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Wilmer Introduces Prescription Pads
8 standard security features, including thermochromic ink. Wilmer meets mandatory requirements for CA, FL, IN, KY, ME, and WV. Contact us at 800-4WILMER (800-494-5637), ext. 5.
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Wise Business Forms
Comprehensive Printing Capabilities — Forms, Commercial, B&W Digital, Color Digital, Direct Mail, Statement Processing
www.wbf.com
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Matrix Imaging Solutions, Inc.
Print & Mailing Services
• Statement/Invoice Processing •
Document Archiving
& Retrieval System
www.matriximaging.com
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FedEx Corp. announced that its FedEx Express unit signed an agreement with Tianjin Datian W. Group Co. Ltd. to acquire DTW Group's 50 percent share of the FedEx-DTW International Priority express joint venture and DTW Group's domestic express network in China for $400 million. Upon closing, FedEx will employ more than 6,000 people in China.
American Wins Health Care Contract
American Solutions for Business (ASB) received a letter of participation from Albert Lea Medical Center, Albert Lea, Wis., to purchase various printed products from ASB for three years. The medical center is a member of VHA Inc. and has access to Novation, a leading health care Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) and the contracting arm of VHA.
Webb/Mason 2005 Sales Exceed $65m
Webb/Mason reported sales of more than $65 million for 2005, an increase of 16.3 percent from 2004. Since 2000, the company has experienced an average annual sales increase of 14.2 percent. Webb/Mason said the growth was due to a combination of factors, including multiple office openings and an increase in the demand for printed materials.
MeadWestvaco Reports Improved 4Q Results
MeadWestvaco Corp. reported fourth-quarter net income of $62 million. These results included after-tax restructuring charges of $3 million and after-tax gains on forest land sales of $2 million. Sales revenue in the fourth quarter was $1.6 billion.
In the fourth quarter of 2004, the company reported a net loss of $499 million. Full story.
Report: Full-Color VDP Shows Rapid Growth
TrendWatch Graphic Arts released its report on variable data printing (VDP) in the commercial printing, creative, and publishing markets. Here are some of the highlights of the study called, "Variable Data Printing 2006: Growth and Changes in the Marketplace:"
- 37 percent of graphic arts firms (printers and trade shops) produce some sort of VDP jobs in-house—up from 28 percent one year ago.
- 18 percent of digital printers say their volume of full-color VDP jobs with 13-plus fields has increased—a fivefold increase from a year ago.
- The percentage of publishers who see VDP as a top sales opportunity has risen from two percent in Q2 2002 to eight percent today.
Superior Business Solutions Opens Chicago Office
Superior Business Solutions opened new offices in Aurora, Ill. Bill English, president, said the company wanted to establish a base to tap into the opportunities the region offers. The company has eight offices in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Dupli-Systems Adds Booklet-Maker
Dupli-Systems added a Duplo System 5000 booklet-maker. This doubles the company's capacity to produce booklets at faster speeds. Dupli-Systems specializes in 4- to 80-page booklets, perfect bound books, catalogs, brochures and business forms.
IKON Quarterly Net Rises
IKON Office Solutions reported that its net income from continuing operations for the first quarter of fiscal year 2006 was $28 million. Total revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2006 was $1.04 billion, compared to $1.09 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2005. Full story.
OfficeMax's Turnaround Plan to Lift Earnings
OfficeMax Inc. said its turnaround plan, which includes closing 110 stores and establishing a single supply chain for its retail and business customers, will improve its operating efficiency and ultimately boost earnings significantly, an Associated Press story said. Full story.
Avery Dennison Reports 4Q Loss
Avery Dennison Corp. reported a loss of $6.9 million, down from earnings of $83.6 million last year due to a number of charges related to restructuring costs, divested product lines, discontinued operations and a patent lawsuit. Revenue for the quarter was $1.36 billion, down five percent from $1.43 billion last year, due to a slump in unit volume. Full story.
