However, in looking more closely at the findings, we see that around 40 percent of respondents expect 2011 sales growth, compared to 31 percent who expect sales to decline. So, while the average of the group points to flat sales, a healthy chunk of respondents see sales gains.

The point is that averages are just that. Could the economy be better? Of course. Would that translate directly to sales growth? Maybe or maybe not. My read is that those printers who expect growth are not worrying too much about economic conditions. They are doing what they need to do to grow sales and profits—adapting their job mix to meet changing demand, running more efficiently, marketing themselves, and, above all, going out and selling something.

Some predictions are that it will take years for the economy to recover to pre-recession levels. That may be so, but it isn’t going to do anybody any good to sit around and wish that things were better. Things are what they are and it appears that some 40 percent of printers have figured that out and are dealing with it.

I will be the first to admit that I’m not a huge fan of New Orleans. The heat and humidity generally around the majority of the year does a number on me—and my hair. I try to stay away from fried food as a general rule and Cajun food and I just don’t get along. The scene down on Bourbon Street isn’t my cup of tea, either. And no matter how many times I go to the city, I always end up eating some kind of fried or Cajun food down on Bourbon Street somewhere. Every time I go, I say I want to see something else besides the neon-lit Bourbon Street—like the Garden District or some of the plantations outside the downtown area. Something else, something different.

This year I did finally made it to Café Du Monde over in Jackson Square on Friday morning for a very early breakfast of beignets and café au lait—and even managed not to get powdered sugar over my black suit. Yes, I am just as impressed with myself as you probably are. Yes, the doughnuts are fried. Yes, they are covered in sugar. I don’t want to know how many calories they were, but they were absolutely divine. And Jackson Square—with its art galleries and quaint storefronts and architecture was very cool. I only wish I had been able to see more of it.
So, enough about the food, you are probably saying, how was the show? For me, trade shows are always very hectic and rewarding at the same time. I have the opportunity to meet new people, put faces to names and emails, and renew friendships with industry folks who I only ever get to see at industry events. This year was no different. (For details on some of what I saw, you can see my highlights of the first two days of the show in my two previous blog entries.)

Overall, it felt like attendance was a little light and the numbers SGIA reported on Monday bore out my feeling. Total registrants for the 2011Expo was 16,006, which was up 12.4 percent from 2009, but down from 2010 numbers (21,956). Exhibitors were down 31 companies from 2010 to 456, but up from 2009. Interestingly, the first-time attendee number was pretty close: 36 percent in 2011 compared to 39.8 percent in 2010.

The exhibitors I spoke to throughout the show were positive, even with the lower attendee numbers, saying that those visiting their booths were highly qualified and interested in buying. Several manufacturers reported sales of printing and finishing equipment on the show floor and there’s a lot of positive energy—and comments—as evidenced by social media. Check out my Storify story about the Expo here (http://storify.com/denisegustavson/sgia-expo-2011).

So how was the show? Good, overall, I would say. There were a number of new product introductions and good energy in the booths. If I were forced to pick my top three things of interest, I would have to say: Novus Imaging/Printer Evolution’s new and re-imagined products; Ilford’s debut of BioMedia substrates and laminates (after its acquisition of the company BioMedia); and the sheer size of the Durst Rho100 with the automation equipment attached to it. Attendees were looking to buy more than just kicking the tires. And my order of beignets provided a sweet end to a good trade show year.

1. New Ilford Media Lines
While Ilford has primarily been known for its photographic media, at SGIA they announced two new product lines: Bio Media and OmniJet. Bio Media is a unique series of products—display films, rigid boards, and laminates—that offer PSPs a green alternative to vinyl. This product uses an enzyme to accelerate the breakdown of the product under anaerobic conditions—i.e. in a landfill—where it is reduced to dust. According to Paul Willems, CEO and director of sales, this new green media if "comparatively priced" to other products in the market with a "minimal premium" for the Bio Media over vinyl products.
Ilford also debuted the OmniJet photo realistic media line without a resin coating. It is FSC certified and can be used with dye, pigment, and Latex inks. Plans are already underway to extend the product offerings to include double-sided and proofing media, as well.

