Wide-Format & Signage May 2020 by WhatTheyThink

MAY 2020

COMPANIES shift gears in p.8

CRISIS

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36 C utting Remarks: Finishing Systems Offer New Tools 40 Essential Services in a Time of Crisispply 54 S upply Chain Disruption in a Pandemic

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EDITORIAL ─ Once-In-A-Lifetime Global Health Crisis

CRISIS

MANAGEMENT

We will continue to connect using our print and online platforms

Cary Sherburne Senior Editor cary@whattheythink.com

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e are all living through what one can only hope is a once-in-a-lifetime global health crisis, and we are so proud of the printing, packaging, textile, sign & display graphics, print software and other industry players that are jumping in to help our dedicated medical professionals and ﬁrst responders get safely through this. In this issue, we highlight many of these valiant efforts, including several companies that have retooled operations to produce personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers and the general public, including masks and face shields. We also offer guidance on managing employee stress during the pandemic, as well as share advice from experts in sales, recruiting and more to ensure that our readers can make the best possible use of this time. We also hope you’ll appreciate our story on a unique approach to manufacturing denim, one of the textile industry’s most polluting operations, that actually makes denim – or faux denim – not only fashionable and even more comfortable, but environmentally sustainable. No one knows how long this will continue. We are hopeful that we can all get back to some semblance of normality by late summer. To do so, we all need to pull together and

WhatTheyThink - Printing News | May 2020

help each other by social distancing, staying at home except for emergencies, and following the other guidelines we have been given. It is heartening to hear how many companies in our industry have been designated essential, including both print and packaging companies, and are able to keep their presses running and their employees at work. At WhatTheyThink/ Printing News, we are working hard to bring you the most current information – and inspiration. Be sure to check PrintingNews.com and WhatTheyThink.com for the latest updates. Both sites also feature COVID-19 resource pages. Just a reminder, WhatTheyThink is launching an online Technology Outlook Week, May 18-22, to educate the industry in the areas of Production Inkjet, Software & Workﬂow, Labels & Packaging, Wide Format & Signage and Print Finishing in our LunchNLearn webinar series as another way to stay informed during this difﬁcult time. Please see WhatTheyThink.com/Webinars and PrintingNews.com/Webinars to access information on participation. Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this crisis. As we navigate the next few months, we will continue to connect using our print and online platforms for the entire print, sign and textile industries. Stay safe. ●

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VP, GROUP PUBLISHER Kelley Holmes kelley@whattheythink.com 772-579-7360 PRODUCTION EDITOR & MANAGER Amy Hahn amy@whattheythink.com EDITOR Jessica Taylor jessica@whattheythink.com

CON MAY 2020

MANAGING EDITOR Richard Romano richard@whattheythink.com SENIOR EDITOR Cary Sherburne cary@whattheythink.com

Cover Story

COMPANIES SHIFT GEARS IN CRISIS

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Paul Zimmerman paul@whattheythink.com 973-727-1376

Making masks and other PPE to help with the COVID-19 pandemic

PRESIDENT Eric Vessels eric@whattheythink.com 740-417-3333

By Cary Sherburne

PRINTING NEWS

COO Adam Dewitz adam@whattheythink.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Tom Crouser Thayer Long Burke Cueny Wayne Lynn Mark DiMattei Lisa Magnuson John Giles Jennifer Matt Joanne Gore Debbie McKeegan

Mary Schilling Heidi Tolliver-Walker David Zwang

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ARTICLE REPRINTS Please contact your account executive PrintingNews.com PrintingNews.com—the web portal representing content from Printing News, Wide-Format & Signage—is devoted to delivering you timely news and multimedia content on a daily basis. WhatTheyThink (ISSN 2642-3189) (USPS 500-850) Volume 43, Number 7 is published ten times per year in January/February, March, April, May, June/July, August, September, October, November, and December by WTT Media, Inc., at 2038 Ford Parkway #218, Saint Paul, MN 55116. Periodicals postage paid at Saint Paul, MN and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to WhatTheyThink, 2038 Ford Parkway #218, Saint Paul, MN 55116. Subscriptions: Individual subscriptions are available without charge in the U.S. to qualified subscribers. Publisher reserves the right to reject non-qualified subscriptions. Annual subscription prices in the U.S.A $95; Canada $125 USD; all other countries $150 USD. Printed in the USA. Copyright © 2020 WTT Media, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recordings or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission. WTT Media Inc. does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any person or company for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in the material herein, regardless of causation. The views and opinions in the articles herein are not those of the publishers, unless indicated. The publishers do not warrant, either expressly or by implication, the factual accuracy of the articles herein, or of any views or opinions offered by the authors of said articles.

- PAGE -

WHEN VUCA IS THE NEW NORMAL

Manage employee stress during the COVID-19 crisis. By Wayne Lynn

USE YOUR DOWNTIME WISELY

MARKETING IN A COVID-19 WORLD

INKJET MAKES A GRAND ENTRY

WhatTheyThink - Printing News | May 2020

Where will your company be post COVID-19? By Jennifer Matt

Planning short- and long-term marketing goals. By Joanne Gore

axpanel revolutionizes home entry. By Mary Schilling DON'T FORGET TO FINISH IT!

How the right kind of ﬁnishing will set you apart. By Mark DiMattei

NTENTS WIDE-FORMAT & SIGNAGE

36 40 42 46 48 50 54

CUTTING REMARKS

Finishing systems offer new tools, greater productivity and more application options. By Richard Romano ESSENTIAL SERVICES IN A TIME OF CRISIS

How the crisis has impacted businesses in the wideformat and signage market. By Richard Romano

COLUMNS

THE SIGN CONNECTION

Tips for signs & graphics companies during COVID-19 By Burke Cueny GETTING UP TO SPEED

New owner Greg Ellison takes on the learning curve at SpeedPro Denver. By Richard Romano DENIM REIMAGINED

A new, more eco-friendly way to think about denim. By Cary Sherburne SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION IN A PANDEMIC

Now is the time for a digital workﬂow. By Debbie McKeegan

A Tale of Two Shows By Richard Romano PRINTING PULSE

What Will The Full Impact Be? By Richard Romano

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT A SALES PROCESS?

CASE STUDY

ASSOCIATION INSIGHTS

COME SAIL AWAY

PhotoSails takes billboard advertising out to sea. By Richard Romano

EXECUTIVE Q&A

Follow these steps to increase sales. By Lisa Magnuson

Case of Finding Good Help By Tom Crouser

APTech Adapts to Uncertain Times By Thayer Long

E R A S T N E V THESE E 15

DEPARTMENTS

4 Editorial 34 Watch List: Video

64 Classiﬁeds/Supplier Directory

FOLLOW US twitter: @PrintingNews; @WideFormatSign; @whattheythink facebook: Printing News; wideformatsignage; @whattheythink linkedin: Printing News; linkedin.com/groups/1780044; whattheythink youtube: PrintingNews.com

TEXTILES â&#x201D;&#x20AC; Fighting The Virus

COMPANIES SHIFT GEARS

Making masks and other PPE to help with the COVID-19 pandemic By Cary Sherburne

WhatTheyThink - Printing News | May 2020

e first introduced you to teen fashion designer Ariel Swedroe in October of 2018. Her story was inspiring then, and she continues to inspire us today. Ariel is just one of many using her skills and passions to fight the virus. Not only is she using her sewing skills to produce masks, she has posted a how-to tutorial on Instagram so others can pitch in as well. Other companies are retooling their operations to make masks and keep people employed. Patrick Tio, at Equipe Athletics in Southern California, has two styles of face mask that meet the current CDC guidance in the event of a shortage of certified face masks. He selected a 100% polyester fleece fabric, based on a study published by the Oxford University Press. The facemask has been developed with the user’s comfort in mind with contouring in the face to ensure a good fit as well as reduce leakage to the greatest extent possible. The ties are polyester spandex, which can be fully adjusted and will stretch to accommodate a wide range of sizes. Masks can be purchased via the Equipe Athletics website with volume discount pricing. “But if masks need to go to an individual in need, we are also donating,” Tio said. “For larger organizations looking for donations, we are requesting they help offset our material and labor costs. We are also doing this to help my staff stay employed during these hard times.” In the first week, his team produced 800 masks per day and were able to

quickly ramp up to 1,500 per day. Even our own Kelley Holmes is devoting time to making masks. “Home Economics was a long time ago but the skills come back,” she said. “By the way, did you know that the N95 3M mask is made from the same fabric in the virus AC filter #10? Consider changing your AC filter!” And masks are not the only equipment the industry is jumping in to supply. Allied Printing has created a PPE face shield that is die-cut in a single piece from clear plastic. The company will share the die

lines and manufacturing instructions with any other printers who wish to manufacture and donate these face shields to their local hospitals and first responders. Interested parties can contact them at solutions@alliedprinting.com. Sudhir Ravi, corporate and business development for people analytics company R-Squared AI, also went into action, because doctors, nurses and frontline health workers in Illinois did not have enough protective gear. He helped retool his family’s manufacturing business, TVP Graphics, to provide face shields based on open source files from LVPEI Center for Innovation and the University of Wisconsin at Madison. After four days of working nights, they

TEXTILES ─ Fighting The Virus were able to scale up and are now producing 25,000 to 50,000 face shields, which they are supplying to nonprofits at no charge for provision to front-line healthcare workers. Shields are personalized to the nonprofit. For more information, contact aneta@thinkvariable.com.

On a larger scale, Gerber Technology has created a PPE Task force and Resource Team to support its global base of customers and partners as they work to increase their production or transition to manufacturing personal protective equipment (PPE). “In a global context where COVID-19 inexorably continues to spread, the global shortage of masks and other personal protective equipment needed to keep

WhatTheyThink - Printing News | May 2020

healthcare workers safe is a concern of everyone,” according to the company. The Gerber PPE Resource Team is available to support PPE manufacturing including: ● Implementing pre-defined patterns and markers or defining fabric/ sewing requirements ● Helping with the setup of cutter parameters specific to the selected fabrics ● Providing training, software, equipment and service technicians to ramp up production ● Changing over current production lines to the production of PPE ● Connecting supply and demand for PPE via our global ecosystem of customers and partners ● Introducing existing PPE manufacturers to those converting to PPE production In the first 48 hours, the task force received 240 requests from customers who wanted to participate. Alabama-based OnPoint Manufacturing took swift action. Kirby Best, the company’s chairman, started receiving calls in mid-March, and within a couple of days, the company had converted its production plant to 90% production of PPE. “We can do masks, scrubs or gowns,” he said, “but we would prefer to focus on one or the other. So far, most of the requests have been for masks and we are able to produce about 3,000 per day using an antimicrobial fabric treated with SILVADUR from DuPont, a polymerbased antimicrobial that uses a patented delivery system to transport and secure silver ions to a treated article. The antimicrobial effect holds up well up through about 100 washings.”

Best has been constantly on the phone with people in the industry either wanting product or discussing how they can help. “The industry is willing to step up to the plate,” he said, “but the problem is there is no coordination on a national level. We’ve been in touch with three levels of government, FEMA, 15 governors and four major hospital chains. You hear one thing on the news, but it’s an entirely different matter to get a purchase order cut. We need centralized command to organize all of the efforts people are willing to make to address this crisis.” Best is happy to have folks reach out if they need PPE or want to discuss how to get this effort better organized, at kirby@onpointmanufacturing.com. He cautions, though, that they are set up to take bulk orders, and received orders for 3,000, 4,500, 10,000 masks right away as word began to get out. “It’s kind of strange,” he said. “We organized OnPoint to manufacture one-off items. Now we are transitioning

to bulk. We’ll go back to on-demand when this is over.” These are just a few examples of how the industry is responding to the need for COVID-19 PPE. If you’d like to share your story about how you are helping, just let us know. Both our printingnews.com and whattheythink.com sites feature COVID-19 resource pages we hope will help and inspire you. ●

Read More… Find article at PrintingNews. com/21126692

The industry is willing to step up to the plate, but the problem is there is no coordination on a national level. We’ve been in touch with three levels of government, FEMA, 15 governors and four major hospital chains. You hear one thing on the news, but it’s an entirely different matter to get a purchase order cut. — Kirby Best, Chairman, OnPoint Manufacturing

MANAGEMENT ─ Employee Stress

WHEN VUCA IS THE

NEW NORMAL

Manage employee stress during the COVID-19 crisis. By Wayne Lynn

n the early 1990s, the U.S. Army coined a new acronym named VUCA. The intent was to capture the nature of combat in the post-Cold War era. The VUCA world is: ● Volatile—Everything around us is changing rapidly and, usually, the pace is accelerating. ● Uncertain—Events have become unpredictable. ● Complex—Cause-and-effect forces have become interconnected and nearly impossible to unbundle for analytical purposes. ● Ambiguous—This introduces a strong potential for misreads and misinterpretation of events. The VUCA concept has served the military well. Increasingly, leaders from all sectors of society have embraced it

WhatTheyThink - Printing News | May 2020

in an attempt to navigate through these turbulent times. The most difficult aspect of managing in a VUCA world is the stress it creates, and each component of VUCA induces a different kind of stress. As a leader and, especially, if you are the CEO/owner, you should recognize that your followers are feeling this stress also. Volatility, caused by the rapid changes going on around us creates feelings of being vulnerable to those changes. We don’t know which change is important to us. We could miss a crucial development that could insure our success, but we don’t see it because we’re overwhelmed. To deal with this vulnerability, wise leaders create a vision, a picture of the desired future they want to achieve, and keep their people focused on the target.

