Targeting a CMYK conversion for a specific printing condition can be as easy as opening Photoshop and selecting Image / Mode Convert to CMYK. Case closed and onto the next task. The problem is that creating a good CMYK conversion requires the understanding of where and how the file is going to be printed. Keep in mind that a CMYK value is not a colour but a recipe for a colour – and the colour you end up with greatly depends on the ingredients used.
Standards and specifications in the printing industry
Next month we're going to discuss how we can create a good CMYK conversion. But before we can do that, it's helpful to understand some of the known standards and specifications used in our industry. The most common term, SWOP, is considered a specification and not a standard in the formal sense. Other known specifications used in the print industry are GRACoL and SNAP.
About GRACoL
In 1966, a graphics arts task force was formed by the Graphic Communications Association (now IDEAlliance) to develop a document containing general guidelines and recommendations that could be used as a reference source across the industry for quality color printing. Since that time, the GRACoL Committee has developed, maintained and published printing guidelines that have since become de facto standards in many pressrooms. The mission of GRACoL is to improve communications and education in the graphic arts by developing best practices that reflect the influence and impact of new technologies in the workflow of commercial offset lithography. GRACoL is a registered trademark of IDEAlliance. Learn more at http://www.gracol.org.
GRACoL has been busy conducting a series of press runs in both North America and England. They're working to develop an unambiguous description of how good commercial printing "appears" to the eye on a Number 1 sheet. The heart of this "print appearance" specification will be to develop a new, visually acceptable characterization data set to replace DTR004. The final press runs will form a body of work to be published as GRACoL 7. The primary goal of GRACoL 7 is to reduce as much as possible the basic appearance differences between different standardized processes, and thus simplify the preparation and exchange of printable files between them.
Imagine a world where you could actually predict how your file will print based on accurate ICC profiles. In our current situation, a large majority of images are targeted for SWOP even if they're being printed in a sheetfed press because it's the most widely accepted output/target choice.
Sheetfed Printing GRACoL (TR004): General Requirements for Applications in Commercial Offset Lithography
Additional Information: www.gracol.com
Web Offset SWOP (TR001): Specifications for Web Offset Publications
Additional Information: www.swop.org
Web Offset (Newsprint) SNAP: Specifications for Non Heatset Advertising Printing
Additional Information: www.gain.org
Printing across borders: While there are international printing standards in the form of ISO 12647 and related standards from ISO (International Organization for Standardization), they're not known or even implemented that well, at least in some regions.
So to address this issue, a gentleman called Olaf Dr¸mmer sent out an invitation for a meeting labeled "Printing across borders" to several hundred industry experts all over the world. Nearly fifty of these experts decided to join the meeting held on May 8th, 2005 in London.
The London meeting turned out to be a huge success, and all attendees agreed to join forces and get the necessary work and discussion started in order to achieve internationally recognized and implemented universal printing standards across all regions. For more information: www.backandforth.org
The obvious goal of creating accredited standards and printing specifications would be to have the ability to easily convert your RGB file to CMYK with a high degree of confidence that the print job was going to come fairly close to that matching your expectations. You could also set up accurate soft proofing on your calibrated monitor and go a step further and calibrate your inkjet proofer to match this new target. Ideally all proofing could work backwards from the press and not forwards from the designer, as it does today.
Angus Pady is the president of Digital Solutions. Complete colour control from desktop to press.
T: 905-764-6003
Angus@ColourManagement.ca
www.colourmanagement.ca
Bindery and finishing specialists in Canada want more automation, more flexibility and greater control over their equipment, and they're getting it. But they're only going so far, and are resisting the urge to invest heavily in centralized computer control of folders, trimmers, cutters, stitchers or perfect binders in the same way that they have with prepress and printing.
New features for finishing typically mean automatic presets, automated feeding, or flexible digital controls like Muller Martini's Commander control system: it's JDF/CIP4 capable, but so far, no one is using that function.
McCallum Printing Group in Edmonton opened its doors in January of 2004, starting up with new prepress, printing and finishing equipment from Heidelberg. Everything is connected through the Heidelberg Prinect system, using PDF workflow. Makeready is "incredibly fast," says pressroom manager Reg Stanton. Platemaking and press setup can all be controlled from one workstation, and the company can even set up a series of plates to be burned from PDF files overnight, unattended.
For print finishing, McCallum bought new folders, cutters and a saddle-stitcher, as well as Heidelberg's Compustitch, Compucut and Compufold software modules as part of Prinect. But more than two years later, the company hasn't started to use these systems, yet.
"We use the automatic setup on our cutter, but we're not using JDF," Stanton explains. The reason is that, while the software is standardized and not all that expensive, using it to set up finishing equipment automatically requires investment in a lot of expensive servo-using accessories. "On a 20 by 26-inch folder, it nearly doubles the price," he says.
"If we had operators who didn't know how to set up a folder, it might make sense to invest in that kind of equipment. But to use JDF now, we'd have to buy a brand new folder and invest in a lot of automation equipment," Stanton explains. Their new Stahl KH folder is automated to the extent that it can load skids right off the press; included automation components shorten changeover and makeready, but fully implementing JDF at this stage "just doesn't make economic sense, yet," Stanton says.
But many printers are starting to see the benefits of automating their print finishing operations. "In any bindery, there are one or two guys who set up all the folders and the other equipment," says Ken Harbin of Prism Graphic Equipment of Mississauga, ON. But with automated systems, he points out, "all you have to know is what the fold looks like and how to press a icon!"
Digital printing specialists are more interested in all kinds of automation than conventional lithographic printers ó after all, the goal of the digital printer is a totally automated system from computer to finished product with as little human intervention as possible. This kind of business can be more profitable than conventional printing, and, as Harbin points out, "all the major litho printers are realizing that they have to add digital printing capabilities."
IBIS
Digital printers are very interested in automation in the bindery, says Don Piontek, U.S. sales manager with IBIS Bindery Systems, a U.K.-based manufacturer of the Smart-binder, a perfect binding system designed specifically for digital presses.
