RFID Tags, Inlays Become More Affordable
Three major manufacturers recently reduced prices of RFID tags and inlays, making the technology more affordable. This likely will increase its adoption among manufacturers and distributors.

Alien Technology Corp., Morgan Hill, Calif., announced Sept. 13 that its EPC Class 1 RFID labels are priced at 12.9 cents—a 44 percent decrease in the price of 96-bit RFID labels from the company in the past 12 months. Users can purchase the label for 12.9 cents for orders of one million or more.

On Sept. 22, UPM Rafsec USA, Fletcher, N.C., announced that its UHF Gen 1 and Gen 2 inlays will cost less than 10 cents with a minimum delivery of 50,000 pieces. An inlay is a major subcomponent of a RFID label, making up 50 percent of a label's price. RSI ID Technologies, Chula Vista, Calif., also announced the same day that it's offering finished, fully validated Gen 2 RFID labels for less than 15 cents per label for volume orders. By December 2006, it will offer a pricing of less than 10 cents per label for customers that make a 12-24 month commitment for Gen 2 label orders.

The primary issue that has barred the widespread adoption of RFID is the cost of the tags. "Over time companies find out better ways to make products, and the prices come down," said Wes Maughan, president of Pointil Systems Inc., Portland, Ore.

Another reason is that "people are getting caught up in how RFID works, rather than what it does," Maughan says. Distributors, however, have a distinct advantage. "They can differentiate themselves from others because they understand how labels work," he said. With that knowledge, it's easy for them to understand how RFID works and its applications.

Study: Print is Key Component of Business
Business process managers consider print to be a highly important part of business processes, according to a new study from the Electronic Document Systems Foundation (EDSF). Titled "Criticality of Printed Information in the Financial Services Industry: 2005 Survey Results," the study is a collaboration between Gartner, a Stamford, Conn.-based consulting firm, and the University of Connecticut. Its findings include:

• Approximately 65 percent of those surveyed indicate that print is a highly important part of their business processes. In departments where print is predominantly used for external communication, 81 percent of the managers consider print to be highly important to their business processes. But in departments that use print almost entirely for internal communication, 55 percent of the managers view print as critical to their business processes.
  
  
• Managers are engaged in business process management/improvement (BPM) projects, but are not evaluating and changing print processes as part of these projects.
  
  
• Most of the changes in print have been unplanned and brought about by BPM. Approximately 35 percent of managers involved with BPM report that most print/copying changes have been unplanned.
  
  
• Nearly half of those surveyed (43 percent) believe they can significantly reduce the volume of printing. This belief is held strongly by 55 percent of the managers from internal-facing departments as compared to only 17 percent of the managers from external-facing departments.

Ennis Names CFO
Ennis Inc. announced the appointment of Richard L. Travis Jr. as vice president, Finance, and CFO. Travis, 50, replaces Harve Cathey, who is retiring. The appointment is effective Nov. 1. Most recently, Travis was CFO of Peerless Mfg. Co., Dallas. Previously, he served in a variety of senior financial roles such as CFO for TrinTel Communications Inc., CT Holdings Inc. and Texwood Industries Inc.

Hurricane Katrina Update
Boise Paper, Bensenville, Ill., announced an initiative for its customers to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. From Oct. 1-31, Boise Cascade will donate $20 to the American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort for every pallet of Boise SPLOX™ its customers purchase, up to total of $50,000.

Distributorship Winbrook, Billerica, Mass., raised $3,380 to support Hurricane Katrina victims. The company matched employee contributions and donated the funds to the Red Cross. "We've always supported local and regional human service organizations, so when the Katrina disaster occurred, we felt it was a natural response to do something to help however we could," said Jonathan Metivier, account services representative, who spearheaded the program along with Ilka Nelson.

R.R. Donnelley to Acquire Spencer Press
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Spencer Press Inc., a printing company serving customers who market their products through catalogs and other direct mailings. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter. Based in Wells, Maine, Spencer Press produces a variety of products, including catalogs, press-pasted booklets, free-standing inserts and self-mailers.