This helps to mitigate the stress, because it becomes easier to discern the changes that could help or hinder progress and filter out all the rest. Uncertainty has been created—the future doesn’t follow the past like it used to. Disruptions and discontinuities that change the directions of trends happen all the time. Remembering that leadership is a team sport, it is imperative that we harness the talent we have to develop an understanding of what’s going on. Team members, under the stress of disorienting uncertainty, work at odds with each other, undermining the efforts of others. Stress climbs from lack of trust on the team. The wise leader will: ● Work to foster healthy self-concepts in team members while encouraging them to strengthen their skills and talents ● Encourage respectful communication ● Help people to see the power of building win-win relationships Complexity can be one of the most debilitating causes of stress. In particular, it can be emotionally derailing for leaders. As the forces of cause and effect become more interconnected, we struggle to determine what’s within our control and what’s not. Gradually, we begin to feel out of control. It’s normal that, in reaction to this feeling, we seek to over control which makes things worse. The wise leader will help the team collaborate with each other to clarify which forces can be controlled and which can’t. This clarity will wash most of the stress away. Ambiguity and the strong potential for misreads can cause progress to come to a halt. The stress comes in the form of anxiety. As the anxiety in the team rises, paralysis

by analysis becomes the norm. The wise leader fosters innovation, flexible organization, and being personally accountable by team members to change to a more agile and adaptive organization. This will probably not reduce the potential for misreads but it will make the team much more capable of adjusting to new directions when a misread has created a mistake. World leaders have grappled with the forces of VUCA and the stresses they cause in their efforts to understand and contain the coronavirus. There have been vivid examples of poor focus and vision. There has been poor teamwork and undermining of the efforts of various agencies. There have been vivid examples of attempts to over-control. There have been misreads, lots of them, and paralysis by analysis. It’s been a laboratory for learning to navigate a VUCA world, and the world will be better for it. We are transitioning into a social distance and isolation phase. Your people need goals, structure and clarity. Your teams need to be strengthened and become more collaborative. Address the fears and concerns of your employees. Remember, how people feel is more important than what they hear you say. Show the warmth and empathy they need. People who are asked to work remotely probably aren’t prepared for it. People need consistent updates. Be understanding of the stress and its impact on productivity. It’s not too late to get out in front of this. If you are interested in exploring this further, I encourage you to contact me personally at wlynn8697@gmail.com. ●

Read More… Find article at PrintingNews. com/21126697

Wayne Lynn brings focus and discipline to the task of creating and sustaining success in today’s chaotic environment. He has guided organizations through diverse market sectors including magazines, catalogs, inserts, direct mail, and general commercial printing.

SOFTWARE & WORKFLOW ─ Downturn Preparedness

USE DOWNTIME WISELY YOUR

Where will your company be post COVID-19? By Jennifer Matt

n the top of every print business owner’s mind today is “how long will this economic pause last?” We don’t know, which makes it even more anxiety-producing. No print business can control how COVID-19 is going to play out or how long it’s going to take. The number-one thing that every print business owner had control of is the preparedness of their business to face this temporary downturn. If you came into this downturn with

WhatTheyThink - Printing News | May 2020

tight cash flows, these coming weeks/ months are going to be painful. You are going to be forced to make a lot of tough decisions in the short term that could have long-term impacts. If your print business entered into this economic pause with strategic reserves, you are probably looking at what you can do during this pause to come out of it in a better position. This downtime will be used as an opportunity for some to tackle strategic initiatives that have been starving for serious attention for years. We have customers in both these positions. The print business with reserves and an already allocated capital improvement budget for strategic software initiatives is pushing for acceleration on the software project during this pause. They are in a position to make this economic slowdown an opportunity to accelerate their progress in building differentiation through customer-facing software solutions. Key personnel in their business have more time for the deep work required to describe challenges and come up with the most innovative solutions. The print business with no reserves is cutting back and risking the loss of key resources on the project because they have to drastically reduce spending to conserve the cash they have. Being strategic during this downturn is not an option; they are in survival mode. I have said this before: my definition of strategic is simply doing things before you have

to—like building up a strategic reserve for times like these. Strategic reserves make all the difference. Whatever position you came into this downturn in, we all have time to be strategic now so that when the economic engines fire back up, we show up better prepared for making up for the losses. When I first started working with a personal financial planner, she wouldn’t discuss anything about investments until my family had three months of reserves in cash. When I started my business, that same financial planner required that I keep three months of reserves in cash for my business. This was very difficult to build up; it took a lot of discipline to put cash away for some unforeseeable reason. Well, that unforeseen reason is here, and reserves are the difference between having to panic or looking at this as an opportunity to get ahead. If you have the opportunity to do some strategic “deep work” during this temporary economic downturn, your software systems are a great place to find important projects that will benefit you greatly when the economy comes back online. In a discussion with a labels and packaging printer, they talked about the standardization and cleanup of data in their Print MIS. This project has been lingering for a decade, partially done and confusing to all because of its current inconsistent state. They are doubling down on this project during this “slow period” because the very people that are best suited to do this work are the ones they are paying full time to work from home right now. Data cleansing is a tedious job that requires focused attention. It rarely gets any airtime in a busy manufacturing plant. Yet, messy data causes so many issues and so much time loss everyday. I watched a CSR at a very large printer scroll through

a mess of “Ship To” addresses for one of their largest customers. There were several entries with ***DO NOT USE*** in front of them (one of my favorite things to see in software). I asked her how many times per week she places an order for this customer. Her answer was about 14. So 14 times per week, she’s scrolling through this mess looking for the right address. If she spent 30 minutes during this downturn to research and clean up that list, she would save something like 15 minutes per week forever.

Read More… Find article at PrintingNews. com/21126699

If you have the opportunity to do some strategic “deep work” during this temporary economic downturn, your software systems are a great place to find important projects that will benefit you greatly when the economy comes back online.

Another printer we’re working with is in the middle of a large accounting transition; they, too, are in a position to get this transition done during the downturn because it relies on remote expertise and deep, focused, uninterrupted work. COVID-19 is delivering the opportunity for uninterrupted work, which is really precious, especially in busy manufacturing print businesses. The economy will eventually come back online; how will your print business be better off when it does? ●

Jennifer Matt writes, speaks, and consults with printers worldwide who realize their ability to leverage software is critical to their success in the Information Age.

EVENTS ─ New dates

A TALE OF

TWO SHOWS E R A S T N E V E E THES ISA and drupa postpone major events. By Richard Romano

wo of the most anticipated industry events—Messe Dusseldorf’s drupa 2020 and ISA’s Sign Expo 2020— were postponed due to the COVID-19 crisis, drupa to April 2021 and the Sign Expo to August 2020. We spoke with the organizers of these events about their rationale for the new dates, the expected impact on the events themselves, and the impact of the pandemic on the printing industry. WhatTheyThink: What was the

WhatTheyThink - Printing News | May 2020

decisive factor for you to postpone the event? Sabine Geldermann, Messe Düsseldorf: Messe Düsseldorf is following the recommendation of the crisis management team of the German Federal Government to take into account the principles of the Robert Koch Institute when assessing the risk of major events. Based on this recommendation, and the recent signiﬁcant increase in the number of people infected with the new coronavirus, Messe Düsseldorf reassessed the situation. In addition, there was the general ruling issued by the city of Düsseldorf on March 11, 2020, in which major events with more than 1,000 participants present at the same time are generally prohibited. Against this background, there was unfortunately no other option than to postpone drupa. Lori Anderson, International Sign Association: As the coronavirus just started to appear in the U.S., we were full steam ahead in

our planning for April’s ISA Sign Expo 2020. Our plans in early March were to continue forward, and we had a lot of industry support, with attendees and exhibitors both saying they planned to be there. Of course, we were keeping a close eye on the news and planned to adhere to any advice given at the federal or state level and guidelines from the CDC. Then things started to shift, quickly and dramatically. As more and more coronavirus cases appeared in the country, we started to hear concerns from attendees and exhibitors alike, with a growing number of companies issuing travel restrictions on their employees. As things continued to shift, our board of directors made the decision to reschedule the event. WTT: On which criteria did you determine the new dates? SG: Almost all of Düsseldorf’s major world-leading trade fairs should have taken place from August 2019 until June 2020—with drupa as the finale. Due to the coronavirus and associated official decrees or restrictions, seven trade fairs planned for this spring had already been postponed to the second half of 2020 to spring 2021. Since we need a timeframe of around two months for drupa (for set-up and dismantling in addition to the event itself), there were limited dates available. Having weighed all the options, and taking into account the international trade fair calendar, the dates

chosen, April 20–30, 2021, were the earliest and best possible. These dates now allow the greatest possible planning security for all parties involved. Fortunately, we are now also close to the original, traditional May date of drupa. LA: There aren’t very many cities that can accommodate a show of our size in terms of exhibit floor space and hotel rooms. Orlando is one of them. It’s also not easy to find an open date, since many of these events are booked well in advance. One could compare it to a big puzzle, with all parts needing to be in the right shape and order at the same time. Fortunately, Orlando had dates and space allowing ISA Sign Expo to move to August 23–25, 2020. WTT: How has the global printing community responded to your announcement? SG: The reaction of our international customers and partners to the postponement was consistently positive and met with great understanding and acceptance. Three months before the regularly scheduled start of drupa, we were thus able to give many exhibitors the opportunity to reschedule their upcoming logistical and cost-intensive measures, such as the shipment of machines. We were also very pleased with the numerous emotional feedbacks on our social networks and platforms. One thing is certain: the industry wants to have a drupa again, one that retains its image, its radiance

EVENTS ─ New dates and its global standing—this would not have been feasible under the current conditions. That’s why we will now take every possible measure to meet the expectations of our global customers in April 2021. Let’s embrace the future in 2021 together. LA: We’ve had a lot of positive response and support from attendees and exhibitors. This is uncharted territory and I think they recognize that we’re doing the best we can in a very uncertain time. WTT: What changes to the event will the postponement mean? SG: The postponement represents a new, unprecedented scenario for all concerned and requires a certain degree of ﬂexibility. As in the past, we will continue to take every possible measure to carry over the successful status of drupa to the new dates in 2021. It is our ambition and desire to organize another unique and successful drupa for our global customers in 2021. LA: Unfortunately, we were unable to continue our plans for co-location with the Imprinted Sportswear Show as they were unable to move to the new dates. I would expect that August will look a little different than our typical show, but will still be the place where the industry will gather and begin to recover from the pandemic and the economic upheaval. WTT: Will the event program remain in place?

WhatTheyThink - Printing News | May 2020

SG: Our supporting program at the five special forums has already impressed with a fascinating range of formats, renowned speakers and exciting topics. Our top priority is to offer our visitors highly relevant, inspiring and lasting valuable content. The lecture program is rounded off by Guided Tours and was already available for bookings via our portal. Our aim is now, of course, to adapt and transfer the program as far as possible to the April dates. Significant issues concerning the ongoing digital transformation, topics related to circular economy and sustainability or new business models, which will be presented as keynotes, panel discussions and best cases, will continue to inspire and successfully advise companies—and this will be more relevant than ever after the impact of the coronavirus. LA: The framework will remain primarily the same. We will have fewer education sessions, but the popular Game Changer sessions will continue. The main staple of the event—the outstanding trade show floor—will continue to be the showcase for the industry. And the valuable networking—both on and off the show floor—will provide considerable value to all participants. ISA Sign Expo will remain the only event that brings together the full breadth of the sign, graphics and visual communications industries. ISA Sign Expo will be the place where exhibitors and attendees begin the business recovery process that will inevitably come. And it will still be the first place to see the many new products and innovations that are ready to drive businesses forward.

WTT: How do you believe print businesses can weather the storm caused by the pandemic? SG: There is no doubt that there will be declines and lasting economic setbacks. The government’s measures and aid are on the way. However, it is important that the industry does not suffer a complete standstill in production as a result of the current measures. Our industry must continue to invest in the future in order to seize market opportunities, because print, with its many different and extensive applications and forms of use, will continue to be indispensable in many markets in the future. LA: This is an unprecedented interruption in business operations on a global scale. This is a fastmoving target and sometimes my advice would change three times over the course of a day as news develops. That’s one reason that ISA has developed a Business Continuity Resource Center (www. signs.org/bcrc) to help keep the industry informed and updated. We’re working on a state-by-state— and sometimes community-by-community—basis to help companies continue to work as they can. We’re also connecting to broader organizations like the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to make sure our industry has a seat at the table of some of these national discussions. WTT: Exhibitors traditionally schedule new products and other announcements around major event and would prefer to not wait to present the new products to their customers. Do you see yourself confronted with the idea of alternative, virtual presentation formats? SG: Our exhibitors will certainly present some of their innovations this year, and some already have, using different formats such as customer events or digital platforms. However, in our opinion, they do not offer a complete replacement for a trade fair with worldwide appeal. Drupa is and will remain the top platform for the printing industry to present innovations, come together and, above all, network. Especially in the current situation, where numerous countries are subject to travel restrictions, the need for personal encounters and

an extraordinary customer experience after such an experience will certainly be even more pronounced in the future. We are people, not avatars. WTT: Any other issues to communicate to the industry? SG: As a result of drupa’s postponement, the most important trade show in our international portfolio, All in Print China in Shanghai in October, will become the largest and most important print trade show in 2020, giving our international exhibitors another highly relevant trade show in Asia this year. Furthermore, PPP Manila in October will provide an addiRead More… tional platform in an emerging Find article at PrintingNews. Southeast Asian market. And com/21126904 indoprint in Jakarta, planned for September 2020, will also take place on schedule—according to current information. Of course, we are also closely monitoring the situation together with our subsidiaries Messe Düsseldorf China and Messe Düsseldorf Asia as well as participating partners and will act in good time if necessary. For this purpose we keep in touch with our customers via our various platforms and our foreign representatives, and my team in Düsseldorf are available for all questions. LA: We are a vibrant and creative industry and already we’ve seen inspiring ways that sign, graphics and visual communications companies are helping in their communities by creating and donating much-needed equipment for medical workers. We’ve seen the way that companies have jumped in to help small businesses in their area by providing— in many cases cost-free—signs to help them advertise that they remain open. We’ve seen companies sharing their expertise and learning with their competitors. It’s a time of difficult decisions, but one in which our industry proves just how brightly we shine and the value that we bring to our communities and our customers. ●

Richard Romano has been writing about the graphic communications industry for 20 years. He is an industry analyst and author or co-author of more than half a dozen books.

