August 2011

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CONTENTS Volume 50, Number 8 Features

18

The New Mechanics of Race Car Graphics Victoria Gaitskell attends Toronto’s Honda Indy to discover how passion for high-performance racing pushes the limits of display graphics

22

No folds barred!

North America’s folding guru Trish Witkowski describes the pleasures and pitfalls of finishing high-budget, high-impact printing projects

24

Technology Report: Flexible Finishing New equipment continues to hit the market at a brisk pace, as back-end manufacturers adapt for toner, inkjet and traditional offset production

Print

6

NEWS Parker Pad celebrates 65 years, Transcontinental acquires Quad/Graphics‘ Canadian plants and Solisco Printers commits to a 75-inch-wide Goss Sunday

8

CALENDAR September 2011 Graph Expo 2011 begins in Chicago, the Canadian Marketing Association discusses trigger-based marketing and Colin Powell welcomes packagers to Las Vegas

11 12

BOOK Modernist Printing Avant-garde cooking techniques are matched with cutting-edge printing in a 40-pound, 2,438-page stochastic tome

PRINT

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Contact Warren

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Coming Sooner Than You Think

AWARDS Six Bennys for Canada C.J. Graphics, Hemlock Printers, Kallen Printing and Metropolitan Fine Printers are recognized for some of the best printing on the planet Entry deadline: September 15, 2011

Columns

14 15 16

NICK HOWARD Press Demos and Other Paradoxes Understanding a critical juncture for selling million-dollar machines and how even the most-disastrous demonstration can be kept in check PETER EBNER How to Sell Large-format Retail Laying out the opportunities in big signage and why commercial printers need to understand the five zones of retail stores ANDREW TRIBUTE When Will Newspapers Go Inkjet After a decade of running toner through Océ’s Digital Newspaper Network, UK-based Stroma turns to inkjet to print the world’s news

Archive

34

August 1991 Seven Soviet States declare independence, Tim Berners-Lee launches the first site of the World Wide Web, and Michael Kieran describes a day in the colour shop

Resources 25 Services to the Trade Cover photo by Jon Robinson

33 Marketplace

“We believe it has had a major impact in the printing business.

We will definitely participate in the Canadian Printing Awards!”

-Dick and Richard Kouwenhoven Hemlock Printers Ltd.

“Printers who enter the Canadian Printing Awards, increase their profitability and exposure. The awards are high profile, providing an excellent way to grow your company!”

-Jay Mandarino CEO and President, C.J. Graphics Inc.

“Participating allows us to measure our progress in relation to our industry peers and provides some friendly competition that ultimately drives industry wide advancements.”

-Patrick Coyne Director, Sales & Marketing, The Lowe-Martin Group

Single entry – $110 ($97.35 + 12.65 HST) Two entries – $200 ($176.99 + 23.01 HST) Three entries – $290 ($256.64 + 33.36 HST) Four or more entries – $90 per entry ($79.65 + 10.35 HST) All entry fees include applicable taxes.

Gala Dinner Tickets Early bird tickets - $150 each ($132.75 + HST) After September 30, 2011 - $175 Corporate tables are $1,200 ($1,400 after September 30) and include signage at the table.

Please see outsert or contact us for more information, entry forms or sponsorship opportunities.

Email: CPA@PrintAction.com Tel: 416.665.7333 www.PrintAction.com/CPA AUGUST 2011 • PRINTACTION • 3

PERSPECTIVE

Executive Forum in Canada A leadership program for owners and managers

Library Textbook Rentals orontonians last month witnessed a public war of words between Councillor Doug Ford, brother of the city’s Mayor, Rob Ford, and Toronto’s literary icon, Margaret Atwood, after a financial report by KPMG suggested reducing the footprint of Toronto’s public library system.

Mayor Ford was largely elected for his stop-the-gravy-train mantra, which still holds legs for a city facing a $774-million gap in next year’s budget.

KPMG investigated cost-cutting measures at over 150 city services, but subsequent comments by Doug Ford pushed libraries to the top of this agenda. According to the Toronto Star, KPMG suggests $17.3 million can be saved annually from cultural services by closing down some of Toronto’s 99 library branches.

Estimating there are five or six library branches within a two-mile area near his ward, Councillor Ford told the media he would close libraries in his ward “in a heartbeat” – and then exaggerated the point by saying there are more libraries than Tim Hortons in Etobicoke North.

Atwood responded to the KPMG report by asking her 227,000-plus Twitter followers to sign an online petition, which had already garnered more than 24,700 signatures, to protect the libraries.

When asked about Atwood’s library support, Doug Ford made headlines across Canada by saying she could walk right by him and he wouldn’t have a clue who she is: “She’s not down here. She’s not dealing with the problem. Tell her to go run in the next election and get democratically elected.”

Of course, it only took a few hours for an Atwood-for-mayor page to spring up on Facebook, as the Atwood-Ford feud began to play out across today’s popular WWW communications conduits. In the book world, there is no more popular URL than Amazon.com, which, last month, also affected the plight of libraries and book manufacturers by announcing a Kindle Textbook Rental program for its massive online sales channel.

According to Amazon.com, renters of its digitized textbooks can save up to 80 percent off the list price of hardcopy textbooks. The discount varies depending on the rental period, which can be anywhere from 30 to 360 days. The Kindle rental option – U.S.-only, for now – is already available on thousands of textbooks from publishers like John Wiley & Sons, Elsevier and Taylor & Francis.

Kindle textbook renters can also make notes and annotations, which are saved and synced across multiple devices. These notes can be accessed even after a rental expires via Kindle’s Website or by renting the textbook again. (Rentals can be extended by the day or converted into a purchase.)

Most major cities – certainly those with responsible governments – are analyzing how to fund and develop their public libraries, which reach much further than the knowledge contained in printed books by supporting children’s programs, adult literacy, small businesses and job seekers, for example. In 2009, an effort by the local legislature to cut off funding for The Free Library of Philadelphia ended within a few short weeks.

The delicate balance between physical libraries and crackdown budgets will continue for the foreseeable future. Amazon’s Kindle textbook rental program, a surefire catalyst for competing entities like Chegg, BookRenter, Kno and Inkling (Google, Apple and so on), is a much more dangerous initiative for the short-term prospects of book manufacturing.

T Print Media Academy / NorQuest College

September 28 – October 1, 2011 Banff, Alberta, Canada REGISTER NOW www.norquest.ca/cfe/printmedia or 1-780-644-6480

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Sun Chemical Executive passed away at 63 Norm Anderson, Vice President of Sales at Sun Chemical, passed away recently after a brief battle with cancer. He died on Thursday, April 14 and is survived by his wife, Janice Partington and two children Andrew and Kari.

Norm’s professional life was marked by success. His entrepreneurial spirit was ignited at a young age and he started several successful businesses before entering the printing industry. “Norm spent the last 20 years at Sun Chemical helping to build our leadership in the industry,” said Rod Staveley, President of Sun Chemical Limited.

His contributions to the Canadian printing industry resulted in his being honoured as a member of the Knights of Gutenberg in 1999.

Norm cultivated true relationships through his warmth, appreciation for others, sage advice and generosity. Business relationships were soon transformed into social relationships as many of his business associates became true friends.

He was a mentor to many people and the

4 • PRINTACTION • AUGUST 2011

Jon Robinson, Editor

positive impact he had on their lives will be long remembered.

His knowledge and experience in the industry coupled with his genuine interest in helping others were instrumental to success in their lives and careers.

“Norm was a very unique and special individual. A warm, caring and sensitive human being who enjoyed success and pleasure from everything he undertook. As a businessman he enriched all the people who were associated with him. He was a true gentleman and a citizen of the world whose friendship touched many people in many places.

While we will miss his imaginative and optimistic presence, his memory will continue to impact on our lives. He is in a better place, but if he were here today he would tell us to be full of good cheer and seize every moment in the future.” Wayne Burroughs, past President, Sun Chemical Limited.

Canada’s Graphic Communications Magazine.

Proudly published for two generations.

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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Notice: PrintAction, Youngblood Publishing Limited, their staff, officers, directors and shareholders (hence known as the “Publisher”) assume no liability, obligations, or responsibility for claims arising from advertised products. The Publisher also reserves the right to limit liability for editorial errors, omissions and oversights to a printed correction in a subsequent issue.

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PRINT NEWS

JAMAL NAZIR, General Manager of Torontobased EZ Trade Signs, oversaw the installation of an Acuity Advance HS system to expand his large-format printing capabilities, as well as a new Konsberg i-XL24 for custom die-cutting applications. The inkjet-based Acuity Advance HS, purchased through Fujifilm Canada, is said to be 33 percent faster than previous models.

Now with 16 employees, EZ Trade Signs was established in 2008 as a division of Mr. Printer, which was founded back in 1978, while a third division, called Mr. Signs, was founded by the family-run company 10 years ago.

ANDRÉ HOUDE, VP of Les Impressions Lithosol; Stan Tranter, Agfa Account Manager for Quebec; and Serge Desjardins, President of Lithosol oversaw the installation of an Agfa Avalon N4-10S computer-to-plate system, as well as Agfa’s :Apogee Manage software to direct Lithosol’s prepress workflow. Based in Laval, Quebec, Lithosol will also run Agfa’s Azura TS plates through the Avalon N4, which images 21 4-up plates per hour. The company was founded in 1989.

KODAK’s patent dispute with Apple and RIM suffered a setback after the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) delayed making a final ruling on the case until August 30. The move was seen as a negative one by the market, causing Kodak’s stock to plunge 16 percent. Kodak initially filed an ITC complaint against Apple and RIM on January 14, 2010, asserting that Apple’s iPhones and RIM’s camera-enabled Blackberry devices infringe a Kodak patent covering technology related to a method for previewing images. The patents in question have been previously licensed by Kodak to other camera and phone manufacturers such as LG, MEI/ Panasonic, Motorola, Nokia, Olympus, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Sony, and Sony Ericsson.

FRANÇOIS OLIVIER, CEO of Transcontinental Inc., moved to acquire seven of Quad/Graphics‘ facilities across Canada (three in Ontario, two in Quebec and one each in Alberta and Nova Scotia), while Transcontinental is also divesting its Mexican assets, consisting of three facilities. It was one year ago, in early July 2010, when Wisconsin-based Quad/Graphics finalized its purchase of World Color Press, formerly Quebecor World, which held several printing facilities across Canada. Collectively, these Quad facilities employ 1,500 people and are forecasted to generate US$310 million of revenues in fiscal 2011. The three Mexican facilities that Transcontinental will drop, consisting of 900 employees, are forecasted to generate $67 million in revenues in fiscal 2011. Transcontinental also plans to transfer its Mexican-based blackand-white book printing business to Quad/Graphics. This book business represents approximately $25 million in revenues.

PARKER PAD & PRINTING celebrated its 65th year of business with more than 200 guests in Markham, Ontario. Frank Parker Sr., who worked a single letterpress to begin developing what has become one of Toronto’s leading commercial printing operations, founded Parker Pad in 1946. Now led by Janis Parker, the 65-year-old company has grown under the direction of three generations of the Parker family. The company also introduced several recent additions to its staff, including: Sean Fryer, Michael Hodgeman, John Parete, Lina Chiu, Kal Bedi, Satty Persaud, Joey Marshall and Ed Shields. Parker Pad now employs 51 people in its main 37,000-square-foot plant and three employees at its recently purchased (late-2009) 1,350-square-foot facility in Haliburton.

SOLISCO PRINTERS of Scott, Quebec, is to become the first North American company to purchase a Goss Sunday 3000 press with a 75-inch width, an achievement celebrated by Goss Sales Manager Jean Lemieux; Arnaud de Yparraguirre, Project Manager, Solisco; Michel Vezina, Head Pressman, Solisco; Eric Gingras, Technical Director, Solisco; and Christophe Bertrand, Sales Manager, Goss. Founded in 1991, Solisco Printers focuses on the publication, commercial and book printing markets for customers in Canada and the United States. The new gapless-blanket Sunday press, to be installed at its Scott-based facility later this year, will be capable of producing more than 3-million magazine-size pages per hour. Led by President Jean Gregoire, Solisco made around $100-million in revenues in its latest fiscal year, from three production facilities and around 500 employees.

