Print Business

How Epic Print came to win an Innovation Excellence Award from the Stationers Company last week is a great tale to enjoy with a cup of coffee and sign that innovative ideas can pay off. #innovationinprint #stationers https://lnkd.in/enn2zqru

Well that was a complete mare, as they say! What’s the point in sending out a news email if no one can click through to the website? We usually know better than to rely on scheduled publishing and this morning we were reminded why. Be assured it is safe to go back to your inbox and read the ezine while we reflect on the days when we had a bespoke system written specifically for us, before we had our heads turned by leading website and email delivery systems. However, we predict the Acorn story will be the one most are interested in, followed by Heidelberg's Multidot screening technology. And on the subject of screening we would recommend that those interested in extended colour gamut take a look at our deep dive into the subject. It's behind the paywall – as is most of our high value content – so if you're not a subscriber and still irritated by the 404 errors this morning, perhaps leave it.

Something for the weekend? Our feature from the Spring issue about GenZ has been in our Top 10 posts since it was published online on 3rd April and it has an engagement time of 3m 19 secs. Maybe it’s the pic of Gary Peeling that’s attracting the attention?

Collecting data doesn’t mean a thing until it is filtered, categorised and analysed. For example, Acme Printing Machinery Co might say its product is superior to iJet-4-U but who’s to know? In the greater scheme of things, any product that is claimed to be dead is selling somewhere. Even continuous stationery is still produced in the UK. Data is everywhere. The key is finding it, filtering it, categorising it and analysing it. One day AI will get there but until then the printing industry has the next best thing. Gareth Ward. Since before the internet arrived on our desks, he’s snuffled out facts and figures, poked his nose in where it wasn’t wanted (until the press release went out) and quoted data to CEOs who had no idea it was buried on their websites. However, he used it responsibly and this is how the Print Business Index came into being. Gareth takes all the information he wants to use and takes a baseline of 100. Then he works out from that what all the other figures would be. This allows us to publish graphs on all sorts of subjects that give an at-a-glance view of how things are going, along with commentary about what it all means. It has all been in the magazine since 2022 and now it’s online. Geeks go for your life… 

Extended colour gamut should no longer be a scary proposition, as our feature in the Autumn issue sets out. Chris Scully is quoted as saying that ECG treats a litho press like a digital output device. If any printers are at or going to the Print Show looking for information on ECG, have a look for Gareth Ward and ask him to explain it to you. We're sure he'll be delighted to oblige.

One of the favourite 'what did he say?' moments at Drupa this year was when Konica Minolta's Toshitaka Uemura told his audience that the printing industry had to learn to print less for the good of society. In the middle of a show dedicated to printing, to printing faster, where everything is geared up to printing more! A brave man and it appears a very shrewd man. Read more of his thoughts here: https://lnkd.in/ezcXqeqj #konicaminolta #drupa2024 #forwardthinkingprinting #toshitakuemura

The cover story of the latest issue delves into the remarkable rejuvenation of Dayfold under the management of Delroy S.. Nothing seems to faze him so he says yes to unusual jobs which can then turn into revenue streams. He didn't even bat an eyelid when Gareth Ward turned up to interview him with two fairly large dogs in tow. #printers #commercialprint #boxmaking

Now that our print subscribers* have had a chance to read the magazine, here is what Gareth Ward really thought of Drupa… *Thanks to our subscribers without whom the best magazine in print about print wouldn't be possible

Now that the magazine has hit desks, we've put a little taster of the content on our home page. In our section 'Dusseldorf Voices' Gareth Ward features five of the most interesting people he talked to at Drupa. Most of the magazine will go online bit by bit, but you don't get the roar of the greasepaint and the smell of the crowd online. Go on, treat yourself to a print subscription 😉

Remember when unboxing videos were a thing? As everyone else seems to be lying on a sun lounger while we try to get the magazine to the printer, we thought we'd give you this unedited opening from Healeys Print Group to inspire you for when you get back to the office.