PRINTING PULSE ─ Economic Impact

WHAT WILL THE FULL IMPACT BE? Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play? By Richard Romano & Elizabeth Gooding

Source: Department of Labor. Shaded areas indicate recessions.

conomic data can only ever paint a portrait of the past. The recent past, to be sure, but the past nonetheless. The monthly value of printing shipments data we regularly present are two months old by the time it is reported (the numbers presented in the sidebar to this article were released in March and include data up through January). The proﬁts data are even less timely; they are only reported quarterly and thus the

WhatTheyThink - Printing News | May 2020

numbers are only through Q4 2019. This type of data lag is not usually a problem, as we are more interested in long-term trends than in what happened yesterday. We do eagerly await the monthly shipments data and cheer when a month is up, or boo when a month is down, but what’s more important is what is happening in the long run. Monthly, and especially weekly, data can be somewhat “noisy”; there can be things that make a particular data series tick Continued on page 22

PICTURES OF PUPPIES “Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been.’” —John Greenleaf Whittier This is a printing industry trade magazine, not a medical journal, so we will carry on with our industry analysis subject to the many caveats above. These are pre-March charts, so they’re best looked at through the lens of nostalgia, or perhaps the calm before the storm. Still, they do have some lessons to teach us. Shipments After having the best year in half a decade, we began 2020 on a high note: January shipments came in at $6.94 billion, and while that was down from December’s $6.98 billion, it was just slightly lower than January 2016’s $6.95 billion—making January 2020 the best January we have had since then. Sigh.

If there is a silver lining to all of this, it’s that we as an industry went into this crisis in the best shape we have been in in a long time. If this had happened even a few years earlier, we might be looking at a lot more print businesses that won’t make it out the other side. It’s not going to be an easy spring and summer, but coming off such a good year as 2019 might just let us make it through this crisis.

Profits OK, so the most recent profits data is hardly a cute puppy pic—but then not all puppies are cute. (Don’t send letters.) Annualized profits for Q4 2019 took a nosedive from $720 million to -$170 million. (See? We as an industry don’t need a major crisis to lose profitability.) Actually, this is just the latest chapter in our “Tale of Two Cities” narrative, this time with the profitability gap between large and small printers narrowing. In Q2 2019, for large printers (those with more than $25million in assets), profits before taxes were -6.66% of revenues. In Q4, this improved to -1.99% of revenues. So that was good. But for small printers, profits before taxes in Q3 were 8.49% of revenues. In Q4, this dropped to 3.15% of revenues. So that was bad. While large printers continue to drive down overall industry profitability, a decline in small printers’ profitability isn’t helping. For the industry on average, profits before taxes were -0.18% of revenues, and for the last six quarters, they’ve averaged 1.19% of revenues.

We won’t see Q1 2020 profits data until June and we won’t see the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on profits until we get Q2 profits data in September. If we’re all still here.

PRINTING PULSE ─ Economic Impact Continued from page 20

up or down, which will probably not be a factor the following month: unseasonably bad weather in one February, unseasonably good weather in another, a hurricane in one June, a major election in one November or perhaps even a pandemic.

The Month the Universe Changed In March 2020, or February in some countries, the world turned upside-down. The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the economy was so swift and intense that presenting any chart of pre-March data will be the equivalent of printing pictures of puppies—calming, consoling and heartwarming. As we write this in early April, we have no clear sense of what the ultimate impact will be on the economy, or on the printing industry, other than a general “not good” (although we will speculate). In mid-March, we launched a quick survey to get a sense of what the expected impact will be on the printing industry, and while all precincts haven’t yet reported in, two-thirds of respondents thus far are expecting 2020 revenues to be down more than 10% from 2019, and 70% expect jobs/orders to be down more than 10%. More than half have put whatever hiring plans they had on hold (around 40% are downsizing their production staff) and around 40% are putting whatever investment plans they had on hold—although, to be fair, not many print businesses had any major investment plans for 2020, as we found in our fall 2019 survey. In terms of industry data, we won’t know the full impact of the health crisis until the summer. March shipments will be released in May, and while we expect the data to be bad, the badness will probably be somewhat tempered, since the month started out OK. We’ll get April shipments data in early June, and that’s when we can expect to see some trend lines plummet through the x-axis and maybe through the ﬂoor. Sorry to say, but that’s the expectation. Even regular macroeconomic data are lagging reality. On April 3, the March employment ﬁgures were released, and the headline unemployment rate increased to 4.4%, up from 3.6% in February, and March job loss was 701,000. The Bureau of

WhatTheyThink - Printing News | May 2020

Labor Statistics noted some problems with the March survey, and it’s possible that the unemployment rate is as high as 5.5%. That’s a big jump, but economists are expecting that to be dwarfed by next month’s report, which we’ll probably see just as this issue is hitting mailboxes. One data series that has been more timely in tracking the fallout from the crisis is weekly initial unemployment claims. On March 27, the Department of Labor announced that weekly unemployment claims surged from the previous week’s 282,000 to 3.28 million. That was the highest number of initial jobless claims since 1967, when the DOL started tracking them. The previous record high was a “mere” 695,000 back in October 1982. Then, on April 2, weekly unemployment claims doubled to 6,648,000, and the scary thing is that number probably undercounts the unemployed, as it doesn’t include freelancers, gig workers, or other members of the 1099 club who don’t qualify for unemployment. (Although the CARES Act changes this; see below.) In our industry, this mostly impacts freelance writers, designers, illustrators and other creatives. Can we make a wild-ass guess that if the weekly claim data doubled in April that the overall unemployment rate has at least doubled? Expectations were that we would be at 20% soon.

Essential Businesses One major impact the crisis has had on the printing industry is in the case of closing “nonessential businesses.” Whether a business is essential or not is determined at the state level, and in some states, printing is not considered an essential business, and thus printing companies are not allowed to remain open. In some states, printers—particularly those that produce signage—have been considered essential because they serve hospitals and other medical centers. Some print businesses opted to close anyway, even if they were allowed to remain open, out of safety concerns. Even when print businesses have been allowed to remain open, they have been seeing a decline in work. As our survey respondents indicated, they are seeing and expecting declines in jobs and ultimately revenues. On the plus side, a number of print businesses have been doing pro bono work

for their communities, making masks and other personal protection equipment (PPE). This muchneeded assistance may not bring in immediate revenue, but it is good PR and may yield new business once things return to normal (someday.) We know that upcoming industry and macroeconomic indicators are going to be bad, and you know better than anyone how your own business and local economy are faring. The real questions, for which these data series are no help, are: how long is this health crisis likely to last, and what will be the long-term impact?

How Long Must This Go On? First and most pressing is, when will the country be open for business again? Unfortunately, no one really knows. People who have been following the pandemic use Italy as a benchmark, where the disease hit the earliest (in terms of Western countries) and most aggressively. As of April 3, Italy’s crisis seems to have peaked, but other European countries, and the U.S., have yet to come close to peaking, which may not happen until mid-May, if everyone follows the Italy timeline—which not everyone is. (The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation [IHME] reports pandemic peak projections by state at healthdata.org.) The best-case scenario is that the disease peaks in mid-May, ebbs by the middle of June, and we can return to some semblance of normal by August. If it is that short-lived (and if that doesn’t sound “shortlived” just remember how g------n long March felt, there might not be much lasting impact at all—if the CARES Act does what it was supposed to do. There is a historical precedent we need to bear in mind, and that is the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, one aspect of which is often forgotten: it came in two waves. The ﬁrst wave in early 1918 was virulent, but not appreciably worse than a normal ﬂu. So when new cases waned as the weather warmed, everyone let down their guard. Then the virus mutated, and the second wave, which hit in fall 1918, was the

1US News & World Report article (Sinéad Carew, “Goldman Sachs Slashes U.S. GDP Estimate Further,” U.S. News World Report, March 31, 2020, https://bit.ly/2wP8Qv7, retrieved April 3, 2020)

deadly one. The death toll is estimated to have been anywhere from 17 to 50 million—and possibly as high as 100 million. The key to keeping it from being even worse was quarantining. Cities that instituted lockdowns early in the crisis had fewer deaths than cities that instituted them later. And evidence from the current pandemic strongly suggests that the self-quarantining and social distancing are actually working. As frustrating, maddening and boring as it has been, the alternative is far worse. What is not yet clear from the health data is whether we are likely to face some level of social distancing again later in the year if it pulls a 1918 on us.

Ultimate Economic Impact What the long-term effects of the COVID19 crisis will be are also unknown—and in large part unknowable. On March 31, Goldman Sachs weighed in with their forecast. Goldman Sachs said on Tuesday the secondquarter U.S. economic decline would be much greater than it had previously forecast and unemployment would be higher, citing anecdotal evidence and “sky-high jobless claims numbers” resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.1 Goldman is now forecasting a real GDP sequential decline of 34% for the second quarter on an annualized basis, compared with its earlier estimatefor a drop of 24%. It also cut its ﬁrst-quarter targetto a decline of 9% from its previous expectation for a 6% drop, according to chief economist Jan Hatzius.1 The ﬁrm now sees the unemployment rate risingto 15% by mid-year compared with its previous expectation for 9%.1 Unlike past economic crises which triggered massive reductions in demand, for the most part, demand is still high. People have money, they just can’t spend it anywhere, except, apparently, on toilet paper. No one is going out to eat, no one is going out to bars, or to the gym, or getting their hair cut. No one is buying a car or other major items. And few people are having things printed. Once the lockdown is over, there will be a massive surge of pent-up demand. We know more than a few people—like us— who are planning “major happy hour outings” when Continued on page 62

MARKETING & TECHNOLOGY ─ Re-thinking Marketing Eﬀorts & Investments

MARKETING IN A

COVID-19 WORLD Planning short- and long-term marketing goals. By Joanne Gore

hether you’re a large global corporation or a small independent, you are trying to ﬁgure out how COVID-19 will impact your business in the weeks ahead. Now, more than ever, your marketing, PR, communications and crisis management teams are working around the clock to ensure your staff and customers are taken care of during this global pandemic. Amidst the uncertainty, companies are re-thinking their marketing efforts and investments - putting campaigns on

WhatTheyThink - Printing News | May 2020

hold until things settle down - and squandering the opportunity to get ahead of the curve once they do.

Keep your marketing alive as you navigate the short term While focusing on a marketing campaign may not be top of mind, communicating relevant information with customers, prospects, partners and employees is a priority. Companies large and small are walking a ﬁne line between capitalizing on the current global health crisis – and helping people adapt with products and services that meet the

needs of today’s isolated, ever-changing workforce. We learned from the 1980s recession that companies who advertised aggressively during the downturn saw nearly 300% sales growth in the fol-

While focusing on a marketing campaign may not be top of mind, communicating relevant information with customers, prospects, partners and employees is a priority.

lowing three years. Instead, look ahead – because there will be a rebound – and position yourself to have your message heard loud and clear when that day comes. Frankenberger and Graham, two Oregon professors, studied 2,662 ﬁrms over 16,000+ “ﬁrm years” (1970 – 1991) to determine

the effect of advertising on a company during a recession. Firms that advertised during a recession increased in value and got more marketing bang for their buck in some cases for up to three years after the recession had ended. COVID-19 is a global human health crisis. Nothing good will come from the idea of proﬁting from it. If you have a solution that helps people through this time, choose your words wisely – or you will come across as trying to make a quick buck. Knowing who you help – and how you help them – becomes more critical than ever.

Buyer needs have changed Business is not as usual right now. In fact, by the time you read this, your inbox will have been ﬂooded with advice for working from home, dealing with distractions, easing stress, the importance of routines and how to manage your business during times of crisis (to name a few). Companies that provide communication, automation and cloudbased “access from anywhere” solutions are capturing the

MARKETING & TECHNOLOGY ─ Re-thinking Marketing Eﬀorts & Investments attention of buyers researching products and solutions – because they now have time. They’re taking calls, booking meetings and doing business. Solutions that connect machines, work pieces and systems can gain self-awareness and self-predictiveness. In addition to providing businesscritical triggers and alerts of defects, production failures and other system faults, these connected systems also identify the best possible time to resolve issues with near-zero downtime, often remotely. As businesses recover, automation and redundancy solutions will help drive growth, customer retention and bottom-line results. They also require human intervention from time to time. For example, if you use a marketing automation platform, you have automated emails going out to people based on actions they took months ago. This holds true for any scheduled activities – from social media to monthly statements. If it was produced before March 15, re-visit your message and your imagery before it winds up back in the queue.

A new normal has set in Some industries embraced remoteworking in the 90s, while others – steeped in a rich history of “how it’s always been done” – are virtual newbies. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of people who work from home has increased by 140% since 2005, according to “The Ultimate List of Remote Work Statistics – 2020 Edition.” In the U.S., 4.3 million people work from home at least half the time. Half-time telecommuters save 11 days a year by not traveling to work. Sales personnel, cut off from traditional face-to-face relationship-building

WhatTheyThink - Printing News | May 2020

tactics, are cleaning up their CRM contacts, polishing their LinkedIn profiles, engaging with prospects and influencers - and offering help. Marketing teams have cleaned up a backlog of unwritten case studies, blogs and whitepapers. And they’re finally getting a chance to analyze, test and revel in a playground of data. The data gathered helps build new buyer profiles that go beyond the company information, purchase history and contact information stored in your database. It becomes the single source of truth for how needs have changed, what current challenges your contacts may be

Sales personnel, cut off from traditional face-to-face relationship-building tactics, are cleaning up their CRM contacts, polishing their LinkedIn proﬁles, engaging with prospects and inﬂuencers - and offering help.

facing and new ways you can help them – with print services and solutions that reinforce why they should keep doing business with you. While marketing and sales collaborate on aligning the lead qualification and follow-up strategy throughout the buyer lifecycle, they’re ensuring a fluid customer experience – as your prospect/lead converts from being marketing qualified (MQL) to sales qualified (SQL) and your calls go from cold to warm.

