is unique. It can be the basic driver to the press or control your complete workflow from prepress and printing to finishing and accounting. It also takes any kind of data stream. A lot of cut-sheet customers felt like they were locked in because all of their files are saved under a certain format and the only way to print is on the same manufacturer’s equipment. PRISMA will convert it.

We have DP Convert for instance and it will open it up.

You can add PRISMA modules as you go.

For instance, one book printer with our equipment just started off with PRISMA Production. They knew of PRISMA Access, Archive and other modules but they wanted to take it one step at a time. Although we are never very outspoken about PRISMA’s flexibility, it is one of our major advantages.

How does Océ view Total Cost of Ownership with its continuous inkjet presses?

We have specific TCO spreadsheets where we will sit with the clients and put all of the possible variables together, including labour, paper, ink usage and even analyzing the type of files for clients.

We have two types of software, one that can help the clients estimate what the job will cost and another that measures the actual usage of ink. True Proof is software that will analyze a file and give an estimate on how much ink will be used, which in turn helps the client make decisions about whether or not to take on a job. We also have a software package called True Cost that actually measures the amount of ink that goes through the nozzles. After a while, you have a pretty good understanding for the cost of the job based on a real analysis.

Where does Océ’s responsibility sit when continuous inkjet presses typically require inline systems?

We’ve seen some major suppliers stumble in the past year, why should a printer be comfortable in purchasing from Océ?

We work with third parties to set all of this up, whether it is Hunkeler, Lasermax or EMT, for example. There is extensive coop-

We have the technology, the experience and the installations to prove that we know the market and our customers.

PrintAction 02-2012 FINAL v8.0_PrintAction 02/22/12 1:03 AM Page 23

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BUSINESS FORMS

Sina Printing Continued from page 17

days don’t want to supply their own paper, unless it’s a very huge order. No one supplies their own plates anymore, all film houses have gone out of business.

Everybody wants you to do their bindery because no one has time anymore.

“We’ve never had a sales staff involved and we treat our brokers as our salespeople,” says Mike. “Let’s say that a print broker is dealing with 10 different clients and they’re coming to us. For me to take a client away from that print broker [and risk the other nine jobs] is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard.”

“Often, we are directly shipping to the brokers’ clients. We are able to do this because our clients trust us,” adds Oscar.

“You have to be professional. If you want success in any business you have to be professional. Otherwise it doesn’t work.

It will work maybe for a few years, but in the long run, it will hurt you.”

“Toronto is really big – it is trade printer central,” says Mike. “If you compare Toronto’s market to Vancouver’s market, they are completely different. In Toronto, the reason why I think it’s such a big market is because it is close to large cities such as Chicago or New York.

It’s become a printing ground.” Mike continues to say how he saw no fewer than 14 trade printers exhibiting at a recent Toronto trade show while only seeing two at Graph Expo in Chicago.

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The system

Oscar Meshkati attributes the success of Sina to having a good system. While he meant that as the coming together of people, technology, and business philosophy, technological systems on its own also figure much into Sina’s growth over the last decade.

The aforementioned high growth curve happened just as computer-toplate technology entered the marketplace. Mike and Oscar recognized the importance of said technology and its impact on a printer’s turnaround. Sina were among the first to deploy CTP in the region. Turnaround time is an area that the Meshkatis repeatedly strive to bring down and their equipment purchase decisions reflect that mantra.

“When we are looking to buy equipment, we don’t focus at price. Price is important, but we never go for the cheapest price tag. We go for equipment that is efficient and will last longer,” says Mike. “We believe in automation, so that’s how we choose.”

It is also on the topic of equipment purchases where a difference in personalities arise between Mike and Oscar: Oscar describes himself as the risk taker while his son is more calculating and conservative. This was especially evident in the purchase of Sina’s 10-colour Heidelberg SM102 roll-to-sheet perfector, which Oscar pushed for in 2007.

“I am a risk-taker, but it has to be reasonable risks,” says the elder Meshkati.

“Bringing the 10-colour in was not a risk because we needed it.”

“You still need to have the guts to bring in a $4 million machine onto the floor,” replies Mike.

In the fast-paced trade printing envi-

ronment that is the Greater Toronto Area, keeping up with the Joneses in terms of production capacity can make or break a printer. Sina’s competitors appear to announce major new equipment purchases every year, fueling the downward pressure of print pricing.