RICK HANSEN, President of Hansen Signs; Geoff Flack, Branch Manager of ND Graphics in Dartmouth; and Richard Juneau, Agfa Account Manager for Eastern Canada oversaw the installation of Agfa’s flatbed Anapurna M system.

Based in Moncton, New Brunswick, Hansen Signs was founded in 1979 by CEO Dennis Hansen. The company currently employs 16 people in its 18,000-square-foot facility.

RHINO PRINT SOLUTIONS of Richmond, British Columbia, has installed a Fujifilm Acuity Advance flatbed inkjet system. “We were able to bring our G7 Master Printer processes to the Acuity relatively quickly, thereby ensuring great colour management across multiple platforms of offset, digital and wide format,” said Brian Miller, Rhino’s Business Development Manager. Rhino was purchased by entrepreneur David Allan in 2001 and the company was recently selected by Business in Vancouver as one of the 50 fastest-growing companies in British Columbia. Rhino Print has a second facility in Calgary, Alberta.

6 • PRINTACTION • AUGUST 2011

THE LINOTYPE TYPE CASTING MACHINE turned 125 years old in July, after making its debut in July of 1886 in New York City. Invented by Ottmar Mergenthaler, the Linotype machine, of course, radically changed the world of print production and continues to attract a cult-like following. The impact of the machine is documented in a new feature-length film, entitled Linotype: The Film, by Doug Wilson: “This film is about a machine from the past, but that does not mean this is a sentimental fact-film lamenting the loss of a technology. We are compelled to dig deeper, and find what the Linotype has to say about the present and future.”

GRAHAM DOUGLAS, President of Scancorp, takes the position of Electronic Imaging Specialist, Central Region, for Fujifilm Canada’s Graphic Systems Division. Douglas is a founding member of Cambridge, Ontario-based Scancorp, which served as a printing-technology distributor, primarily in prepress, for the past 31 years.

Also joining Fujifilm Canada from Scancorp are Dave Anderson and Domingo LoGuidice, who become Customer Support Technicians for the Graphic Systems Division.

KEN MACRO of Cal-Poly State University, a visiting professor at NorQuest College’s Centre for Excellence in Print Media, hosted the first of three summer seminars planned for the facility. Under the theme of “Products, Packages & Bags, Opening the door to new sales opportunities,” around 20 printing professionals from the Edmonton area showed up to hear Marco speak about new product ideas and how to help sales teams develop partnerships with clients. “It’s great to have world-class expertise right on our doorstep,” said Robin Chapelsky of Edmonton’s Priority Printing.

BORDERS, the once mammoth U.S. book retail chain, announced (at press time) plans to shutter its remaining stores after a deal with Najafi Cos. fell apart in mid-July. Its remaining 399 stores will be liquidated, with nearly 11,000 employees out of jobs. Borders was founded in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1971 and had grown to become one of the leading retail chains in the U.S. At its height, Borders had over 1,000 stores but in the last decade competition from online retailers has caused its fortune to decline. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February this year. Borders also holds 11 percent of the Toronto-based Kobo eBook initiative and Kobo has been asked to have right of first refusal when that holding is sold.

ELECTRONICS FOR IMAGING reached an agreement to acquire Entrac Technologies, which is a privately held company based in Toronto.

With more than 4,000 installations in North America, Entrac develops self-service and payment applications, including technologies for mobile printing. The transaction, with undisclosed financial terms, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2011. Entrac is to become part of EFI’s Fiery business unit and the com-

pany plans to target the technology at customers like franchise print shops, office-supply retail stores, hotels and hospitality businesses, universities, convention centres, airports, transit stations, museums, libraries and many other locations worldwide.

CANOPY, a Vancouver-based, non-profit organization that works primarily with the book, newspaper, magazine and print industries to

phase out the use of endangered forests and toxic bleaches in paper-making, has launched a new awards program under its long-standing Ancient Forest Friendly brand. Companies can apply for the Ancient Forest Friendly awards by completing a survey to measure their environmental policy implementation. Award categories include Ancient Forest Friendly Gold, Ancient Forest Friendly Silver, “Most Improved” and “Conservation Supporter.”

ROB PRESS, President of Pickering-based Signage Source, installed an HP Scitex LX800, which prints with HP’s environmentally progressive Latex Ink Technology. Signage Source was founded in 2003 and now produces many forms of display graphics, from vehicle wraps to window graphics to retail point-of-purchase displays and trade-show booths. The company also plans to leverage the Scitex LX800 to work with recyclable media and PVC-free wall papers.

Japs Olson First-of-its-kind direct mail press Another Automatic Transfer Sunday press is on its way to Japs Olson – with entirely unique capabilities.

DR. MARTIN HABEKOST, a professor with Ryerson University’s Graphic Communications Management program in Toronto, continues as a member of the board for the Technical Association of the Graphic Arts (TAGA), which is dedicated to furthering print-technology research. After July elections, Paul Cousineau of Dow Jones and Company, which controls publications like The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, and the New York Post, was named as TAGA’s new President. TAGA also named two new board members in Dr. Don Duncan of Wikoff Color Corporation, who becomes Executive Vice President, and Hal Stratton of Komori America, who becomes elected Secretary/Treasurer. Habekost was first elected to TAGA’s board in 2010 to serve as Vice President of Education, a position he will hold until 2013.

JIM BALSILLIE, Co-CEO of Waterloo-based Research In Motion, announced plans to lay off around 2,000 workers, which accounts for 11 percent of its workforce. RIM has 9,000 employees in Waterloo and 17,500 globally. The news came two weeks after RIM’s annual general meeting, where, according to QMI Agency, Balsillie “tried to ease shareholders’ concerns about plummeting stock prices, a declining North American market share and increased competition from Apple and Google.” This new announcement of 2,000 job cuts is actually RIM’s second round of layoffs in 2011. Back in June, RIM ended around 200 jobs at its Waterloo headquarters.

DIDIER GOMBERT, CEO of Montreal-based Objectif Lune, agreed to acquire Australiabased PrintSoft, which provides enterpriselevel document management services – both paper and digital. PrintSoft was founded in 1989 before being purchased by the Australia Post in 2005, with the goal of creating a hybrid mail system that sees mail transmitted digitally around the world before being printed for distribution in certified production centres close to the recipient. The system is installed in over 50 countries, while PrintSoft controls seven offices around the world.

Michael Murphy, President

Find out more at www.gossinternational.com/JapsOlson or by texting GS15XK to 64842

www www.gossinternational.com .gossinternational.com

AUGUST 2011 • PRINTACTION • 7

PRINT CALENDAR

SEPTEMBER 8

Two days before Graph Expo begins, the NAPL Owners’ Conference also takes place in Chicago with sessions like What It Really Means To Be A Marketing Services Provider (panel discussion), Building a Digital Workflow with Competitive Advantage, and LinkedIn for Power Users.

13

Sustainable Forestry Initiative, which focuses on the development of forest certification programs, hosts its annual conference in Burlington, Vermont, including speakers from The Conservation Fund, The Nature Conservancy, University of British Columbia and Ottawa’s TerraChoice Environmental Marketing.

8

The Canadian Marketing Association runs the third session, called Effective Trigger Based Marketing Strategies, of its Summer Webinar Series. Hosted by Jeffrey Nicholson of Pitney Bowes, it looks at how event-triggered marketing can save upwards of 80 percent of a directmail budget, while also getting five times the response than traditional mass-marketing campaigns. $30*

20

Printing Industries of America (PIA) holds a workshop called Optimizing Color from Your Digital Press at its Pennsylvanian headquarters. According to the PIA, attendees – in addition to topics like transparency and RIP conversion versus desktop conversion – will be able to apply what they learn to print G7 and ISO 12647-2 standards. US$1,095

27

In Pennsylvania, the PIA hosts a workshop called Extreme Offset: Troubleshoot, Control, Optimize.

Topics include methods to quickly diagnose the root causes of problems, ensuring control of print colour and quality, lean practices to slash make-ready time, and analytics to reveal the current state of a press. US$1,195.

10

The 16th annual Executive Outlook conference, in Chicago, is designed to analyze technology, trends and forecasts before the beginning of Graph Expo. This 1-day event also includes an unveiling of the Must See ‘Em Awards, which is organized by the owner of Graph Expo to acknowledge products on its trade-show floor. US$299

25

The 18th annual edition of MAILCOM, described by organizers as the world’s largest convention for mail-communications management, begins at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. Educational sessions focus on topics like Electronic integration of hard copy applications, facility security, disaster recovery, best practices, printing strategies, and IMB requirements.

11

Graph Expo 2011, North America’s largest trade show dedicated to the printing industry, begins at McCormick Place South, Chicago.

The event includes IDEAlliance’s 4-day G7 Summit, a 2-day Xplor Conference with 18 educational sessions, and the 6th Annual Print Buyers Conference.

26

PackExpo takes place at the Las Vegas Convention Center with organizers anticipating the participation of around 1,600 suppliers and 25,000 attendees.

This year’s event includes a keynote presentation, called Diplomacy: Persuasion, Trust & Values, by former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.

28

NorQuest College’s Centre for Excellence in Print Media presents a 4-day Executive Forum for the printing industry in Banff, Alberta. The event features coverage of global trends, marketing strategies, and teambuilding workshops. $1,690

Vermont is the second least-populated state (just 25,000 more residents than Wyoming).

Tourism is one of the biggest industries in the state, with visitors making over 13-million trips a year and a full 15 percent of its residences classified as “for occasional use only.” Each year, the state has over 4-million skiers visit its many ski resorts.

8 • PRINTACTION • AUGUST 2011

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Have you entered the

Canadian Printing Awards?

Entries are due September 15 Join us in celebrating the top accomplishments of the Canadian printing industry from the past year. Submit an entry to recognize the efforts of your staff or nominate a member of the industry you feel deserves recognition. On November 10, 2011, you are invited to the Canadian Printing Awards gala where we will announce the award recipients. For details, visit: www.printaction.com/CPA

Categories INDUSTRY ACHIEVEMENT (free to enter) Community Leader of the Year Award Emerging Leader of the Year Award Printing Leader of the Year Award John A. Young Lifetime Achievement Award (Determined by PrintAction magazine)

ENVIRONMENTAL PRINTING Most Environmentally Progressive Printing Company (250+ employees) Most Environmentally Progressive Printing Company (1 to 249 employees) Most Environmentally Progressive Printing Technology Most Environmentally Progressive Packaging Project (All processes) Most Environmentally Progressive Printing Project (All processes)

QUALITY PRINTING Best of Show

Why Enter?

(Determined by judging panel, among all Quality Printing entries)

Self Promotion (Printing company)

“We have been participating in the Environmental Print Awards since PrintAction initiated this innovative program. We have enjoyed clear successes over the years, and the benefits it has meant to our reputation as an industry leader.

We believe that EPA has had a major impact on all of us in the printing business.

It is exciting to see the expansion of EPAs into a range of Quality Awards this year. We will definitely participate with the best work our Hemlock people produce, with pride.”

– Dick and Richard Kouwenhoven, Hemlock Printers Ltd.

Brochures Business & Annual Reports Direct Mail Variable-data-printing Campaign Magazines & Catalogues Newspapers (Printing company of 1 to 249 employees)

“Printers who enter the Canadian Printing Awards, increase their profitability and exposure. The awards are high profile, providing an excellent way to grow your company.”

– Jay Mandarino, C.J. Graphics

Newspapers (Printing company of 250+ employees)

“Participating in award series like the CPAs allows us to measure our progress in relation to our industry peers and provides some friendly competition that ultimately drives industry wide advancements. The awards have also brought us together with like-minded individuals, individuals who we now share best practices with and even collaborate where possible.”

