“An enlightened, progressive company is committed to a proper program of staff training.” – the Oxford Training Review.
OAQP's National Conference held during Graphics Canada 2003, brought together some of the brightest and innovative minds in the industry. OAQP President Dean Baxendale said, “The program was designed to help participants achieve optimum business success in the wake of the revolution within our industry over the past three years.”
What do you picture in your mind's eye when you hear the words, business tool? Do you think of computers? Pencils? Perhaps a buzz saw? When I think about a business tool, I imagine anything that can help me do better. It can be in a physical form, a thought process or something as nebulous as a feeling. The common thread is that the tool helps us to do better. So what is the most valuable business tool in your toolbox?
If a great colour catches your eye or you experience certain feelings around colours, chances are you've noticed that colours affect our moods. Similarly, colours affect consumer choices.
There are two aspects of colour - how colours look together and how specific colours effect consumer's perceptions. Using colour to its full potential will make your designs more effective and convey the desired message. For example, vivid primary colours with white stripes are known to exude decisiveness, and are often associated with sporting teams. They make a great choice in advertisements for sporting events, sports stores or other sports-related products and services.
I recently became aware of something so ludicrous that I have to share it with you. I always assumed that if I selected the same Pantone number, from the same Pantone library, in either Photoshop 7 or Illustrator 10, I would get the same CMYK build from both programs. This was not an incorrect assumption.
As I dug deeper, I learned that to obtain equal CMYK values in Photoshop and in Illustrator, I have to use different Pantone Libraries. When I called Pantone they informed me that it was Adobe that should get better organized and maybe the Illustrator and Photoshop programmers should talk to one another.
I reviewed a great little product called Best Remoteproof by EFI/Best Color this year at the Graphics Canada trade show. The product name is a little deceiving. Best Remoteproof is not a proofing product but a Quality Control software that works in conjunction with either the Best Colorproof or the Best Screenproof RIP. It ships with a spectrophotometer for verifying that your proofing system is under control. By providing customers with a pass/fail software based on visual tolerance methods, users can compare proofs at not only remote proofing locations numerically, but also in-house for those producing sellable proofs.
There is a growing interest among printers to diversify into the value-added services of mailing and fulfillment. Nearly 80 people attended NAPL's first dedicated conference concentrating on the basics of how to get started in these areas.
Profitability of fulfillment services is strongly dependent upon identifying, capturing and selling hidden costs to clients in advance. These hidden costs are often: 1) customer service intensity, 2) heavy seasonality (offset by monthly management fees), 3) receiving procedures (and fees) for those line items in the warehouse not printed by the printer, 4) disposition plan for overs in kitting projects and handling returns, and 5) the on-going IT customization.
On January 1 2004, Canada's new privacy rules take effect that will change the way your business collects, uses and discloses customer information.
The existing federal privacy law – or provincial legislation that is substantially similar to the federal law – will govern all commercial transactions in the country. However, the law does allow an exemption for the collection, use and disclosure of business card information.
There are two enormous forces shaping the Canadian economy, and the global marketplace. The first – and the most visible – is the impact of emerging technologies. The microchip, the Internet, wireless communications, robotics, nano-technology and a host of other innovations are revolutionizing the global culture. The speed at which information flows – any information – is having a profound effect on every aspect of life. Its ubiquitous nature and accelerating speed casts a shadow of uncertainty on long-term business planning. Obviously the national and global economies are reacting accordingly.
“There's nothing more frustrating than a 'made at home publisher,'” said an irate Jared. “They buy some cheap publishing software and think they're designers. Then they call me pig-headed when I refuse to print their garbage.”
“Well... maybe you are,” I replied, feeling that his venting wasn't complete. “Did they forget to change the RGB to CMYK?” I teased.
“Can you sell my business without telling anyone it's for sale?” is the question we're asked most frequently when meeting with potential clients. Owners of medium- to large-sized private businesses are justifiably concerned about their ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality when considering selling their businesses. The main reason is the highly competitive nature of business.