Direct mail has a new role The customer communications industry has been laser-focused on data and data mining before many printers implemented a CRM. Not only do they speak the language(s), literally, but they are also well-versed in matters such as compliancy, security, data management, archiving and quality control. From highly regulated statements, bills invoices and critical mass mailings – to highly personalized and customized direct mail – integrating direct mail with digital campaigns boost attention spans. People spend 39% more time engaging in direct mail vs. digital campaigns alone, impacting brand experience, recall and results. Print has the power to keep customers informed and engaged. Adding textures and ﬁnishes like embossing, debossing, raised ink, foil or glitter teases them to do more than see print, but to touch it – and remember it. Designers are looking for ways to transform their digital vision into a longlasting and memorable physical one. Marketers are mining data to provide a hyper-personal customer experience. Print and marketing services providers are helping every one of these buyers get what they want by exposing the power of direct mail.

Sharing is the new selling What you’re selling is not nearly as important as why it matters to the people who buy from you – especially now. How will your digital enhancement press impact the life of your customer in a post COVID-19 world? Your customers don’t want to know the speeds and feeds of your equipment, and they probably aren’t looking to “buy now.” Not only could asking

too soon cause them to walk away, but in today’s world, it may be considered in poor taste. They may, however, be inclined to book a demo, ﬁll out a customer satisfaction survey or schedule a consultation. Ninety percent of top-performing B2B content marketers put the audience’s informational needs ﬁrst, according to the most recent B2B content marketing benchmark study from MarketingProfs and Content Marketing Institute. Sharing customer success stories, how-to guides, industry research and virtual tours - as well as being available, helpful and real - is the approach companies must now take. Understanding the behaviors of your current (and future) buying audience – and feeding them resources that help them make independent decisions about new solutions, trends and technologies – is the new normal.

Read More… Find article at PrintingNews. com/21126701

Listen more. Talk less. This is a time to act with empathy and kindness. As businesses struggle to tightly manage cash ﬂow, think about what you can do to support your community, your industry and your employees. Care and consideration of the people you work with will be remembered long after the dust of this crisis settles. By the time you read this it will be May. The sun will be shining, the weather will be warmer, and it is my sincere hope that we will have ﬂattened the curve – and are primed for business – whether it’s the old normal, the new normal or somewhere in between. ●

Joanne Gore is founder of Joanne Gore Communications. She has spent the last three decades helping companies maximize their marketing and communications eﬀorts. Contact Joanne at joanne@joannegorecommunications.com.

DIGITAL & INKJET ─ axpanel

INKJET MAKES A

GRAND ENTRY axpanel revolutionizes home entry. By Mary Schilling

nkjet has entered our homes in many ways. From ﬂooring and wallpaper to tile and upholstery, inkjet print technology has touched just about every point in our personal lives. Products within our homes are being customized through print at a faster pace than ever before. There seems to be no limit to the ability to personalize the interior of our homes and make them one-of-a-kind. But why limit the personal touch to the interior? What about the exterior? Custom inkjet printed products have made it through the front door, but rarely do you hear about customizing the door itself.

Enter axpanel

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And do I mean “enter.” A division of aroja xorfex digital solutions (spelled in lower case), axpanel is revolutionizing home entry. Commercially introduced in 2019, this custom developer of inkjet printing and industrial

WhatTheyThink - Printing News | May 2020

automation for XY, rotary and single pass solutions located in the Czech Republic, offers solutions for customized inkjet technology for printing on sectional garage door panels. Their technology prints in high resolution 720dpi quality using UV-CMYK inks. Formulated with high UV-resistance, the process is suitable for almost any type of design, graphics art, scan, photograph or custom design for individual door panels. If designing your own custom garage door art is not enough, axpanel offers additional 3D effects which can be incorporated into the texture to add customized depth perspective. Each panel exterior is protected against harsh environments with the application of a specialized automobile grade polyurethane lacquer after printing. The lacquer provides superior resistance to fading, corrosion, scratches and chemicals, even including acid rain. Yes, in some countries acid rain is a big concern. Fading is only 3 – 5% after 15 years compared to typical fading of 2 – 3% per year for polyester paint ﬁnish. Door companies can offer a 10-year warranty against fading, corrosion and scratches.

Creating a New Point of Entry While flatbed printing leaves unprinted white space at the bottom edge and on the male joint, axpanel printing is done on the bottom edge, exterior face and part of the male joint. Axpanel offers this unique, custom, print rotation called, “Z-axis technology,” featuring no unprinted white spaces at the panel joints. This technology solves the problem of printing around the bottom edge of the door panel. No white space at the joint

Panels are first rotated 90 degrees on the Z-axis to print around the bottom edge, then rotated back to flat for printing the exterior panel face, including part of the male joint. The result is no unprinted space is seen at the joints, including when a door is opening and closing. In addition to the unique Z-axis printing technology, the axpanel system incorporates several technological innovations specific to producing printed sectional door panels, creating three main applications: ● Replace wood design panel inventory with

digitally printed standard white panels with more than 100 wood designs readily available. There are no minimum print job requirements – every panel can be different. Most panel styles are suitable for printing: wood designs, flat, V-ribbed, U-ribbed, micro-rib and cassette. The only requirement is that the maximum depth of the style should be 6 mm for best printing results. Wood grain or smooth panel surfaces are best for wood designs. The main advantages are wood design panel inventory can be reduced by up to 80 – 90%, and dozens of new wood designs can be offered. ● Print new designs – extending beyond typical one-color paint finish and wood designs. There are 100,000 design possibilities with everything from brick and stone to geometric shapes and metal look designs. The advantage is that hundreds of

ready-to-use designs can be offered to customers. Custom one-off designs can also be offered. The only investment is developing the graphics files. ● Print new, virtual panel styles on flat panels, which can have wood grain, stucco or smooth surfaces. Panel styles include a wide variety of wood designs such as horizontal, vertical and angled boards. Designs are only limited by the imagination. 3D effects can be incorporated into designs to add depth to the design. Again, these can be ready-to-use designs or custom oneoff designs.

Streamlining the Production Process The axpanel system prints maximum industry door panels up to 610 mm in height, with no minimum panel requirement. Panels can be up to 8.0 mm long, with the ability to print longer panels as required which can be 20 – 100 mm thick. “Production rates depend

DIGITAL & INKJET ─ axpanel on the axpanel system, with five versions now offered,” said Nika Buterin, axpanel marketing manager. “Single pass production rates range from 24 to 320 linear meters per hour and varies depending on the number of print passes are required. Our process is four easy steps.”

Upgrade Your Doors in Four Easy Steps ● Panel preparation ● Printing ● Lacquer spray application ● Panel drying in a drying room “Panel preparation consists of cleaning dirt, dust and protective folio residue from the panel,” Buterin said. “When European manufactured blank panels are received, they include a protective folio to prevent scratching during shipment and handling. This folio is removed before panel preparation. “Digital inkjet printing requires the panel surface to be slightly abraded before jetting

for controlled wet out and ink adhesion. The folio is removed before printing. We offer a completely automated system, or the customer can use their own system, or prepare panels manually for small volume production. “Lacquer application consists of automated spraying over the printed design. Digital ink requires a protective coating for exterior use. Printed panels are automatically fed through the lacquer spray box without any labor required. “Our water filtration system meets EU environmental requirements. Customers can also manually spray lacquer panels for small volume production. After lacquer application, panels dry in a drying room for 30 minutes to six hours. Drying time depends on many variables. Panels are automatically loaded onto racks in the drying room with a computer-controlled system. After drying, panels are selected with the axpanel management system, and they are automatically unracked and transferred by conveyor out of the drying room through an exit hatch. No labor is required. Only for small volume production will panel production be manipulated manually.”

Making a Standardized Industry Unique Printing garage door panels is a completely new evolutionary step for the door industry, so what barriers does Buterin see?

WhatTheyThink - Printing News | May 2020

“The garage industry is conservative and slow to change with sales and marketing slow to adapt to new techniques. It is a fundamental change from physically manufacturing every panel style – design – color combination the same. A typical minimum panel production run is 100 – 300 linear meters for one combination. With inkjet, there are no minimum production requirements – every panel can be different. There are no additional costs or reduction in production rates for printing each panel differently. Marketing and sales will need to evolve to commercialize the technological capabilities of inkjet applications.”

Looking to Upgrade your She-Shed? Contacting your builder or garage door manufacturer is your first step as these inkjet printers are for the garage door manufacturing industry and not direct to consumer. (I know, bummer.) Axpanel works directly with assemblers, panel manufacturers and door

manufacturers, which has integrated in-house panel production. Need a sample? They keep stock of printed door panel samples ready for immediate shipment or print typical garage door panels by choosing from more than 200 ready-to-use designs.

Welcome to your She-Shed wine cellar Panel styles include flat, V-ribbed, U-ribbed, microrib and cassette. You can even start with custom panel texture surfaces which include woodgrain, stucco and smooth. Ready panels are manufac-

with green grass, leaves or as a virtual vertical garden. printing with a ready-to-use or custom designs.

Go Bold, Get Creative Digital printing is not well suited for solid colors but is excellent for patterns and

And What is the Craziest Thing Printed? Axpanel customers have some interesting ideas of what they want printed on their garage doors. All would be considered non-traditional. Some of their favorites include logo of a football team or artwork of a Grand Prix race car, a photo of a wine cellar, a sailing ship, duplication of an oil painting of birds and flowers and duplicating a driveway with stones onto the door.

What Would You Choose?

tured by EPCO, Italpannelli and Metecno. You can also print a custom design on ready panels with a customer supplied graphics file, or axpanel can prepare the graphics for you. If you have a special garage door in mind, you can send them the garage door panel for test

abstracts. For example, instead of printing a solid one-color area, the door can be printed

Imagine driving up your driveway to your customized garage door, creating a truly personalized entry to your inkjet printed home. What graphics would you choose? Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just think outside of the box, think outside of the house. â&#x2014;?

Mary Schilling is co-owner of www.InkjetInsight.com and the owner of www.SchillingInkjetConsulting.com. She consults with paper mills, fluid and inkjet machinery suppliers and end users. She writes technical inkjet industry and training articles.

FINISHING & MAILING ─ Finishing Considerations

DON' T FORGET TO

FINISH How the right kind of ﬁnishing will set you apart. By Mark DiMattei

inishing documents with cutting, folding and binding is crucial to the production of any application. However, finishing methods that are designed to meet the needs of long-run offset may not be suitable for digital printing. The expanding array of digital printing methods has changed the nature of finishing from large-scale devices focused on offset printing to automated methods that are often brought in-line with a production digital printing device. To maximize quality, productivity and innovation, the role and importance of finishing must evolve as well.

Finishing Closes Deals According to Keypoint Intelligence’s “Market Trends in Print Finishing” study, many PSPs report that ﬁnishing has helped them to win deals. In

Deals Lost Due to Finishing Requirements

fact, only 11% of respondents reported that they had never lost a deal due to finishing requirements. Among those respondents who lost deals because of finishing requirements, the most common reasons included not having the required finishing capabilities, followed by price and turnaround time. All three of these factors can feed upon one another—if you don’t have the right capabilities and therefore need to outsource that part of the job, price and turnaround time can be impacted.

Finishing Creates Market Differentiation Not surprisingly, respondents to Keypoint Intelligence’s survey ranked quick turnaround and quality as the key differentiators of finishing. The ability to quickly complete a quality job grows in importance as run lengths decrease and customers demand ever shorter delivery times. At the same time, however, it is also worth noting that a variety of finishing options and the ability to offer creative ideas were also important differentiators. Diverse, creative options enable PSPs to stand out from their competitors and grab the attention of consumers and clients.

Oﬀset Versus Digital N = 120 Print Service Providers in the US and Canada Source: Market Trends in Print Finishing, Keypoint Intelligence – InfoTrends 2020

WhatTheyThink - Printing News | May 2020

Offset and digital ﬁnishing options are often at odds. Longer offset runs tend to be better suited for ﬁnishing

through dedicated manufacturing tools. Meanwhile, shorter runs and requirements for quick turnaround naturally do not lend themselves well to devices that take a long time to set up. Additionally, with the growing prevalence of highspeed inkjet digital printing systems, many PSPs find there is a requirement for higher volume and productive finishing tools that have new capabilities for finishing workflow and automation (offline or in-line). According to Keypoint Intelligence’s research, 80% of respondents that had digital print and offset press technologies generally preferred to use the same finishing equipment for both. Only 11% preferred to keep offset and digital production separate, while another 9% reported that combining digital and offset was not possible due to format and other requirements. Regardless, there are benefits to colocating digital print and offset printing capabilities.

Next Steps It’s all well and good to consider the statistics of finishing options, but there are some actions PSPs can take to ensure that they’re getting the most out of finishing. ● Get a grip on your options. Evaluate how you leverage finishing in your current offerings. Focus on the applications that require finishing ● Keep an eye on costs. The only way to determine how valuable finishing can be is to keep track of all the related costs. Once you’ve obtained a thorough understanding of how finishing is accounted for, you can develop a better go-forward strategy.

Finishing Diﬀerentiators

N = 120 Print Service Providers in the US and Canada Source: Market Trends in Print Finishing, Keypoint Intelligence – InfoTrends 2020

● Budget for future purchases. Having a plan for additional equipment purchases ensures that you’re tracking the investments required to sustain, build and grow your business. ● Don’t forget to account for ﬁnishing when making digital print purchases. Printing solutions typically involve a substantial investment, but hidden costs are sometimes overlooked. It’s important to consider the role that ﬁnishing will play when a new production digital print system is purchased.

Read More… Find article at PrintingNews. com/21124215

The Bottom Line Although respondents believe that finishing capabilities can differentiate their businesses and contribute significantly to sales revenues, this does not necessarily mean that all PSPs are paying enough attention to finishing. There is still work to be done, but most PSPs understand the value and benefits that finishing can deliver. ● Mark DiMattei is the Manager of Keypoint Intelligence – InfoTrends’ Publishing, Editing and News department. In this capacity, he oversees the editing, formatting and publication cycles for many different types of deliverables. He also assists in the production of blogs, analyses, research reports and multi-client studies.

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WIDE-FORMAT & SIGNAGE ─ Finishing Systems

CUTTING REMARKS Finishing systems offer new tools, greater productivity and more application options. By Richard Romano

n this day and age, no self-respecting wide format and signage shop can be without a cutter—and while for many that means primarily a rollfed X-Y cutter for paper, vinyl or other soft materials, companies that have started printing on rigid materials

Zünd has long offered a robotic arm option for its S3 series cutting table.

