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.
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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... -
Top 100 Deadline is this Friday, March 16
By Karen Hall - Sunday January 15, 2012
By Karen Hall This Friday is the deadline for quick/small commercial printers to submit information for the 2012 Quick Printing Top 100 list. This year you will have the option of registering your company as either a small commercial or a large commercial printing firm. The results for the small commercial segment will be published in our June issue. The large commercial results will be published in August. This is your chance to have your company’s accomplishments recognized in a prestigious national forum. The marketing opportunities are second to none and all of the Top 100 companies will receive the 2012 Quick Printing Top 100 logo to use in their marketing materials. Every entrant that had 2011 sales of at least $1 million...