– Patrick Coyne, The Lowe-Martin Group

Display Graphics (POP, signage, posters, large-format, vehicle wraps)

Books (Hard cover, soft cover and book jackets) Calendars Packaging Printing (All processes) Labels (All processes) Stationery Packages Business Cards Handset Printing (Letterpress or other manual processes) Web Offset Printing (All applications, excluding newspapers)

GOLD SPONSORS

Finishing (All processes & applications)

Supporting the future of printing in Canada

Students, Post-secondary & High School (Print pieces of any sort, free to enter)

PLATINUM SPONSOR

Entry Forms Available At SILVER SPONSORS

TABLE WINE SPONSOR

www.PrintAction.com/CPA Contact us for more information, entry forms or sponsorship opportunities.

Email: CPA@PrintAction.com Tel: 416.665.7333

PRINT BOOK

Modernist Printing hen Wayt Gibbs was first approached

by Nathan Myhrvold to help create a cookbook which reflects the rising culture of adding science to cooking, Gibbs thought it was a project he could handle himself. A former editor of Scientific American, Gibbs was no stranger to the world of publishing, but it would be his first book. At the outset, a book of about 150 pages was planned.

The project grew, however, eventually taking on two other chef co-authors and thousands of high-quality photographs and (at its height) three dozen people on the book’s production staff. The final result was a 2,438-page tome spanning six volumes titled Modernist Cuisine, already touted as the “cookbook to end all cookbooks.”

W

Myhrvold’s culinary venture

Nathan Myhrvold is the former Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft and now leads Intellectual Ventures, one of the largest patent holders in the U.S. Often described as a modern Renaissance Man, Myhrvold is also a prize-winning photographer as well as an avid amateur chef who worked in one of the top French restaurants in Seattle as well as once holding the role of Chief Gastronomic Officer for Zagat Survey, publisher of the popular Zagat restaurant guidebooks.

In 2004, he started the Modernist Cuisine project after failing to find any substantial printed information about a temperature-controlled cooking technique known as sous vide, in which the chef seals food in plastic bags and cooks slowly at low temperatures. There was also little information about the science of cooking.

Myhrvold writes in the book’s introduction, recalling the genesis of the idea: “Wouldn’t people like to understand how traditional cooking actually works? Aside from its intrinsic interest, the science of cooking would also help chefs apply modernist techniques. Before long, I was sliding down a slippery slope toward a book of epic proportions.”

The culture of modernist cuisine is to go beyond the traditional cooking theories, which is highly based on trial-anderror, and look at the science behind the food, and not afraid to use even industrial principles in cooking. Myhrvold, along with coauthors Chris Young and Maxime Bilet, would employ scientific equipment such as centrifuges in the creation of new flavours and perfecting even simple menu items like macaroni and cheese.

Sourcing print ingredients

Gibbs attended the Frankfurt Book Fair in search for contacts, both publishers and printers. “[Publishers] were estimating very limited demand for the book,”

said Gibbs. “The numbers that were coming back were like 2,000, at most 5,000.

When you then run the numbers, we knew what we had spent and we looked at the royalties, things weren’t adding up all that well for us. That drove us to self publishing.”

Gibbs was introduced to a local prepress house in Seattle named iocolor, which is used to dealing in small-run art books. iocolor, in turn, contracted the printing work to Shenzen, China’s Artron, one of the highest-quality printers in Asia.

One driver to produce a book with high-quality printing was that it was important to convey the little details, such as varying levels of rareness in food.

Myhrvold, being an avid amateur photographer, wanted the best reproduction possible.

“We feel this is very similar to a chef saying he only wants the finest ingredients. The paper, the ink, the printing, those are part of the ingredients of the book, and we decided to set a pretty high standard all the way around,” said Myhrvold, during a presentation at the International Food Blogger Conference in 2010.

Gibbs also concedes, that at a retail price of US$625, it wouldn’t be right to present anything but the best paper and process.

Modernist Cuisine is printed completely at 15-micron stochastic resolution with an enlarged colour gamut courtesy of CHROMAcentric inks. Gibbs and Myhrvold liaised with Artron via iocolor, which resulted in less turnaround time than dealing with an overseas printer directly. Though colour proofs rarely went through more than two revisions, more than 10,000 files in terabytes of data were exchanged in the production of the book.

“We were very concerned about oranges and greens and subtle shades of pinks and reds, which are crucial in showing the difference between a steak that is rare or medium rare,” said Gibbs. “We needed to show the texture of food when they’re done properly; the golden brown that develops in foods that are cooked right. You just have to nail that colour and see the fine details. For example, you can’t have moiré patterns disrupting the glazed surface of a bun.”

The books were all printed on Komori LS40 presses using a mix of varnishes to showcase the images. The presses employed on-board spectrophotometry to ensure the colour stayed consistent.

The first run of 6,000 books sold out all in pre-orders before the March release and generated tremendous demand for more.

“Nathan decided to go with 6,000 copies [for the first run]. That turned out to be far too low,” said Gibbs. “You just

Modernist Cuisine uses revolutionary cutaway diagrams to illustrate food as it cooks.

Chefs Maxime Bilet, Chris Young and Nathan Myhrvold built a food laboratory in writing the book.

don’t know. You have to look at previous examples and there were almost none in this part of the book market.”

A second printing of 25,000 copies was rushed into production, with shipments being sent out in small batches as books are assembled. The second run is expected to last through the holiday season this year. Due to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the folio-sized 128-gsm Oji paper used in the first printing was unavailable and had to be replaced with heavier stock. As such, the second printing’s weight ballooned nearly five pounds, now weighing in at over 50 pounds in shipping weight per set. The Kitchen

Manual volume, as the name implies, is meant to be used in the kitchen, contains 1,500 recipes and is printed on water-resistant, tear-proof synthetic paper.

While the growth of tablet computers creates new possibilities in making the book more portable and interactive, Gibbs said there are no immediate plans to present the book in an electronic format, for it would require substantial IT development to effectively re-purpose the content. Moreover, “eBook means reading on computer, and that’s just not practical for a cookbook. People don’t cook from a computer.”

– Clive Chan AUGUST 2011 • PRINTACTION • 11

PRINT AWARDS

Six Bennys for Canada More than 2,700 entries vied for this year’s Benny Awards, which is named after North America’s printing pioneer, Benjamin Franklin, given to the Best of Category winners in the Printing Industries of America’s (PIA) Premier Print Awards program.

The worldwide competition resulted in 103 Best of Category awards, including the following six trophies picked up by Canadian printing companies.

– Jon Robinson

Kallen Printing Inc. Calgary, Alberta

Project: Once Upon a Pond Category: Booklets This 400-piece project, designed by Kelly Hartmen of Fishten, was produced on a Komori Lithrone press. With 52 pages, plus fly sheet and cover, the piece was printed on FSC-certified Mohawk Loop Super Smooth (100-lb for text pages and 130-lb cover stock). The text pages were produced in a 4/4 process, while the 4/3 cover included a silver foil on the spine, and a blind de-boss and clear foil treatment on the front.

Production challenge: “Every aspect of this project was challenging. It required carefully planning every step of the way – from imposing the staggered pages, to trimming and hand-collating each angle-cut section, to finally individually trimming each perfect-bound book from the top down for the best results.”

– Nadine Kallen, Kallen Printing

C.J. Graphics Inc. Printers & Lithographers Toronto, Ontario Project: Edward Burtynsky, Pentimento Portfolio Box Category: Digital Printing, On-Demand This 56-page-plus-cover project, with clamshell presentation case, was produced in three different versions on a Heidelberg XL105 SLX press. The cover, measuring 15.75 x 13.25 inches, was printed in a 4-colour process plus gloss aqueous coating, while text pages were printed on a 65-lb gloss stock.

Production challenge: “We used our proprietary hybrid stochastic 10- and 20-micron software to help produce these images to try and match the original photos. The custom box and tray had to be specially designed to hold 10 original prints and the book, as well as a fly translucent sheet and a letter-pressed sheet. There were three versions created: A hard cover book $100 each; a slipcase version with one print signed by the artist; and hard cover book selling for $1,500; and lastly the box version of 35 copies selling for $30,000 each, which has sold out.”

– Jay Mandarino, President & CEO, C.J. Graphics

C.J. Graphics Inc. Toronto, Ontario Project: Honour Book, Yuri Dojc • Category: Service Catalogs This 17,000-piece project, produced for Chartwell Seniors Housing REIT, was printed on a Heidelberg CD102 SLX press. Each 8 x 12-inch, 82-page book (plus cover, Neenah’s Classic Crest Slate) featured a white hot-foil stamp with a die-cut window shape. The text pages, produced on uncoated stock, were printed in 4-colour process plus PMS 404 and a satin aqueous coating.

Production challenge: “Faithful reproduction of the extraordinary tonal range and detail from the exquisite original photographs. We used our proprietary, stochastic 20-micron software to help produce images on an uncoated sheet.”

– Jay Mandarino

C.J. Graphics Inc. Toronto, Ontario Project: LG Fashion Week, Spring Collections 2010 Category: Magazine Inserts This 3,000-piece project for the Fashion Design Council of Canada was printed on a Heidelberg XL105 SLX press. Each 13 x 19-inch, 44-page catalogue (self-cover) was produced with 70-lb coated satin text in a 4-colour process, plus tint varnish.

Production challenge: “One of challenges was to get the tinted varnish to really pop. We also used our proprietary stochastic 10-micron software to help reproduce the fashion images on an uncoated sheet.”

Hemlock Printers Ltd. Burnaby, British Columbia Project: Kensie Girl, 32-page Self Cover Category: Brochures and Broadsides, Large This 1,500-piece project, designed by Jocelyn Fortier Creative and photographed by Geoff Barrenger, was produced on an 8-colour Heidelberg perfecting press – in 4-colour process with no coatings. Each 32-page brochure was produced in a 16 x 22-inch format and then soft folded to a 16 x 11-inch size.

Production challenge: “Under an extremely tight deadline, matching crossovers with the colours, tones and size involved proved tricky, as did the hand folding and collating required. The unique partnership with the designer, client, rep and production staff ensured a smooth, timely and superior result.”

– Doug Climie, VP of Sales and Marketing, Hemlock

– Jay Mandarino

Top Benny Award Winners 2011

Metropolitan Fine Printers Inc.

Artron Enterprise Ltd.

Vancouver, British Columbia

Shenzhen, China • 5 Bennys Project: Living Shangra-La, Toronto Private Estates Category: Promotional Campaigns, consumer

Offset Multicolor S.A. de C.V Mexico City, Mexico • 5 Bennys

This 2,000-piece project, created in partnership with Zacharko Design and North-West Book Company, was printed on a 40-inch, 8-colour manroland 700 press, with coater. Described

by VP Bob Faulkner as one of the most-complicated and intricate jobs – in terms of its construction – ever produced

by Met Fine Printers, the Shangra-La project consists of three different-sized internal books, smythe sewn together, and wrapped in an outer case embedded with magnets.

Production challenge: “Because the books float against each other, they had to be hand bound – they were all of different dimensions and fore-edge width, so there was no jogging. We had to pretrim and hand bind everything, gather them, and then do

Dillon Bindery Inc. Milwaukee, Wisconsin • 4 Bennys the final wraparound cover, which then had to be glued into the inside-back cover outer case. But the outer case is more of a holder than a case. It had a bar built into it to allow for the thicknesses of the books; and in that bar we buried magnets so the actual outer case closed properly. The case itself is wrapped in a beautiful printed stick of UV fluorescent pink, which is gold-foiled stamped and clear-foil debossed.”

– Bob Faulkner, VP Sales & Marketing, Metropolitan Fine Printers

C.J. Graphics Toronto, Canada • 3 Bennys

Leo Paper Products Ltd. Hong Kong, China • 3 Bennys

Offset Alpine Printing Sydney, Australia • 3 Bennys

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ne of the promises of high-speed, continuous-feed inkjet presses – allowing for stronger applications of personalization, micro-zoning, targeted advertising and ultra-short runs – is that they will change how newspapers are produced. So far, I would have to say this has not yet materialized.