WhatTheyThink - Wide-Format&Signage | May 2020

have found that investing in a cutting table has improved their productivity and expanded the number of applications they can produce. The alternative has traditionally been to have a skilled employee hunched over a work table manually cutting out shapes with

an X-Acto knife. That’s not the most productive workflow in the world—and finding such employees has been increasingly challenging—so if you have the volume (and the space) to support it, a cutting table is the way to go. Cutting tables are pretty basic, so there’s not a lot that really changes from generation to generation, aside from things like speed and various kinds of automation—either softwarebased or hardware-based, involving conveyor systems or robotic arms that load and/or offload printed boards. A lot of the table action is in the tooling, the hundreds of swappable tools that a table can support that offer a great deal of flexibility in what and how you can cut. It’s not just knives; tables also support routers which “rout” or bore out board, plastic, wood or other thick material, and there are tools for tables that can mill, perforate, crease, engrave and even create Braille lettering. Some tables can also automatically swap out the tooling, based on the parameters specified in the cut file. A killer app for these tables is swiftly and automatically performing contour cutting, slicing out complex shapes like guitars, fish and—during shows held during election years—masks of current Presidential candidates. (Remember shows?) This complex cutting is

The Zünd D3 series cutter has two beams that operate independently.

controlled by software and a “cut file” which contains the cutting parameters. The board has been printed with small registration marks bounding each image to be cut. The cut file tells the cutting tool where to make each cut in relation to the registration marks, which the tool head tracks using a scanner. Other advances in productivity include having two beams that can operate independently—doubling the productivity. These tables are also finding a niche in packaging prototyping, as well as an ever-expanding range of applications. They are also used to cut textiles, whether it’s simply cutting rectangular soft signage, or cutting printed fabric to a pattern that will later be sewn into some form of garment. Some tables also offer a roll attachment. Textiles can also be contour cut using printed registration marks, and Zünd tables, for example, can compensate for fabric stretchiness. Lasers have been coming to cutting tables, and have proven to be a popular option for various applications. Tables

WIDE-FORMAT & SIGNAGE ─ Finishing Systems

A laser can “engrave” designs into fabrics, allowing users to create highly customized products. (Image courtesy Trotec.)

from Esko (the Kongsberg line), Zünd, Gerber MCT and others offer laser modules that can be swapped in and out, while companies such as Trotec Laser offer their own dedicated laser cutting systems and tables. Laser engraving is also becoming popular, and Roland DGA has launched a series of laser engravers to etch designs on a variety of materials and objects. Laser cutting systems or add-on modules to cutting tables are particularly

Digital cutting at an industrial level.

1.5 m Contact us for details and virtual live demonstrations.

WhatTheyThink - Wide-Format&Signage | May 2020

useful for producing soft signage, as they function as cut-and-seal systems. “There has always been a pretty strong demand for cutting and sealing at the same time,” said Beatrice Drury, marketing manager for Zünd America. “Since the laser burns the edge, it automatically seals it, which is particularly useful in applications like SEG [silicone edge graphics] panels because there are a lot of times you don’t need sewing. With cut-and-seal, you’re eliminating another

processing step.” Cut-and-seal using lasers is really only appropriate for polyester fabrics, since natural fibers don’t so much melt as burn. And even for some polyester fabric applications, laser cutting and sealing may not be appropriate. “Frequently, when an edge gets burned and sealed with a laser, it makes it brittle or scratchy, so it’s not very suitable for anything that’s going to be on your skin,” Drury said. “Even for some flag applications, the edge isn’t durable enough, so the wind will crack it and it will start fraying.” Laser systems can also be used to “engrave” textiles, natural like denim or cotton, or synthetic. A low-power laser can etch (basically bleach) designs into fabrics, allowing users to create highly customized products. Laser cutters are also being used to cut an increasing number of rigid materials, as well, such as acrylic, wood, laminates and composite materials. “We have been involved in many thin film applications,” said Trish Steding, director of marketing for Trotec Laser. “Other uses range from surface protection to a variety of covering and

decorative applications. Decorative engraving on acrylic is being utilized in a range of industries.” Of course, even lasers have their limitations. “They are unsuitable for PVC due to toxic gases created when cutting,” Steding said, “as well as hard materials greater than one inch thick, like acrylic or wood.” Whether a standalone laser engraving unit, a cutting table with a laser cutting option or a dedicated laser cutting system, options abound for producing customized, high-value print applications. ●

Read More… Find article at PrintingNews. com/21127400

Decorative laser engraving on acrylic—cast or extruded—is becoming a common application. (Image courtesy Trotec.)

The Board Handling System BHS150.

infous@zund.com T: 414-433-0700 www.zund.com

For more information, visit Printingnews.com/12303499

WIDE-FORMAT & SIGNAGE ─ Essential Services

ESSENTIAL SERVICES IN A

TIME OF CRISIS How the crisis has impacted businesses in the wide-format and signage market. By Richard Romano

t’s been common to see frequent references and riffs on the title of Gabriel García Márquez’s novel “Love in the Time of Cholera,” but in this day of quarantining and social distancing, the Marquez title that springs to mind for many of us is “One Hundred Years of Solitude”—but not for sign companies. On our special online COVID19 coverage page, we have been tracking what businesses across

the industry have been doing to help battle, or at least cope with, the crisis. We are also conducting a short survey to update our “Printing Outlook 2020” report as obviously our outlook for the year has, um, changed since December when we wrote the report. In this, the first of what I plan to make a series of periodic “check in” articles, I take a look at how the crisis has impacted businesses in the wide-format

WhatTheyThink - Wide-Format&Signage | May 2020

and signage market. “We’re very fortunate that we have a good amount of work with businesses and industries that fall into the ‘essential’ classification, mainly healthcare and construction,” said Rick Bult, owner of FASTSIGNS of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. “Even though restaurants are considered essential, the amount of work they generate for takeout and pickup isn’t enough to sustain a business. We’re

also increasing our advertising efforts by offering free CDC signs to businesses that would like to post them around their office, and helping people realize that washing your hands needs to be a way of life for everyday, not just today.” And in many, if not most, states, print businesses are considered “essential,” as well they should be. “Our studios are considered ‘essential businesses’ so they remain open,” said Elliot Parks, COO of SpeedPro. “And [SpeedPro studios] have banded together. We’re seeing a lot of activity on our message boards, and they’re gathering a lot of ideas for things they can print or things they can do during the downtime to get through it. They’re leaning on each other, and the home office is doing everything they can to support them, as well.” Companies that heavily served the events market were especially hit, with events being cancelled pretty much everywhere, and SpeedPro studios that specialized in event graphics were especially hit. (A quick look at some of the comments in our preliminary survey results confirms that event graphics providers took a hit early on in the crisis.) Some are even going beyond printing. SpeedPro Chicago Loop is volunteering to run errands or perform tasks for their clients and others in the greater Chicagoland community that fall into the “at-risk” category.

(By the way, the classification of printing as an “essential” business varies by state. Minnesota, for example, had initially considered printing and paper to be “non-essential,” which drew the ire of the Printing Industry Midwest, which successfully lobbied to change that status.) The essential nature of printing is obvious to us, but it is most conspicuous in the area of signage. “All of our Image360, Signs By Tomorrow, and Signs Now centers have been impacted in some way by the COVID-

The essential nature of printing is obvious to us, but it is most conspicuous in the area of signage.

19 pandemic,” said Ray Palmer, president of the Sign and Graphics Division, Alliance Franchise Brands. “Thankfully, in most states, sign and graphics centers are considered essential businesses because we supply safety and critical signage for hospitals, testing facilities, banks and restaurants, and other essential businesses. Many of our centers remain open providing these important services.” Signage has become an important—and, yes, essential— print application. Sacramento,

Calif.ornia’s Time Printing Solution Provider is using their Heidelberg Versafire to print CDC signage for hospitals and businesses to encourage social distancing and hand-washing. And HP also cited several Latex customers that are producRead More… ing important Find article at signage, such PrintingNews. com/21126685 as Kirkwood Printing of Wilmington, Mass., that is printing outdoor wayfinding signage for drive-thru testing centers, as well as signage for retailers indicating that they are closed. Not the happiest of signs, but it’s signage. Equipment manufacturers are also stepping up to help out their customers. “Roland DGA is dedicated to doing everything we can to support our customers and partners during the ongoing crisis,” said Dan Wilson, marketing director for Roland DGA. “We are also focused on providing ideas, useful content and inspiration to make the best of this difficult situation.” “In the meantime, we’re getting work out the door just as fast as it comes in,” Bult said, “ but ask me again in 30 days!” The crisis and its effects change almost daily. Feel free to share your stories and experiences, either in comments below or by writing to me at richard@whattheythink.com. I’ll be “checking in” periodically as the crisis continues—and hopefully abates. ●

WIDE-FORMAT & SIGNAGE ─ PhotoSails

COME

SAIL AWAY PhotoSails takes billboard advertising out to sea. By Richard Romano

hotoSails (www. photosails.com) was an invention born of necessity. In the late 1990s, Aaron

Kiss ran a sailboat chartering company in Ft. Lauderdale, and one of his promotional strategies was handing out pamphlets on the beach. These

WhatTheyThink - Wide-Format&Signage | May 2020

PhotoSails founder Aaron Kiss

ended up littering the beaches, so the city passed an ordinance banning the handing out of print pamphlets. “I needed a way to get to the people without littering or causing problems with the city,” Kiss said. “So we decided to paint up a sail with my logo, my slogan and my phone number and started sailing up and down the beaches. I increased my income by 400% in six months and put five other boats out of business.” The effectiveness of sailboat advertising thus proven, Kiss started working with other local businesses. “I had some friends who owned their own businesses and asked me if I could make a sail for them,” he said. “They couldn’t really afford what I wanted to do, so I made a giant 600-square-foot Velcro sail with stick-on letters and numbers, and I would write messages and put logos on it. When people wanted to hire me for a day of sailing, I’d charge them my charter rate.” Things were moving along swimmingly until there came a turning point.

“One day my phone rang and it was Anheuser-Busch and they asked me if I could put photographs on sailboat sails,” he said. “I said yes, and they took out a contract for four months, which turned into two years.” And thus was born PhotoSails. This is how the PhotoSails model works: Someone wants to buy a boat, so they go through the company selling the boat—at the time of PhotoSails’ founding in 1999, Kiss had a relationship with Hunter. Once Kiss secured a contract with an advertiser,

such as Anheuser-Busch, he would turn to the location manager for Hunter and decide what size boat the client wanted,

depending on their budget or other requirements. “I would go to the Hunter local management and they

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WIDE-FORMAT & SIGNAGE ─ PhotoSails would contract me a brand-new boat,” Kiss said. Boats are not minor investments, and a fair number of the people who want to buy a boat can’t really afford one. “Hunter had a buyer’s incentive program,” Kiss said. “They would call the people that were considering buying the boat that we wanted to use and ask them simply, ‘Are you not buying the boat because of the price of the boat or financial issues?’ They would always say ‘yes,’ and Hunter would turn to them and say, ‘Well, we have a guy that would like to use the boat for three months and we have figured out a way to drop the price $30,000, $40,000, even $50,000. Are you interested?’” So in exchange for having a big ad on the sail, owners could substantially reduce the cost of the boat.

Early on, PhotoSails worked with Hunter exclusively. “They really are the Honda of boats; they’re very reliable, they’re not expensive, as far as sailboats go, they’re easy to work on, and they have a mast system that really worked for the type of sales we were building,” Kiss said. “That has snowballed into thousands of people all over the world who, whether they have Hunters or not, want to get paid to sail their own sailboats around, which is, trust me, the best job in the world.” Printing on sails, as you can well imagine, is not an easy process. “You can’t just take a sail and

WhatTheyThink - Wide-Format&Signage | May 2020

stick it through a printer,” he said. Kiss prefers to keep a lid on his specific production process, “but I can tell you this. We use a process that laminates four layers of cloth together that allows us to use CMYK color separation and digital imaging, using EFI VUTEks and some other of the major printers, that allow us to do double-sided imaging.” PhotoSails has a patent on a process for making opaque sails. “We are the owner of opaque sails—that way, no sunlight penetrates through, and even in backlit situations, you would never know what’s on the other side of the sail.” The challenge is that the

substrate that it is printed on has to not just look aesthetically pleasing, but actually function as a sail. “We can’t just take a vinyl, stick it through a printer, and expect to make a flat object into an airfoil,” Kiss said. “It just doesn’t work. We actually tried it, and it just doesn’t sail well at all, and it doesn’t look good.” A lot of the work is done in software, and they have adapted their CAD programs to create three-dimensional airfoils in multiple pieces. They then use what they call variablemolding tables to consolidate the pieces together. “It creates a proper airfoil that allows sailboats to sail as well as, if not better than, the sail technology that’s out there today,” Kiss said. It’s the opaqueness of the PhotoSails sail that is the important element of the process. Most sailboat sails are translucent—when you see them out on the water on a sunny day, the sun shines through and lights them up, and it’s a rather beautiful sight—the kind of effect that makes someone want to buy a boat in the first place. However, when you have paid advertising on both sides of a sail, the sun can’t shine through; it would be the sail equivalent of showthrough. The only way to accomplish this on a translucent sail is to mirror the image on both sides of the sail precisely using multiple pieces of sail cloth.