2. Fuzzy laminate
One of the most unique laminates I’ve seen has to be the one just introduced by MACtac. It’s new PermaColor PermaFlex DecoLam Textured Laminates (yes, that’s quite the mouthful) features six new finishes including fine and coarse wood grain, brushed metal, carbon clear, leather, and flock. Yes, this laminate is FUZZY. Think peach fuzz. Now I just need to figure out a way to use the flock somewhere…maybe a kid’s bedroom with a spot laminate on a digitally-printed animal-themed wallpaper or as a spot laminate on a label of a peach-flavored beverage.

3. Eye Tracking Alternative
One of the more interesting apps had to be 3M’s launch of its Visual Attention Service (VAS), which introduces video capabilities and sequencing features to the scanning tool that is an alternative to eye tracking. Previously offered only for still images, 3M VAS can analyze video to illustrate how people are most likely to visually interact with any scene or setting, and identify where the average human eye will focus at any given moment. The software analyzes images, graphical and text elements of digital and print content through a series of algorithms that process important visual cues, such as colors, edges, faces, shapes, and contrast.

4. Inca Ideas
Inca Digital launched it second Inca Digital Excellence Awards (IDEAS 2012) which celebrates the creativity of its customers. The IDEAS recognize the power of digital print and showcase the effects that are possible using Inca’s inkjet technology. There are six categories: Display Graphics, 3D POS, Retail Interiors, Decor and Furniture, Product Decoration, and Interactive Display (i.e. QR codes, digital signage/print integration). The six category winners will receive an IDEAS Trophy and an expenses-paid, two-night trip to Las Vegas to attend next year’s SGIA Expo (October 18-20, 2012). All jobs must have been produced between May 1, 2011 and April 30, 2012, and the closing date for entries is July 31, 2012.For more info check out: http://www.incadigital.com/ideas2012. I know I can’t wait to see what projects are submitted and what the winning entries will be.

5. Oce Poster Printer
The Oce ColorWave 600 Poster Printer has finally made its way across the pond from Europe. Released earlier this year by Océ NV, the ColorWave 600 Poster Printer is now available in the US. This system produces short-term, retail-quality, color prints at production speeds. Designed for cost-effective, high production poster printing, the Océ ColorWave 600 Poster Printer uses Océ CrystalPoint imaging technology to produce instantly dry, water-resistant prints that are cut-to-size and ready for immediate use. Up to six rolls of media from 11 to 42 inches wide can be loaded into the printer at one time, so the system is ready to produce posters of varying widths or media types, eliminating the need to change media between jobs and the need to manually trim standard sized jobs.

A few notes from my meetings over the course of the day…

SGIA Opening
SGIA opened the first day of the Expo with a press breakfast and overview of the show. Michael Robertson reported that 36 percent of attendees registered for the show were first-timers. It makes me wonder 1.) what is different about New Orleans and SGIA this year to warrant such a high number of first-time registrants and 2.) what market segments these folks have come from. I didn’t get the chance to ask Michael, but it’s on my list of questions I need to follow-up on with SGIA.
Dan Marx continued the morning with a show overview—450 exhibitors, 30 educational sessions, and 6 demo "no sales" educational zones—PDAA, Narrow-Format, Digital Apparel Production, Screenprint Apparel Production, Industrial and Printed Electronics, and Digital Signage. He also went into some of the results from the recent Market & Product Trends Survey. Top three markets:

1. Retail
2. Corporate branding
3. Non-profits.

Top three applications

1. Banners
2. Window Graphics
3. POS/POP Signage

"SGIA is very optimistic about the show and the industry," said Marx during his remarks this morning. "This segment continues to grow and SGIA offers the widest view of the industry."

A New Take on Old Printers
One of the more interesting concepts I’d seen in a long while was the one offered by Printer Evolution. Former EFI VP of Sales Kevin Sykes mans the reigns as CEO and co-founder along with Mike Mills (another former EFI VP on the engineering side). Greg and Tara Lamb (Global Imaging) are on-board as equity partners—and provide exclusive distribution for new printers released by Novus Imaging (another new company co-founded by Sykes and Mills).
With Printer Evolution, they are giving new life to old printers. With the Vutek 3360 as the base—for the frame—Printer Evolution provides a full field upgrade kit, changing over these older printers into something new with brand-new technology. The new Evo33 printers have completely upgraded electronics and motor control systems, along with new printheads and a "wrapped" or skinned printer which provides the final make-over for these older printer models. This model was originally conceived by the Lambs with the help of their other companies including Global Garage and Panoply Supplies.
Through Novus Imaging, two new printers are entering the market. The Synergia H/UV (in beta beginning 11/10/11 and shipping by the end of the year) is a UV printer priced at $525,000. The Synergia H/AQ (priced at $649,000) is a aqueous resin printer with a unique AquEpoxy ink. This binary epoxy ink is a two-part solution (colorant + reactant agent) that, once combined on the substrate, mixes to form an ink that is "glued" to the substrate. Both printers feature Spectra grayscale printheads, use Caldera RIPs, and are available through Global Imaging.
An upgrade path is available for PSPs purchasing the Synergia H/UV to upgrade to the AQ model when it becomes available in 2012. The beta for this unit is set for January 2012.
Look for additional products in this line at ISA and a European introduction at drupa 2012.