The Smartbinder SB2 is a perfect binding or saddle-stitching system that runs either online or offline. "It's faster than the iGen 3 digital press," Piontek says. It can collate, stitch and three-side trim five 11 x 17-inch signatures, or sheets, per second, or 300 feet per minute.
Customers run the range of digital printers: in-plant operations in insurance companies and other financial firms, health-care providers in the U.S., and manufacturers who produce a lot of manuals. RR Donnelley's Moore-Wallace division has 10 Smartbinders used in financial printing.
"The trend is to shorter runs, such as offset paperback printers who want to produce books quickly and have no inventory," says Piontek. "They print the books on a digital press and bind them instantly; with digital printing, there's no need to print more copies than you need."
Offset printers who do variable printing are also interested in the Smartbinder for different reasons, says Piontek. "It works for companies who don't have a wide diversity of types of jobs, the kind of situation where data flows through the plant.
"Printers have large programming staffs for variable printing," says Piontek. However, on the plant floor, many printers are looking for ways to reduce staff, and automated systems like the Smartbinder allow them to do that. "They require very little training to use, and there is a lack, overall, of qualified people to run high-end bindery equipment."
Heidelberg
Heidelberg has made JDF available throughout its product line from prepress to print finishing, even though, in Canada at least, the industry hasn't invested heavily in using the job definition format at the print finishing stage.
Prinect is Heidelberg's JDF/CIP4-compliant, PDF-based workflow automation system that potentially can move all printing jobs from conception through prepress, printing and finishing. Prinect FCS 100 is the subset for binding and finishing. It allows job planning, calculates machine programs, transfers programs to machines and records production data for MIS analysis.
Using accurate job data allows Prinect FCS 100 to set up machines automatically, reducing makeready and boosting productivity.
Prinect's print finishing modules include Compucut and FCS 100. Compucut creates cutting programs for Polar cutters. Compucut generates all the settings from CIP4/JDF files, and loads them into the cutter, boosting productivity by allowing the cutter to operate without interruption. The program also provides a visual display and complete documentation of production and job profiles.
Individual software modules control different machines: Production Data Management PDM software takes production data from folders and saddle-stitchers to the Prinect FCS 100. Compufold Workflow CFW calculates programs for folders and loads settings into the machines, reducing makeready and changeover time. The Compustitch Workflow CSW takes job data from the Prinect Signa Station and calculates settings for the Stitchmaster ST 400 saddle-stitcher, reducing changeover and setup times and avoiding errors.
The new Stitchmaster ST 400 saddlestitcher can accept JDF data; servo motors adjust the mobile feeders to the job formats, and presets can adjust the other settings in the lines. This makes it a very flexible machine with a quick set-up; combine that with a cycle rate of 14,000 per hour, and the ST 400 is suitable for long and short runs.
MAN Roland
MAN Roland's Wohlenberg and Baumann finishing lines have made advances in automation, ease of set up and use and flexibility.
Baumann flow line products are modular, and can be used in-line or off-line. Modularity allows users to configure solutions to their own needs. Pile-hoists, joggers and automatic loaders feature automatic and easy set-up.
Wohlenberg guillotine-style paper cutters are electronically controlled, and support CIP3; full CIP4 and JDF support are pending.
The new Wohlenberg City 4000 perfect binding system, including the Sprinter 7009 gathering machine, the City 4000 perfect binder, conveyer system and Wohlenberg 44FS56 three-knife trimmer can work as a single in-line system, or as separate modules. Automatic feeding stations, digital control panel, central adjustment for the transport channel, speedometer allow easier operation, and it can be set to run up and run down automatically. Production speed is up to 4000 books per hour in a range of formats, page counts, and product thicknesses.
Muller Martini
Muller Martini has responded to the drive to shorter runs and digital printing with its SigmaLine modular book-on-demand software production system.
Sigmaline was designed to reduce makeready times. It recognizes a critical difference in production between digital, on-demand printing and offset printing, a difference that has a fundamental effect on binderies: a digital book is printed in sequence, from the first page to the last, or in some workflows in reverse order, rather than in signatures. SigmaLine software is built to capture data from the PDF file or the JDF format, and set up print finishing from folding to trimming to binding. Muller Martini says books from A6 to A4 format can be produced at up to 1,000 copies per hour.
Muller Martini's new Corona soft-cover adhesive binder system features the new Commander digital control system. With a 15-inch touchscreen monitor mounted on a pivoting support arm for ergonomic placement, it simplifies operation through visual controls. The Commander system also connects to an electronic book measurement system and to a management information system (MIS) that's CIP4/JDF compliant.
The Commander stores complete job-binding information, from book size and hang-out to glue temperature and production speed, and also accepts job data through a USB interface.
The touchscreen presents status of each active station in a graphical display, and allows operators to view production, control and maintain data and correct or change any of the settings.
Muller-Martini's new Frontero front-cut trimmer offers a lot of flexibility. It can handle products with spines up to 19 5/16 inches long and landscape sizes up to A4 for two-up production. Operating at up to 6,000 cycles per hour, it produces gatefolded brochures up to 1 7/16 inches thick in a single pass. Swing cuts enable high-quality trimming: suckers retract the cutter, a bar presses the book block, and then the knife cuts the front; then the suckers release the cover into its original position. Because the upper and lower sucker bars can be switched on and off separately, it can also trim products with only one flap on the front or rear cover, increasing flexibility again.
The Bolero adhesive binder is a mid-range product able to produce books with spines up to 20 1/16 inches (510 mm) at up to 8,000 cycles per hour. This makes it suitable for books, magazines and catalogs, as well as book blocks for casebound books. Book thicknesses can range from clamp openings of 2 mm (1/16 in) up to 80 mm (3 inches).
It can use one-shot or two-shot hot melt glue, cold glue, combined primer two-shot processes or polyurethan (PUR). The Muller Martini VPN spine nozzle for PUR adhesive enables a thin, consistent glue application for flatter laying of an open book. A volumetric glue conveyance and glue circulation system saves on glue and costs, maintaining glue viscosity.