“It’s a nightmare process and one side is backwards,” Kiss said. “If you miss the mirroring perfectly, then it looks like it’s blurry.” PhotoSails has grown consistently from year-to-year, although sail-based advertising does require a fairly significant advertising budget. “Almost all of our clients are Fortune 500 companies,” Kiss said. “This is not for Billy Bob’s Pizza Shack. This isn’t a bus wrap or a park bench or something like that. This is something that is dealing with half a million- and million-dollar yachts.” The boat doesn’t even need to leave the dock—which presents an interesting way to get around sign codes regulating

advertising signage. “We’ve been doing a beach program called Beach Billboards,” Kiss said. “Coca-Cola wanted to have their signage on a beach, but that’s highly regulated. We were putting our signs on sailboat rentals, and people were walking by them Read More… every day and Find article at looking at PrintingNews. com/21126895 them. And the rental people loved it because they’re getting a free set of sails and getting subsidized by Coca-Cola for putting the sail up. So they’re making money without the boat even going out.” PhotoSails billboards have Continued on page 63

WIDE-FORMAT & SIGNAGE ─ Image360 Centers

THE

SIGN CONNECTION

Tips for signs & graphics companies during COVID-19 By Burke Cueny

t’s impossible to ignore the vast changes that have shaken our economy and our industry over the past several weeks and months. We are all adjusting to the very real impact of the COVID19 pandemic, and will likely still be feeling it for months to come. Speciﬁcally in the signs and graphics industry, COVID-19 has been an incredible challenge, as it has been for nearly every industry; and it’s also been an opportunity to truly value the strength of graphic design and signage in the modern world. Ideally, we will all be able to recover quickly, as a society, a business community and an industry from the effect of this pandemic. But in the meantime, we have all had to learn fast and on our feet how signs and graphics can evolve in the face of a truly unexpected crisis. In many ways, the services and products offered by signs and graphics businesses are more valuable than ever before. Our Image360 franchise system has grappled with COVID-19 just like all signs companies, but we have also learned valuable lessons I think every signs business can beneﬁt from.

Focus on Existing Customers Many marketing tactics are focused on attracting new leads. Now, however, is the time to maintain, and ideally strengthen, the bonds between your business and your most frequent existing customers. Connect with them regularly to get a sense for how their business is doing, and to see if there are any graphic solutions to the problems they may be facing. See if there are ways to be ﬂexible with their needs, or accommodate

requests for lower cost. Use content marketing to keep your customer lists up to date on ways graphics and signage are playing a central role in adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic – social distancing signs, open for delivery graphics and designs showing proper hand washing techniques. Our Image360 centers have had the most success during this period by doubling down on the partnerships they’ve built over the years, and demonstrating their value to existing customers more than ever before.

Find Visual Solutions for COVID-19 Business Challenges In many ways, COVID-19 has been an unusually visual experience for all of us, considering we are dealing with an invisible virus. So much of the language around the pandemic is visual – ﬂattening the curve, envisioning six feet of distance between people, gloves and facemasks to protect vulnerable populations, videos and graphics of properly washing your hands. There are countless ways businesses can use strong design to support their customers, communicate with clients and the public,

WhatTheyThink - Wide-Format&Signage | May 2020

and use graphics to drive sales, even in a world of social distancing. In a time where people are worried and anxious about the future, signs and graphics businesses have an ability to provide clear, visual communication that can help maintain calm. Spend time brainstorming ways to help your clients communicate, even during a challenging situation. It will only strengthen your ability to provide useful graphic design in the future when the pandemic is, mercifully, over.

Be a Goodwill Partner with Your Local Business Community It’s no secret that the economic impact of COVID-19 has been vast. Businesses are struggling to pay bills and employees and be a useful partner to businesses and clients during this tumultuous time. The same holds true for the signs and graph-

ics industry, as many print shops are also struggling to make it through. But even in the middle of these challenges, a local business community survives and thrives together. Find ways to support your neighboring businesses – do restaurants need signs alerting customers that they’re still open for delivery or takeout under shelter-in-place orders? Do essential businesses need signs that remind customers to stay six feet away from each other? It may make sense to see if you can offer these resources inexpensively or free, as a gesture of goodwill to the broader community.

Many of our Image360 centers have offered banners to restaurants and other businesses for free, as a gesture of their support for all businesses in their market. This kind of giveback shows the values of your business, and it’s a measure of goodwill that your community will remember long after our current crisis is over.

Look to the Future Now is an excellent time to take stock of where things stand with your business, and to consider any resources or options available to you, including the Federal CARES Act. There are a variety of franRead More… chise opportunities, Image360 Find article at being one of them, that offer a PrintingNews. com/21127160 strong network of support for existing businesses wishing to convert to a franchise. This allows them to access resources that are especially valuable during painful and unforeseen circumstances like our current pandemic. There are also business associations, networking connections, other signs and graphics shops in town that may be interested in joining forces – now is the time to think creatively, not only about how you will make it through the current crisis, but what you see in the future for your business, in a year or in ﬁve years. Challenging times like right now are also a chance to take stock, and plan for your future. We have all learned things about our businesses, our communities and ourselves during this crisis. The signs and graphics industry is strong, and built to withstand challenging periods like this one. My hope is that by taking into account some of this advice we’ve gleaned from our network of Image360 centers and the experiences of the industry at large, all signs businesses will be able to see a way through our current situation together. ●

Burke Cueny is the VP of Marketing & Communications for Image360. Formerly, he provided services to the Sign and Graphics Division of Allegra Network.

WIDE-FORMAT & SIGNAGE ─ Franchise Owner

GETTING UP TO

SPEED

New owner Greg Ellison takes on the learning curve at SpeedPro Denver. By Richard Romano

ne of the interesting consequences of the franchise model is that very often it attracts print business owners whose backgrounds are far afield of the commercial printing industry, or even the wide-format printing industry. This has the effect of bringing new ideas into the business and the industry at large, as these owners are not saddled with “the way things have always been done.” That said, becoming the owner of a print business is not without its learning curve. Last November, Greg Ellison became the new owner of SpeedPro Denver, and like a lot of franchise owners—and SpeedPro studio owners— Ellison doesn’t have a print background. He spent most of his early career in telecommunications as an engineer, until the repeated churn of mergers and acquisitions led him to grow disenchanted with that industry. “I reached a point in time when I’d had enough,” he said. “I asked for a package and they were nice enough to give it to me. I wanted to do something completely different. I knew I wanted to be a small business owner, so I started shopping for businesses and going through business brokers and broker magazines looking for what was interesting.” With a manufacturing background, he was looking for something with a manufacturing focus, but also knew he wanted something business-tobusiness. He found that there wasn’t much that really fit that mold, but did find that printing and signage kept cropping up. “I ended up gravitating toward the idea of getting into graphic printing,” he said. A franchise broker put him touch with one sign franchise that was looking to open a new facility in the Denver area, but Ellison didn’t necessarily want

to build a new business from the ground up. “Working on a business for two or three years before I could write myself a paycheck was not very appealing to me,” he said. The very next day, though, the franchise broker got back to Ellison with news of a SpeedPro franchise that was already established but needed new leadership. So he had a look. “I found out that what they had here was really, really cool,” he said. “Not only is it wide-format graphics, but what really interested me about SpeedPro Denver is that most of the business comes from vehicle wraps, which I think are cool.” And that, as they say, was that. Ellison became the new owner of SpeedPro Denver, the third owner since the studio was founded in 2006. Seemingly thrown into the deep end, Ellison found the learning curve fairly steep—getting a handle on all the different kinds of substrates, let alone all the output devices, and what can print on what—but any difﬁculty getting up to speed was mitigated by coming into an already-active studio that had highly experienced staff. “I have a top-notch operations guy who’s also a graphic artist and he knows all the equipment out there,” Ellison said. “So that part of my learning curve—operations—turned out to be a low priority for me because I had expertise already in the studio.” SpeedPro Denver has a small staff of three fulltime employees: an operations manager, a production employee who does prep work, as well as lamination, installations, and a front-desk person who answers phones, prepares estimates and handles customer service. He also utilizes a part-time marketing person, and a driver who does deliveries a couple hours a day. SpeedPro Denver is heavily involved in vehicle

WhatTheyThink - Wide-Format&Signage | May 2020

graphics, and a major client is the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), which launched a bus service in 2016 called Bustangs, which runs from the Denver area out to the mountains. “The previous owner had gotten into a contract with CDOT on Bustangs and we wrapped their 45-foot coaches,” Ellison said. Late last year, CDOT launched Snowstangs, also 45-foot passenger buses which run from Denver to Colorado’s ski areas. “We wrapped those as well. They’ve been a very good partner with us.” Another major client is Mile High Food Trucks. “That account is a lot of fun,” Ellison said. “They need a lot of design help, so my graphic artist truly likes doing work for them. He gets the opportunity to really get creative, and it helps them out a lot with their clients packaging customizing food trucks with well-designed wraps.” While the Denver studio’s stock in trade is vehicle graphics, they also do their fair share of banners and wall and window graphics. Like some SpeedPro studios I have spoken with, SpeedPro Denver also sees growth opportunities in environmental or experiential graphics—the intersection of décor and signage—although he’s moving into it slowly. One fun challenge to overcome was interacting with customers. “I came from a design engineer/development engineer background and as such it was only about once a quarter would they allow the engineers to talk to a customer,” he said. “They didn’t let us get out much. So one of the things that’s been enjoyable is getting out and talking to customers and seeing what their problems are, what they’re trying to solve, and what kinds of cool things they want to do. That’s been the fun part.” More challenging—and Ellison is certainly not alone on this—is getting a handle on pricing and estimating. “It seems like you should be able to say, ‘This is what you want, this is how many prints, and this is how much I’ll charge you for it.’ But it feels like there’s a lot of

fuzzy logic in there that I’m still trying to get my head around.” The change in ownership Read More… has lent itself to a heavy marFind article at PrintingNews. keting push. com/21122560 “There have been a lot of things that we’ve done since I came on board to introduce myself and the changeover of SpeedPro Denver from the previous owner to myself,” Ellison said. But the bulk of the ongoing marketing is via search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) search advertising—“maintaining our name on the front page [of Google search results] and ranking as high on that front page list as possible,” he said. It’s been a busy four months for Ellison, but an exciting time, as he learns not only the wide-format print business, but also the SpeedPro business. “I have to add a shameless plug for SpeedPro,” he said. “When I was early in the investigation of SpeedPro trying to understand who they are and what they are, I found myself in a one-on-one conversation with Larry Oberly, the CEO, and was able to get his time for about 45 minutes and pick his brain. When you have a CEO who’s that dedicated to bringing in the right kind of people into his system, it really gave me a lot of faith and trust in the system and what they’re really trying to accomplish here.” ●

TEXTILES ─ Faux Denim

DENIM REIMAGINED A new, more eco-friendly way to think about denim By Cary Sherburne

he next time you put on that great pair of jeans, it is worth taking time to consider what their environmental impact is. It takes approximately 1,500 gallons of water to grow the 1.5 pounds of cotton required to make a pair of jeans. The massive amount of water (an average of 900 to 1,000 gallons) required in the dyeing and washing process gets them looking and feeling just right. The pollution caused by deposition of the dyestuffs and the subsequent laundry process is also factored. But what if you could have a truly eco-friendly pair of jeans that look great and are even more comfortable than the pair you love? That’s one of the projects undertaken by the Intech Group, founded in 2001, as they worked to develop their pigment inks and printers for digital textile printing. “Back in 2010 to 2014, the company was looking at two different expansion markets where water-based inks for digital printing could add value and deliver a reduced environmental impact: ceramic inks for ceramic tiles and pigment inks for fabric,” said Dalton Cheng, head of technology at Intech

Digital Limited. “There were players already in production of ceramic inks, so we decided to pursue pigment inks for textiles in roll-to-roll printing. No one really understood at that time what that would truly mean. It seemed like an intriguing idea, and we decided to pursue pigment inks for textiles since we wanted to be an early adopter.” Cheng, who had been working for Behr Paints, quit his job in 2014 to join the effort and spent more than two years developing the formulation and process. “We started commercially printing for designers, brands and fabric mills in 2016,” he said. The development process required not only development of the inks, which are created from organic materials rather than using rare earth minerals that have a huge negative environmental impact; it also required development of a printing system that could handle the inks and deliver the requisite quality. Today, the Intech Digital 190T printer, equipped with eight Ricoh Gen 5E printheads, does just that with its ZERO-D

WhatTheyThink - Wide-Format&Signage | May 2020

(Inset Photo) Dalton Cheng (Above) A model wearing the ZERO-D digitally printed dress at the COTTON USA booth. The fabric is 100% cotton poplin, and the entire dress, from the black background to the red roses, is all pigment.

technology (zero discharge, reflecting its waterless digital printing approach). The downside today, according to Cheng, is the speed, which is at 25 to 40 linear yards per hour. Intech currently has five of these printers printing direct to fabric in its Chinese factory. “We’ve been looking for partners that want to also achieve the quality and eco-friendliness our printers deliver,” Cheng said, “but that has been somewhat difficult due to the amount of misinformation out there about pigment inks for textile printing, and so many missteps and even misrepresentation from some of the manufacturers. There is still a huge education need to get the word out about the potential for

want using our CMYK inks. Different wash effects can be produced digitally. Switching from indigo blue to red can be done very quickly in Photoshop. We can add placement prints on the jeans through panel printing, have them wrap around the leg, making them customized. Perhaps if you travel a lot,

Intech Digital 190T printer.

pigment inks in textiles.” Recreating the denim look was one area of focus for the company. “Essentially, you scan a pair of jeans using a flatbed scanner and adjust the image digitally to capture weave effects, contrast, wash effects, etc., and you have a digital representation of that pair of jeans that can be printed on just about any bleached white fabric,” Cheng said. “The resulting effect is almost indistinguishable from twill weave denim but with much, much less environmental impact. The benefit with our system is all the design work is done digitally, and the normal multi-step process of dyeing, washing/ laundry, and processing to make a pair of finished jeans is now

reduced to one waterless printing step. With this digital representation, you can digitally add different wash effects, adjust colors and do other things that would normally be performed on a ﬁnished pair of jeans.” Cheng noted that with conventional denim dyeing processes, not only is there the vast consumption of water and the associated pollution, but “you can’t really change the color. The only thing you can do is change the shade of color by removing the color through different washes or with laser technology. With digital printing and Photoshop, you can do just about anything, which opens up all sorts of new fashion possibilities for denim. You can make the jeans any color you

Digitally printed denim special effects for children’s jeans.