To my understanding, no newspaper publisher has purchased such an inkjet press for its primary newspaper production, although it is known that some publishers are certainly assessing the technology. Indeed, we have seen the use of continuous-feed inkjet presses and toner-based presses for the printing of what are best described as international newspaper editions at overseas locations. Many newspaper publishers sell a large number of copies of their newspapers overseas, far removed from their traditional publishing base.

O

was a United Kingdom company called Stroma, which was started up in 2001 and then installed an Océ DemandStream 8090 press to print newspapers.

In the beginning, however, there was very little demand for toner-produced papers and Stroma had to move into other markets like industrial and book printing. The Londonbased company was producing a number of international titles, including The New York Times and Sydney Morning Herald. Stroma maintained a focus on the ultra-short-run newspaper market and has since expanded its operations with new networks like Newspaper Direct in 2008, the Newspaper Club in 2010 and most recently with Newspapers Abroad, which opens up the market for Scandinavian newspapers. Stroma added additional Océ presses to mainly support its non-newspaper customers, as well as updating its newspaper printing operations.

Steve Brown, Managing Director of Stroma, prints foreign newspapers out of the U.K.

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The process for these international editions is often done by printing at a newspaper plant in a foreign country where there will be sufficient demand for the paper.

There is quite a demand from holidaymakers, for example, who travel to Spain and want to get their hands on certain United Kingdom tabloid newspapers. It is worthwhile for a publisher to be printing more than 5,000 copies of these papers at Spanish newspaper plants. In other cases, where there is a smaller demand, a publisher will fly out copies of the paper. The problem with flying out domestically produced newspapers is that the reader is likely sifting through yesterday’s news by the time the paper arrives at the international location. Still another option is for publishers to produce ultrashort runs at a foreign print service provider with the correct toner-based equipment.

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One of the first examples of toner-based newspaper production was through Océ’s creation of the Digital Newspaper Network (DNN). Océ began this initiative around 10 years ago and the associated newspapers were printed in monochrome only – on Océ toner-based, continuous-feed presses. One of the first companies to be a part of DNN

Early this year, Stroma made a significant strategic investment for its future by installing an inkjet-based Océ JetStream 1000 colour press to support the demands of its newspaper customers. This has allowed the company to massively increase its capacity for printing a much wider range of newspapers. Stroma can access as many as 1,400 different newspaper titles and currently prints between 50 to 60 different titles every night.

Stroma is now probably the largest producer of international-edition newspapers in the world and nowhere else will you find such a large number of titles in one organization. Stroma is also using the new JetStream press in the daytime for enhancing its book and industrial printing capabilities.

These newspapers are mainly provided for a huge number of foreign nationals working in London, but are also for distribution to hotels for international guests. They are also supplied to airlines and each day the Australian airline Qantas has the latest copies of the Sydney Morning Herald and Australian for its first-class customers, who can often read the newspaper before it is available in Australia. Recently, before boarding his private jet, a member of a Middle Eastern royal family was returning from a royal wedding Continued on page 30

PETER EBNER

How to Sell Large-format Retail etail has always been one of the most competitive sectors of the business world. This competitive environment has only heightened over the past decade as North American consumers discovered the irresistible lure of big-box stores – the supercentre, superstore, or megastore.

While it has empowered the consumer, the big-box store trend has made it very difficult for independent retailers to hold on to, let alone gain, market share.

Retailers realize, that in today’s hypercompetitive marketplace, it takes more than great products and an inviting sign to draw customers into their store. Customer retention, which is on the radar of every business today, requires an ongoing marketing campaign because typically the retailer with the loudest voice attracts the most customers. The mammoth, national retail chains have enough budget to continuously run advertisements in all forms of media, from newspapers and radio spots to TV and the Web. Few to none of the independent retailers, however, have the financial clout to compete at this ad-budget level, so they are instead desperately seeking cost-effective, store-level marketing ideas to increase foot traffic and drive sales.

A printing company with equipment to produce large-format display graphics is perfectly positioned to help meet this need required by independent retailers.

Signage has always been an intricate and indispensable part of the retail business model, and only in the past couple of years has the inkjet technology created such a low cost of entry for printers to explore their potential in large-format printing.

It is not only the sheer volume of signage use that makes retail the perfect market for the large-format printer, it’s the fact that 99 percent of all retail signage has such a short life span. Retailers realize the only way to keep customers coming back is by offering them something new.

This means changing signage regularly.

R

Certainly most traditional, commercial printers who install large-format gear focus such production to existing clients.

For its relatively low cost of entry, however, large-format printing provides ample opportunity for that enterprising print salesperson who wants new prospects.

A salesperson’s success with selling large-format work, again, should come down to an ability to portray themselves as an expert – in both large-format production and the needs of independent retailers. As a starting point, there are three primary factors, all related to sales growth and increased profits, in which your expertise can attract the ear of a storeowner: Help them increase walk-in traffic, show them how signage can increase in-store sales, and convince them how the right display graphics will bring existing customers back more often.

It is important to understand that effective in-store marketing is always a

The typical North American big-box store measures over 50,000 square feet, while many approach 200,000 square feet of retail space.

zone holds a specific marketing objective.

So walk your prospects through these different zones and show them how properly placed signage can be used to drive sales and increase profits. Here are a few key points to think about as you walk around the store with a new prospect.

Becoming a signage expert

While retail owners do not want to deal with a print salesperson on a good day, they will welcome the opportunity to bounce advertising ideas off of a largeformat-printing expert. As with most customers, they are not familiar with all of the breakthroughs in inkjet-based printing – much like in the early days of toner-based printing, before the market became saturated and determined largely by price.

Whereas most large clients are used to dealing with traditional screen printers to produce their display graphics, the still emerging large-format inkjet market remains ripe for creativity and profitability.

multi-tier campaign. Selling the prospect a dynamic window sign that announces a special event or end-of-season sale, for example, will pique interest and pull consumers into the store. However, window signs are not enough to drive sales.

As soon as the consumer enters the store, their interest will quickly wane unless the exterior, window signage is supported by in-store banners, posters and shelf signs that continue to build excitement and pull the consumer through the store. So, instead of selling a window sign, banner or poster, you can increase your sales and help your prospects grow their business by offering a complete in-store

marketing solution; a signage package that pulls the consumer into the store and then moves the consumer through the five retail zones.

Five zones for multi-tier campaigns

While most independent store and restaurant owners have a passion for their business and products, they know little about the science of retail marketing. As such, telling them about retail-zone marketing strategies is an effective way to build credibility, pique interest and demonstrate your expertise.

Most modern retail outlets can be divided into five different zones and each

Zone 1: The street, sidewalk or parking lot What the consumer is thinking: Should I go into this store or restaurant? What’s in it for me? What are the benefits?

Retail objective: To grab the consumer’s attention, pique interest and encourage them to come inside.

Sign strategy: Large banner or window signs announcing a sale or offering a strong benefit.

Zone 2: The store entrance What the consumer is thinking: Where are the promoted items? Why should I stay? Where should I go first? Am I comfortable here?

Retail objective: To pique interest, build excitement and draw consumer attention to featured items.

Sign strategy: Exciting door graphics, pole headers, entry-way trip wires and banners promoting featured items or a theme.

Continued on page 31

AUGUST 2011 • PRINTACTION • 15

NICK HOWARD

Press Demos and Other Paradoxes ant to raise some blood pressure? Ask a press demonstrator working for any equipment manufacturer to recall one of their most-disastrous demos. In fact, this question is just as likely to evoke strong rebuke from almost any press salesperson or commercial printer who has travelled to see a million-dollar machine in operation.

All press and equipment manufacturers have disastrous days: Not even the largest player, with access to every possible printing resource, would say they have never failed at a customer demonstration. This is largely because both sides of the potential deal have polarizing views of what is to be accomplished in a new machine demo. Did I say both sides? That’s not quite right. There are at least three key players involved with any press demo: the press salesperson, the press buyer, and the press demonstrator, which naturally creates an environment ripe for friction, particularly if all sides are not interested in understanding each other’s points of view.

W

The players

For me, the press salesperson is the most logical starting point when describing the players involved in a press demonstration.

This is not meant to downplay the printer who is ultimately buying the press. They are clearly the number-one ingredient in a successful demo.

During the first new-machine dance, however, which is the foreplay to the demo, it is critical for the press salesperson to outline the product and hopefully develop a trusting relationship with the potential buyer. It is important that buyer and seller get along, of course, but the press salesperson must properly establish customer expectations, which will truly be tested for the first time during a press demonstration.

Questions will be asked and answered about all of the new machine features and options, which can create a magical buzz within the printing organization.

The buyer is thrown a great deal of information during the initial discussion stages of purchasing a press. At this point, a picture can begin to form within the buyer; because of the recent fine-tune development of modern presses and the potential a printer sees in all of the new machine features and options.

Usually a short list of wants, desires, and anticipated outcomes is established: Cycle times perhaps or maybe how a particular machine would run a specific job. At this point, press operators and other key staff members are often brought into the predemo sales discussion to assess their wants and desires.

In most cases, the input from multiple printing-company personnel, while important, can create more obstacles than path-

ways if not handled properly, because every individual is likely to add a new list of production biases from their personal printing experiences. It is important here for the press salesperson to become an extension of the buyer, to work out and help steer the company toward the best combination of features and price. Because, at the end of the day, all of this discussion about features and options will culminate at the press demonstration – show me what you told me.

Naturally, the press demonstrator is the third party involved in any such event. But what exactly is a “demonstrator” anyway?

Typically, the demonstrator is a well-seasoned press operator, who has moved up from running a press, because they enjoy interacting with people and, most importantly, love printing – meaning they truly enjoy showing other printers what is possible with today’s machines.

These folks usually have worked on a variety of equipment and learned their craft over several years by running any number of presses. The press demonstrator has worked with previous trainers on equipment and picked up loads of press patina.

Of course, they will also come with built-in machine bias, particularly since they are now flogging machines for a specific press maker. This makes that list of features and options even more critical to work out before the demonstration, so that time is not wasted on issues that ultimately will not affect any of the parties involved.

Demo day of reckoning

Now here is where it gets interesting: For all intents and purposes, after several weeks of preliminary discussions, to get a fix on pricing and features, suddenly three immovable objects are now set to collide in the demo room. Most printers will have spent a few years between brand new presses and, with the speed of technological advance, they are expecting to be dazzled by all the features promised by the salesperson.

But the buyer is certainly still wary, particularly in today’s lingering economic climate – Although they believe, they do not really “believe.” So the decision-making buyer has brought along their in-house expert, who is usually an operator or righthand technical person. Printers realize a press maker might spend days setting up a demonstration, so it runs as smoothly as possible. Printers will usually insist on bringing their own job files. The buyer wants to see one of their typical commercial jobs run start to finish without giving the demonstrator the benefit of pre-flighting or pre-running a form.

This new-file scenario is very common and completely understandable, because the printer for weeks has likely heard the salesperson brag about make-ready speed and cycle times as key differentiators of a specific press. So, let’s see you prove it.

The job is plated and put on press. Prior to and during this opening sequence, if the salesman is paying attention, they have been conversing with the demonstrator and providing a picture of the demonstration’s key areas. Although a good, experienced salesperson does not want to leave an im16 • PRINTACTION • AUGUST 2011

pression that he is driving the demo, at the end of the day, the salesperson certainly wants to be driving the process.

A good majority of these demonstrations go well and they should, considering the press and the environment is well prepared and scripted. And press demos certainly cost a lot of money, when you consider issues like machine time, stock, labour and travel. Still, many demos crash, with varying degrees of disaster. Some of these crashes are self-inflicted, such as when the demonstrator is suddenly flustered by stock, chemistry or the fact that they did not recheck the ink train to print that big solid or reverse to perfection.

Bad demonstrations can result from simple chemistry issues or complicated by several on-press factors not working that day.

More often than not, the buyer’s earlier perception of ease and speed of operation starts to change, particularly if a sweating demonstrator falls into a state of panic and is running all over the press. The press salesperson wants to see an operator looking calm and at ease producing what was promised.

A demonstrator that looks and acts irritable, mutters under his breath, is bad for everyone. This situation alone; not realizing it’s the buyer who counts, is a death knell.