Automation features in the 3693 gathering machine and cover feeder include a barcode control system, resulting in very short makereadies. Muller Martini's new barcode-based Asir 3 control system verifies that books have the right covers.
The Bolero also runs the Commander controller system, which allows job parameters to be entered on a touchscreen or imported through a network in JDF format. Parameters can even be adjusted individually while the job is running.
The new Diamant 30 short-run hardcover perfect binder is designed for the shorter runs that clients demand today. Muller Martini's AMRYS (Automatic MakeReady System) can change over the machine without manual intervention, and even allows fine adjustments during the production run.
To speed makeready, operators can input job sizes and other parameters while the previous job is running, or call up data for repeat jobs from memory using the Commander's touchscreen.
The Esprit three-knife trimmer is designed for high quality output in the lower performance range of 2000 cycles per hour. The smallest three-knife trimmer from Muller Martini, the Esprit is also equipped with the AMRYS automatic makeready system and a touchscreen controls. Maximum trimming thickness is 80 mm, and the system is suitable for a range of products from book blocks to brochures to catalogs and magazines, in small quantities.
Standard Finishing Systems
Standard Finishing Systems has brought JDF to the bindery with its Horizon i2i Bindery Control System. The system can create a saddle-stitching or a perfect-binding job from JDF data, and set up parameters for JDF-compliant folders like the Horizon AFC-744, trimmers, binders like the Horizon CABS4000 perfect-binder and three-knife trimmer, and stitchers, such as Standard's StitchLine 5500. The software also sends production data back to the MIS system for reporting and monitoring.
i2i uses bar-coded job tickets for automated set-up. The software can also save and recall settings for recurring jobs, and includes a scheduling planner and analytic software. It monitors job status and work-in-progress from a central console; it can also be integrated into management information systems (MIS), making data visible to customer service, estimating, production planning, and management.
On the hardware side, Standard's new Horizon HT-30 three-knife trimmer has automated job set-up and quick changeovers, whether it's used with JDF or not. The Horizon HOF-30 high-speed sheet feeder is designed for digital printing, and also features digital control and automation. The Horizon VAC-60 deep-pile suction feed collator is a long-run system equipped with up to six towers and deep bins. A touch-screen control console for operation, programming and monitoring. A graphical interface displays system functions and any errors; a standard remote control system controls all primary locations.
As digital printing is increasingly important in the total graphic arts market, Horizon International collaborated with Xerox to develop a new booklet-making and finishing system, the ColorWords 8000, which works in-line exclusively with the Xerox DocuColor 6060, 7000 and 8000 color printers. The ColorWorks system does booklet-making, scoring, bleed trimming, folding, stitching and stacking.
Based on Standard Horizon's popular ColorWorks 2000 system, the 8000 model runs faster, at 80 pages per minute, applies up to four score lines per sheet, and features a colour touchscreen control.
Kolbus
Kolbus found quick success with a number of new products introduced at DRUPA in 2004 and at Ipex earlier this year. The Publica perfect binding line, which runs at up to 18,000 cycles per hour, is fully automated. The KM 411.E perfect binder features a high level of automation, particularly with the ZU 841.E gathering machine and the HD 153.P three-knife trimmer. This allows for shorter cycle invervals and higher productivity. The entire conveyor system and the data entry are all done from the three-knife trimmer.
Systems Technology (formerly Baldwin-Stobb)
Not all bindery advances are in JDF automation; improvements in reliability, speed and cost are just as important. Systems Technology, Inc. (STI), formerly known as Baldwin-Stobb, brought out its Model 825 compensating stacker for the small newspaper and the small-to-mid size insert printer market. It's smaller than the high-speed STIC-2500, and less expensive as well. Ease and low cost of operation are making it popular.
What's next for finishing?
The Canadian graphic arts industry lags behind the U.S. when it comes to automation of print finishing. However, as Prism Graphic Equipment's Ken Harbin points out, interest is starting to pick up, particularly among the digital printers and digital divisions of the larger conventional printing firms. This includes JDF and CIP4 capability in finishing.
"When it comes to prepress and the pressroom, there's never any question about spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in new, automated technology," Harbin says. Today, businesses are starting to bring that mindset to finishing their customers' print jobs more efficiently, productively and profitably.
In real life, every marriage ends some day. Fifty per cent of marriages end in divorce, and 35 percent with the death of the husband. As a result, on average, women can expect to spend one-third on their adult lives alone.
When death or divorce touches you personally, it can be both an emotional and financial trauma. Thinking of your finances in the midst of grief and pain can be completely overwhelming, especially if your spouse always looked after such matters.
When I do" becomes "I don't."
Of the 50 percent of women who get divorced, only 28 percent will get any kind of ongoing financial support from their ex-husband. At the same time, a recent Gallup poll found that only 26 percent of women have a financial plan. So what's a woman to do?
- First off, separate your emotional state from your financial one. You will have a life after divorce, but it's up to you to make that happen.
- Get your divorce paperwork organized in one place, including your divorce decree and settlement papers. Make several copies of all important papers and keep the originals in a safe deposit box, while ensuring your lawyer has copies as well.
- Take control of your spending by figuring out just how much money you have to live on each month.
- Create a budget by writing down your expenses and find out where your money is going. Credit card bills and bank statements from past years are great guides.
- Don't be careless with money or turn over all your financial decisions to someone else. It's your life, your money and your responsibility.
Heirs to the throne
Success as a parent means taking care of your family. Success as a single parent means sticking to a budget. The grim fact of the matter is that women continue to earn less than men, and are even worse off financially after a divorce - the average woman's standard of living drops significantly in the first year of divorce, while the average man's rises. Another ugly statistic: over a third of women awarded support never see a penny of it!
After a divorce or death, children need to lower their expectations. Going from two incomes to one is a challenge. Children may have a hard time coping with all the changes, but with a little understanding and a lot of love, they'll come to accept their new life on a budget.
Till death do us part
If you're not prepared, the onslaught of paperwork that will hit after your spouse's death may seem overwhelming. Try the following:
- Get a handle on your assets by determining what you have to work with. Records of both your husband's and your own retirement plans, all insurance policies, bank and brokerage accounts and the deed to your house should be kept together in one safe location.