“The thing with manufacturing is if you stay behind, you’re toast,” says Mike.

“You have to have capacity and you have to have efficiency. You either grow or you fail. I’m not trying to brag, but there is rarely a case where we’re following somebody else. I think a lot of the printers are following us.”

Prior to the company’s recent move, Mike estimates that Sina was running consistently at 95 percent of capacity, with little to no room for expansion.

While the automotive sector would be happy with that production efficiency, the world of print is far more unpredictable.

“Let’s say you call us because you need 400,000 sheets printed and you need it tomorrow. We could say that, while we can’t give it to you all tomorrow, I could put it on for you and I’ll be able to give you a portion of your job the next day so that your clients are happy. We made the move so we could have the flexibility in our capacity.”

The move

The notion to move from Sina’s Riviera Drive address started as early as 2007, but was delayed due to the economic downturn of 2009. Since then, the family spent over two years looking at various locations on the market, but keeping to the same area, for it had convenient access to several of Toronto’s major traffic arteries.

Finding an ideal location to house a larger printing operation proved difficult, especially in light of printing’s large power requirements. The company’s new location, just down the street on Steelcase Road, was formerly an automotive parts manufacturing plant, and proved to be ideal for Sina. It also had the power capacity to run 15 presses, if desired.

At over 55,000 square feet, the building is more than 30 percent larger than the old location. Moreover, because Sina slowly grew into its previous location, unit by unit, the layout became less than ideal, with mazes of corridors linking the different production areas. The new building has a wide-open production space, conveniently fed by half a dozen loading bays.

Sina personnel spent over six months planning the move, including mapping out in meticulous detail where every power and network connection had to be made. Seven different plans were made to analyze the pros and cons of each setup. On November 1, Mike and Oscar received the keys to the new building and set in motion a carefully choreographed transition that would see next to no disruption in production. Mike says: “If you told anyone what we were planning, they’d say, ‘You’re crazy. You’re going to move that much equipment in two months?’”

Helping matters is the installation of a new Heidelberg CX102 press, which was the company’s first primary press to be put on the production floor. Sina’s two Heidelberg 40-inch CD presses were

PrintAction 02-2012 FINAL_PrintAction 12-02-24 11:59 AM Page 25

then moved in quick succession in December, followed by a SM52. During this period, plates, paper, and printed material often had to be ferried between the two locations, fortunately only a few minutes apart. Prepress and offices moved at the end of December with the final piece, the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prized 10colour roll-to-sheet perfector, moving in the end of January.

Sina Lite

Sina Lite was born out of the desire to be more flexible and today is a project that is five years in the making. While many off-the-shelf storefront applications have hit the market in the past few years, Sina devised its own system as early as 2007. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In software, I think there are more hurdles than anybody could imagine,â&#x20AC;? recalls Mike about Sina Liteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s early days. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is funny to imagine that people think they can go out and buy software off the shelf that would let them start a Web-toprint business. I think we spent over a million bucks in two years to come up with that concept. I lost about one-anda-half years of sleep. It was an on-going thing, programming; you could be sleeping and something could pop in your mind. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a person that likes to do everything right away.â&#x20AC;?

Today, Sina as a whole processes roughly 700 orders a day, the majority of which are from the Website, which offers anything from banners to business cards.

This keeps the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 65 employees running three shifts, seven days a week.

Even with all the orders, however, Sina Lite jobs comprises only 30 percent of Sinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People are used to a certain way,â&#x20AC;? explains Mike. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People like to deal with a CSR, people like to send their own custom estimating. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re good at as well because thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how we started. We will usually send quotes back to customers within 24 hoursâ&#x20AC;? According to Mike, Sina processes around 220 quotes a day through its three dedicated estimators.

With such a volume of work entering its premises, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no surprise Sina promotes the gang-running of projects.

Business cards, facing hyper-competitive pricing, are the first logical target, but far from the last. According to Mike and Oscar, as long as a job is not colour critical, it makes little sense not to share a sheet. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re saving a lot of money because youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re spreading the makeready cost, which is a significant portion of a printerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cost, onto many orders. For example, if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a marketing collateral thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to go in a mailbox that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t require you to match the logo colour why wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you?â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have the technology to support the quality,â&#x20AC;? adds Oscar. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean that when it is gang-run, you lose quality.