As on the opening night of a big-budget theatrical presentation, if the demonstrator loses it then the entire house falls down quickly. But they are playing to an audience of one and dangerous comments start to flow like “this press can do it but the stock is a problem” and “I’m not sure why you specified this ink or etch.” Meanwhile, the buyer is getting annoyed, because the press will not print their purple or green without streaks, even if their current machine can – “Why would I buy this new press?”

Some manufacturers put on great shows and will be sure to have the machines running at top speed from the moment you walk into the demonstration room. They want your initial opinion to be positive.

Other press makers will focus more on showing key features of the press, understanding, that as a veteran printer, the buyer already knows why modern presses run fast, change plates fast, and that rarely does that printer truly care about running all out.

These manufacturers face a difficult challenge when a savvy printer walks into the demo room.

From the manufacturer’s point of view, however, demos are a necessary evil. Structurally speaking, today’s machinery, especially from the top press makers, is very good – solid, dependable, fast and ready to print the highest quality of work. But on any given demo day, human intervention can make the most modern machine have a bad day.

Over the years, I have seen many demos and the successful ones usually come about because the press maker fully understands what the buyer is after. When the press maker does not, and is more interested in showing off or pushing cutting-edge options, problems will usually arise. Almost always, these problems cannot be fixed.

Continued on page 28

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The New Mechanics of

Race Car Grap

18 • PRINTACTION • AUGUST 2011

phics

by Victoria Gaitskell

T

his summer marked the Honda Toronto Indy’s 25th year of car racing on the streets surrounding Exhibition Place, along the northern shore of Lake Ontario. This year’s Indy, consisting of five separate races held over three days in July, billed collectively as Ontario’s largest sporting event, attracted top drivers from around the world. With them came some of the world’s fastest cars, decorated with some of the most specialized vinyl display graphics, sponsored by many of the world’s wealthiest corporations. So last month, I visited the Indy to learn more about how printers fit into today’s romantic, esoteric world of car racing.

In general, the fast-paced evolution of inkjet technology that has facilitated the production of display graphics in the past couple of years is attracting more commercial printers into the sector. With relatively high margins and a low cost of entry, newcomers are hoping to realize the potential of a quick Return On Investment when buying any of the dozens of displaygraphics machines now available. Many are also finding that delving into display graphics is reinvigorating, because the novel opportunities for eye candy that it offers can make printing fun again.

Of course, before committing to display graphics as a new venture, printers really need to think seriously about how they can apply the technology successfully to a niche market. Interestingly with this background in mind, my Indy expedition turned up several entrepreneurs who have recently found their niche as well as their bliss by producing vinyl display graphics for high-performance vehicles.

The Italian wrapper

In car racing, Italian heritage has become associated with success. Think of car manufacturers Ferrari, Maserati, and Alfa Romeo, or drivers Michael Andretti and Dario Franchitti, both of whom have won the Toronto Indy multiple times. Now add Perry Iannuzzi, one of my most informative sources, who is the owner and designer at Pure Design Marketing in Markham, Ontario – a 3-person, full-service advertising and design agency. For the past decade, following the evolution of vinyl-printing technology, Pure Design Marketing has counted the production of automotive graphics among its services.

In 1975, after graduating from high school at age 17, Iannuzzi started working as a stripper, photographer, and conventional paste-up artist at Corriere Canadese, a still extant Italian-Canadian daily newspaper, then

owned by his grandfather. In 1986, Iannuzzi began experimenting with digital graphics on a Mac computer and by 1991 had launched his own communications company, which eventually became Pure Design Marketing. Additionally, since 2001, Iannuzzi has been a racing-car driver himself and currently serves as President of the Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs (CASC) Ontario Region, the province’s official sanctioning body for motor sports.

Iannuzzi began designing vinyl graphics for racing cars as an offshoot both of his own amateur racing and of decorating vehicles for the road professionally.

“When I started, big vinyl printers were cost-prohibitive,” he recalls. “The average machine ran about $70,000, so only the big boys could afford it. But as a driver and designer, I was always fussy. I would create my own artwork in Adobe Illustrator, and send it to the vinyl-cutting place to be printed. I paid everything out of my own pocket, and it was costly.

“Eventually, I got tired of paying others to produce decals for me, plus the technology was changing. Vinyl printers became less expensive. And whereas in the past vehicle graphics consisted of solid colours with no imagery, now people want corporate logos and pictures that often require multiple layers of vinyl to achieve the final effect. So, I learned how to produce them myself, bought my own equipment about a year ago, and now I do all the production in-house for my own car and other vehicles.”

Currently Iannuzzi prints vehicle graphics on a 54-inch-wide Roland VP 5401 with inline die cutting.

(He also produces large-format applications for floors, walls, and buildings with the same equipment.) Many of his racing-car jobs only require spot decorations like stripes and numbers, but sometimes he wraps a whole vehicle in vinyl. He says it is a growing trend among racing teams to wrap an entire car with vinyl as

AUGUST 2011 • PRINTACTION • 19

a base colour, and then stick decorative and sponsors’ decals on top – “That way, if you lose a sponsor halfway through the season, you just peel that sponsor’s name off. You don’t have to touch the whole car.

“Installs, especially ones where you’re covering the whole side of a car with a wrap 54 inches tall by 16 feet long, take a good eye for lining things up, as well as specialized training,” he continues. “Mainly the success of the operation depends on what’s called airrelease technology, in which the adhesive on the back of the vinyl allows for repositioning because it has air channels that prevent it from sticking until you press down on it with a squeegee. 3M is the company at the forefront of air-release technology. They also train people in wrap design and basic and advanced installation and certify them as 3M Preferred Graphics Installers.” By Iannuzzi’s standards, only a dozen topflight installers exist in all of Canada.

He estimates that the average car wrap costs the buyer between, roughly, $2,000 to $3,000: “It might cost $4,000 to paint a car, but you can wrap it for half to three-quarters of that cost, and it takes half the time. Now there are so many different colours and beautiful styles of artwork to choose from that wraps can really make the cars stand out. It’s the wave of the future. It’s already being done on cars in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series – vehicles that are constantly crashing and replacing their graphics and parts.

When they wrap their cars, most of them print two or three extra copies of the wrap for spares, so they can easily replace damage to look like the car has never been hit.”

So far, Iannuzzi’s in-house vehicle-wrapping projects have included referrals from the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship racing series and wraps for a Toronto ad agency much larger than his with no production facilities and a major automotive account. “The investment in the printer was a big jump, and I’ve been waiting for all the sexy orders for wild and colourful racing-car designs to roll in. Instead, I’ve mostly been getting more orders for things like furniture-store trucks, but they pay the bills,” he confesses.

Racing sponsorship revealed

As another of its services, Iannuzzi’s agency prepares race-sponsorship programs for use by other racers as marketing tools to attract sponsors. “We explain to racers that it’s not just a matter of telling sponsors ‘Give me money, and I’ll put your logo on my car.’ I also suggest they take the Yellow Pages, make a list of all the automotive-related companies, and then throw that list away, because racers have already solicited those companies to death. Instead, they need to sell an advertising opportunity that will work for any type of business by helping the prospective sponsor sell more of whatever products they make.

“Most sponsors find racing exciting and like the opportunities to bring clients to the track and have their logo on TV, but the driver’s race results are

secondary. What’s more important is that the sponsor’s customers fall within the demographics for car-racing fans, who tend to be loyal and are typically 25- to 40-year-old males with a high-school education and an annual income over $50,000. Racers must look for sponsors of any sort—motels, fast-food chains, or whatever – that sell into that demographic,” Iannuzzi emphasizes.

Perry Iannuzzi of Pure Design Marketing.

He details how amateur racers sell real estate on their cars based on the value of each sponsorship: Primary sponsors might contribute, say, $10,000 to place their logo on the hood and rear quarter panels (above the rear wheels) of the car and the trailer that transports it. Secondary sponsors might pay $5,000 for a location like the car’s front bumper (which he says is also a good spot because it features frequently in TV and sports photos), while auxiliary sponsors might pay $2,500 to place their logos on other parts of the car.

As a designer, Iannuzzi’s job is to work with racing teams to incorporate sponsors’ logos, the team’s colours, and a basic design scheme (such as stripes or flames) into an artistic whole. He confirms that in this process the main sponsor’s colours and placement come first. So if the primary sponsor’s logo is brown and orange, although the team’s preferred colours may be purple and green, the latter must be changed if there is any possibility of clashing with the main sponsor’s logo. When the design is complete, Iannuzzi runs test prints for colour accuracy, then

both the sponsor and the team must approve the project before installers wrap the car.

Iannuzzi further explains how racing sponsorships work, starting with the fact that in Canada there are three levels of racing: “First is the amateur, grassroots motorsports I race in, comprised of private individuals like me who want track time.” Iannuzzi estimates that each racing weekend in his series, called the GT Sprints Presented by Toyotires Championship, costs him around $375 in entry fees, $200 for fuel, $100 for oil and incidentals, $1,200 for a set of tires every weekend or two, and $150 to lease a truck and trailer.

Then of course, racers must also shell out monies for transportation, accommodation, and food – “including a victory celebration if we’re lucky” – for the members of their team (Iannuzzi has five people on board), as well as those not-so-lucky circumstances when they blow an engine or transmission, or require any number of mechanical fixes. For Iannuzzi and other racers of the GT Sprints series, these costs and allowances are multiplied over the eight weekends of their season.

“In the end, it all averages about $30,000 a year,” says Iannuzzi. “My own company foots the bill, but I try to offset costs as much as possible with sponsorships. The sponsorships are not always cash; they can also be services. For example, our machine shop donates about $10,000 worth of work.

“Second, there’s the intermediate, semi-professional level of racing, which might cost average drivers around $60,000 to $70,000 per year. But the cars in what we call ‘the pointy end of the field,’ meaning first-place or second-place cars, are there because they spend a lot more money, and their teams are being paid. They would invest around $200,000 a year.

“Third are the professional or paid drivers in NASCAR whose costs run at least $3 million a year.

While amateurs pay out of their own pocket, most of these drivers don’t. Rather, they buy their rides by bringing their own sponsorships to the team, so they can all get paid.

“An exception is the U.S. NASCAR Series, where a large corporation might pay in the neighbourhood of $20 million a year to run a car, of which the driver might get $5 million. On top of that, drivers earn prize money, and multiple additional sponsors who each pay them sums of $2, $4, or $5 million are not uncommon. But earnings aren’t that high in Canada, where no series is as big as anything in the U.S.” Iannuzzi admits: “At first, when I got involved in wrapping cars, I was optimistic that more racing-car drivers would readily pay money to wrap their cars.

But my fellow amateur drivers fight for every dollar, and the money must go into the car and the team first. Wrapping is a luxury. So amateurs tend to ask me to wrap their cars for free in exchange for promotion instead of paying for it. But I’m trying to sell the wraps, not give them away.

“Nevertheless, they are becoming more and more popular. In two to three years, I think we’re going to

see a lot more fully wrapped cars,” he predicts. “Since we wrap our own car, we switch it to a whole different colour scheme halfway through the season to show people what we can do, and how we can change things up. It’s best to lead by example.”

Van Domselaar’s laps for charity

When it comes to sponsorships, Alberta racing-car driver James Van Domselaar is a very special case. Now in his 15th year of racing and like other drivers, he enters races like the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series at the Toronto Indy as part of a marketing and advertising deal with his sponsors.

Several times a year he even takes his sponsors’ clients and staff for rides in a special 2-seater racing car he has outfitted especially for this purpose. But in other cases, he charges $250 a pop to take donours for rides around a track strictly to raise money for charity. (In exchange, donours receive a tax receipt for the full amount.) Alternatively, Van Domselaar sometimes donates coupons for rides in his 2-seater at fundraising auctions.

Initially, he became motivated to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLS) in 2006 when his wife (who was then three months pregnant with their second child and had been a member of his racing team since the time when they were dating) was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Although Van Domselaar is passionate about the sport, racing is just his sideline. He works full time for the company that is now also his primary sponsor, Steel-Craft Door Products. (Coincidentally, the company’s owner’s first husband passed away from cancer.)