Jeans in any color, made with cotton, linen, Tencel, viscose, even silk!

you might want to print family photos on the inside of your garments so you can keep your family close while traveling, seeing their images when you dress and undress.” Intech can also print on soft manmade natural materials like Tencel.

Embroidery simulated with digital printing.

TEXTILES ─ Faux Denim “We can go with 97% Tencel, 3% Spandex,” Cheng said. “You can’t do that with conventional denim manufacturing because the Tencel fibers are damaged in the indigo dyeing process. But with Tencel + ZERO-D, you have a total water footprint (fabric + pigment) that is a maximum of 3% that of cotton denim (75 gallons vs. 2,500 gallons per pair). That is an amazing figure.” The idea of changing the fabric for jeans is significant. “One of the technical problems with skinny jeans, for example, is they get loose around the hips and knees after some amount of wear,” he said. “If you change the construction of the fabric to something like a panama weave, that problem can be alleviated. But traditional denim manufacturers can’t do that; they are stuck with a twill weave. Manufacturers also use massive amounts of water in the wash/laundry process to make the jeans softer and more

Close-up of digitally printed fabric on textured dobby weave.

comfortable to wear for consumers immediately after purchase. However, to resolve the water consumption and pollution issues in the denim industry, this wash process needs to be eliminated. This is where changing the fabric can also come into play. There are so many bottom-weight fabrics out there that are naturally soft and comfortable to wear. They could be made from ﬁbers like viscose, modal, linen, even silk. For example, we can print the denim patterns on 100%

Denim Reimagined: An example of changing colors, adding colors and different placement prints to create new, fashionable denim.

WhatTheyThink - Wide-Format&Signage | May 2020

crepe-back-satin viscose or silk. In this way, on the outside, they look and feel just like jeans, but on the inside, against your skin, it’s an amazing soft silky feeling. All of this is part of our concept of ‘Denim Reimagined,’ with new denim fashion and designs on a diverse variety of fabrics, delivering style, fashion, comfort and ultra-sustainability all at once.” Creating a denim look with heat transfer dye sublimation is very difficult. “It requires 50–60 milliliters of ink per square meter to achieve the right shade of blue/ indigo,” Cheng said. “You can’t transfer that much dye accurately from heat transfer paper. The dyes bleed/migrate and create a blurry, blotchy mess. The same thing happens with reactive dye digital printing. With our pigment inks, given the photographic fidelity of our printing, you can’t tell the difference between conventional denim and our denim look unless you look at the back of the fabric.” The Intech printing process uses minimal water. The fabric is pretreated, dried in a baking tunnel, printed, dried again, post-treated, dried again and finally softened with a final drying stage. There is no need for a post-print washing cycle. The fabric is ready to cut, sew and wear. Pre- and post-treatment solutions are determined by the type of fabric to be printed; in most cases, the post-treatment is a polymeric

solution to bring up the dry and wet crock to apparel standards (dry 4, wet 3, at least). A standard fabric softener is used in the softening process. Another advantage of Intech’s pigment printing process is that the ink is actually absorbed into the fabric yet still delivers fantastic color; in other pigment printing processes, he says, the pigments lay on top of the fabric as a coating, much like DTG and screen printing, to deliver the required color gamut. However, this signiﬁcantly impacts the fabric hand to give it a rubbery or cardboard feel, and the print cracks and peels with use like regular DTG and screen prints. In terms of cost for denim production, fabric printed with this methodology carries a cost of $4.00 to $5.00 per linear yard, for the entire process. Intech inks sell at a pretty stan-

Intech pigment printing produces high quality color, fine details.

dard market prices of about $30 per liter. If an organization wanted to purchase the production system, Cheng said it starts at a sub $250,000 investment. “We recommend purchase of two printers, both for

Karin Malmstrom of COTTON USA with Dalton Cheng. The mannequin and Cheng are in pigment printed apparel, top and bottom. Cheng’s shirt is printed silk charmeuse

redundancy and to increase denim. The company also works throughput,” he said. “That gives with cut-and-sew operations in you 50 to 80 linear yards per China to deliver ﬁnished garhour for less than $500,000, ments. Over time, as the indusand the system is extremely try becomes more eco-sensitive, reliable. It’s like the Energizer Cheng hopes to be able to not Bunny, it just keeps only grow the printing going and going.” Read More… business but also sell Find article at The system uses printers and ink. PrintingNews. ErgoSoft RIP soft“We believe we’ll com/21124714 ware and works with get there,” he said. Pantone color matching. “When we attend industry The quality, reliability and shows, like MAGIC and the reduced waste are important in denim-focused Kingpins event, the ROI calculation. attendees are stunned by the “You have to consider the apparel quality. But it will take total cost of ownership—the a little more time and education total lifecycle cost across the to gain the kind of traction we supply chain. Being able to hope to see.” produce on-demand, producing So the next time you put on the designs that sell, and quickly those jeans, think about their cutting out the ones that do environmental impact, consider not do well to minimize risk are what it would be like to have important considerations. them produced with your favorToday, Intech is producing ite fabric and in your favorite apparel created from digitally color, and stay tuned with develprinted fabric using its pigmentopments as this technology based inks for a number of wellbecomes, as Cheng hopes, more known brands, not restricted to widespread and available. ●

TEXTILES â&#x201D;&#x20AC; Flexible Production

SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION IN A

PANDEMIC

Image Credit: Kornit Digital

Now is the time for a digital workflow. By Debbie McKeegan

n the current climate, the challenges of supply chain uncertainty have forced many of us to both revisit and perhaps move to reconfigure our supply base in order to protect against future exposure and business interruption. But do we need to do more than just seek diversity? Do we not need to radically restructure our manufacturing processes? As the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s textile industry looks to resolve the current health challenges, and battle with supply chain disruption, these unprecedented events are going to force a radical reset. Globally the world

WhatTheyThink - Wide-Format&Signage | May 2020

is united, and everyone faces the same dilemma. As history has shown, we often need an out-ofthe-ordinary environment to force us to leave our comfort zones; we are all forced out of the comfortable “normal.”

A Sustainable Supply Chain Addresses a New Textile Paradigm and the Future of Production The current textile supply chain is both complex and global, with an extensive carbon footprint, but that doesn’t have to be the case. The Silk Roads of the past don’t address the needs of an eco-conscious generation, so we need to re-establish new, carbon-efficient vendor chains and move toward sustainable supply. Building a future-safe supply chain will empower flexibility in uncertain times and will become a critical factor in future pandemic business plans across all industries. Manufacturers, regardless of location, need a new flexible toolbox, built to reverse the negative impact of channel disruption and equipped to flex and meet the demands of a new marketplace. Is it time to think beyond the constraints of your existing production

legacy and re-equip? Digital technologies offer a suite of tools for retailers and manufacturers that harness and deliver the associated benefits of sustainable customized production—the new Digital Silk Road. As the fashion industry labors to meet the requirements of a new generation of consumers and a demand for product diversity together with sustainability, the traditional stock workflow is no longer relevant; it resides in the past. The current fashion cycle and its supply chain must adapt; it must reset and free itself from legacy production. As an industry sector, fast fashion accounts for more than its fair share of the world’s pollution, ranking second as a global polluter and consumer of the Earth’s natural resources. In a fast-paced world, we now demand instant Digital textile printing technologies offer the supply chain reduced inventory and lean manufacturing. Is it time to think beyond the constraints of your existing production legacy and re-equip?

Image Credit: Kornit Digital

TEXTILES ─ Flexible Production

The digital smart factory utilizes a suite of technologies that facilitate “just-in-time” manufacturing. Driven by collaborative data from deep within the supply chain, the manufacturer has access to the technologies and the necessary information to provide flexible, efficient production and generate customized orders, at any scale, manufactured to meet client demand.

supply, forcing many brands and retailers with complex supply chains to hold stock. However, overstocks are bad news for businesses large and small, and must be controlled and fine-tuned to meet demand. On the other hand, out-of-stocks are lost sales. So what’s the solution? Fulfillment must be managed to secure sales and meet demand, and, importantly, retain the customer loyalty you have worked so hard to create. Customized production and the benefits of a lean, efficient supply chain utilizing digital technologies, release the energy of on-demand production and free the supply chain from burdensome stock.

Real-Time Data Drives “Just-In-Time” Manufacturing and Reduces Inventory and Risk A digitized workflow delivers real-time information and allows both the retailer and the manufacturer to flex production to meet market demand and supply chain interruption. To do so it must be transparent and unite all stakeholders. In general, the textile industry has faced up to its accountabilities and welcomes a new, positive era of change and a generational swing toward sustainability. But to change the practices and production processes of the past takes time, while both

the industry and the consumer are impatient for change. The supply chain must also adapt to offer best practice and re-equip as required for sustainable supply to meet the industry’s requirements. The most successful brands are those that offer intense diversity and flexible production, manufacturing in real time, using intelligent metrics; and to do so they operate using digital technologies. Utilizing a digital workflow offers essential control and it reaps cash rewards, with the commercial benefits of efficient production. The manufacturer must now adapt to a new workflow, one that can and will change the future of textile production, and in doing so, will deliver sustainable manufacturing. The digital smart factory utilizes a suite of technologies that facilitate just-in-time manufacturing. Driven by collaborative data from deep within the supply chain, the manufacturer has access to the technologies and the necessary information to provide flexible, efficient production and generate customized orders, at any scale, manufactured to meet client demand. Carbon neutrality is a must for the supply chains of the future. Together with the benefits of speed and ultimate flexibility, near-shore production also simplifies the value chain and offers a reduced

WhatTheyThink - Wide-Format&Signage | May 2020

carbon footprint. Reduced inventory, ultimate control and automatic stock regeneration now also reduce the requirement for carried stock, as well as the requirement for large-scale warehousing and, importantly, free redundant capital by taking back control of the supply chain.

Building Digitized Communication Allows Businesses to Take Control of the Supply Chain Cloud-based solutions support the industry’s growth within both physical retail stores and the virtual e-commerce marketplace and are essential to all stakeholders as they offer real-time metrics that can accurately predict sales. The buyer is now electronic, placing orders into a production mainframe that’s purposely built for customized manufacturing to service accurate demand, on demand. In a virtual, digitized world, web-to-print solutions offer an automated print workflow, with no human intervention for administration. Stocks, consumables, print orders and shipping are automated, and, importantly, are only delivered into the production cycle when triggered by the sale—print on demand,

by definition, delivered at speed to an online consumer. Third-party fulfillment offers a hands-free production process and meets Read More… the demands of the e-commerce Find article at marketplace. PrintingNews. As we move forward into a new com/21126906 era of consumer-driven transparency, the fashion industry and its supply base have the technology at their fingertips to deliver a sustainable solution and bring about change. The requirement for sustainable supply and the operational efficiencies of the digital workflow offer the fashion industry new entrepreneurial growth at any scale. As the current climate now teaches us, we must restructure our supply chains and adapt to new environments, embrace digital disruption, and prepare the textile industry for a sustainable, digital future. ●

Debbie McKeegan is the CEO of TexIntel. As a multi-disciplinary creative and renowned digital print pioneer, she holds over 25 years’ experience within the Textile manufacturing industry.

In a virtual, digitized world, web-to-print solutions offer an automated print workflow, with no human intervention or administration and represents the only true platform for sustainable production.

MANAGEMENT ─ Sales Process

WHAT'S THE

BIG DEAL

SALES PROCESS

ABOUT A

Follow these steps to increase sales. By Lisa Magnuson

ost sellers don’t want to think about their sales process. After all, it’s more of an art than a science. Sales comes naturally, and every sales situation is unique. Let the sales leaders think about it. The sellers just want to sell.

So, what are the benefits of a clearly defined and adhered to sales process? ● A baseline, representing best practices from which improvements and adjustments can be made ● Clarity for sales people, sales leaders and stakeholders ● Common terminology to enable clear communication ● Quantifiable and repeatable ● Identifying sales pitfalls means the opportunity to design “Plan B” to avoid ● A framework to identify triggers or sales accelerators’ (i.e. those activities that accelerate the sales process) ● Basis for automation (the sales process should drive sales force automation, not vice versa) ● Improved close ratios by following a success template ● Predictable sales results – a system that produces results Before we go any further, let’s simply define

a sales process. A sales process is a step-by-step approach to selling that is designed for salespeople. It should represent best practices. The sales process covers initial contact with a prospect through contract and beyond. The beneﬁts may appear “too good to be true” by implementing a sales process into your sales organization, but it really is that simple. If done correctly, there will be lots of upside and no downside. Here’s where to begin.

Step One: Build the Framework ● ● ● ●

Phases or stages Phase components Phase characteristics Pipeline ratios

Step Two: Design the Details ● Best practice activities associated with each phase ● Mark trigger or sales accelerator actions. ● Consider and note common sales pitfalls for each phase. ● Include sales resources and tools for each phase.

Step Three: Integrate your Prospect’s Typical Buying Cycle ● Prospect buying steps ● Prospect activities

WhatTheyThink - Wide-Format&Signage | May 2020

● Characteristics of each stage from the prospect’s perspective i.e. what is the prospect doing, thinking and feeling during each stage of their buying process? ● Prospect expectations

Step Four: Measure, Socialize, Train ● Socialize within your sales organization. (Note: this includes all stakeholders.) ● Conduct comprehensive training to install the new sales process. ● Test for quality and quantity. ● Determine the number of prospects needed at each phase. ● Test pipeline ratios.

Step Five: Automate and Improve ● Integrate into existing or new sales automation system (CRM). ● Reﬁne. A sales process includes all the steps that are taken from the time a prospect expresses interest in a product or service, to their acquisition of that product or service and beyond. Sales cycles differ based on various factors such as industry, sales or distribution channel, and the nature of the product or service. The notion of the customer’s buying process is a critical perspective. We all know that prospects have unlimited access to information and have little time or patience to be sold. Skilled sellers help prospects clarify their needs and provide the right amount of information, at the right time, to enable the prospect to make the wise decision. However, when you add competitors, multiple decision makers, complex buying cycles, external pressures and risk to mix, it gets complicated quickly. The phases below offer a simple template that includes the most common components of a strategic sales cycle. After you build your unique sales process, you can analyze important data such as close ratios and the average length of the sale cycle. The sales approach is a careful

balance of quality and quantity. It’s important to drive sales activity (quantity) but it’s more important to consistently improve the quality of all sales interactions (quality). Read More… The steps below, organized in Find article at PrintingNews. phases, form a top level outline of com/21126703 typical sales cycles which can be used as an example. The phases are organized using a planting theme since sales is an evergreen endeavor.