- Obtain your husband's death certificates and make several copies.
- Notify your husband's employer and file for any benefits owed to you, such as pension income, life insurance and health insurance coverage. The company's human resources department should be able to best direct you.
- Alert your husband's life insurance company and file a claim. Your insurance agent should have all the policy information and forms you'll need.
- Contact financial services providers so that joint accounts can be transferred to an account in your name.
- Update your insurance policies but don't make any hasty investing decisions concerning any lump-sum insurance or pension payouts. If possible, place any cash into liquid money market funds in case of unexpected cash outlays.
- Create a budget that works for you. You'll need to decide how to allocate your money and any payouts to satisfy your needs, as well as how to invest your money for retirement, for your children's education, and so on.
- Once all the major financial tasks are taken care of, take time for yourself. Don't be pressured into make big financial decisions when still you're trying to cope.
Your fairy godmother
And as soon as you feel up to it, you might also consider finding an advisor that can help you in the realms of:
- Cash management
- Education funding
- Risk management
- Retirement planning
- Tax planning
- Investment management
- Estate planning
- Special needs
John Exler is an Investment Advisor with RBC Dominion Securities Inc. This article is for information only. Consult with your professional advisor before taking any action.
john.exler@rbc.com
905-895-2949
This 14th annual gathering of sheetfed printers drew over 250 to Chicago June 11-13 to hear leading case studies of print technologies and innovations.
Jointly organized and planned by the Natianal Association for Printing Leadership, the Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation and an advisory board of sheetfed printers, this conclave continues to benefit from new formats and techniques to get attendees involved, while presenting stimulating content to help improve their profitability.
Candid and pointed attendee round table discussions and the four different tracks of production, operations, supervisory excellence and leadership, gave each participant the chance to get specific issues answered and take home actionable new ideas.
To have the same basic equipment and technology run by experienced operators might imply that the total amount of production time to produce an identical printed piece ought to be relatively close. Would 25 percent variation seem outlandish? How about three times the amount of time from most efficient to least? And even five times the range in spoilage? The 2006 sheetfed benchmarking study conducted by PIA/GATF with nearly 40 volunteer print producers, showed a marked improvement over a similar comparison done in 1998, but there were still staggering variations across the spectrum of plant participants.
The participants' profiles were $10-$50 million in sales with 50+ employees and mostly general commercial printers. Each was provided with a CD of the same image either as a PDF or InDesign (their choice) and a press sheet to match. Eighty percent chose PDFs. The 20 percent choosing the native files took the most amount of prepress time to prep files, RIP, trap, image and check plates.
The group averaged 110 minutes total in prepress to process the four-over-four poster imposed to 19" by 25" with the top guns taking about 70 minutes. The laggards took three hours. The 2006 prep throughput was a noticeable improvement over the 138-minute average of 1998 when most participants were handling film rather than CTP output.
There were four different press manufacturer models used, though most were 40" and ranged in age from new to a decade old. Hence, automation varied considerably on the presses chosen by the plant participants. Make ready averaged 60 minutes, which was a 50 percent reduction from 1998. The best performer took 35 minutes while two plants came in at 90 minutes. Each plant was allowed to use any paper and their house inks. Press spoilage averaged 850 sheets for the 1,000-poster press run which was a 30 percent improvement over the 1998 spoilage average of 1,250. The best performers had both low times and low waste.
The total manufacturing time ranged from 120-300 minutes with an average of 180 minutes. Printers using perfector presses performed the best as would be expected. This was a 25 percent improvement over 1998. Dr. Mark Bohan, who coordinated the PIA/GATF study, concluded that a third of the printers had waste issues while another third had prepress issues. Each participant was given a report showing his or her results against the average and the overall range of performance.
The digital press manufacturers should be most giddy over this study, since their entire portfolio of equipment could produce this same job in a fraction of the time of the best litho performer – much less the average offset plant – with a modicum of waste. However, the run length of 1,000 (two-sided) was selected by PIA/GATF to provide a relative benchmark for prepress, press make ready, start up spoilage and to be the least out-of-pocket cost burden to each participant. George Ryan, PIA/GATF Chief Operating Officer, said that the test could be taken by any printer on an ongoing basis to determine overall efficiency. This additional information, in turn, would increase the database, which will make the overall study more statistically significant.
The Director of the Chicago Manufacturing Center, Mr. Larry Gess, discussed the principles of "lean manufacturing." Succinctly stated, lean is "a systematic approach to identifying and eliminating waste or non-value-added activities through continuous improvement by flowing the product at the pull of the customer in pursuit of perfection."
For example, 95 percent of all lead time is non-value-added according to Gess. Further differences are highlighted in this table of assumptions.
A printer in the audience, Terry Remaly, who is Plant Manager of Columbus, Ohio's Hopkins Printing, described their recent successful implementation of lean manufacturing initially in their bindery. Considering the outside consultants to be too expensive and with no experience in the printing industry, his firm of 105 total employees approached the Mechanical Engineering Department at the local Ohio State University for help. Hopkins Printing (hopkinsprinting.com) ended up hiring a recent graduate who implemented lean manufacturing in about six months.
Tina Berg-Boldt, Associate Director of the Graphic Arts Training & Consulting Group (eicc.edu) of Davenport Iowa, offered a primer on "How to 5S your plant." 5S is a proven system of behaviors and activities that prepare and maintain the entire physical plant for lean operations by "simplifying the workplace and making it easier to distinguish wasteful from value-adding elements."
The "Ss" are actually the first letter of a series of Japanese words, where the practice has been perfected. In essence it's comprised of these five segments; 1S) separate/sort & scrap; 2S) straighten out/set in order; 3S) scrub/shine/sweep; 4S) spread & maintain (standardize) throughout the plant; and 5S) systematize and sustain. Berg-Boldt showed before-ond-after photos of plants that followed this structured approach to simplifying and cleaning up each employee's workspace. The result was a visual, safe, uncluttered workplace that allows products to flow on the most direct route through the plant and allows each employee to do his/her job in the most effective way each day.
