Still in Denial ? - 2014

The snow is almost gone, it has almost stopped raining! Global warming anyone? Anyone want to buy beach property on the eastern seaboard or in the west country of the UK? The fantastic thing about history is that patterns emerge, arguments are disproved,disputes become fact, and even the most blinded or bigoted knucklehead accepts that things are changing. Smoking is bad for you, as is alcohol, medical marijuana is bad for you, too much food, bad, bad, bad! Predictability is good for business and investment. Low interest rates translates to another person hired. More spent on goods and services that are local and available. Greed is bad, so is fracking but probably better than buying oil from Saudi Arabia, now we are into degrees! Is one evil less or more necessary? Are women's rights more or less important than having power for your iPad? Imagine you could only use your iPad if you had to wear a veil or you had to drink a glass of murky well water while you found your favorite song on iTunes. How would you like a mercury laden electronic graveyard in your backyard? Bad! House prices on the rise again! Bad! As we begin to show signs of stability and economic recovery are we going to let greed and the me generation take over again, create more bubbles just so a few could benefit? I have quite enjoyed the post economic meltdown days, a little humility, a little more sense of community and above all, I don't have to listen to that asshole tell me how great he is, how he did it all by himself, right before the Atlantic Ocean flattened his beach house. Still in denial anyone?

Digital Print Tips - PIA

When compared to offset, digital printing presents some unique challenges when it comes to design. Using proper techniques, digital projects can be smart, creative and great looking! Learn about the software tools and best practices for dealing with color, transparency, PDF creation, variable data and more at my hands-on Mac lab at PRINT13® in Chicago, IL titled Digital Print Design: 20 Top Tips 'n Tricks. 


1. Always color correct images in the RGB color space
When images are converted from RGB to CMYK, you lose color information—a lot of it. As a result, you (and Photoshop) have fewer colors to work with, or average, when attempting to make color changes to an image. Also, when images are converted from RGB to CMYK, you’re creating the black separation and reducing the amount of CMY in the image at the same time. Depending upon how much CMY is eliminated in the separation, it can be very difficult—or even impossible—to make color adjustments to an image.

2. Test your fonts
Freeware fonts are readily available for download all over the Internet. Some of these fonts can contains restrictions the prohibit PDF creation and printing–something you may not find out until you’ve finished designing your job.
Before you design your project, it is always best to test the font. First, activate the font on your system. Then create an InDesign or QuarkXPress document using that font. Finally, export the page and try to create a PDF. If the PDF is created without any warnings, then the font can be embedded.

3. Avoid large solids
While lithographic presses have the ability to reproduce solids evenly, toner-based devices have a  tendency to mottle, show unevenness, or even banding. This is because ink and toner are radically different materials. When toner is applied to paper, it is dry. Toner is not actually absorbed into the paper fibers, instead,  it is fused to the sheet using both heat and fuser oil, creating a bond. Consistency lies in how evenly the toner was applied to the paper, and how evenly it was fused to the paper. 
If tints and large solids must be used in a design, there are some ways to help counteract the uneven  appearance associated with toner-based devices. First, try applying a filter (Photoshop Add Noise or Texture filters work well) to the large tint or solids. Another option is to also break up large color areas with other design elements such as text, images, or illustrations.

4. Folds
Because toner is fused to the paper surface and not absorbed like ink, it can be more prone to cracking along folds. Thin lines, rules, and headline text across a fold is generally acceptable, but if heavy coverage must be used in the design, be sure to ask your print service provider to score the printed sheet before folding.

5. Variable text fields
If you’re producing a VDP job, consider the longest word in a field when creating text containers for variable data. Anticipate odd word breaks, especially with variable type in large point sizes by randomly testing some of the data that will be swapped into the design during printing.

 http://www.printing.org/news/11512

22 Quotes That Will Make You A Better Marketer - Explore B2B

Motivation
1.

“We choose to go...not because [it is] easy, but because [it is] hard, …” - John F. Kennedy

Every marketer should take this quote as his life’s motto - marketing is hard. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. But it’s the challenges that make marketing worthwhile and that drive us.  
2.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; ….in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” - Theodore Roosevelt (a man in the arena)

I tried to take a smaller excerpt, then realized all of these words were relevant. It does not matter whether your strategy fails or if others criticise you for it. If you are the one implementing change, what matters is that you have already taken action. Success and failure both come with doing, putting oneself into that competitive arena.  
3.