In our runs, the quality is there.â&#x20AC;?

Both father and son emphasize Sinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thoroughness in colour reproduction through certifications and recalibration.

For its recent move, the company went the extra step in replacing all the rollers of its presses. The company has also recently made a move to producing all of its offset-run Sina Lite work at 25 micron.â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you come to our production floor, next to our presses, you will notice

calibrated monitors on which we have spent a fortune. Every sheet is running to that.â&#x20AC;?

While gang-runs continue to shrink turnaround times (currently at two to three days), Sina also handles a fair amount higher quality work that requires them to balance speed and quality. Over the past two years, Sina has done over 100 annual reports, a product which Mike says is typically associated with top printers. Be that as it may, Mike maintains there is a balance between speed and quality: â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are companies that are going 10-micron and spend three or four hours on makeready and approvals.

With the Internet technology these days, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think there is anybody who is willing to pay for that anymore. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re spending three hours on a makeready you should rethink your whole business structure. I love the printing trade; thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a certain craft to it, but times have changed.â&#x20AC;?

When asked if he would turn away jobs which entail having to deal with overly discerning clients, Mike says: â&#x20AC;&#x153;No, we will never do that. As long as they are willing to pay for it, I wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t turn it away. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all in business to make money, so they have to have a certain understanding too.â&#x20AC;?

In addition to its five offset presses, Sina also operates two HP Indigo presses for its specialty pieces such as magnets or for ultra-short-run work. Mike says he feels the toner and inkjet arenas were hardest hit in the recent recession, but should see significant growth in the short term: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Prior to the recession there was a lot of one-to-one marketing variable print that everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s talking about, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re hoping to see that in the Canadian market within the next year or two. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of the big things weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re working on.â&#x20AC;?

The extra space in Sinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new building also opens up options such as incorporating mailing systems. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t say Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to be a mailing house, because I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to be a mailing house,â&#x20AC;? says Mike. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But if our clients have the demand for it, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d do it for them.â&#x20AC;?

This combination of technology and human efficiency is a rare point of pride for Oscar, a point he stresses repeatedly: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are very good at keeping up with technology right now. I do not believe you will be able to find many printers in Toronto that are running on a similar system. We have been able to build a strong system and management that is difficult to match.â&#x20AC;?

Despite media reports to the contrary, both Mike and Oscar say they do not feel that printing is a business in decline, more specifically, the work being produced at Sina. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think the marketing collateral [sector] is still good, still strong,â&#x20AC;? says Mike. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think the long-run volumes have decreased, no one is doing, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s say, 200,000 runs of books anymore.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because information changes quickly, so everybody is sticking to the shorter runs. People that say printing is going to be dead, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mind. I personally donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think so.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re still growing,â&#x20AC;? adds Oscar. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are getting more customers every day.

I believe that whoever has the technology and a good system, wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any problems.â&#x20AC;?

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encrusted iPhone cases add glitz while being more valuable than the devices they protect.

At the other end of the accessory market, companies offered innovative yet relatively low-tech solutions to many consumer electronics problems. EK USA, an outdoor gear maker, developed the iCat lanyard to secure your iPhone while taking pictures. Casemaker Cocoon provides a simple way to secure tech bits such as power cords, cables and chargers using elastic straps on a board.

NASA was so impressed with this product it was adopted for space shuttle use.

were in evidence. Thuze is an e-learning platform developed by Bridgeport Education Inc. to bring collaboration to the divided into Phone, Navigation, EntertaineTextbook experience. The Thuze environment and Climate enabling everything ment has all the features one would expect from hands-free communication to web in a textbook in addition to shared notes, browsing. If this year’s show is any indicapeer-to-peer discussion, collaboration with tion, tech-enhanced cars will be the next students at other universities, synchronized must-have gadget. annotations and powerful search tools.