Weyerhaeuser to Shut Mill
Weyerhaeuser Co. plans to close its pulp and paper mill in Prince Albert, Canada, due to mounting inventory, weak market prices and waning demand. The company is considering its options, including a possible sale. The facility employs 690 hourly and salaried workers. The closure of paper operations will begin in early January, but the pulp mill will continue operating until spring to lessen the risk of damage by winter.

Georgia-Pacific to slash 1,100 jobs
Georgia-Pacific Corp. launched a restructuring program that will idle four tissue paper machines with 140,000 tons of combined capacity and cut 850 North American and 250 European jobs, among other changes. The initiatives will allow it to reduce ongoing costs during the next two years by $100 million annually. Most of the North American job cuts will be in Green Bay, Wis. The company will reorganize its operations in France and make more investments to increase efficiencies in Great Britain and the Nordic countries.

NewPage Introduces Swatchbooks
NewPage Corporation (formerly MeadWestvaco Papers Group) announced the availability of the company's 2005 Signature True®, Sterling® Ultra and Anthem® sheetfed swatchbooks. Each swatchbook contains a printed demonstration on each of the grade's available finishes, including a 4-color image, duotone image, solid black and solid silver to showcase the paper's print surface. Each swatchbook also contains a perforated swatch section of every available basis weight, finish, text and cover, and a complete stocking section of available sheet sizes, pack and sheet count. Additionally, the company updated its coated digital printing papers, including the HP Indigo® grade.

Vertis Divests Direct Mail Group
Vertis Inc., Baltimore, Md., announced the divestiture of Vertis Limited, its U.K. direct mail and fulfillment services group, to Overgoal Limited. The group consists of four operations in Croydon, Leicester, London, and Swindon. Overgoal Limited is an independent company registered in England that was formed for the purpose of acquiring Vertis Limited.

NOVA Alert on Credit Card Data Standard
NOVA Information Systems Inc. said that some software security companies are "hard selling" their services in regard to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard established by Visa®, MasterCard®, American Express® and Discover®. NOVA-deployed terminals and proprietary software are compliant, it said. Companies using software from a third party can ask the firm if its software is compliant. For more information, call (800) 725-1243.

New Packaging Hits the Spot
When Eileen Spitalny and David Kravetz co-founded Fairytale Brownies in 1992, they intended to sell their brownies wholesale to coffeehouses, but that plan fell through when they realized that unsold product spoiled too quickly. At the same time, their brownies sold well at local farmer's markets and street fairs, and customers frequently requested them to send as gifts. So Spitalny and Kravetz positioned the Chandler, Ariz., company as a mail-order firm, giving them more quality control and allowing them to sell a dozen brownies at a time. The plan worked—the company now bakes and ships more than 2.5 million brownies a year. But the partners recently decided the product's packaging, which they say accounts for 50 percent of sales, needed a boost. Full story.

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TOP TEN

Here are this week's top unusual source requests received by DMIA:

1. Full-color Puzzles; 500-1000 piece jigsaws; minimum 24" x 28"; short run; large format; QTY=400
2. Cut Sheets; 8 1/2 x 11; tri-folded; 4cp/4cp plus bleeds all sides; 80# text coated; QTY=300M
3. Bronze Military Grave Marker; 5 1/2" or 7" diameter; will hold flag; QTY=50
4. Pen; satin silver barrel; medium point; rubber grip; bottom has fall colors of orange and red; QTY=1M
5. Jar Opener; 6"; round; rubber material; QTY=1M
6. Dry Erase Board; 4' x 2'; QTY=5
7. Thermal Transfer Tags with Holographic Label; fanfolded; QTY=50M
8. Red, White and Blue Bandanas; QTY=200
9. Dry Erase Clipboards; QTY=2M
10. Plastic Magnifying Sheets; QTY=5M

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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