“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” - Winston Churchill

Success in marketing seldom comes arrives in one, swift package. Success in marketing, the kind you can take the credit for (the one not based on sheer luck), requires many little steps and failures. Beyond that, it requires leaders to remain optimistic and innovation in the face of unexpected roadblocks. At some point, you will be able to step back and see the whole picture; these many little failures will have created success, overall.   
4.

“One cannot resist an idea whose time has come.” - Victor Hugo

Creativity does not just happen, though often it may seem this way. Research things that move you and allow time for this stimuli to digest. The result will be your subconscious culminating with an idea whose time has come.
5.

“When two paths open before you, choose the harder. “ - Tibetan Buddhist saying

For most of us, it is easier to create a slogan than meaningful headline; to give a product description rather than tell the story of how the product came into existence. Yet to do our jobs thoroughly the story is essential. We give people hope when we describe how our company can make people’s lives more fulfilling, how it relates to a fundamental aspect of who we are. It takes time to develop thoughtful content, to be genuine when we talk about business. But 10 times of out 10, it is more rewarding for your audience – and thereby, for you.  
6.

“It’s not necessary to fear the prospect of failure, but to be determined not to fail.” - Jimmy Carter

Make the commitment to develop a thoughtful content marketing campaign and to study the ever-changing landscape of social media. Stick to the hard work, research and analysis this requires - and don’t look back. Don’t let the fear of developing a new and engaging strategy distract you from the benefits you will reap because of your loyalty and diligence. 
7. 

“Flying might not be all plain sailing, but the fun of it is worth the price.” - Amelia Earhart

The most rewarding events in life are not produced by ‘easy sailing.’ Putting in the time and energy to invest in a marketing strategy that taps into real emotion will be tougher than producing a massive amount of fluff. It’s worth it to challenge yourself and embrace difficulties, especially in ways that benefit the community.   
Strategy:
8.

“I believe if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions, they will be moved to act.” - Bill Gates

This is a lesson in communication and expertise. As a leader in your field, it is necessary to address problems, prove you are knowledgeable, and present solutions. If you do your job correctly, your audience will trust you and be moved to take the actions you advise.   
9.

“To boldly go where no man has gone before.” - Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek

Drink this up (trekkies) and execute it. Test solutions that nobody has thought of or talked about before. Even if  you fail, the reward is greater than the risk. It’s the unprecedented things that make you a great marketer.  
10.

"If you sit by the river long enough, you will see the body of your enemy float by." - Sun Tzu, The Art of War

There will always be someone to attack and criticize for the purpose of short-lived attention. Be patient, do not aim for short-term success. Try to generate long-term success and to stray from short lived tactics like provocation or scandals. (There are long term strategies based on those though, see: Paris Hilton.)  
11.

Experience teaches only the teachable. - Aldous Huxley

Always be open for what experience teaches you - if you are unwilling or unable to learn, you will never become a great marketer.  
12.

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change." – Charles Darwin

As a marketer, you must adapt to whatever situation presents itself. At some point, a complete change in strategy might be needed. If some measure you begin fails: adapt. If you find yourself in the middle of an uproar of public opinion: adapt. Failure to adapt, means failure to survive.     
13.

“If I paint a wild horse, you might not see the horse... but surely you will see the wildness!” ― Pablo Picasso

Just like Picasso refrains from showing you the actual subject of what he is painting, you should refrain from showing what you are selling. Instead, sell vision and feeling.   
14.

“A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.” - Richard Branson

Being a strong marketer involves tapping into creativity. Be the leader within your company who takes charge of a marketing strategy that exercises hard work, a sense of awareness that social environments evolve, and – (perhaps, above all) that illustrates the type of creativity that will move people to action.    
15.

“A good writer possesses not only his own spirit, but the spirit of his friends.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

Your work as a marketer involves not only the quality of your work, but your ability to maintain  dialogue and connect. Listen to the demands and desires of your audience and involve yourself with leaders in your industry. Incorporating their ideas in your work and reaching out to these communities will expand your catalogue of knowledge and strengthen your reputation.   
16.

“Our corporate policy is, be smart. We don't talk about things we don't know about.” - Robert Scoble 

The message is frank. Strive to be a leader and expert, but don’t claim avenues of expertise which you do not possess. Say what you know, say it well, and people will begin to trust you.     
Vision:
17.

“Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.” ― Jonathan Swift

You will never be a great marketer without being able to see things others do not recognize. You need to be able to identify opportunities where others see nothing. You need to have a vision when others follow routine.  
18.

“Vision without execution is hallucination.” ― Thomas A. Edison

Vision is a big part of what you are trying to do. The other part is actually doing it. Bringing the two together results in good marketing.  
19.

“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.” ― Bruce Lee

Sometimes it is necessary to set your targets higher than you will be able to achieve. Because when you set your targets higher, your actual achievement will also be greater in the end.  
Money:
20.

“Any man who has $10,000 left when he dies is a failure.” - Errol Flynn

Utilize your budget. If a project fails because you were scared to invest your whole budget, then you have failed. There is no pride to be taken in hoarding. That does not mean however, that your budget should go to waste. If one measure does not work and costs money, then stop it and find a better place for your dough. You’d be surprised just how often companies fail to analyze and re-assess their losses.   
21.

 “Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.” - Steve Jobs

If your primary goal is to make money, you will struggle to communicate your community desires. You will have difficulty convincing an audience you have their best interest in mind and you will likely move few to take action. You will not, in fact, make money. The first step is loyalty to your community. Next, is being able to thoughtfully communicate stories and solutions – to elicit real emotion through these. If you come from a genuine place, your audience will be able to tell – and they will reward you.
22.

“Don’t think money does everything or you are going to end up doing everything for money.” ― Voltaire

Money is not going to do your job for you. As a marketer, bank accounts only serve as a storage place. If money could do marketing, you would be out of work. Don’t allow your end goal to “be rich” - do it, because you love it. Do it, because you believe in it.

https://exploreb2b.com/articles/22-quotes-that-will-make-you-a-better-marketer

The Art of Marketing 2014 - Yahoo Small Business

Social media; get over it.

It’s no longer a shiny new tool; it’s just the way we communicate now, and like it or not it’s here to stay. Our lives are no longer on and offline – we are creating seamless paths between the two. A complete lifestyle enriched and enabled by technology rather than engulfed by it. Welcome to the post-digital era.

So what does this mean for marketing?

One thing is clear – consumers are more demanding. You need to engage with them in ways that suit them; tap into their lifestyle, technology habits, interests and needs. It’s no longer enough for Directors and CEOs to broadcast company messages from the top down and expect consumers to listen. Businesses need to speak up and out, engage with consumers in the horizontal conversation and appeal to them as real people, not as a sales target.

 Here are my six tips to keep calm and market on in 2014:

1. Build trust

Customers are more empowered than ever before, and they want to spend money with companies they know and trust. This means communicating openly and authentically with your consumers across every channel, in other words be transparent.

 2. Tell stories

At the heart of communication lies good old-fashioned storytelling. The primal, human urge to connect and communicate through stories is alive and well. You need to spark an emotional reaction; make your content appeal to people’s lifestyles, problems, interests and needs. This applies even if you only have a 140-character tweet to get your message across.

3. Make your content consumable
Content has always been important, but now how you make that content valuable to your audience and easily digestible, whatever format it takes, is the crux of the marketing challenge.
And remember: one size doesn’t fit all. What content works for Twitter, will be different for Instagram and again for a press release. Having a recognizable voice, however is still key. Consumers want seamless interaction with brands and companies at every touch point.

4. Presume nothing

So social media is a gen-y thing? Think again. The majority of LinkedIn users are over 35. And you may be surprised to know the fastest growing Twitter demographic is 55-64 year olds.
Think print media is a dead? You would only have had to attend the recent Modern Magazine conference to hear firm reassertion of the power of the printed word. There is no longer a need to mount a defense of print – it is time to celebrate print and see digital culture as a partner not a competitor.
Think your online messages should be trying to grab the attention of social-media addicts? Remember, for every one person commenting on social media there are another 20 people observing. You have to make your content appeal to the silent majority.

Ultimately, the marketing landscape is constantly shifting; don’t make presumptions about your audience, their interests or preferences. Do your research.

5. Appeal to ’generation me’
We are living in ‘generation me’ where consumers can create their own brand, have a public profile and cultivate online celebrity status. Companies must understand the importance of this. From a simple re-tweet or a personalized email, to rewarding your loyal customers and publicly shining a spotlight on happy customers, it is vital brands recognize customers as individuals.
Content is what draws the consumers in; but you need context too. Context marketing is about respecting your audience, their limited attention spans and pinpointing your message to what they actually want; it’s a prerequisite to creating a strong customer-base.