Key performance indicators measured and monitored by printing profit leaders were presented by Tim Fischer, NAPL's Vice President of Finance & Member Services. Each of the separate functional areas had 4-6 indicators that allowed the management team to watch their "dashboard" to assure that the operation stayed on course. The following chart highlights a few of these tools and the range in which print profit leaders typically fall.
There is an interesting and seeming contradiction between these benchmark performance indicators and those recommended to be followed by the advanced manufacturers of other industries, as defined by the lean manufacturing concept previously described.
At this conference, the Sheetfed Executive of the Year is named. The eleven past executives are certainly a distinguished group of print CEOs. These gentlemen have given their time, served on print trade association boards and have been leaders and role models in their respective communities. Readers of my articles have seen a few names of executives repeatedly sharing their experiences on printer panels for newcomers and competitors alike in the print audience. Based on this key criteria of giving back to the printing industry, no one is more deserving of this honor than John Berthelsen, CEO of Suttle-Straus Printing in Waunakee, Wisconsin, the 2006 Sheetfed Executive of the Year.
While this sheetfed conference has always attracted printing companies larger than the industry average (and therefore presumably more sophisticated in their technology and operations), it's striking how different those operations can be. Capital is relatively easy to come by to purchase the latest technology. But garnering the right mix of skilled employees, good equipment and efficient procedures all synchronized and focused on serving the dynamics needs of a competitive market, seems increasingly difficult. This conference is certainly one that helps any printer solve this three or four dimensional tic-tac-toe puzzle.
C. Clint Bolte & Associates, Chambersburg, PA.
T: 717-263-5768
F: 717-263-8945
E: cbolte3@comcast.net
Photography as an art has never been more exciting or enjoyable. Todays photography enthusiast has many styles, topics, and tools open to them. Plus, the blending of digital with print makes the craft of taking photos very versatile. While it is true that taking photos is as simple as running out and grabbing a cheap five dollar camera, taking good photos has never been easy. So lets explore some quick ideas that can help you take photos that you will be happy to send home.
One subject
In addition to getting one subject, in your photos, you will want to make the background of the photo as simple as possible. Busy, distracting backgrounds pull the attention away from the central theme of your photo. The subject of your photo is absolutely the most important element, and anything that detracts from the subject can ruin your shot.
Get closer
Get a little closer, don't be shy. One of the biggest mistakes most beginning photographers make is shooting from too far away. They leave too much distance between themselves and their subjects. Instead, get up close and personal. Fill up as much of the camera frame, with your subject, as you can. You can always reshape, trim, and resize a good quality shot. But you can't continue to blow up a distant subject and hope that it will come into focus. It just won't happen.
Center of the frame
You want to take your subject out of the exact center of the frame. You do this by using the rule of thirds. Imagine having a camera lens split into 9 equal sized boxes, 3 across and 3 down (like having a tic-tac-toe game printed right on your camera lens). Where those "tic-tac-toe" lines cross, should become the focusing point of your subject, when you are arranging to take your photo.
Focus your shot
Determine what the main subject of the photo will be, and catch that image. Try and find the one key subject, person, or event that accurately portrays the feeling you are trying to capture.
Based on this tip, every time you compose a shot, the main subject of your photo should be located primarily on one of these "third" lines.
Final Thoughts
These are just four very basic tips and strategies to help improve your photos. As you know, photography skills can always be improved. In fact, most professional photographers exhibit a lif
Wide-format multi-function printers (MFP) have come a long way over the last few years. It wasn't long ago that these wide-format products were priced well above $50,000 and were found only in larger companies which were able to justify the cost. But now, you can get these MFP devices for $20,000 or less, and smaller businesses can justify the cost.
What a wide-format MFP does is combine three commonly used devices into an all-in-one solution. They can copy, scan and print in color and black and white up to 44" with products such as the Canon W8400 Copy-to-Scan solution.
You can copy maps, drawings, renderings and photographs for print, file or email, all in a small integrated workspace.
These MFP's have applications for architects, engineers, builders, lawyers, artists, teachers, students, advertisers, interior designers, landscapers, municipal and government planners and more. These MFP products connect easily to any network, and offer great versatility for the entire office.
"In engineering printers/copiers, numerous trends are occurring simultaneously," notes Rich Gigl, vice-president of sales with Novi, MI-based KIP America. "The machines are trending toward a decentralized utilization, with smaller footprints and easier-to-use features.
The quality is improving, size is shrinking, and it's increasingly possible for employees not initiated in the equipment's use, to simply stride up to a machine and begin operation."
Penny Holland, director of business development at OcÈ North America agrees. "It used to be print and distribute," she says, "but now it's more and more distribute and print – that is, the user using the information gets the information and prints what he/she needs when he/she needs it, locally."
New opportunities for repro houses
This distribute and print model means that the customer will now need to place a MFP at their site and reprographic houses are now in the position to undertake facility management for these companies. One option is that repro houses can now place these MFP machines at their customers' sites, and charge for the printing being done at that location. In this way, the customer gets to use the MFP but doesn't have to buy it. They only need to sign a two or three-year contract with their repro house. In this way, the repro house captures the print volume and bills for it accordingly. The larger volume of printing can still be done at the repro shop location.
Cost effective MFP inkjet solutions
Canon W8400 Scan to Copy Solution
This integrated system is ideal for users wishing to archive, email, or copy large-format prints. This product can be incorporated into a variety of markets including CAD, AEC and GIS, and can be used for countless applications such as maps, blueprints, photographs, drawings, court documents, newsprint, etc. Together with the imagePROGRAF W8400, this Scan-Copy-Print Solution can scan to print color or black & white documents up to 44 inches wide at high speeds with great accuracy, at an exceptional value. The imagePROGRAF W8400D with Colortrac Scanning System includes all components necessary to save scanned images to disc in various file formats, distribute them electronically, and copy large drawings quickly and accurately. This is a very robust printer compared to others and is highly recommended.