Thuze is currently working with a number It Don't Mean A Thing (If it ain’t got that of major textbook publishers to bring this BLING) – Fashion has become the latest environment to market. battlefield for accessory makers in a bid to Overall CES had an interesting livingstand out in crowded marketplace. Headin-the-shadow-of-Apple vibe. Though phone makers flaunt premium celebrity endorsed product lines such as Monster’s Digital Textbooks – While eReaders didn’t the consumer electronics giant had no Gratitude headphones inspired by Earth, exactly dominate this year’s CES, products official presence at the show, their effect Wind and Fire. Meanwhile Swarovski- aimed at building a digital textbook market was felt in many of the product cate-

Bolan

Continued from page 13

LABELS

gories. For example, nearly a quarter of the CES floor space was devoted to accessories or products directly linked to iOS products such as iPhone, iPod and iPad. If rumoured Apple TV set actually comes to market later this year it will be entering a mature market with competing 2nd gen smart TV products ready to release in the coming months. And just days following the close of CES 2012, Apple quietly launched their iBooks Authoring application and online textbook store.

So while the digital invasion of print appears to have diminished slightly, the fear and loathing isn’t over yet!

Zac Bolan’s blog: blog.softcircus.com

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make is decided by answering one simple question, “Is the prospect ready to order today?” If the answer to this question is “Yes,” you should make a Complete Presentation. In other words, you should put all your cards on the table by sharing your ideas and showing the prospect how to improve the job.

If the answer to this all-important sales question is “No,” then sharing your ideas at that point in time only closes the door to further communications. You suddenly have no reason to call back other than to ask the prospect if they are ready to order.

The secret to landing a future job is to make a Partial Presentation that keeps the sale moving forward in small increments, by selling the prospect on the benefits of booking the next appointment.

Although we all visit a new prospect in the hope of landing a job, in the printing industry orders are cyclical. In other words, if the prospect just ordered enough brochures to last three months, your chances of getting the prospect to reorder today are next to impossible. But that doesn’t mean that you should stop selling.

In fact, the lag time in the printing sales cycle is an ideal time to build a strong sales foundation. You can work on gaining the prospect’s trust by staying in contact with them on monthly bases, until they are ready to order. And the technique that keeps you in front of the prospect is the Partial Presentation.

A Partial Presentation allows you to pique the prospect’s interest by promising them a solution during your next meeting. For example, if during your first meeting you recognized that by running the job as a work-and-turn you could improve the quality without increasing the cost, your presentation should tell the prospect what you can do, but it should not tell him how.

Instead, you should create a reason to call back, by offering to show him how during your next meeting. Likewise, if the prospect wants to see a different stock, even though you may have the stock in your portfolio, do not show him a sample. Instead, tell him about the advantages of using that stock and then offer to bring along a sample at your next meeting. But don’t just say, “I’ll get back to you with a sample.” In order for the Partial Presentation to be effective, you must book the follow-up meeting before leaving the prospect’s office.

If the prospect does not have a job that you can land today, making a complete presentation can cost you the sale. So instead of showing your complete hand, keep the prospect interested by dealing them one card at a time and continue to do so until they are ready to order. Making several partial presentations instead of one complete presentation will allow you to stay in control of the sale and you’ll end up landing more jobs.

Peter Ebner is a professional sales trainer and marketing consultant with over 25 years of industry experience. He is author of several books including Breaking the Print Sales Barrier. He can be reached at (905) 713-2274 or visit his website at www.EbnerSeminars.com

PrintAction 02-2012 FINAL v8.0_PrintAction 02/22/12 1:07 AM Page 29

2003 manroland 505 -LV PrintAction Marketplace is the most effective way to conduct industry-specific trade.

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DIGITAL PRESS OPERATOR NEEDED 5+ years experience. Knowledge of Digimaster EX125 and EX150, MICR, Direct Mail and Quality Control preferred. Markham location. Fulltime, afternoon shift Monday-Thursday.

Email resume to careers@parkerpad.com ____________________________________

SALESPERSON REQUIRED Salesperson wanted for digital and offset printing plant in Brampton. Strong background and experience in the printing industry.

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SOUTHERN ALBERTA PRINTING BUSINESSES FOR SALE Two printing business for sale. 1) Family business established in 1973. Approximately 600K annually. All equipment and inventory. 2) Family business since 1972. Approximately 850K annually.

Room to grow! Both located in Southern Alberta. Join the migration!

Email deloresm@shaw.ca ____________________________________ CSR WANTED CSR (Customer Service Representative) required by a commercial trade printer. Requirements: Experience in estimating/ production of sheetfed and web printing. Computer skills and excellent communication skills. Print management degree an asset.