6. Remember quality over quantity

You’ve finally mastered Twitter and you’ve got a business Facebook page set up, but hang on, there’s online advertising to be thinking about, and there’s bloggers to approach, there’s Pinterest, Instagram and Snapchat to be thinking about too. Slow down, take a breath and think about what your business objectives are. Whose attention are you trying to get; identify your target audience and where they congregate. And then figure out how you can offer them something no one else can. Ensuring everyone in the company knows what you are trying to achieve through each platform and how, adds focus and strategy to your marketing activities.

 So as we look back on 2013, all awash with selfies, #HashtagEverything, babies with digital footprints, Instagram-my-life, this is the year social media got, how shall we say it, common? Let’s turn our marketing attention to ‘generation me’, and say hello to 2014, the year for honesty, integrity and real people marketing. Forget the technology – it’s incidental. What we really need is to deliver content that is valuable and consumable, whatever the format.

 http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/art-marketing-2014-174925669.html

Let Me Be Myself

One sunny day, she came my way, as I was swinging on the porch

She shot from the hip, she moved those lips, then the earth was scorched

She cut like butter, one step from the gutter, then she was sweet as apple pie

The preacher man, he praised the lord, believed that, the end is nigh

In a summer breeze, I know you can't see, there's a forest and some trees

She lays bare, when she talks to the lord, prays hard on her knees

She asked for her mother, to always lover her, no matter what she did

The sheriff said, he scratched his head, been nothing but trouble since she was a little kid

The girl gone crazy from the sun, the moon, and no sign of a distant rain

Raised hell so bad that her mama's been, she been declared insane
She got bare feet, blue eyes, blonde hair and a whole lot of trouble inside
From the day I met her, we've been together and probably til the day I die


She said please don't save me,
I am just like everyone else

I use what I got, and forget what I give
I'm a harmless soul with a heart of gold

Let me be myself

Great Quotes To Start The Year

Poster Child - No Pun Intended

What is the evidence that poster presentations are effective in promoting knowledge transfer? A state of the art review.

Ilic D, Rowe N.

Author information

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Poster presentations are a common form of presenting health information at conferences and in the community. Anecdotal evidence within the discipline indicates that health information framed in a poster presentation may be an effective method of knowledge transfer.

OBJECTIVES:

A state of the art review of the literature was performed to determine the effectiveness of poster presentations on knowledge transfer.

METHODS:

Electronic searches of various electronic databases were performed for studies published until 2012. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they provided empirical data on the effectiveness of poster presentations on changes in participant knowledge, attitude or behaviour.

RESULTS:

A total of 51 studies were identified through the database searches, of which 15 met the inclusion criteria. No study evaluated the effectiveness of posters in comparison with other educational interventions. Most studies utilised a before/after methodology, with the common conclusion that posters elicit greatest effectiveness in knowledge transfer when integrated with other educational modalities.

CONCLUSIONS:

The poster presentation is a commonly used format for communicating information within the academic and public health fields. Evidence from well-designed studies comparing posters to other educational modalities is required to establish an evidence base on the effectiveness of utilising posters in achieving knowledge transfer.

How To Start A Digital Print Business - ehow

 I think step 1. should be a visit to the shrink!

 Instructions

1. • 1
     Educate yourself. The first step to starting your own digital printing business is to learn everything you can about digital printing and the digital printing industry -- and there's a lot to learn. If you are already working in the industry, then you are probably pretty familiar with the processes, equipment, language and pricing. If you do not have experience, you will need to do your research. Start by checking out Printguide.com, where you can find answers to all your printing questions, from "What is hexachrome?" to "How long will a screen print last?"
     Then, talk to people in the field -- both the digital and traditional print business -- print shop owners, screen printers, even designers and typesetters. Go to the library and check out some books on digital printing, such as Mastering the Art of Digital Printing, by Harald Johnson. You can even take a course at your local community college. Expect to invest significant time and energy into learning everything you can about digital printing.
     
   • 2
     Decide what services you are going to offer as a digital printer. There are plenty, possibly too many, from brochure and business card printing to T-shirts and mugs to large-scale banners, signs and even books. Decide whether you will offer short-run printing -- printing in small quantities -- which has become very popular among print customers for its is cost effectiveness. or only bulk printing. Choose the services you would like to offer and make sure that you know what equipment you will need in order to provide them. For example, if you plan on offering embossing services, you will need to purchase an embossing machine and/or hot-stamping foils. You will also need to know what services and products you are going to offer when you begin to market your business to prospective clients.
     