Pro Label Buys Xpanded Label Technology
Pro Label Inc. purchased the assets and intellectual property of Xpanded Label Technology LLC. Pro Label will now offer a broader range of products to former Xpanded Label Technology customers. Several key employees of Xpanded Label Technology will join Pro Label. Founded in 1992, Pro Label is a manufacturer of custom pressure sensitive labels, coupons and specialty non-pressure sensitive products with facilities in Appleton, Wis.
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Top 100 Manufacturers Surveys are Due!
Print Solutions Magazine editors are compiling the Top 100 Manufacturers issue, which means it's time to submit your information. This popular issue ranks manufacturers by fiscal 2005 sales through distributors. It includes sales per employee rankings, fastest-growing manufacturers and more. The best way to submit your Top 100 information is to complete the online form. If you prefer to fax a hard copy, download a PDF. Fill out the form and fax the completed pages to LaShell Stratton, assistant editor, at (703) 549-4966. Only surveys returned to DMIA by 6 p.m. EST on Monday, Feb. 6 will be included.
Call for Entries: 2nd Annual PEAK Awards Competition
Excellence. Have you got it? Enter the Print Excellence And Knowledge (PEAK) Awards program and prove it! PEAK awards spotlight excellence in the design and production of printed products that add value by solving client problems or improving a client's business. Winning a PEAK Award means you can market your company as "an award-winning print solution provider." Go to this link and click on the "Entry Form" link. The entry deadline is May 5. For a list of last year's PEAK award winners, click here.
Mind Your Business
If you are one of DMIA's larger members, you don't want to miss the CEO Summit from March 1-3 at The Ritz Carlton Lake Las Vegas. Twenty five of your fellow, large members helped develop this year's program, which is packed with interactive sessions that will help you grow your business, become a better sales manager, assess sales force re-engineering, learn about the state of the industry, and more. Hotel cutoff is Jan. 30. Hurry and register now!
The resort also boasts 36 holes of championship golf. Check out the registered golfers and book your spot now! For details, visit the CEO Summit page.
SMC Offers Innovative Ideas, Networking
DMIA's Spring Management Conference will be held April 26-29 at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa, Miami, Fla. Use this opportunity to explore new tools, techniques, and processes; discover models of innovation; and expand your network.
Sell Excess Inventory
DMIA's Excess Inventory Depot enables members to sell items such as excess inventories, blank forms and labels, pre-converted material, paper stock, converted material, new or used equipment and other business-related items. Take advantage of this offer and post your items for free. Find out what's for sale. DMIA members can view postings 24/7 at no charge.
New Member Profile: From Standard to Creative Envelopes
Husky Envelope Products Inc. has full manufacturing and converting capabilities ranging from standard envelopes to high-quality, full-color advertising products. The Walled Lake, Mich.-based firm also offers an extensive list of stock items in inventory for custom imprinting. It's capable of producing millions of envelope products each day.
Design Forms That People Can Use
This 510-page book covers business forms analysis, graphic design, typography, psychology, color, printing and computer-related forms. It also includes fax, scanning and prepress for forms and optical reading, and a series of chapters on fully-automated electronic forms. The 2005 edition is easier to understand and contains updated technical content on electronic forms. Code: FMDSGN. Member Price: $95. To order, click here or contact Tina Davis.
Top 10 Unusual Source Requests Received by DMIA: Laser tag, Korean language typesetting, continuous form. See the complete list
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Don't Call Yourselves Printers, Please
Dr. Harvey Robert Levenson, Ph.D, is a professor and department head of Graphic Communication at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Calif. He talked to Print Matters about jobs that young, qualified people graduating with degrees in printing are looking for and how you can hire them.
1. Printers say one of the major challenges they face today is hiring young people who are interested in the printing industry. What should they do to hire them?