HP Designjet 820 MFP
The HP Designjet 820 MFP is a complete, self-contained solution that puts a printer, scanner, touch-screen user interface and software all in a single footprint that fits your workspace. Manage large-format documents from scan through print or archive. The HP Designjet 820 MFP handles all functions, or provides network printing to other large-format devices. The MFP offers high resolution for CAD and graphics, and the scanner handles wide-format and thick originals at fast scanning speeds. Even untrained users can easily master operation and immediately scan, print up to 42" wide output, and copy large-format documents by using the graphical touch-screen display and intuitive software.
GEI Colortrac MFP
GEI Wide Format Solutions has teamed with Canon U.S.A. to produce a new Multi-Functional Printer (MFP) specifically designed for AEC, GIS and CAD wide-format color applications. This fully integrated multifunctional system includes a comprehensive suite of software applications that gives the instant ability to create, process and print wide-format color output. The GEI scan-to-copy package can scan, copy and print up to 44" wide in color or black and white output. Designed for CAD, GIS and AEC applications, this system offers unparalleled archiving and printing speeds with two-minute color scanning for D-size documents at 600 dpi. The Canon W8400 printer provides convenient front media loading and supports a wide variety of medias for all applications.
Any questions, feel free to email me!
Peter Dulis - Wide Format Printing Specialist
647-895-3315
pdulis@iprimus.ca
A fellow has been learning to be a balloonist and takes his first solo flight. Unfortunately the wind gets up, he is blown off course and is forced to land. He is in a paddock close to a road but has no idea where he is. He sees a car coming along the road and hails it.
The driver gets out and the balloonist says, "Hello, can you tell me where I am?"
"Yes, of course," says the motorist. "You have just landed in your balloon and with this wind you have obviously been blown off course. You are in the top paddock on John Dawson's farm, 13.5 miles from Birmingham. John will be ploughing the paddock next week and sowing wheat. There is a bull in the paddock. It is behind you and about to attack you."
At that moment the bull reaches the balloonist and tosses him over the fence. Luckily he is unhurt. He gets up, dusts himself off and says to the motorist, "I see you're an accountant."
"Good Grief," says the other man, "you're right. How did you know that?"
"I employ accountants," says the balloonist. "The information you gave me was detailed, precise and accurate. Most of it was useless and it arrived far too late to be of any help!"
What's your greatest complaint about accountants? What's your biggest problem with professionals in general? Is it the language barrier? Is it their bedside manner? Is it them or is it you?
Allow me to do a little navel gazing, and to reflect upon what it is exactly that puts people off professional advisors. In my own practice, I deal primarily with business owners who also manage their businesses. That means they are active, typically type "A" personalities with energy, motivation and determination. That's a lethal combination in business, and I mean that in a good way. If you are a business owner, chances are you know where you're going, you know what you need, and you have a pretty good idea how to get there. The problem is the rules within which we do business are not simple or easy. The environment in which we do business is fraught with hurdles and barriers that keep success just out of arm's reach for many. No plan, no matter how detailed, is immune to Murphy's Law. No matter what you do, there is always the possibility that your business or your industry or your market or the economy can go south on you. That's where I come in.
In the decades that I've been practising (I'm dating myself here), the greatest compliment that I've received from clients over and over again is what they say to me as they leave my office. Time and time again, their words validate my efforts on their behalf.
"I feel so much better now, than when I first got here."
Think about that. They came to see me because they had a problem which was gnawing at them, and there was a need for clarity in an uncertain situation. Sometimes it may just be the objective evaluation of available options, narrowing down the course of action to the least drastic solution that will achieve the objective. Often the objective is to buy time to ride out an economic storm. On many occasions, the value that I can add is simply to listen, to let my clients voice their concerns and help them to the course of action that they intrinsically know is the correct one, but they need corroboration, or they need a perceived authority to validate and confirm that their decision is in fact the best course of action from the available choices.
There are clients whose comfort level rests somewhere on the spectrum from totally risk averse to totally desperate, and understanding one's client's tolerance for risk and need for remedy is the mark of an incisive practitioner. For example, an independently wealthy business owner will likely not want to rock the boat, he'll pay his bills on time, he'll pay all of his tax and more, and he just doesn't want conflict, or what he perceives as "trouble". While, an individual whose business is in trouble, and perhaps compounded by an acrimonious marital split, will be desperate to salvage whatever he can as his economic ship takes on more water. Again, that's where I come, to help by speaking in plain terms so my clients can clearly understand their options, and chose what suits them best given their particular circumstances. There is no right or wrong answer, but there is a best solution. The trick is to help my clients understand the ramifications, cost and benefit, of their actions. By helping my clients to make informed decisions they participate in their own well-being. When my clients understand what they are doing and why they are doing it, they routinely go the course to a successful result. It's only when your clients don't understand, or you as a practitioner expect them to blindly follow your advice without their full co-operation because you haven't explained it to them clearly, that the result will be mediocre at best, and a complete disaster at worst. You need to have a motivated client, someone willing to participate in their own financial well-being, and the mark of a good practitioner (in my opinion), is understanding the client's comfort level and being able to communicate in plain language so the client can understand and therefore come to their own decision, with the practitioner's help.
So don't worry about it, take two aspirins, and call me.
Sid Karmazyn is a Chartered Accountant, author and speaker, who lives and works in York Region. Your comments are welcomed.
T: 905-771-3813
F: 905-771-3810
Graphic arts professionals know that the on-line world of the Web is an indispensable partner of the printed word. Print is undeniably superior to digital media when it comes to portability and readability ó no one likes to read long articles on a screen, and studies prove that most people prefer to print information that they find on the Web on their local printers.
But every magazine has an online companion to do those things that the Web provides better than ink on paper: fast updates and searchability.
Now, Graphic Arts magazine provides the full benefits of both print and electronic delivery, by making every edition of the magazine fully available on-line at www.graphicartsmagazine.com.
Graphic Arts Magazine's web site provides up-to-date news, reviews, new product announcements from leading suppliers to the industry ó in short, the information graphic arts professionals and businesses need to stay current and competitive.