   • 3
     Find a facility. Based on the size of your new digital printing business and the range of services you will offer, decide what size space you need and where you would like your business to be located. Are you going to be doing deliveries to businesses? If so, you may want to be closer to the business district in your city. Are you going to be doing large-scale printing? If so, you will need to have enough space for bulkier equipment. Keep in mind that the larger the space and the closer its proximity to a central business area, the more expensive it will be. Figure out how small you can go without sacrificing productivity, and think about how close in to the city you need to be. Look at other similar businesses, where they are located and how large they are. Then compare your needs and choose a space that fits them and your budget.
     
   • 4
     Promote your business. When you begin to advertise, make sure your materials speak about the level of quality of your services. Print brochures and business cards yourself, or have a quality printer do them for you. Make sure they act as a sample of the work you would do for your prospective clients. Decide on your target market and find unique opportunities to get in front of them. Join local business associations and attend networking functions to let area businesses and decision makers know about your services. Anyone who has digital printing needs is a potential client. Networking has become the preferred mode of small-business marketing today, especially for a tangible product such as digital printing, so make sure you are taking advantage of every opportunity.
     

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/how_5865285_start-digital-printing-business.html#ixzz2tHwyjRU8

We Love To Print

If you find something that you love, whether it be a profession, hobby, person or place to visit, then that's what you should do. Find a passion that inspires and brings out the best and the worst in you. One that brings joy and one that frustrates the hell out of you. Be emotional about what you do, it will inspire those around you, they may not always agree with you, but they will respect the fact that you are committed, or to be committed depending how far gone you are, because you can't pretend sincerity but for so long before it becomes obvious, that you are a fake. People will gravitate toward sincerity  and then you can begin to build a trust that will almost become unbreakable. Like all things in life, they have a natural cycle, people move, things change, situations change, but I think your core remains pretty much the same. And you can learn to change your core, over time, especially as you mature. Many people have made brutal mistakes in their youth and some things follow you throughout your life. Some are life lessons and some are life long lessons. Print has been a constant in my life for more years than I care to remember, a friend, an enemy, a blessing and a curse. I remember speaking with a person who was having trouble retiring from his printing business, we had done business together for many years, he complained constantly about the struggles of the business itself, not bitterly, more self depreciating humor and when the time finally came to hang it up, he was visibly upset. I asked him why he was having such a hard time and he said ' Oh, we love to print '

Print Tip Of The Day

Plagiarism will guarantee your 'new' print design will work in a production environ, no sense in reinventing the wheel if you don't have to

Hash Tag Of The Day

#directmailraleigh #telepathicgraphics

The Downside of High Expectations

Optimism is the life blood of daily enthusiasm. It gets the adrenalin pumping and creates some excitement with in your circle of friends, co-workers or a new found social media acquaintance. The joy of learning something new or discovering something you knew you knew, but forgot and found it again, can be quite rewarding. The way that I have always attacked boredom is to set high expectations of myself and those around me. Do I enjoy the challenge of creating intense situations because it adds some vitality to the proceedings and a little stress makes you sweat, of course! I will chill out when I am on vacation or dead. Intensity, will build comradery, and life long senses of accomplishment, of being in the trenches with your friends, they have your back, they care and pulling together with a common purpose. The fire, the passion, and the energy, makes you want to do it everyday, like a new adventure, a new job or a new lover, sensory overload, coming at you every minute of everyday. Eventually the groove kicks in and it becomes routine, you are awesome at what you do, pleasant and professional. The highs get lower and lows get higher and then complacency sets in. The contempt, the apathy and the full circle of life smacks you right between the eyes like the proverbial 2x4. This ordinary life confounds and pretends, delivers and removes all those high expectations with alarming regularity and fun. It's the only downside I can find

Bob Boyle - Music

I heard my first poem by Robert Burns, sitting on my Auntie's knee, when I was 8 years old,  I wrote my first poem when I was ten years old, then came punk rock, where you did not have to be very good at music, but just be passionate about something, whether it was story telling, song writing or music. I find music a challenge because I don't have a natural sense of rhythm or timing which is usually the main stay of a band. Having said that, I do have a way with words and a sense of melody. I recorded my first song in London in 1988, played my first live gig in 1992 in NYC and have rekindled my recording career in 2013

Direct Mail - Case Study

Company Profile
Founded in 2004, Jim Smith Designs creates customized wallpaper for a personalized look and feel to each room, whether it be at home or in the office

 Business Situation
Jim Smith Designs employs a very active email marketing presence. However, with a list of over 1,000 clients to draw from, the company had an email address for only a third. And, in dealing with so many small customers , many of his client contacts were out of date or no longer in use. With a larger, more accurate database, Jim Smith Designs would be able to generate more sales as a result of its marketing efforts and have another channel to stay on top of prospects.