Simple. Don't call it the "printing industry" because the term often brings thoughts of what the industry was like 40 years ago. While these thoughts may not initially be those of young students, they are often the thoughts of their parents, who frequently influence the direction of their children.
Today, we are in the communication profession, and dealing with some of the most modern technologies of any industry. We need to focus on this. However, the industry is its own worse enemy when it refers to itself as "shops," a "trade" or a "vocation." These are references that emit an image of a bygone era. The focus today is on service. And when a field, such as printing, reverts from a craft to service, it becomes a profession such as law, medicine, education, etc.
We need to focus on the fact that the profession involves print and non-print digital imaging, because any "commercial printing" company not looking to diversify into both areas probably won't be in business in the future. We need to project a positive image involving technologies and issues that reflect the present and future communication needs of society.
Read the complete interview
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Product: Fold-N-Go roll stock
Company: Convertible Brands, Sedalia, Mo.
Features and Benefits: Fold-N-Go is pre-converted paper stock that simplifies the creation of personalized, variable data print jobs that require perforations, payment envelopes or other complex conversions. The company delivers the stock "pre-converted" with all perforations, die cuts and adhesives already in position. After the job is printed, the only post-press converting required to finish each piece is traditional folding equipment. The stock is available in several standard template sizes and also can be designed specifically depending on customer needs. It reduces the time and cost associated with the traditional converting process.
Applications: The stock is ideal for direct marketing, billing and other mailing applications.
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Simple Folders Make Better Folders
1. An effective presentation folder starts with the right stock. For instance, if a customer tries to economize by using a lightweight stock, then inserts a CD, the folder could tear easily. Conversely, selling an elegant 100# linen stock folder to a client such as a whimsical toy store is an equally poor choice because the material doesn't fit the customer. When selecting stock, consider the following: What's the overall purpose of the folder? Will it be handed out or mailed to recipients? What's its shelf life, and how often will it be handled? How many and what types of materials will go inside?
2. Keep it simple. "Keep presentation folders as clean and neat as possible," says Glen Bryman, president of Imageflow Services Inc., a distributorship in Atlanta. There are many customization options for folders, including different-shaped pockets; foil stamped and embossed designs; die cut slits to add business cards, CD-ROMs and other materials; and perforated flaps that fold out, then tear off. Bryman encourages customers to add only one or two custom elements so the folder doesn't detract from the most important component-the information inside that the company wants to convey to its clients. "Use your creativity on the text," he says.
3. Offer mailing services. Many presentation folders are mailed to recipients. Membership organizations send out new member packets; insurance companies mail benefits packages, and groups ranging from sports teams to theaters mail season ticket packets. One way to attract these customers is not only by providing presentation folders and inside materials, but also by offering to put the packets together and handling mailing services.
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From Grassroots Plan to 130 Stores
Little did Kim Madden know that, at age 6, her daughter Heather would set her on a course for a new career. Suddenly feeling too grown up for the traditional hair bows her mom used to hold back her long locks, Heather helped Kim fashion an alternative accessory made of pink ribbon and white feathers, which Heather happily wore, declaring it was "sassy."
It wasn't long before the girls in Heather's dance class started requesting their own handmade ponytail holders. Girls even stopped Heather and Kim on the street while they were on vacation to ask where Heather bought her unusual hair piece. Not wanting to disappoint her friends, Heather and Kim began filling orders in a variety of colors at their kitchen table, and mom and daughter found themselves with a budding business on their hands, which they dubbed "Sassy Tails."
Read the full story
Clarification: The Jan. 19 Solution of the Week, "A-Grade Solution for Schools," said that pressure seal forms and mailers are commonly called "PS Mailers," which is a trade name used by Wilmer.
Several manufacturers produce pressure seal forms and mailers, including PrintXcel, Pacific Data Forms Inc., MAR Graphics, Ward/Kraft Inc., Printegra, Central States Business Forms, Goodwin Graphics Inc., InfoSeal LLC, Communication Concepts Inc. and King Business Forms.
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