With the complete current print issue available online, GraphicArtsMagazine.com also offers previews of the main feature article of the coming edition and upcoming columns from our industry-leading analysts and commentators.
Up to date
GraphicArtsMagazine online is more than just an HTML version of the print magazine: it also provides a weekly scan of the news and announcements important to the Canadian printing, print finishing, publishing, advertising and design industry. You can view a summary of news or more in-depth articles on developments; Advertisements from Graphic Arts magazine sponsors will take you to up-to-the-minute announcements and promotions ó information that can boost your productivity and efficiency, save you money and keep you current with the latest technology updates.
Information and ideas for professionals
Graphic Arts magazine readers love our columnists ó they know how valuable the ideas and information they write can be. That's why they're an integral part of the graphicartsmagazine.com website; the full columns are available for quick read on screen.
A vault of information
Looking for that tip from months back? Under "issues" in the Main Menu, you can click through to our previous editions' news, features and columns. The whole edition is there, available for reading, searching and printing at your convenience.
About us
Looking for more information about the magazine, its staff, its writers and its plans? You can find our Media Kit, Editorial Calendar and full contact information on-line, as well.
And if you're looking to advertise in Graphic Arts or in GraphicArtsMagazine.com, you'll find all the information on rates and specifications you'll need online, as well.
A digital companion
The Web can never replace print ó we all know that. But print and digital media are now integrated. GraphicArtsMagazine.com not only gives you a new way to access the information, ideas and tips you need, it will also explore new ways of using the technology of the Web to complement print communication. Look for upcoming forums and web discussions on the most crucial issues in graphic communications today.
We hope you'll join us in this exploration of communication technology.
Set your browser to GraphicArtsMag.com!
There are a lot of mergers happening in the industry this summer, amongst them Annan & Bird as well as Weyerhauser Fine Paper.
Congratulations to Jack Bird and his sons, David and John, on the sale of their company, Annan & Bird Lithographers, to the US publicly traded company Consolidated Graphics. After starting in 1987, they have grown a very successful business. Their hard work has paid off.
As for Weyerhauser Fine Paper, it has agreed to a merger with Domtar Inc. The new company will be known as Domtar and its head office will remain in Montreal.
Once you get the kids back to school and are back into the fall season, there are a few events happening in the Toronto area: first, the Consac Sign Associations Annual show at the Toronto Congress Centre, September 15 and 16. For free on-line registration, go to www.sac-ace.ca/consac and enter exhibitor code 647. Also check out Heidelberg's Open House on Thursday, September 28. For more information phone 1-800-363-4800 or go to their website, www.heidelberg.com
And as we move through the fall, we head into show season. Graph Expo will be running in Chicago from October 15-18. As well, Graphic Arts magazine will be at Print World in Toronto, from November 18-20. We hope to see you at both shows.
Scott Bury interviewed people in the industry who are involved in bindery and print finishing. You can read this feature article on page 20.
Until next time, enjoy the last bit of summer and stay positive.
OK, I admit it. I submitted this article late. Not just half an hour late - I'm talking a couple of days here.
I'm talking a few e-mails flying in from our wonderful editor asking "Are you sending an article in?" I'm talking about writing an article after hours! So now here I am, on my deck enjoying a (cool) not-quite-summer breeze, wondering just how I ended up letting this article slip by.
Ahh, the art of procrastination - that's one thing that many people know well! "I'll do it tonight" turns into "I'll get up early tomorrow morning and do it," which turns into "I'll do it over the weekend." Finally, we end up staying at the office late, or at the kitchen table until 3 am, or flying through our notes on the way to a presentation - you get the idea.
I spoke to a few colleagues regarding this procrastination thing, and apparently I'm not the only one who has lateness issues. Now, to give myself some credit here, I do consider myself to be a fairly organized individual (perhaps if you saw my desk you may not agree, but it is organized to me!).
Generally speaking though, I meet my commitments, do things when I say I will, and (in a rather liberal sense of the word, I'll admit) get things done ahead of time. To put it simply, there are people who get to the airport an hour early and people who screech in at the last possible second. I get there an hour early.
However, occasionally there are things that slip through the cracks, and I'm sure that as you're reading this, you're likely agreeing. Have you ever missed out on a potentially lucrative job because you didn't get the quote to the client on time? As far as production goes, it's imperative in this business to get jobs done on time. Procrastinating on a client's job is simply unacceptable - yet I've had numerous new clients walk through our doors complaining that their last printer did not respect deadlines. I've also severed relations with suppliers who showed a consistent lack of respect for requirement dates.
So, what can we (myself included) do to cut back on missed deadlines? It seems to me that it's a question of time management. The number one thing that comes to mind for me (in my boss's voice nonetheless!) is "Write it down!"
To-do lists, production tables, agendas, day-timers - whatever works for you. Keeping a list and checking off goals as they're accomplished, helps us to organize our days. Keeping an agenda and making notes of special dates and timelines helps us to schedule things in advance. Ask yourself what works for you.
If you're a visual person, consider a desktop planner or a calendar that you can put up on the wall. If it's in your line of vision, you'll be more apt to remember to look at it. If you travel a lot, consider a small agenda that you can take with you - or if you're technically oriented, an electronic scheduler.
Good time management is another essential. Try writing down everything you do over the course of a day to see where your time is being lost. Are you a serial e-mail checker? Try to set certain times to check your mail, such as every hour on the hour (unless of course, you're waiting for something important!).
Do you start new projects before completing the old ones? Try to finish one thing before tackling another - it often only takes a few extra minutes! Are you a morning person or a night owl? If possible, try to work your schedule around your own internal clock - such as completing tedious tasks after hours, or getting up early to get a jumpstart on your day.
As far as clients go, always, always, respect the dates that you give your customers. If something will be late due to a problem out of your control, such as a paper order gone awry or a press problem, simply pick up the phone and let the customer know. They will be much happier to learn the day before that their job is running slightly behind schedule, than if you wait until the day it was supposed to be done to tell them that it's late.