Solution Telepathic Graphics worked with Jim Smith Designs to develop and print a postcard mailer which went out to his client list. The postcard featured a compelling offer accompanied by striking, clear graphics on the front. The reverse prompted prospects to submit their orders through email to redeem the free offer, which would potentially add new customers to his existing database. The entire campaign, postage, printing and all, cost under $500.

Result Not only did the postcard mailer verify the bulk of their contact database, it increased their internet marketing list by 10%. More importantly, $3,800 of sales came as a direct result of the campaign. That's over an 700% return on investment!

"Telepathic Graphics really delivers. Every time I employ them for a direct marketing campaign, it pays for itself and then some."

Print Tip of the Day

When designing a direct mail piece leave room for the address and bar code, it will help the post office deliver

Newspaper or Facebook - Mark Hahn

Printers and publishers can’t seem to get a break, or at least not the respect that is deserved by industries that have for centuries been the core transmitters of knowledge and political freedom. (I know – that’s a bit heavy, but it’s true). Facebook has announced that its latest smartphone app which is designed to personalize and replace our newspapers is named “Paper.” The app offers news feeds curated by real live human editors, divided into “sections” such as sports and food, just like a real printed newspaper. Facebook obviously chose to name its new app “Paper” to impart the credibility we accord our printed news media. Should printers and publishers be flattered by the name or upset that the next generation will reach for their smartphone to read the morning “paper”?

Paper - that basic and most fundamental substrate of our industry - was at the core of a wide variety of deals announced in January, and those deals are likely to impact future supply and pricing. Assuming that the decline in demand for printed products levels off or slows down at some point, as a result of the transactions announced, printers are likely to have less available supply and a more limited choice of suppliers to pick from when they are sourcing paper in the future.

Right now, the demand for paper continues to decline. In response, two of the largest remaining US companies that manufacture printing papers reached out to each other and plan to merge. Drowning in debt, they apparently hope to hold each other above the surface. In a deal reported as “complex” and “essentially all debt,” Verso Paper announced that it was acquiring NewPage Holdings, forming the largest manufacturer of coated printing papers remaining in the US. However the buyers, Verso, are not really buying NewPage, rather they have put together a deal structure in which Verso will provide management and other services to NewPage, but NewPage will be kept at arms’ length as a separate company. In other words, “if we make it to shore, then great, we’re partners,” but “if you drown brother, well then thanks for the fees and services, and see you at your funeral.” Could this turn out to be an example of tying two rocks together, in hopes that they will float?

The business of distributing paper is also set to complete another round of consolidation. Not too long ago, paper distributors were mostly family-owned and managed enterprises. Many of those formerly independent companies were rolled up into two competing mega-distributors, Xpedx (owned by International Paper) and Unisource (owned by Bain Capital and Georgia-Pacific). Through a series of maneuvers, Xpedx will be spun off, and then Unisource will be merged into the new entity. Although margins are paper-thin for these distribution giants, the combined entity will reportedly be able to easily handle payments on the debt planned for the new enterprise. Xpedx is projecting combined revenues for the new company in the $9 billion to $10 billion range. With reasonable debt levels, and additional product offerings that may offset the trend of declining demand for printing papers, such as wide format and digital supplies, it appears that the new company will have enough buoyancy to stay afloat.

Gould Paper, another significant player in the US paper distribution market, with $1 billion in annual sales, also got into the roll-up action in January and announced that it has acquired Texas paper distributor Bosworth Papers. Gould in turn is 51% owned by the Japan Pulp & Paper company, a global paper distributor with $6 billion in annual revenues.

There also was activity in the other “paper business” – publishing newspapers. An unnamed “independent investor group” acquired Mainstreet Communications from PE fund Brookside Group, including a cluster of local newspaper in the Sierra Nevada area of California. This follows Brookside’s sale of eight community newspaper titles to the San Diego Union Tribune, as previously reported in our November 2013 deal log. In upstate New York, the president and CEO of The Scotsman Press announced that he was acquiring the company which publishes several local community newspapers.