Another of Van Domselaar’s corporate sponsors in Gus Theoulis, President of Intricco Controls and Automation Ltd. of Pickering, Ontario, a former business colleague who was with Van Domselaar when he first received word of his wife’s diagnosis.

“Before all that happened, with a second child on the way, I was planning on winding down my racing career,” Van Domselaar recalls. “But my wife’s diagnosis was a slap in the face that showed me how quickly life can unravel. I decided I wanted to raise awareness and money to help the cause, so with the help of the local chair of LLS, I first did a 35-lap lapathon at the Edmonton Indy, charging a buck a lap via the Internet, that raised $10,000. The next year I put two seats in an older race car I had that I didn’t want to sell and started offering the Ride of a Lifetime promotion that I do now.

“Fortunately, my wife is a survivor, and as we get further away from her illness, we’ve started to forget that crisis in our lives. It’s God’s way of healing,” he says.

the consumer market and launched six months ago by company President Dan Maher. It specializes in designer vinyl wraps for cars, specifically targeting as its customers owners of high-end new cars who want a custom finish.

Graphiti.ca shares a Mississauga premises with Maher’s other, older company, IdentifyYourself.ca, the commercial arm of Maher’s business. The older company’s activities include producing large-format graphics for national and international retailers and corporations with fleets, as well as large-format trade services. IdentifyYourself.ca has existed for 20 years, was incorporated in 1996, employs a staff of 10, and produced Graphiti.ca’s booth at the Indy and all its contents.

“We’ve actually been in the vehicle-wrap business for 15 years,” recounts Maher, “but six months ago, when 3M developed its Series 1080 Scotchprint Wrap Film, we entered into a strategic partnership with them by forming Graphiti.ca as an exclusively 3M company. Their new 1080 substrate allows for a variety of finishes – including matte and imitations of carbon fibre and brushed metal – that provide style and protection for cars, cost effectively.”

Although Maher admits it is hard to pinpoint the cost of average jobs, he says the wraps for consumer vehicles start at $2,500 and estimates that a high-end car paint job might cost $10,000 to $15,000, while an equivalent wrap job might cost half that amount. His consumer vehicle wraps take three to five days to install and are warranted for three years, but Maher estimates they could last up to five years with proper care. (Basically, These two Nissan Sentras are actually one and the same, just with a different wrap. he says car owners can treat year’s Toronto Indy until I had a bit of a run-in with them like any other vehicle, except waxing must be the tire wall,” he laughs. restricted to sprays rather than buffing.)

Van Domselaar lives in his family’s longtime homeAs much of a car fanatic as my other two interview town of Fort Saskatchewan (15 minutes from Edmonsubjects, Maher lights up when he recalls one of his ton) and, like other racers, benefits from work donated recent challenges: Wrapping a McLaren (a sports car by local businesses, including vehicle graphics from costing the same as a house) in brushed-gold-finish vinyl.

Advantage Signs, the local sign shop. “The red part of Iannuzzi sums up his automotive passion as follows: the car is paint, but they wrapped the rest of it,” he con“There’s no feeling like whipping around a race track firms, “and last year they wrapped our hauler, a 44-foot in a high-performance car. As a business owner, I trailer. It was a pretty big job. Right now they’re putting haven’t had a vacation in 15 years. I’m always tied up stripes on the truck that pulls the trailer.” with payables and receivables and can’t leave that baggage behind. But when I’m on the track, the last thing Graphiti.ca’s custom car finishes on my mind is business; the first thing on my mind is A feature popular with visitors to the Toronto Indy is getting to the front of the pack. It’s a nice outlet to let Thunder Alley, an outdoor area where food and bevyour aggression go and see what you’re made of.” erage vendors and other exhibitors display their wares. Prominent among them this year was a large Victoria Gaitskell is keen to exchange ideas with readers at booth belonging to Graphiti.ca, a business aimed at victoria@printaction.com Subsequently, his racing team has become involved with other charitable causes, including the Make-AWish Foundation of Canada, the United Way of Canada, and others that have seen his humanitarian work and approached him for help.

“We’re not the fastest guys on the track,” Van Domselaar admits. “My team consists of my family and friends. We don’t try to compete against the big hitters, although this year we’re more competitive than last year. I actually had a good thing going at this

No folds barred!

Exciting folding solutions when budget is not an obstacle

by Trish Witkowski very designer must dream of the carteblanche project, with market nouveau subject matter and no limits on format, folding style or paper. It is what passionate designers live for – a portfolio piece straight from heaven. From my commingling with printers and designers over my career, I have learned there are also printers who live for the opportunity to show off and really push the limits of the medium. Hey, it’s a great portfolio piece for them, too, isn’t it: “Look what we just did, and we can do it for you!”

On more than one occasion, I have seen firsthand a printer’s ability to upsell clients once they have a physical sample of something interesting to share. Designers are visual animals, and since folding is visual and dimensional, often you need to show a really engaging real-world example to pique their interest. Sometimes knowing that a “gently used” die can be repurposed for their project will seal the deal as well. It is all about showing them options, and helping them get what they want at a price they are able to pay.

E

flat

© Trish Witkowski: foldfactory.com

standard twist fold

Please note from the previous paragraph, how I wrote “able” to pay instead of “willing” to pay – there is a difference.

There is a cost associated with special projects, and capable clients or designers understand why. Mainstream print has largely been commoditized (“willing” to pay), but when the client is putting a lot of time, resources and creativity into a project they see as important, there is an understanding why it will cost more (“able” to pay), which essentially de-commoditizes the production of that special printing. In fact, if executed properly, clients – particularly, tuned-in designers – feel like they need the printer who can assure them of a successful, beautifully produced piece. In many cases, clients will go to the printer who best services the account (translation: holds their hand), and this is as true for quick jobs as it is for high-end work.

I was recently involved with a project to produce a rare and exotic Twist Fold for a direct-mail campaign. Most people have never seen a twist fold, and we not

T-cross

only ultimately received a high response rate for the campaign, we also received many requests for twist-fold templates and for more information about how and where to produce twist folds. If they see it, they want it. If they do not see it, they do not know it exists, and they choose from their usual assortment of folds.

Proceed with caution (and enthusiasm)

High-budget, high-impact projects (let’s call them HBHI) are exciting to be associated with, but be careful what you wish for.

These types of projects can also be a timeeating catastrophe if they are not managed correctly. I am sure there are many printers out there with horror stories about poorly built die-lines, confusing artwork or – even worse – designs that simply cannot be manufactured coming in the door under a scheduling crunch. It happens – a lot.

Obviously, the best thing to do is to try to get involved with the project as early as possible in its planning stages, or in layout at the latest, to try to head-off the problems before they start.

An easy way to get the skinny on what they are working on is to offer to create

folded paper dummies. This gets you a preview of the file and die-line, and an opportunity to say “Wait – this is all wrong!” and prove it with a physical sample.

If you are not fortunate enough to get in at an early stage, do not just fix the file and grumble in the background. Make it a teaching moment, and after mentioning how nice the piece turned out, let them know what was done wrong, how it inconvenienced your team (nothing like a little guilt to shame them into better behavior next time), and at what point in the process they should get you involved next time.

Great folds for high budgets

Now let us look at a few of these HBHI folds. Below is just a sampling of what can be done. There are so many options when budget is flexible, and there are many different variations on specialty folds as well.

As a rule, most of the truly unique specialty folds require scoring, often die-cutting and hand folding. The exception to the rule is if it is determined that the fold can be automated at a specialty bindery.

Do your research – you may be surprised at what can be done.

panels anels lss ffold old ol up and d iin

Iron cross panels anels fold in to center

L-cross

meandering accordion 22 • PRINTACTION • AUGUST 2011

flat

pane panels els travel travvel

snake fold

Anstey and Pacific Win Accolades at Binding Industries Association Awards

traveling snake fold

long triangle

diagonal fold The Anstey Portfolio

long triangle

diagonal fold

Twist Fold The Twist Fold uses a series of perpendicular folds to “twist” a large square sheet down to a compact folded package. The reveal is exceptional. Twists are also nice carriers that can hold materials when placed into the interior cavity.

Iron Cross Variations The Iron Cross Fold gets its name from the shape it creates when laid out flat.

Panels can be added in any direction. This style of folding can also be modified into several other formats, including T-shaped (T-Cross), L-shaped (L-Cross), and even hexagon or other unusual configurations.

Tulip Fold The basic principle of this fold is the addition of a fold on the diagonal in selected panels to create “pinched” panels that collapse and tuck in on themselves. When opened, the panels reveal in a flower-like manner. Panels can be connected together to create a series of tulip folds, and you can even play with the placement of the diagonal folds to create asymmetrical tulip-folded panels.

Meandering Accordion This folding style uses accordion-style folding and connects the trailing panels to hinge and flip the piece, taking it into the opposite direction. There are not many limits to this folding style, as it can begin with as few or as many panels as desired, and can change direction limitless times as well.

Snake Fold Variations Snake Folds are long roll folds that unravel into different folding sequences.

The standard snake fold starts at the centre and works up, over and around in a counter-clockwise rotation. A Traveling Snake Fold unravels in a random pattern.

Long Triangle The Long Triangle Fold starts as a long rectangular shape and folds down through a series of parallel and angled folds into a square format with a unique split cover consisting of two triangles.

Anstey Book Binding and Pacific Bindery Services have been recognized among the world’s best print finishers, as both Canadian companies win Product of Excellence Awards in the Binding Industries Association’s recent annual competition.

Vancouver-based Pacific Bindery Services took home two Product of Excellence (POE) Awards, which the Binding Industries Association (BIA) only hands out to entries that are technically flawless. The BIA claims the POE awards to be the world’s only competition specifically for graphic finishers and custom loose-leaf companies.

Pacific Bindery won its awards in the Adhesive Binding category, for a TED 2010 Conference program, as well as in the Mechanical Binding category for its work on the Brooks Footwear Catalog Spring 2011.

Toronto-based Anstey Book Binding, a division of Specialties Graphic Finishers, won its POE in the Graphic Finisher Self Promotion category, for its piece called The Anstey Portfolio.

The remaining POE winners included: C&C Offset Printing; Rickard Circular Folding; Bridge Publications; Roswell Bookbinding; New Hampshire Bindery; Trends Presentation Products; American Thermoplastic Company; Tamarack Packaging; Holum & Sons; FastKit; Binding Solutions; and Pack Appeal.

Sixty creative folding ideas

The Fold Picker offers 30 low- to moderatebudget folding ideas in one direction, then flip it over to find 30 exciting folding splurges in the other direction. Watch coordinating videos at Foldfactory.com, too. Coming soon: templates! The fanbookstyle screw and post-bound publication is a compact 10 x 3 inches, 72 pages, and affordably priced. To learn more and to order, visit foldfactory.com/shop.

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

Pacific Bindery’s Brooks Footwear Catalog Spring 2011 and TED 2010 Conference Program

tulip fold (variation) tulip (variation) AUGUST 2011 • PRINTACTION • 23

TECHNOLOGY REPORT

Companies featured: • Bobst Masterfoil 106 PR • Duplo DSC-10/20

Flexible Finishing Options

• Hunkeler PF7 Plow-fold

New finishing equipment continues to hit the printing market at a brisk pace, as the once complex technologies designed for traditional, long offset runs are adapted to handle printed output from toner- and inkjet-based presses.

• Muller Martini Diamant MC Digital

Increasingly, many of the newest finishing systems, detailed below, focus on today’s many forms of book manufacturing, whether the printing is performed by inkjet, toner or traditional offset machines.

• KUDA CL • manroland mini-plow • Muller Martini Primera • Morgana DocuFold Pro • Polar 66 X • Rollem PhotoSlit • Standard Horizon BQ-270V • Standard Horizon BQ-160

Muller Martini Diamant MC Digital Earlier this year, Muller Martini introduced a new batch-production book line, called Diamant MC Digital, with a maximum production speed of up to 2,100 cycles per hour, to its existing family of Diamant MC systems. It is designed to finish customized hardcover books – potentially on an industrial scale – printed by toner-based presses. This capability is largely based on the system’s ability to change over jobs sequentially. For example, Diamant MC Digital can case in book blocks of different widths, without creating empty cycles, if they share the same inlay width. It can also process books with flat spines and is available with or without a head-banding station.