EFI
During EFI’s press conference, Scott Shinlever (Sr. VP/GM of EFI Inkjet Solutions) talked about how EFI was the "little big company" and how its GS series has matured over the years, aiding in the industry’s move from screen to digital.
New products on the show floor include: GS3250LX (hybrid printer), GS5000r (roll-to-roll 5m), GS3250r (featuring a "money mode" of more than 1,000 sqft), TX3250 (3.2 m direct-to-fabric or transfer paper textile printer), Rastek R3200 (a 3.2m eco-sol printer under $150k), and the Jetrion 4900 digital label printer (recently released at Label Expo).

Onyx
Over at the Onyx booth, I had the opportunity to sit down with Keven Murphy (new president, moving over from Oce) and Danielle Mattiussi (director of product marketing) to see what was new. Most of our discussion revolved around JDF and the new JDF standard that was under development with the CIP4 wide-format subgroup. It will be interesting to see this standard finally take hold in the wide-format market—a market that has traditionally not had any standards in regards to color management or workflow. For the commercial printers, the JDF standard is something they’ve been looking for since it has already been in place in the market there for many years.
I see this as another step in the maturity of the wide-format industry as it moves from a craftsman mindset to one based on manufacturing (marked by the moves to automation and more efficient production). Look for more on this in the coming year.

Durst
Durst’s VP of marketing Chris Howard took us on a brief—but very interesting discussion—about the Durst Rho 1000 and how Durst was positioning itself as a "boutique industrial printer"—building printers to order and providing digital solutions to industrial markets (i.e. ceramic, flooring, textile decoration). Through the use of digital print, Durst has really changed the way some of the manufacturing markets (i.e. ceramic tile) have some to market with some of the larger ceramic tile manufacturers replacing the older technology with the Gamma printer in-line. The popularity of the Rho 500 and the Gamma (for ceramic tile printing) has also led to the expansion of one of their facilities.
While some trends they are observing are more social (globalization and connectivity) there are five specific trends to the wide-format market that they feel has had a driving influence market development: green/sustainability, technical developments, price pressure vs. high-quality demand, new applications, and more efficient production process.

HP
HP has several big announcements during the opening day of SGIA including the release of three new printers from the Scitex division. The new GM of Scitex, Xavier Garcia, opened the pres conference with some overviews of the signage market.
According to Garcia, the signage market currently stands at 6.2B sqft of signage a year, but only 33 percent is currently produced via digital means—leaving quite a bit of opportunity for PSPs. He also reported that the signage market is also growing 11 percent CAGR (2010-2015). Of the many markets within this segment, retail signage shows some of the highest potential for growth. Decoration (digital interior market) and packaging were also two other market segments that show high potential for growth on the digital side.
Other trends:

• 67 percent of PSPs report shortening runs
• 3x the number of jobs for the same volume two years ago
• Jobs have decreased from 10,000 to 20,000 copies to 1,500 copies
• More than 40 percent of PSPs report an increased demand for QR codes and VDP

The "Cloud" is changing the market and the way PSPs do business. It’s not just about B2B anymore. It’s not B2C.
It’s also about managing services from a variety of locations instead of one centralized hub. This is enabled through the  "Cloud" as well.
New products:

• Scitex FB7600 (replacing the FB7500) features multi-sheet loader and new FB225 (replacing FB221) ink. Available after November 1.
• Scitex XP2500/XP5500 (replaces the XP2300/XP5300 respectively)
• The new ink (FB225) is GreenGuard certified, Fogra39 compliant, and can be used for Pantone color matching.

We all know that the economy has had very adverse effects on our industry but we are increasingly seeing signs of recovery, however modest. One of the more recent is from Larry Hunt’s latest color copier survey. In the last survey, only 33% of respondents said their color copy growth was good or excellent while 56% said there was no growth or a decline in volume. In this year’s survey, 45% said color copy growth was good or excellent and only 15% reported no growth or a decline.