Phase One: Opportunity is Unearthed and Examined ● Initial prospect research ● Situational questions are asked and answered. ● Fit is determined - qualify opportunity – can you compete? ● A problem or opportunity has been identiﬁed. ● Customer agrees with problem or opportunity ● Customer has resources and desire to solve problem.

Phase Two: Lay the Groundwork ● ● ● ●

In-depth prospect research Gather account team. Determine other resources needed. Develop questions to delve deeper into problem or opportunity.

Phase Three: Dig In ● Get to the core of the problem or opportunity. ● Uncover the implications of solving or not solving your prospect’s problem or opportunity.

WhatTheyThink - Printing News | May 2020

MANAGEMENT ─ Sales Process ● Quantify the impact of a solution (gather info for ROI analysis). ● Expansion of customer contacts ● Initial development of strategy ● Gain pre-commitments from customer to continue (next steps). ● Clear action items

Phase Four: Plant the Seeds ● Customer’s goals and objectives are well understood. ● Lots of customer interactions ● Development of ﬁrst draft of solution ● Alternatives evaluated ● Decision criteria understood ● Decision process understood ● Executive endorsement secured ● Competitive assessment completed and blocks are in play ● ROI developed and tested with customer ● Strategy development ● Differentiation/Win Themes ● Evaluate possible risks and threats from customer’s perspective ● Gain pre-commitments from customer to continue (next steps). ● Clear action items

Phase Five: Cultivation: Proposal and/or Presentation ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Understand audience and their objectives Be clear on desired outcome or next steps. Connect problem to solution to ROI Beneﬁts tie directly to stated needs. Anticipate questions and objections. Show evidence of past success for similar situation. Seek internal feedback prior to delivery. Testing of product or solution Gain pre-commitments from customer to continue (next steps) Clear action items

● Customer decision (agreement, contract) ● Move smoothly to next logical step ● Clear action items

Phase Seven: Harvest: Delivery of Service or Product Clear communication Implementation planning Project leadership Add resources. Plan for the unexpected. Develop key metrics or measurements. Focus on providing value and customer satisfaction. ● Clear action items ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Phase Eight: Enjoy the Fruits of your Labors ● Celebration of accomplishment ● Analysis of process ● Process improvements shared and incorporated ● Executive sponsor thank you ● Clear action items

Phase Nine: New Growth and Expansion ● Marketing opportunities – testimonials, case studies, etc. ● Referrals ● Develop expansion plans. ● Gather evidence – cost savings, process improvements, ROI actualization. ● Customer satisfaction veriﬁcation ● Executive contact plan developed ● Clear action items ● Recycle to earlier phase. Good luck! You will “Ring the Bell” more often when your sellers follow a customized sales process that is built on best practices. ●

Phase Six: Nurture: Commitment to Move Forward ● Address remaining issues.

WhatTheyThink - Wide-Format&Signage | May 2020

Lisa Magnuson founded Top Line Sales in 2005. It has a proven track record of helping companies overcome the barriers to winning TOP Line Accounts. Learn more at www.toplinesales.com.

CASE STUDY ─ Good Help

CASE OF FINDING

GOOD HELP But you have to act fast.

ou just can’t find good help these days. But of course we can. I know it’s not easy. It never has been. But today we have more tools than ever, and communication is easier. However, one thing is truly different. We must act quickly and put on a happy face. We used to put an ad in the paper, collect resumes for a couple weeks, sort them, call for interviews and then, in a few weeks, make a job offer. That’s changed, especially when we’re fishing in the $10 to $15 an hour pool. These candidates are also being recruited by businesses who will call them for an interview this morning, see them this afternoon, and start them tomorrow. Those willing to work in graphics usually are willing to take more time for their job search, but they won’t wait forever. Speed is of the essence. What we really want is to post an ad for someone experienced with our equipment or with our software and have three perfect candidates tomorrow. Rarely does this happen, and rarely did it ever before. So, instead of hiring the first “close enough” candidate and hoping for the best, we need to break down the recruiting process, streamline it and speed it up. Then we must dedicate our time to it instead of waiting until all the jobs are done. We need to organize our people around functions so you may recruit for a recognized job. Customer service representative, prepress operator, digital press and more. Search for recruiting pools before you

need them and use contacts Read More… other employees may have. A Find article at recruiting pool could be a local PrintingNews. com/21115658 arts store with a help wanted bulletin board. Your employees may have leads on people they previously worked with. Equipment service people and other friendly printers may also supply you with leads. Pick up the phone and reach out to these folks. Most often we run an ad. Today, we have good success with Indeed.com. But here’s a trick. Act fast. Post the ad on Indeed.com the same day you’re told they’re leaving. Paint a happy place to work. “Come join this engaged owner in Smith county’s fastest growing digital printing company. Use our latest equipment and updated software.” If it’s positive, sell it. Also, put a specific pay rate in the ad as well as your benefits. No, not $15 to $20 an hour. List $17. If you put in a range, then you assume they’ll start at the low end and work up. They assume, they can get the top pay and maybe more, so you’re inviting negotiation. List a rate and it’s almost yes or no. If you don’t get what you want, increase the rate. As for benefits, feature your paid holidays during the year as well as vacations. I recommend two weeks after one year of employment or its equivalent if the state requires you to accrue vacations monthly. Of course, feature other benefits that you have, such as health insurance and disability. Pretty soon you will see that it sounds like a real job. And do this as your most important job. That means getting in touch with the candidates on nights, weekends and holidays. And hire the first one who meets all your qualifications. Don’t hesitate. Holding out for the “perfect” candidate will lose you a lot of perfectly good candidates. Oh yes, we’ve placed a new employee as quickly as 10 days. ●

Tom Crouser can be reached at tom@cprint.com for more information on how CPrint International can be of help to you in your business or call his cell 304.541.3714.

PRINTING PULSE ─ Economic Impact Continued from page 23

this is over. Business travel will bounce back as all— or at least some—of the events that were cancelled or postponed take place. Retail stores with seasonal inventory will take a hit, but those that beneﬁted from quarantined shopaholics’ e-commerce sales will come back more quickly. For people still receiving a paycheck, this has been a good time to save and when they are allowed out again, that will probably be the biggest economic stimulus. But—not everyone is receiving a paycheck. As businesses have had to close, many have had little choice but to lay off or furlough their staff—and the initial unemployment claims numbers give us an idea of the number of these folks. These recently unemployed can cope with not going out to restaurants, but they do have other bills—rent/mortgage, car payments, utilities, and of course food. Without some kind of assistance, these people are going to have a hard time making it to August, let alone splurging when it’s over. This is all without even mentioning any medical expenses that may be incurred as a result of contracting the virus. This is why the cash payments included in the CARES Act were so important, although for many it will not be enough, especially if the crisis lasts beyond the summer. An important part of the legislation—and, let’s be honest, it should be thought of as disaster relief, not economic stimulus—is that it allows freelancers and gig workers to apply for unemployment. It also expands unemployment beneﬁts. Helping individuals get through the crisis was one of the two biggest priorities of any governmental response to the COVID-19 crisis, as it will allow them to pay their essential bills until they are able to go back to their jobs. The second big priority is helping businesses, especially small businesses, survive so that those employees have jobs to go back to. Restaurants, bars or any other closed businesses (like printers) have no customers and are receiving no income— and they, too, have bills to pay. So the CARES Act also includes loans to small businesses. Said Forbes: [The] Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of the CARES Act increases the government guarantee of loans to 100 percent through Dec. 31, 2020, for SBA

7(a) loans. The loans are available to companies with not more than 500 employees and those which have below a gross annual receipts threshold in certain industries. Under the legislation, 501(c)(3) nonproﬁts, sole-proprietors, independent contractors, and other self-employed individuals are eligible for loans.2 When the PPP was launched in early April, there were some problems, which hopefully have been resolved by May. The keys to the best-case scenario happening: 1. The CARES Act keeps individuals and businesses aﬂoat until the crisis passes. (A big “if.”) 2. Or, if more relief turns out to be necessary, the government acts in a timely manner to address the problem. (Yeah, you probably did a spit-take there.) 3. And, we don’t jump the gun, attempt to return to normal too soon, and thus trigger a second wave à la 1918. Quarantining is working. 4. On the other hand, we can’t get so fearful that once the threat does appear to have passed, we keep quarantining and refrain from economic Read More… activity. Find article at 5. A treatment becomes PrintingNews. com/21127064 readily—and affordably— available. A vaccine is not likely to be available in less than a year, even though a potential vaccine is about to go into clinical trials. What is more likely is that something mitigates the symptoms of the disease. At present, nothing has been conclusively proven to treat COVID-19 symptoms, despite anecdotal evidence to the contrary. 6. We listen to actual medical and science experts. Striking the balance between three and four is the tricky part, and six would be a nice change from science à la Twitter. We are in for a rough ride, but we as an industry are used to rough rides. We’ll ride out the bucking economy (that’s bucking with a b), but we just might be walking funny for a while. ●

2Forbes article (Rohit Arora, “$2.2 Trillion CARES Act Provides A Lifeline To Small Businesses,” Forbes, March 27, 2020, https://bit. ly/2xIqdOa, retrieved April 3, 2020).

WhatTheyThink - Wide-Format&Signage | May 2020

Continued from page 45

also proven to be effective. “It has a very high recall,” Kiss said. “People have never seen a perfect photographic image of a beer bottle on a sailboat sailing past within 50 feet or 50 yards or even half a mile. Done right, and in the right marketplace, like New York, L.A., Miami, Chicago, Pittsburgh, St Louis, San Diego, San Francisco and all the spring break places you can think, these billboards are able to target their audiences wherever they are.” And it’s not just sailing randomly up and down the coast. PhotoSails can target specific events—and even do a bit of guerrilla marketing. For example, a Coors boat repeatedly sailed past a Heineken-sponsored music festival on the Hudson River, much to the show organizer’s chagrin. PhotoSails also offers businesses the ability to use sponsored boats to entertain clients, hold contests on radio or elsewhere—enter to win a ride on the Coors

Light boat—as well as other promotional opportunities. “We’re a multifaceted tool, unlike most outdoor advertising signage,” he said. PhotoSails is able to advertise in any major city that is close to navigable water. And since most cities in the world were originally founded as ports, that’s just about everywhere. And even though sign codes can be fairly strict—and New York City has been unsuccessfully battling floating electronic billboards— PhotoSails has never run afoul of the authorities. “We have never been challenged legally,” Kiss said.

“People seem to like it. Even when the Coast Guard comes flying up to us at 55 miles an hour and I’m thinking, ‘Oh, we’re about to be boarded for safety,’ what do they do? They pull right up to us, come running out on deck, and start taking selfies. “We’re a niche media. The worse the economy got after 2008, the better we did. I never understood that, but somebody finally actually explained it to me: when a company is having trouble advertising, they tend to work a little harder to look for something that they can claim to be their own. It’s not just a newspaper ad or an internet ad or a TV commercial. They look for something that can stand out from everybody else.” In the near future, there might be a lot of people in that boat. ●

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ASSOCIATION INSIGHTS ─ APTech

APTECH ADAPTS TO

UNCERTAIN TIMES

’ve spent three weeks sequestered at home with my family. I’ve been making the most of my time out of the office as has the entire staff at APTech. When I asked the APTech team what they missed most about being at the office, number one was the chocolate jar in Ken’s office, which was also an analogy for the impromptu conversations that happen when you drop-in on a colleague in their office. We’ve had our fair share of video conference calls, but it just isn’t the same. Living with the backdrop of uncertainty, economic destruction, shortages of certain goods, displacement of human interaction and death is nothing but numbing. Listening to the brightest minds in the world argue, each with a distinct set of facts, reminds me of the expression, “If you torture data enough it will confess to anything.” That said, there has been a lot of positivity that has come out of humanity being in this together. There are so many amazing stories of how printing industry members have contributed. And equally important but more difficult stories on how printers have resolved to weather the storm and unfortunately have had to make some very tough decisions. But I also know Read More… that many businesses will be born Find article at during this time. PrintingNews. com/21127457 APTech is both of those- a legacy business with a plan to renew itself. 2020 was the year APTech was going to be reborn- in fact we planned for it. Timing is great, right folks? Well, in some ways, the timing couldn’t have been better. It might take a crisis like this to defeat the old business model, once and for all. And so too maybe this is the moment where the old printing business model, which is still so prevalent, is finally defeated. We serve those who print, and cash flow

is probably crap right now, and your pipeline is off anywhere between 20-60%. Suppliers are also in the same boat. So, most everything we do is not to just serve members, but the industry. So, the first thing that happened is our pricing model has gone out the window for a while. All of it. So far, APTech has been leading out in the print industry by transitioning our in-person for pay events to online for free. We have also just launched a new website. So, we think that improving our online user experience and the way we deliver content couldn’t come at a better time. We’re also launching a new executive development program with George Mason University this coming June. At APTech we’re spending this time in quarantine thinking about the future and working to deliver better, more robust, user friendly content. We hope that what we’re doing will help OEMs and PSPs get closer to their customers to deliver better – not necessarily more. By the end of 2020, we will have developed three new platforms to reach the end user (brand) market around different market segments. And we will be adding more in 2021. If you haven’t already, adjust your mindset on how to create more value for your clients. And think not about those businesses and industries which will be going away, think about those businesses which are being created. To learn more about our new programs, access our research and get up-to-date information on industry standards visit www.PRINTtechnologies.org. ●

WhatTheyThink - Wide-Format&Signage | May 2020

Thayer Long is president of the Association for Print Technologies (APTech) and serves as president of the Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation (GAERF).

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Wide-Format & Signage May 2020

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