A community newspaper was among the increased number of bankruptcies we found that were filed in January. The Free Lance-Star Publishing Co. of Fredericksburg, Virginia, filed Chapter 11. According to articles published in the company’s signature paper, the company has been struggling to meet the covenants of its debt obligations which were incurred in the ill-timed investment in 2007 to build a state-of-the-art printing facility.

http://targetreport.blogspot.co.uk/?utm_source=2014-01+Target+Report&utm_campaign=2014-01+TR&utm_medium=email 

Print Tip of the Day

Color can cause an emotional reaction and enhance the return on a direct mail piece, choose your colors wisely

Hash Tag of the Day

#directmailraleigh #telepathicgraphics

 

7 Ways To Find Out What Your Customers Really Think

1. Set one clear objective. Respect customers’ time by limiting the objective for your survey to one, razor-sharp goal. Did you recently expand your product line or change something about your physical or online store? In this case, your questions should relate to the new products or store features, period.

2. Keep it short. Customers should not have to spend more than 5 minutes completing the survey. Ask for only one piece of information per question, and don’t offer too many possible answers. If you want to know whether customers felt drawn to two new areas of your store, ask that in two separate questions.

3. Avoid leading questions. You want respondents’ unvarnished opinion so you can make changes that will encourage them to keep coming back. Instead of asking “How did you like our fabulous new state-of-the-art dog-grooming station?” rephrase the question as “Does our new dog-grooming station make it easier for you to have your pet groomed?”

4. Allow people to respond on a sliding scale. Let customers express their satisfaction (or lack thereof) without forcing them to choose between extremes. Decide which rating labels you want to use. For “level of satisfaction,” for example, you could use a five-point scale with responses ranging from “very satisfied” to “very dissatisfied.” For “level of agreement,” you could use the Likert scale to provoke responses ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.”


5. Ban jargon. Don’t assume your customers are familiar with the terms you use in your line of work. Keep all language in your surveys simple and free of industry-specific lingo. In fact, don’t assume anything about how much or little customers know.

6. Randomize the answers. Surveys show that people tend to choose the first or second option when presented with a list of possible answers. You can avoid this by randomizing multiple-choice answers. (FluidSurveys offers this option in its free version, but if you want to randomize answers in SurveyMonkey, you’ll need to upgrade from a free account to the site’s Gold or Platinum plan.)

7. Give people a chance to elaborate. Although comment fields create slightly more work for you in tabulating survey responses, many people welcome the chance to reply outside the confines of scripted multiple-choice answers. This may be where you hit customer-feedback pay dirt in the form of helpful suggestions, or find out that something you thought customers would love is, in fact, turning them against you

Finally, be sure to do what you can to act on survey results. SurveyMonkey and FluidSurveys both offer a variety of ways to analyze survey results. In fact, before you choose between the two, you should use both to create one or two test surveys and decide which best meets your needs. It’s up to you to integrate this information into your future strategy — and to let customers know you heard them, loud and clear.

Intuit 2013

#printraleigh #telepathicgraphics

Paper Book or EBook?

Article in The Guardian Newspaper

A recent survey has suggested that 62% of 16- to 24-year-olds prefer reading printed books to ebooks on an e-reading device.

The statistic is interesting to me, as it reflects the opinions of people in my own age group – and let's face it, we're as reliant on mobile phones and laptops as we are on oxygen and water.
Over half of those who preferred print said they "like to hold the product" that they are reading. It turns out (surprise, surprise) that you do actually have to hold an e-reader to use it, but to avoid becoming a pedant of phrasing: I do understand what this is really saying. We have a strong emotional attachment to the physical book, as demonstrated by the qualitative comments made by participants, such as "I like the smell" and "I want full bookshelves".

But surely the experiences which surround the experience of reading shouldn't be prioritised above … well, reading a book. I feel the need to challenge my own preference for printed books, because whenever I begin to think about why I think I enjoy them more than ebooks, I can't give a decent answer. If I can't support my own vague opinions that I like the sensation of reading a physical book with a concrete reason, how can I claim that they're superior? If ebooks contains the same content, aren't they basically the same thing?

What I find interesting is that we seem to dismiss the fact that printing is a technology with a long history of development. In his book 2001 book Paper Machine, Jacques Derrida described the transition his generation had seen from the pen, to the introduction of the typewriter, the electronic typewriter and the computer, noting that "the voyage continues".