As Dirck Holscher, who has taken over the publication, noted: “While not yet back to boom times, these figures are a lot more encouraging than last year’s numbers.” That comment is right on the money considering that the 56% of good or excellent growth reported is still far below the 70% reported in 2007.

One other interesting note about the latest survey is that black-and-white copies account for around 24% of total volume on color machines. I find that a little puzzling, but then I’m not in the color copying business.

If you hate it, it’s junk mail. If you print it, mail it, or read it, it is direct mail marketing. In any case, the USPS is encouraging folks to use more of it in order to make up for the shortfall in First Class mailings.

Last week, I lamented that I hadn’t written or received an honest to goodness letter in ages. Personal and business communications have gone online. Now, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the First Class mail nosedive has prompted the USPS to start: “running promotions, easing rules, and planning television and radio ads to encourage more businesses to send pitches by standard mail, the official term for bulk mailings used by marketers to prospect for customers.”

This comes on the heels of a recent campaign to point out how physical mail can drive people to websites by offering a 3% discount to direct mail that contained QR codes. Other aspects of direct mail promotion include allowing businesses to bring as many as 5,000 pieces of advertising mail a day to the post office to be delivered to every home on every carrier route at a cost of 14.2 cents per piece. This does away with the need to buy mailing lists in order to get exact delivery addresses for the printed piece.

I make two predictions. First, printers will be able to make more money printing more direct mail pieces if they get out and sell these new USPS incentives to their customers. Second, the direct mail push will give new ammunition to the “Do Not Mail” campaigns, which, so far, have remained bottled up in the various state legislatures.

Stay tuned.

A Storify Story Collection
Steve Jobs: A Visionary of our Times
http://storify.com/denisegustavson/steve-jobs2

by William Gindlesperger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, e-LYNXX Corporation

The United States Government Printing Office (GPO) Strategic Plan for 2011 through 2015 has been published, and it is an eye opener for what it only tangentially acknowledges. And that is: the contribution of private sector printers that have traditionally printed the bulk of the federal government’s printing.

In his February 2011 posting on Facebook, Public Printer William Boarman did give credit where credit is due: “The majority of the firms we deal with are small businesses, many with 20 employees or fewer. We annually award contracts to more than 2,500 vendors nationwide, representing potentially 50,000 jobs. The total number of contractors registered to do business with us is around 16,600, representing potentially 332,000 jobs.”

At one time, more than three quarters of GPO’s print work was awarded to the private sector for an annual revenue flow to them that easily exceeded half a billion dollars. With the advent of digital and other technology and the online culture in which we now live, it is understandable that the printing of some documents will fall by the wayside.

Disturbingly, the flow of GPO work has been dropping steadily over the years. In 2010, the total value of GPO work awarded to private sector printers was $358 million. This year, it appears to be on a course to be less than $300 million. This is troubling because the livelihoods of the 50,000 men and women mentioned by Mr. Boarman depend on GPO work. So does our economy, if it is to rebound.

Most disturbing is the fact that federal agencies are skirting federal policy by printing some $800 million of their own printing in-house. Title 44 of the U. S. Code states that all federal printing, with a few exceptions, is to be channeled through GPO. If this work were to pass through GPO and awarded to private sector printers it would be a boon to an industry that needs a shot in the arm.

Mr. Boarman’s Facebook provides detail: “Data recently published by the Office of Management and Budget as part of the FY 2012 budget shows about $1.4 billion in direct obligations for printing and reproduction for the Federal Government for fiscal year 2010. Excluding GPO’s component of $104 million for congressional work and printing for our Superintendent of Documents, this leaves nearly $1.3 billion in direct printing obligations for the rest of the Government. GPO’s procurement revenue last year was about $500 million, or about 40% of these direct obligations, leaving a balance of about $800 million that did not come through GPO. Our sense is that it most likely represents work produced in-house by Federal agencies. That’s a significant volume of printing which, if opened up to GPO’s procurement program where costs could be reduced by as much as 50% compared with agency plants, represents a potential annual savings of up to $400 million for the taxpayers. More private sector jobs will be needed to handle that additional volume of work flowing through the procurement program, which will help our Nation’s economic recovery.”

