Karen Hall - has spent more than 20 years writing feature articles for the Cygnus Graphics Media Group, with special emphasis on the quick and small commercial printing markets.
-
Revenge of the Pixels: How My E-Reader Dealt a Blow
By Karen Hall - Friday October 26, 2012As he handed me my birthday gift last year, my son said, “Mom, before you open this I have to warn you that I’ve committed sacrilege.” He spoke the truth. Resting inside the wrappings was a Nook e-reader. To get the full impact of this, you need to understand that when I say Bob and I are book people, it’s like saying the ocean is a tad damp. After a recent cleaning frenzy, we delivered three boxes and several large bags of books to the library for its annual fund-raiser. I have no idea where we must have put them because every shelf is still full. At any rate, I thanked my son for the gift and set it next to my comfy chair. It sat there for months. Finally, curiosity got the better of me and I read one of the books my son had... -
NAQP Owners Conference: You Gotta Be There!
By Karen Hall - Monday September 10, 2012
If you haven’t yet made plans to attend this year’s NAQP Owners Conference (October 4-6 in Chicago), you’d better get on the ball with your travel plans. You certainly don’t want to miss it. Click here to sign up. I know, I know…the economy is still tough, there’s a lot going on in your business, and you’re too busy by half. That’s precisely why you need to be there. Print owners need to shake out the cobwebs. You need to be reminded every now and again that you are not just another employee in your shop. You are the leader; the one who makes the decisions and who is responsible for success or failure of your company. Once a year, you have the opportunity to take advantage of the educational sessions and the peer... -
One World, One drupa
By Karen Hall - Tuesday May 8, 2012
After my sojourn to Dusseldorf for drupa 2012 there is no shortage of things to tell you about — the dilemma is knowing where to start. The theme of this year's show was "One World. One drupa." That speaks to the fact that this is truly an international trade show. I encountered people from all corners of the globe: Europe, Asia, South America, the Middle East, and Africa. Most printers in the US don't make the trek to Germany every four years, but if you have never done so, I highly recommend that you start making plans now to be there in June 2016. Being at drupa reminded me that, while the US may have the largest printing market in the world, from the global viewpoint, it is just a big region. In so many press conferences, I heard... -
Lassen Sie Uns Auf drupa Gehen!
By Karen Hall - Thursday April 5, 2012So drupa is just around the corner, and I’m brushing up on my German. Just for the record, mein Deutsch ist schrecklich, but the people I meet there are always so kind (and frequently amused) regarding my attempts to speak their language. They always seem to appreciate the fact that I’m making an effort, so with my attempts at German, their attempts at English (which are almost always superior), and a bit of sign language, we manage to communicate. This will be my fifth trip to Germany. Bob lived there for six years, so it has been one of our favorite vacation destinations. It will be very odd to be there without my husband and his translation skills. Sure, drupa is the mac daddy of print trade shows and most people on the show... -
Changing of the Guard
By Karen Hall - Thursday November 17, 2011I’d done it a thousand times—piloting the little Cessna 150 Aerobat through the Florida skies had become almost second nature. But on that bright spring day in 1985 my heart was in my throat as my flight instructor stepped out of the cockpit and closed the door, giving me a grin and a big thumbs up. I double checked all the instruments, pushed the throttle forward and taxied to the runway. My little bird leaped into the sky. One trip around the landing pattern and it was done—my first solo flight, and a major milestone in my life. The feeling was similar while working on the December issue of Quick Printing , which just went to the printer. Technically, Bob was still in the office, but this was destined to be the first issue of the...