He makes a convincing case. The ebook, to me, is just a phase in the evolution of reading technologies – they're no less "natural" than printed books, which just feel that way because they have been around so long (when did you last see a wild printing press roaming the moors?).
Considering that millions of people read and generate billions of words per day on computers across the world, why can't we come to terms with ebooks? We read the news, our mail, advertisements, text messages and recipes in a digital format on a daily basis. When it comes to books, we balk.

What do you think?

Print Tip of the Day

When creating books make sure the content is necessary and you are not filling up pages for the sake of it. Saddle Stitch books are divisible by 4 pages. Try to make it 12 pages instead of 16. This will save you money

Hash Tag of the Day

#bookletsraleigh #telepathicgraphics

Don't Waste Money On Postage - Give It To Me

It is not uncommon, even in this day and age, where information is at your finger tips, that print buyers and direct mailers do not reach out to the experts to reduce their postage costs. Understanding the need to get the information out to your contracted obligation is one thing, but with a little bit of planning and a couple of hours of research you could reduce your postage cost dramatically.

• Postal Presort Discounts, whether sending Presort First Class 1/3 day delivery or Presort Standard 3/10 day delivery

• Clean Your List, NCOA and De Dupe your list, this will remove the un-deliverables and duplicates saving you money

• Mailer Design,  understand the postage cost before you design a printed piece to go through the mail, wafer seals and mailing flat can have a big impact on postage costs

• Response Rates, 2% to 13% this is your typical response rate from years of data, please budget accordingly. How much will a new customer spend on your overall investment?

If you still insist on throwing money away, I will gladly take it. A little research goes a LONG way

Print Tip of the Day

Variable data will increase your response rate, be sure you have the data resources to produce thousands of individual pieces

Hash Tag of the Day

#directmailraleigh #telepathicgraphics

If You Print It - They Will Come

I still have the ticket stub from Elvis Costello at Satellite City in Glasgow, 1977, The Stiff Records Tour, my first passport, my birth certificate, a couple of kindergarten photos and a few other pieces of printed material from days gone by. I kept the manual from my first Sony Walkman, don't know why, but I did. I am not fighting the digital age, I think it's amazing the amount of things our devices can carry or have immediate access to. I do believe that everyone should experience the sheer joy of a printed piece, one way or another. I believe it touches people in a unique way and for all of it's flaws, it has one very powerful thing that no other media can supply. Touch. I am sure there is some boffin somewhere working on a screen and an app that makes it feel like a brochure while you are reading it on a screen, should I patent that now? Then in a few years time I can get into a patent lawsuit with one of the big boys. So as you are creating content, keep print in mind, it has a place at the table, a space in the digital age, where fleeting seconds change to milliseconds with one click and as moble speeds get faster and attention spans get shorter, maybe a little bit of old fashioned print, will save the day.

Print Tip of the Day

The drive through print shop does not exist yet, give the printer enough time to complete your project and take the stress down a little

Hash Tag of he Day

#digitalprintraleigh #telepathicgraphics

What is Digital Printing?

The question I get asked the most,  by experienced print buyers,  is why digital printing ?

The most important development in printing technology in recent times has been digital printing, which allows for fast, efficient and cost effective printing without any compromise in quality standards

Short run digital printing gives you the greatest degree of flexibility, personalised service and rapid turnaround. With traditional printing methods, an important factor was economies of scale – that is, the more units printed in one run, the cheaper the cost of each unit. By contrast, short run digital printing is cost effective for smaller quantities – for example from 100 to 3000 copies – for items such as leaflets, brochures, letterheads and stationery, and business cards. Items such as postcards, parking tickets, NCR sets and complex booklets can go up to 100, 000 or more and still be competitive with other printing methods. It is the perfect printing solution for businesses and individuals as well as for larger companies that have extensive and varied corporate print requirements. The flexibility of digital printing means that only the required number of units need be printed at any one time, allowing you to produce updated or revised content as often as you wish. It even allows for variable data printing, involving modification of the image, with each impression. We often joke at Telepathic Graphics that we will start the first Drive Thru printing company in the world. Watch this space..............

Print Tip of the Day

If you have multiple versions of the same job, decide on a naming convention before you begin, this will save you printing the wrong version from time to time

Hash Tag of the Day

#digitalprintingdurham #telepathicgraphics