This, however, seems to be contradicted throughout the 2011-2015 Strategic Plan with references to GPO needing to invest in employees and technology to create first-rate, system-wide solutions. The only reference to private sector printers in the five-page report is a line under “Enhance Strategic Partnerships” that reads: “Create and/or enhance current partnerships, i. e. FedEx Kinko’s, Google, independent printers.”

It would seem that if GPO is serious about channeling more federal printing to the private sector its strategic plan would place more emphasis on redirecting the $800 million being done by agencies to independent printers.

The plan does say in its “Statutory Foundation – Title 44 U.S.C.” section that the GPO will identify and pursue federal print jobs not now being done by GPO. What it does not say is whether that work will be going to private sector printers or whether it will be done at enhanced GPO facilities. Even a quarter of the $800 million now being done by federal agencies would bring GPO work for private sector printers back to the half billion dollar level.

Something isn’t adding up when Mr. Boarman’s Facebook posting is compared with the 2011-2015 GPO Strategic Plan.

I went to the post office today and mailed two letters. Actually, they were two belated birthday cards. I don’t recall the last time I mailed, let alone wrote, a real old-fashioned letter. I’m not sure when I last received one, either.

I get lots of direct mail touting grocery sales, pizza specials, car bargains, and the like. I also get a ton of printed catalogs featuring everything from cute garden gnomes to world-class educational courses on CD. I get more magazines than I can read. I get printed reminders from our vet about which critter is due for what shot. I get Medicare pamphlets and credit card offers. I get bills (which usually get paid online). I do not get letters.

When I was in the Army, mail call was pretty important. Getting a letter from home was a treat and broke up the monotony of cleaning rifles and peeling potatoes. Letters were almost always hand-written, although my mother typed hers on a portable Smith Corona typewriter. My old high-school girlfriend even used scented stationery when she eventually sent me that long-expected “Dear John” letter. When Dad wrote, he did so longhand, and I was never completely certain what all of the words were. I have inherited his handwriting.

Despite all the direct mail and magazines, the post office is teetering on the brink of oblivion and I can’t help but think it is because people have stopped writing letters. Today they send email. Emoticons have replaced love and kisses. It’s progress, I guess, but I still fondly recall those patchouli-scented notes of yesteryear, even the kiss-offs.

Until I started working for MyPrintResource.com as an editorial intern, I didn’t realize it.

Before my summer internship, I had no idea what something like an offset digital press does–or that one even existed.  Turns out digital offset presses are great at printing high-volume, high-quality images from a plate to a rubber blanket, and then onto just about any surface you can think of.

But now I understand that some of my favorite things, from the book I used to teach myself how to play bass guitar to the large, textured Van Goh self-portrait Scodix gave me during GRAPH EXPO earlier this month, can be traced back to a print shop.

September’s gathering of the print industry’s finest gave me a peek at how my food is packaged (flexography), how the sign directing me to the subway is made (adhesive vinyl printing), or how QR codes work (some say it’s magic, but I’ve learned it’s simply a 2D barcode).

So now everywhere I go, I can’t help but see the real magic is how ubiquitous and important the print industry is in my life. Some say print is dead, or dying. I think those folks need to take a minute and look around.

My bedroom floor is littered with printed flyers advertising concerts at the House of Blues in downtown Chicago, someone paid to copy and print them. I’ve got CDs and vinyl records everywhere, and someone had to design and print those beautiful album covers. Last week I ordered a pizza and someone had to make the sturdy box that housed my delicious and fragile meal. Like I said, printers are everywhere.

Print is dead? Really?
I’ve got a mouthful for the next person who wants to argue that print is a dying medium. But the world is changing. Digital is creating itself a comfortable niche and traditional printers must learn to survive alongside the iPad, the Kindle, and my Android phone.

Do these technological advancements spell certain doom for newspapers, books, or even toilet paper? Certainly not. But print suppliers like Agfa Graphics are thinking progressively by adapting, by finding new ways to integrate digital technology with traditional printing techniques. If you had a chance to attend GRAPH EXPO, I hope you saw their custom wallpaper and flooring designs. I want some for my apartment (but doubt I can afford them).

I hate to end on a bit of a downer, but I wish the print industry did a better job of marketing itself. I just turned 30, so I’m not a kid, but I’m not quite old yet either. If I had trouble understanding how vast and important printers are, I bet my cohorts in Generations Y and Z do too.

That’s a shame, because if you take the time to think about it, the print industry really is pretty damn cool.