Blog Archives




 

  • Thanks, Walter
    By Bob Hall - Monday July 20, 2009
    We lost a great one last Friday. In his time, he was arguably the most trusted man in America. In the days before cable TV, the Internet, blogs, and tweets, Walter Cronkite delivered the news in a calm and reasoned manner to a nation that relied upon him to give them the facts they needed to know about the important events of the day. He didn’t have to declare himself to be fair and objective, that’s just the way he was. How different it is today, with indiscriminant and instantaneous communications broadcasting opinions, rumors, innuendos, and vitriol from blogger keyboards and cable news cameras. It’s little wonder that the media of today is trusted only slightly more than are politicians. Of course, there are...

  • New Blood
    By Bob Hall - Monday July 13, 2009
    Despite the fact that everybody is trying to run lean and mean right now, there still is a need to keep an eye on the future workforce. When things turn around, and they will, who will be available to fill the jobs that open up due to prosperity or retirement? What will influence the next generation to consider the graphic arts as a smart career choice? Well, PGSF (Print & Graphics Scholarship Foundation) joined up with Illinois State University in an attempt to find out what influenced up and coming graphic arts students when it comes to career choices. The study, which involved high school and college students who were on PGSF scholarships, found that “high touch” experiences are the most influential in motivating students to...

  • By The Numbers
    By Bob Hall - Tuesday July 7, 2009
    I was preparing for my keynote “Habits of Recession Survivors” presentation at the Xerox Thought Leadership Workshop late last month when I ran across a 2003 presentation that was remarkably similar. Back then the dot.com bubble had burst and the economy was hurting, and I quoted Trend Watch as saying, “Too many printers are waiting for the economy to get better and fix their business.” I found that similarity so fascinating that I used it as the subject of my editorial in the July issue of QP, which will probably show up in your mailbox this week. What I didn’t mention in the editorial, nor in my last blog about using resources, was the overwhelming importance of knowing one’s finances. QP columnists Tom Crouser, John...

  • Use Your Resources
    By Bob Hall - Monday June 29, 2009
    As the pilot picked his way between airplane-eating thunderheads that towered above 40,000 feet, I started to question the wisdom of boarding the flight from Rochester to Cincinnati. The weather forecast had been dicey at best, but I wanted to get home after almost two weeks on the road. My most recent stop had been to keynote the Xerox Thought Leadership Workshop for quick and small commercial printers. The event had been very informative, but I was surprised how little the attendees knew about the sales and marketing tools Xerox could provide. As I thought about it later, I probably shouldn’t have been that surprised. Far too many printers I have run into are either not aware of or not inclined to take advantage of such useful tools...

  • Rest Stop
    By Bob Hall - Monday June 22, 2009
    I just got back from a week on the road at the Media Days event for Print ‘09 in Chicago and the ICED annual conference in Houston. I’m home long enough to do laundry and then out again to do a keynote at a Xerox Thought Leadership Workshop in Rochester, NY. A couple of random thoughts as I wait for my dress shirts to dry. I completely understand the rationale behind Media Days. Gather together as much of the worldwide trade press as possible so that Print ‘09 vendors can make their show pitches just once to the gathered media multitudes. (Actually, there were only 50 editors there.) Eight presentations a day for two days might sound like death by PowerPoint, but there was actually some interesting stuff. While a lot of the vendors...

  • To Serve and Survive
    By Bob Hall - Friday May 22, 2009
    With the economy making for tough business times, printers are looking for ways to differentiate themselves from their competition in order to stay above water. Sadly, some are cutting prices to unhealthy levels. Others are cutting staff or reducing costs. Some are cutting back on marketing, which really is something they should be increasing. However, the one area of differentiation that doesn’t require a great deal of expenditure is service. Good customer service has become such a rare commodity that when you receive it, you are usually a bit surprised. The basics aren’t that hard. Be nice. Be polite. Be responsive. Do what you say you are going to do. Help find solutions to problems. Resolve complaints, etc. Is it...

  • Pre-Show Promos
    By Bob Hall - Monday May 18, 2009
    I must admit that after a couple of days, trade shows can get pretty tiresome. All that trekking from booth to booth and from press conference to press conference is hard on the feet and other body parts. With Print ‘09 on the horizon, I can already feel the aches and pains gathering for their pre-show warm up exercises.   So, one might think that I would welcome the idea of being able to sit in one place while the vendors bring their trade show presentations to me. For the most part, you would be right—although that might well cause a different sort of system overload.   Well, next month the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC) is doing just that. Industry trade press editors will be flown to Chicago for a two day series...

  • A Demo Center With a Difference
    By Bob Hall - Monday May 11, 2009
    I trekked to far away Cincinnati last week to see the new xpedx Technology Center. It features three Ryobi presses, including a five-color Ryobi 525 two-up press, along with a wide variety of prepress, digital, and post press options from such companies as Kodak, Epson, Morgana, C.P. Bourg, and Secap. Other equipment and technologies from these and other manufacturers will be added in the near future. The aim of the center is to attract some 250 printers annually to see how these various offerings can be mixed and matched. xpedx claims the center is the only one in the U.S. devoted to demonstrating and selling equipment from a wide variety of manufacturers for both offset printing and digital printing markets. I think the xpedx approach...

  • Business Success
    By Bob Hall - Monday April 27, 2009
    I SPENT two days last week at the AlphaGraphics headquarters in Salt Lake City observing the monthly Discovery Days event for folks considering an AG franchise. Some were looking to start a franchise from scratch while others were considering converting their existing printing operation or buying an existing AG franchise. I don’t know if any of the people who attended will actually pull the trigger but they certainly got what I think was a full measure of candor and openness. Now let’s be clear. I’m not a cheerleader for AlphaGraphics or any other particular franchise system. I am, however, a cheerleader for this industry and I found the attendees’ interest in the industry encouraging. The days of go-go...

  • Greenwashing
    By Bob Hall - Tuesday April 21, 2009
    Lately, everybody’s going green. I’ve been awash in green news about FSC/SFI certification, wind powered paper mills, carbon setoffs, and sustainable printing. From what I can tell, the printing industry has been pretty good about greenwashing. Most green claims seem to have at least some merit. That can’t be said for other industries. I live in a state with an economy largely dependent on coal. My home state bears the ugly scars of so-called mountaintop removal mining, but coal is still king despite the ravaged landscape. Adding insult to injury, billboards and ad campaigns are promoting “Clean, carbon neutral coal.†As ABC’s John Stossel says: “Give me a break!†Despite the fact that I...

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