Email resumes to: hrdept@ west-star.com or Fax (416) 201-8885 ____________________________________

FOR SALE Color Span UV large format 98" printer, seldom used, great for banners or outdoor signage, $16,995. Murph flat bed 64", great quality, take over lease of $1,400 per month for two more years.

Email: john@rainbowdigital.com ____________________________________

PRINT BROKERS & SALESPEOPLE WANTED! FREE OFFICE SPACE! Excellent opportunity to grow your print clientele at a centrally located print shop. Great support team of design, print production and admin. Restrictions apply.

Email for more information: sales@canadianprintingresources.com

RCI / CCI, Tower Coater, 23" x 29", Delta Dampening, EPL / PPL Plate Changers, Presets, Auto Washers, IR Dryer, 18,000 sph, 19mm impressions Very nice press. Under power, can be print tested For more details, please contact George Nourkov at:

Tel: (905) 854-5579 Email: giprint@bellnet.ca Web: giprintequip.com

WANTED URGENTLY FOR EXPORT USED OFFSET PRESSES KORD 64, SORDZ,SM 74-2,KOMORI L-426

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Heidelberg K-Line/S-Line/ Speed master/ GTO/ MO Komori 1,2,4 or 5 colors & any sizes Adast 714/715/724/725 Mitsubishi any models Ryobi 2800CD/3200CD Itek 960/975/985 Hamada 500/600/700/800 Polar 72/82/90/92/107/115 CM Horizon-BQ 220/240/260/440/460 Any model surplus printing machines, paper cutters & bindery equipment.

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Call: (416) 824-0236 (647) 835-6224 33 Denison Ave., Brampton, Ontario L6X 0H2 E-Mail: gr_trade@hotmail.com Tel/Fax: (905) 450-2748 FEBRUARY 2012 • PRINTACTION • 29

PrintAction 02-2012 FINAL v8.0_PrintAction 02/22/12 1:08 AM Page 30

ARCHIVE

February 1992 The 1992 Winter Olympics kicks off in Albertville, France; Jeffrey Dahmer is found guilty of murdering of 15 boys; and Tiger Woods, at 16, becomes the youngest PGA golfer in 35 years.

Training a Must if Nation’s Printers to Stay in Competitive Race Canadian printing industry employers and their workers must make a commitment to training if they hope to survive the cut-throat economic challenges of the 1990s and beyond. If they do not, they may see their business flattened by a one-two punch from technological advancements and competition from other companies.

So says a study of human resources needs in the nation’s commercial printing industry, titled Impression 2000.

The $150,000 study was conducted by Price Waterhouse on behalf of Employment and Immigration Canada and steered by a 33-member committee representing employers, unions, training institutions and trade associations.

Of particular concern is the role Mexico could play with the new free trade agreement: “While the Mexican workforce currently lacks the sophistication of their Canadian counterparts, the prospect of significant competition from Mexico should not be underestimated.” It goes on to warn of further problems if Japanese and European firms begin using Mexico as a convenient launch-pad for penetrating the North American market.

Women Can’t Break ‘Glass Ceiling’

Robert Dupis, Director Human Resources of Quebecor Printing; Michele Jean, Acting Deputy Minister, Employment and Immigration Canada; and Duncan Brown, Organizing Co-Ordinator, Graphic Communications International Union present the Impression 2000 report.

30 • PRINTACTION • FEBRUARY 2012

A report released by the U.S.-based National Association of Printers and Lithographers (NAPL) indicates that while women are making strides in the graphic arts industry, they are still faced with a “glass ceiling” that prevents them from moving into executive positions.

Based on a survey of 522 male and female industry respondents, in only two of eight key departments – accounting and art/composition –

did women’s representation increase as compared to the previous survey response.

In terms of overall numbers, the survey found that the percentage of female employees declined to 37 percent in 1990 from just over 40 percent in 1984. Yet that pattern is not expected to continue. According to the NAPL, 57,000 to 84,000 additional employees will be needed in the printing industry over the next five years.

PrintAction 02-2012 FINAL v8.0_PrintAction 12-02-22 10:23 AM Page 31

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ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO BE PART OF A GANG?

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