Diamant MC Digital, along with all Muller finishing systems, is driven by the company’s new-generation workflow system, called Connex, first introduced at drupa 2008. Integrated directly into prepress and most Management Information Systems (MIS), the JDF-enabled Connex system generates job data and facilitates sorting, grouping and planning of orders – critical for finishing short-run work.

Connex consists of five primary modules: Connex.Info for production-line overview and job status; Connex.Edit for non-MIS-enabled companies to set-up and edit jobs in JDF format; Connex.Plan for sorting, grouping and scheduling; Connex.Prod for automated machine communication; and Connex.Link for integrating older, non-JDF-enabled equipment.

24 • PRINTACTION • AUGUST 2011

USED EQUIPMENT

manroland mini-plow In mid-2011, manroland introduced a new folding technology, called mini-plow, for use in the newspaper-printing sector. The patented mini-plow folds the edge of a paper web with a maximum width of 80 mm, which allows newspaper printers and publishers to consider new variants for folding advertisements and supplements.

The solely mechanical fold construction of the mini-plow does not need a software link and can be fitted wherever a bay window is available. It is designed to work at the speed of manroland’s COLORMAN web-offset press.

manroland COLORMAN web-offset press

Standard Horizon BQ-270V Standard Horizon’s new BQ-270V, to be debuted in September at Graph Expo, is based on the pre-existing BQ-270 technology platform, which was first introduced as a prototype back in 2002. Designed for book-of-one finishing, the BQ-270V is equipped with a sensor-activated book-block caliper system, which, according to North America distributor Standard Horizon, helps to eliminate makeready time when dealing with different book thicknesses. Bound books can then be trimmed in the new HT-30C 3-sided trimmer, which is now equipped with a colour touchscreen control and an optional barcode system that can vary finished trim size from book to book.

Standard Horizon BQ-270V HT-30C

Standard Horizon BQ-160 Standard Horizon recently introduced the BQ-160 perfect binder with PUR adhesive capabilities, which will debut in September during Graph Expo. The Horizon BQ-160 is designated as an entry-level machine for light or moderate production environments. The binder is also capable of padding and tape binding. The BQ-160 is equipped with a colour touchscreen where users can adjust various settings like cover alignment with the spine, nipping pressure and clamping pressure.

Rollem PhotoSlit In February 2011, UK-based Rollem introduced a new cutting system, called PhotoSlit, designed specifically for finishing photo-books. PhotoSlit processes up to 8,000 A3 sheets per hour, while the system can handle sheet sizes from A6 to A3 – with the smallest available format size measuring 75 x 30 mm. PhotoSlit also features 2-dimensional bleed cutting with a gutter size as small as 1.6 mm.

According to Rollem, the system’s slitting blades should last between three and six months in a typical photo-book manufacturing environment.

AUGUST 2011 • PRINTACTION • 25

TRADE PRINTING

BINDERY & FINISHING

Morgana DocuFold Pro

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does do es Casebindi Casebinding Cas sebinding Specialties Graphic Graphic Finishers Finishers 9 946 46 Warden War den A Avenue venue TToronto, oron to, On Ontario t ario M M1L 1L 4 4C9 C9 416 416 7 701 01 0 0111 111 / 8 888 88 7 798 98 8 8975 975 www.specialtiesgraphics.com www .s p e c ialti e s g r ap hi c s .c om STEEL RULE DIES

In June 2011, Morgana launched an upgraded version of its small-format Docufold Pro folder, which handles sheet sizes of up to 14 x 20 inches with a maximum fold length of 11.8 inches. Docufold Pro reaches a maximum speed of 27,500 A4 sheets an hour, while hitting a top speed of 18,000 when handling A3-format sheets. It features pulsed suction feeding and anti-static brushes to finish toner-based printing with high amounts of static and curl. Docufold Pro also features Morgana’s new icon-driven, 7-inch SmartScreen control, while an alphanumeric memory is available to store jobs.

The system’s fold rollers are designed to compensate for most types of fold or paper weight without the need for adjustment. Docufold Pro also features side-lay alignment of the sheets, prior to folding; low-pressure suction chamber to control curled paper before it enters the fold rollers; enclosed fold plates (fitted with anti-static brushes); a plug-in perforating and scoring attachment; delivery belt stacker; and counting and batching tools. The system also features a proof fold button, which sends three sheets of the job through for a final check of the job before production commences.

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DIE CUTTING & FINISHING

26 • PRINTACTION • AUGUST 2011

Bobst Masterfoil 106 PR In late 2010, Bobst unveiled its new Masterfoil 106 PR, with a maximum format size of 1,060 x 760 mm, for hotfoil stamping on to paper, carton board and micro-flute corrugated board. With an output of 8,000 sheets per hour, the system is based on what Bobst describes as a completely new Foil Touch platen concept. The design of Masterfoil’s lower platen section, according to Bobst, delivers 50 percent more contact time between the foil and the sheet relative to all competing machines.

Additionally, the Masterfoil 106 PR allows foils to be stamped starting at 13-mm from the front edge of the sheet. A new Smart Feeder module provides for better handling of lightweight papers, from 70 g/m2 upwards, as well as carton-board weights of up to 2,000 g/m2. The machine can handle corrugated board up to 2-mm thick. Masterfoil 106 PR also features a new Easy Foil handling system to help alleviate set-up times: after a new roll is added, the foil enters a vacuum chamber from where it is automatically pulled through the entire machine.

TRADE PRINTING

Hunkeler PF7 Plow-fold First launched in May 2010 at IPEX, the Hunkeler PF7 Plow-fold module is designed to convert inkjet-based print, from web widths of up to 30 inches, into signatures at a maximum speed of 200 metres per minute. More specifically, the double-folding PF7 unit processes printed output into 4- or 6-page signatures – with the system’s unique double-fold design that allows for easier switching between page configurations.

By integrating other finishing equipment to the PF7, such as Hunkeler’s SD7 star wheel delivery, users can then assemble the signatures into book blocks of up to 50mm thick, for example, which can then be fed into a system for adding book covers.

During IPEX 2010, Hunkeler also debuted its PP6 punching and perforating machine, as well as the DP6 that combines perforation and stamping in a modular concept – for longitudinal and transverse perforation.

Hunkeler PF7 Plow-fold

Muller Martini Primera Duplo DSC-10/20 Duplo designed its new DSC-10/20 as a less-expensive and smaller-size suctioncollator option, relative to its DC-10/60 machine. The floor model DSC-10/20 feeds up to 7,200 sets per hour (depending on the downstream unit), rivalling the speed of many larger collators.

Duplo’s collator includes a block-mode function for continuous running, while an on-the-fly reject of improper sets helps eliminate interruption.

In addition to its colour touchscreen panel, the DSC-10/20 features 10 bins per tower, up to two connectable towers and a paper loading height of up to 1.38 inches (400 sheets of fine quality paper 64 g/m2). The off-line collator, with the ability to accept both off-set and un-collated documents, handles format sizes between 4.75 x 8.27 inches and 13 x 18.11 inches.

Duplo DSC-10/20 collators

KUDA CL The KUDA CL, developed in part by Mississauga-based K-North Inc., is a fully programmable paper-cutting system with a maximum speed of 45 cycles per minute and a cutting accuracy of 1/100 mm. The CL model comes standard with programmable clamp pressure and a 15-inch, colour TFT panel, as well as ball-screw technology with ground linear ways (to significantly reduce wear), a guarded slotless rear table, chromed table surface and extra-large, cast-iron side tables. The system, available in 45-, 54-, 61- and 69 ¼-inch sizes, also includes management software for service, diagnostics, scheduled maintenance and knife changing.

In May 2010, during the UK-based IPEX tradeshow, Muller Martini introduced new developments for its Primera saddlestitching line, which includes the Primera 110 and 160 models. In addition to a new set-up wizard, the Primera 110 has been upgraded with new levels of automation and, according to Muller Martini, an improved, ergonomic operating concept.

In addition to allowing for 2-up and 3up production, the Primera 110 works at maximum speed of 11,000 cycles per hour and processes a range of products sizes, from A7 to A3. Muller Martini has also mounted HMI control devices to every Primera feeder to enable shorter operating paths. All of the Primera systems now feature a Smart Stitch Control staple control function to verify the presence of a staple – and the actual type of staple used.

Polar 66 X In April 2011, Polar, a subsidiary of Heidelberg, unveiled a new barcode scanner option for its recently introduced 66 X cutting machine. The new barcode feature allows job data to be read with the scanner so the system can then automatically call up the appropriate cutting program. Designed to handle up to 35 x 50-inch formats, the hydraulic Polar 66 X cutter is geared toward finishing toner- and inkjet-based work, as well as smallformat offset jobs. The cutter is equipped with a 10.4-inch colour display and can be integrated into a pressroom workflow through Polar’s P-Net technology.

Polar 66 X AUGUST 2011 • PRINTACTION • 27

BUSINESS FORMS

Howard Continued from page 16

Tried and true

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Indigo Digital & Heidelberg Offset (NNYLZZP]L 7YPJPUN -HZ[ 8\V[LZ ;VW 8\HSP[` (NNYLZZP]L 7YPJPUN -HZ[ 8\V[LZ ;VW 8\HSP[` 6 6U +LTHUK 7YVK\J[PVU *VTWSL[L 0U /V\ZL -PUPZOPUN U +LTHUK 7YVK\J[PVU *VTWSL[L 0U /V\ZL -PUPZOPUN

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BROKER / ACCOUNT PROTECTED 28 • PRINTACTION • AUGUST 2011

Selling on the used-equipment market, our plant [Howard Graphic Equipment] reconditions presses by focusing on register and function, which are usually not significantly covered during the demonstration of a brand-new press.

To access press register, the common tool used by most is the GATF test form, now being developed by the Printing Industries of America organization, which allows measuring devices to analyze production issues like fit, register, dot gain, slurring or doubling. However, the GATF test form is somewhat of a mixed blessing because it is open to all kinds of interpretation. Yet, we use it to ensure the soundness and ability to print within an acceptable range.

After all, used machinery suppliers have a very different outlook with demos than do new-press suppliers. With used press demonstrations, the buyer is not coming to decide on a particular brand of press but rather a specific press. If all functions work, the press registers and fulfills an internal pass of the GATF test form, then we as an industry want and expect you to be pleased. That’s precisely where we too get ourselves in trouble, if the buyer again has expectations that do not meet with reality.

No one sells GATF sheets. Internally, we know what we have in a press just by running it, but sometimes we do not understand why a printer still wants to see his job demonstrated on that machine.

If press technicians were press buyers, it would be easy to have great demos because technicians truly appreciate what makes a press suitable for a particular company.

They can easily filter out manufacturer hype and drill down the core of a printing company’s needs. Technicians and demonstrators know their machinery is great and that most so-called difficult tests, although seemingly reflective of that specific press, can be traced to secondary areas of print production. But technicians do not buy presses, nor do demonstrators or salespeople. Printers buy presses.

I remember talking to a salesperson back in 2002, when he was close to selling a press to a very large packaging company in North Carolina. He lost the deal. As any good salesman does, he called the printer to ask why. The press demonstration had gone reasonably well, and the price was certainly in-line with market value. So, why had he lost the sale – it came down to a beauty contest. The printer told the salesman that the other press was just so darn nice-looking.

Can simple aesthetics make the difference between two million-dollar machines? In this case it did, as both presses were of equal high quality and features.

Buying decisions are complex. Losing a sale for such a silly reason drives manufacturers nuts, which is why many will spend too much time on the superficial aspects of their machines. Big, flat screens, fancy cabinetry, it all adds up to leveraging the buyer’s perception of their equipment.

Talk to most manufacturers and the message is similar: Gone are a lot of the oldfashioned mechanical highlights of yesteryear. In essence, most printers take it as a given that modern, high-end machines are, for the most part, equal in capability.

