President Signs Junk Fax Bill
President George W. Bush signed July 9 the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005. Businesses with established relationships with recipients will now be able to send them faxes after they obtain fax numbers directly from the recipients or from directories, advertisements and web sites where the recipients intended their fax numbers to be publicly available.
In June, the Congress amended the bill. Without the amendment, proposed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations would have required businesses to obtain prior written consent from their customers before sending them faxes of a commercial nature even if there was an existing business relationship.
Additionally, the FCC delayed until Jan. 9, 2006, the effective date of its July 2003 determination that anyone sending an unsolicited advertising fax obtain a prior signed, written statement as evidence of the recipient's permission to receive the fax. Until Jan. 9, such faxes may be sent without prior written consent to people with whom the advertiser has an existing business relationship.
Sources: Thomas Legislative Information on the internet, CCH Small Business Guide
PEAK Awards Announced
Click here for a complete list of winners in the first annual PEAK (Print Excellence And Knowledge) Awards competition sponsored by Print Solutions Magazine. Winners will be honored at the Print Solutions Conference & Expo, Oct 18-20 in Orlando, Fla. Special thanks to this year's judges: John Leininger, professor in the Department of Graphic Communications at Clemson University, Joe Schwan, who held top executive positions at Wallace Computer Services and Standard Register until his retirement in 2001, and noted printing industry consultant Ivars Sarkans, a member of the Board of Directors of the Print Education and Research Foundation.
Dennis Kicks Off Hurricane Season
Haunted by memories of Hurricane Ivan's wrath last September, many companies took preventive steps to lessen the damage that Hurricane Dennis could have caused.
Dennis, with top winds of 145 mph, made landfall July 10 on the Florida Panhandle. Joe Webb, vice president of Formsystems Inc., a distributorship in Pensacola, Fla., which was directly in Dennis' path, said the staff spent July 7 and July 8 preparing for Dennis. Webb and his wife, Karen, the company's president, were away on a vacation. "They took down all the computers, wrapped them in heavy plastic, and boarded up the windows," Joe Webb said. The company made arrangements with customers for processing jobs in case the hurricane caused major problems. Dennis rolled in around 2:45 p.m. on July 10 and lasted for only more than an hour, he said. "The storm weakened and shifted east 10 miles, putting us in a better spot," Webb said. "Dennis was gone and we're so fortunate." The distributorship suffered a power outage and by Tuesday, the company was using a computer powered by a generator. The Webbs are in touch with customers through cell phones.
Dennis moved inland and became a tropical depression, dumping three to 10 inches of rain over Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Georgia. Charles Stickler, senior vice president of market strategy at manufacturer Quality Park, Denver, said the production staff at the Fairhope, Ala., plant had made arrangements for distributors' work to be processed at other plants. But Dennis only produced rain in the area, he said.
The National Hurricane Center is expecting Hurricane Emily to weaken to a storm and hit the southern coast of Texas by early next week. Hurricane season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30.
IKON Completes Sale of French Subsidiary
IKON Office Solutions, Malvern, Pa., completed the sale of its French subsidiary, IKON Office Solutions S.A.S. to NRG France S.A.S., a subsidiary of NRG Group PLC, to reduce costs and improve efficiency. In March, the company sold a majority of its operations in Mexico. IKON will continue to serve pan-European customers through more than 50 locations across Europe.
Boise Cascade Announces Chance to Pick 2005 Holiday Carton
Boise Cascade, Boise, Idaho, announced that it's inviting people to vote online to choose a design for its 2005 Boise X-9™ multi-use office paper holiday carton that will be distributed during the fourth quarter 2005 holiday season. Visitors to www.boiseholidaycarton.com between July 11 and Aug. 12 can choose from one of four designs, and the winner design will be posted on the site Aug. 15.
SOLUTION OF THE WEEK
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Enchanting Booklet Brings Awards, More Business
Once upon a time, a printer teamed up with a design firm and an illustrator to create a marketing brochure that rivaled the most enchanting of fairy tales. The book was filled with clever limericks and colorful characters. The designs were delightful. And the production techniques were so realistic, you wanted to touch and savor every page. The brochure swept up awards in printing and design competitions across the land. More importantly, it won scores of new clients for the trio of contributors. Full story.
Have a solution? Click here to be featured in Solution of the Week
WHAT'S NEW AT DMIA?
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Print Solutions 2005 Conference and Expo
The nation's premier show for the business printing industry will be held Oct. 18-20 at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla. This year, the emphasis is on in-depth training and usable solutions. You will gain the expertise and know-how to do your job better and grow your business, whether you're in management or sales. For details, visit www.printsolutionsshow.com.
Train First
If you have new employees or veterans who need a refresher course on the basics of our industry, check out the Business Printing Curriculum at DMIA's Print University. The courses combine distance learning with residence training, and the results will put your company far ahead of the "do it yourself " training curve. Don't wait! Class size is limited for this once-a-year opportunity held in conjunction with the Print Solutions Conference and Expo in Orlando, Florida, Oct. 18-20. Click here or call Harriet Carter, CDC, at 800-336-4641.
TOP TEN
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Here are this week's top unusual source requests received by DMIA:
- Wood or Acrylic Displays; screen printed; will hold vitamins; QTY=100
- Hotspot Pattern Carbon; front and back of same sheet; 18 x 17; easy file holes punching; 6 1/4"; 2 15/16 down left side; z fold or double fold left to right 6" and 3'; QTY=1M
- Ear Covers; used by hair stylist when putting clients under hair dryer; QTY=100
- Can Coolers; Koozie's; shape of a cheese wedge; QTY=500
- Glow-in-the-dark Numbers; 4" height; QTY=100
- Refrigerator Magnets; flat; flexible; approximately 4.5" x 4.5" with a 3" x 3" perforated center cutout; user removes inner square to create a photo frame; QTY=1500+
- Cut Sheet Ticket; 3 1/2 x 7 1/2; 20# bond; transfer tape on back; QTY=20M
- Aluminum; deep etched; 3 mil; QTY=70M
- Cut Sheet; 8 1/2 x 14; 1 color; 8 lots; 3 vertical perfs and 9 partial horizontal perfs; QTY=250M-1MM
- Stock and Imprint Forms; used by moving companies; moving box labels; QTY=will vary
- Stress Relief Toys; squeeze type; QTY=500
If you have a source request—for anything—call the Hotline at (800) 333-2828 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, or use the Source Hotline Database online. For new sales ideas every day, try our 1,000 Sales Ideas Database. Manufacturers, if you produce any of these items and would like to check your listing with the Source Hotline, please email Cheryl Rush.
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