Most important of all is the functionality

and “smartness” of the equipment. Paramount is the development of unique software for reducing waste and manpower. On a good day, this is exactly what the demo room will convey by showing the printer specific tools and options that fit their business model to a tee – printing is arguably the most unique form of manufacturing.

In reality, the environment in a demo room is not the best place to see the press running. A much better solution is at a user location, but manufacturers do not always encourage this approach because they cannot control the environment, or often showcase specific press features. For example, the demonstrating shop is likely to have established its own make-ready protocol, which may take a few extra minutes.

In fact, the shop’s workflow might engage the buyer enough to think differently about what they need in a machine.

Maybe the demonstrating shop and machine look like a horror show, even if they work well in concert. Personally, I like going to an end-user and also to a demo room to get a full perspective on a machine’s capabilities – best-case scenarios combined with real-world scenarios. There is no better resource than getting a few minutes with an honest operator who is running your new potential press on a daily basis, through thick and thin.

At my company, we have lost sales during a demo, and it’s not fun to find out if a buyer purchases a press elsewhere – often buyers may not purchase a new press for several more months, even if they make it to the demo stage. When the demonstrator really learns to read a situation and the salesman has done their homework, however, good things happen for all parties involved, more often than not.

Getting all three players to read from same script is sometimes difficult, but absolutely necessary for a positive outcome.

Great demos are only designed to titillate the buyer. There is much more that the buyer and seller can share, and it is best to communicate these needs well before anybody walks into a demonstration room.

The Do’s and Don’ts of buying a press

• Do make your own punch list of key reasons for buying • Do not use price as a key requirement • Do explain what you want to see when you are on a demo • Do expect minor imperfections and ask why they have occurred • Do spend equal time learning the features of the press (Focus on exclusive features) • Do not fall in or out of love by visual perception alone. That’s not what presses are for • Do take the time to visit a field installation and talk with the crews • Do ask for a cost of ownership work-up so you can compare operational costs • Do not, forget that there is human involvement and with it comes good and bad days Nick Howard has been involved in the printing industry since 1976. He manages Howard Graphic Equipment Ltd., which has been involved in the supply, sale, rebuilding and appraisal business since 1967. Nick can be reached at: nhoward@bellnet.ca.

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Tribute Continued from page 14

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Please join us at the FIGHT FOR SIGHT Fundraising Gala, with all proceeds being donated to St. Michaelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital, Ophthalmology Department.

The Department of Ophthalmology at St. Michaelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital is an international leader in eye care delivery and education, and is the largest retinal centre in the GTA, actively involved in ground-breaking scientific bench research and multi-centre clinical trials.

Together we can raise awareness and fund research to ensure that nothing stands in the way of clear bright vision for those threatened with vision-related illnesses.

Join us so that their work will continue. I invite you to support the FIGHT FOR SIGHT.

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and wanted to bring with him copies of the local dailyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coverage of the festivities. The copies arrived to his private jet within thirty minutes of being ordered.

Stroma is not unique in the inkjet-based printing of newspapers; they are just the company producing the largest number of such newspapers every day. OcĂŠ has also just announced another print service provider joining the DNN: Symeta in Belgium. The company owned by Colruyt, Belgiumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest retailer, is using its JetStream 2200 for printing international newspapers mainly for the Brussels business community. The first company to install an OcĂŠ JetStream press in 2009 was Spanish newspaper printer Avila.

Kodak has also sold a number of its Versamark VL series presses for printing newspapers. This Kodak list includes a leading data-focused printer in Italy, called Rotomail, which prints USA Today for the Italian market on a Versamark VL 4200. Not far away, in Malta and Cyprus, a range of newspapers are printed by Miller Distribution on Kodak Versamark VL presses.

In London, United Kingdom, contract newspaper printer Newsfax, a company that has Malcolm Miller of Miller Distribution as an investor, also installed a Kodak Versamark VL press to handle international newspaper production. Kodak just announced that billing, marketing and transpromo specialist Acierta Transpromo & Billing Solutions has joined forces with newspaper printing company PressPrint to create a local integrated newspaper printing service in Spain using its Versamark VL 4200 press.

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A key question, however, is whether newspaper publishers will install their own inkjet presses or, alternatively, will they use print service providers for either printing in remote areas (where distribution by air or local printing is uneconomical) or for producing personalized, targeted or microzoned sections of a newspaper.

After discussing this topic with several publishers, many still feel they are limited by the higher cost of inkjet-based newspaper printing. However, we so far have seen very few newspapers actually reengineering their business model, certainly in the same extent as some book publishers and direct-mail companies. The potential of using personalization and linking up with electronic media for targeted advertising or specialized editorial sections (potentially linked up with specific Website content) to produce microzoned sections has yet to be explored. Perhaps we will see this as more print service providers are looking to utilize spare capacity on their presses.

I expect specialized financial newspapers, such as the Los Angeles-based Investors Business Daily, a subscription-only newspaper that is printed remotely on other publishersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; offset presses, to be the sort of newspaper that could really benefit from inkjet technology â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to almost develop a new type of newspaper. I think a move by many newspaper publishers to use inkjet technology is still many years away, and this technology will remain predominantly as a means of printing short runs of international newspapers in remote business or holiday locations.

Andrew Tribute is the managing partner of U.K.based consulting firm Attributes Associates.

PRINTING & EMBOSSING

DIGITAL PRINTING

Ebner Continued from page 15

Zone 3: The aisle leading to featured item What the consumer is thinking: What else does this store offer? Where should I go next?

Retail sign objective: To pique interest in additional products. Pull the consumer through the store and further build excitement.

Sign strategy: Use banners, floor graphics, posters to reinforce sales message.

Zone 4: The product display What the consumer is thinking: Is this good value? Why should I buy this? What else do I need to go along with this product?

Retail objective: To encourage the consumer to trade-up to featured items and to increase sales by offering a cross-promotion – encourage cross-store shopping.

Sign strategy: Use case cards, header cards and banners to draw attention to display area. Use danglers and sales barrels to draw attention to products.

Zone 5: The cash register What the consumer is thinking: I’ll buy this product. What is there to look at while I’m waiting in line? Is there anything else I need?

Retail objective: Pique interest in additional items. Encourage impulse buying.

Sign strategy: Counter or cash register signs and over checkout banners.

While radio or television advertisements are often an unwelcome interruption, traditionally being seen outside of the realm of impulsive purchasing (save for the advances in smart-phone technology and Internet-based buying), consumers actively look for, read and respond to in-store signage.

Consumers, trained by their hours spent in big-box stores, have an inherent understanding that in-store signage can help them find products, make informative buying decisions and even save money. There is a sincere interest in finding and reading signs, posters, banners and floor graphics that provide this information.

In fact, in-store signage is so effective that in many cases it does not even need to be read by the shopper to generate results. Shoppers have been conditioned to believe that pricing in larger text, shelf talkers, displays and bins all imply a Special Offer. For example, take any product off the shelf and display it in a bin. Wrap the bin in a large bright sign that shows the regular price and in most cases the result will be a measurable increase in sales – the bin sign implies a discount.

So here’s the bottom line: In retail, signage is not an option. It is an indispensable part of the retail sales model because in most cases retail success can be directly attributed to effective signage. This dependence on signage presents an incredible opportunity for selling large-format print, which itself has become much easier for the commercial printer to engage.

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Peter Ebner is a professional sales trainer and marketing consultant with over 25 years of experience. He is author of 12 industry specific books and audio programs including Breaking the Print Sales Barrier. He can be reached at (905) 713-2274 or visit his website at www.ebnerseminars.com.

AUGUST 2011 • PRINTACTION • 31

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POS COMPONENTS SPECIALTY PRINTING

PrintAction Marketplace is the most effective way to conduct industry-specific trade.

Whether it is excess equipment, employment offers or business opportunities, trust PrintAction to get your message read by the maximum number of relevant prospects.

Email: classifieds@printaction.com Tel: 416.665.7333 x37 CLOSING TO RETIRE Die cutting and foil stamping company. For sale: Heidelberg Cylinders and Platten Presses. Various other equipment.

Call Scott at (613) 727-1421 ESTIMATOR WANTED Printing company in Markham looking for an experienced estimator.

Please send resume to printingresumepost@gmail.com Prime Office Space… Almost FREE Just pay for your share of utilities. Fully furnished, modern facilities in Markham. Ideal for print brokers, graphic designers, web developers, or marketing professionals.

Contact us at enfigo@enfigo.com MERGER OR PARTNERSHIP We are an established print management company with in-house pre-press, design, and proprietary sourcing/estimating technology.We are looking to establish a strategic alliance with a printer, broker, or agency.

Please email enquiries to ec1973@live.com BOOKKEEPER AVAILABLE Hard-working and organized worker seeking a full or part time position in the bookkeeping or administrative departments at a company within the Kitchener – Waterloo – Cambridge area. Experienced in the graphic arts market.

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FOR SALE 1) Heidelberg Quickmaster 2 colour, year 1996, model # 46-2, impressions: 24,711,186, $4,000 2) Trojan cutter - model #72-AT-M, max. cutting width - 28-3/16" / 720mm, $2,500. Taken away by the buyer.

Please email jbutler@seawayprinting.ca FOR SALE Heidelberg SBDZ 35" die cutter, foil stamper; 30" Heidelberg cylinder die cutter.

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AUGUST 2011 • PRINTACTION • 33

ARCHIVE

August 1991 The Soviet Union continues its dissolution as seven states declare independence, Tim Berners-Lee launches the first World Wide Web site at CERN, and Nintendo releases its 16-bit Super Nintendo in North America.

Customs regulations hurting printers: Revenue minister orders review The current U.S. country-of-origin marking requirements for printed products are hurting the Canadian printing industry, the House of Commons was told recently.

“As Canadian printers, we have three strikes against us,” said John Morris, President of the Consumer Printed Products Group at Southam Graphics. “First, U.S. customs regulations are too stringent and not applied fairly. Second, Canadian laws are too lax and not enforced properly. The third strike is that most American print buyers don’t want to see ‘Printed in Canada’ on their products so Canadian printers lose accounts because of that.”

The CPIA believes that getting the marking issue resolved would allow the Canadian printing industry to narrow the trade gap.

A Day in a Colour House

PrintAction writer Michael Kieran provides some insight on the inner-workings of prepress houses, from coordinating workflow to the final assembly of pages into flats. Although digital technologies have made many inroads, especially for imagesetters, most of the work within a prepress house continued to be done with transparencies and hard-copy photographs.

“There are a variety of ways of getting type into a page layout, of which the most common remains scanning a black-and-white ‘mechanical’ or typeset galley. An increasing amount of type is arriving at the colour house in PostScript format. This can be uploaded to the high-end system and raster image processed, or ‘ripped,’ so that it becomes part of a pixel image.

“Although an increasing number of colour pages are being produced from the desktop, the assembly of pages into printers’ flats, ready for plate-making, remains largely a hand-craft procedure. One reason for this is the cost of a film recorder that can output an entire 25 x 40" piece of film at once. Another is that a composite file that large will take much longer to image than individual pages that make it up.”

34 • PRINTACTION • AUGUST 2011

The original artwork – in this case a 35 mm slide – has been mounted on a transparent plastic drum and loaded in the scanner. The coloured control knobs allow the operator to modify the scanning parameters for the cyan, magenta, yellow and black channels in the image.

Storing high-resolution image files requires plenty of megabytes.

This room contains more than 400 disk packs, each capable of holding 300 MB of image data – that's 120GB (gigabytes) of image storage. In the prepress business these disk packs are considered a big improvement over magtapes, because they’re faster and hold more data. Yet 100 of the tiny new digital audio tape (DAT) cartridges would store twice this much data, and they would all fit in a briefcase.

In order to get the right product for the right job, it takes more than raw material. It takes knowledge of sustainable options, production schedules, delivery options. At Ariva, we can help with the whole process, not just the product. Larger formats. Warehousing and storage. Consultation and digital know-how. New ideas and new ways of doing business.We know your business is about more than just the paper itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s printed on.

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