Unfortunately, things do happen that are outside of our control. Look upon these as opportunities to show your client how much you care. Take control of the situation and do everything in your power to respect the deadline - and if this means using a different stock (with client's approval), offering alternative solutions (i.e. providing a partial order or using a different finishing method), staying after hours, or offering a discount, then so be it. Avoiding phone calls is never the right choice.
As for me, I'm going to make a conscious effort to plan my days every morning, make note of due dates and important events in my agenda, and try not to let anything slip through the cracks. I'll let you know how my efforts goÖand will have next month's article completed on time (I promise, Joe and Maureen!).
I would love to hear your thoughts on meeting deadlines and scheduling your time, as I will continue this subject in the coming months. Please e-mail me at jbrooks@derygroup.com
MPR Communication is a design and print company located in Lachine, Quebec. Jasmine Brooks is MPR's Project Coordinator.
E: jbrooks@mprcommunication.com
Q. I often cannot read my email in the Mail application. The message is missing or it says "Message has not been downloaded from the server" It's fine if I restart Mail. What's going on?
A. The most likely case is that your Mail applications mail box (mbox) is too big. With the early versions of Mail the limit was around 1 GB and with the current version 2 it's around 2 GB. Apple suggests that you choose Rebuild from the Mailbox menu. But wait! This sometimes will result in NO messages. The messages are not gone – the application may be confused.
First you can try to reindex the messages. Go to your home folder's Library folder. There you'll see a folder called Mail. That's where the Mail.app stores your own mail. In the Mail folder you see a file starting with "Mac-", "Exchange-", "IMAP-" or "POP-" and inside them you'll see Inbox.mbox, Sent.mbox which are the actual files that contain your mail (they have the same name as what you see in the Mail.app.).
To fix your problem move the folders (or the mbox) file to your Desktop. When you re-open Mail it will re-index your messages if you're on an Exchange, IMAP or .Mac mail system. If you're using a POP account, Mail will make a new empty Inbox file (if that's the one you've moved.). Then you can choose Import from the File menu. Select import as Mail for Mac OS X and point to the problematic mailbox. In this case you'll find your old messages in a folder called Import in mail.
Q. I can't print because my printer is stopped. I checked the printer and looked at it in Print Utility and I can see it. What can I do to get it going again?
A. This is a pretty common problem because the built-in print managing software prompts you to "Stop" the queue if there's a problem. Most users click the Stop button with out realizing that they need to start the queue once the problem is solved.
When you set up a printer on the Mac, you're actually creating a print queue. This is a special folder that stores the file the Mac sends to the printer. When the Mac has a problem printing because of a communication error or paper jam, it stops the print queue.
To start the printer queue back up again you can go to the Printer Setup Utility or Print & Fax (Applications/Utilities/Print Setup Utility or from System Preferences -> Print & Fax). From Print & Fax, highlight the printer click Print Queue. From Printer Setup Utility double click the printer's name. (You might have to choose Show Printer List from the View menu). In the printer's window simply click Start Jobs.
By the way, while the printer queue is open, click and hold the icon in the Dock and choose Keep in Dock so you can find the printer easily next time. You can also choose Create Desktop Printer if you prefer, from the Printer List in Printer Setup Utility.
Timothy Mitra assists companies in mastering information technology in pre-press, print and web design.
Do you have a question you would like answered by the IT guy? Please contact him at:
E: tim@it-guy.com
C: 416-278-8609
You've heard of the ancient Chinese curse that goes "May you live in interesting times."
The financial pages are showing the result on the graphic arts industry of some of the more interesting developments of our times. The sudden and dramatic increase in oil prices has caused suppliers like Agfa, Kodak and Fujifilm to raise prices on key inputs and chemicals derived from oil. This is a result, partly, of tensions in the Middle East and the closure of a leaky pipeline in Alaska. However, the long-term cause of the increase in prices is a long-term significant increase in demand for energy from the rapidly industrializing economies of India and China.
The paper industry continues its consolidation drive: on August 23, Domtar and Weyerhauser announced a merger of their freesheet businesses. The new entity will be called Domtar and its head office will be in Montreal, but its "operations headquarters" ó whatever that means ó will be in South Carolina.
Aluminum prices have also risen recently a third in recent months; Alcan, the world's second-largest producer, reported that prices for its smelters' product have risen by a third in the past year. The reason is increased demand from manufacturers of aircraft and building materials, especially in China. China alone now consumes 28 percent of the world's total aluminum output, according to the National Post. Demand is expected to rise more than supply, forcing up prices yet more.
This is good news for aluminum producers ó Alcan doubled its profit in the second quarter over the first, and increased its share dividend from 15 cents US to 20 cents. Oil producers are also reporting record profits.
But what will that mean for the printers? Higher prices for their major supplies. Granted, the oil and metals producers, now flush with cash, will probably want to buy some more printing; expect some spectacular annual reports from these companies next year. But dramatically higher prices will put yet more pressure on the bottom line. Our comparative quotes earlier this year showed that Canadian printers already have very low prices compared to competitors in China and India. Can they continue to offer these low prices, or will more printers start to raise prices to cover their increased costs? Where can they find a relief to this pressure?
Let's throw in the rising Canadian dollar: input costs are mitigated, but exporting printing products and services isn't as competitive anymore. Imports are cheaper, too. What does all this add up to?
Very interesting times, indeed.
When a job leaves the bindery and is shipped to the customer, this usually triggers the archive of the job. The job is moved from the main server and burned to DVD. This is a manual task performed by a responsible person on a daily basis. Right now, can you backup your entire server in one day? Do you have a person dedicated to moving tapes in and out of an autoloader that you have outgrown? If you've been backing up with DLT, DDS or AIT for the last few years, it's time to look at the better technologies available.
Manual backup is risky business and automation is now more affordable and fast. By using automation software, scripting, scheduling and current backup software, the backup routine can be customized for your workflow to ensure proper backup every time. The new backup products available today give print production much more flexiblity and more backup for their buck.
The VXA Tape technology and the LTO Ultrium are both available from EXABYTE. Both tape technologies have multiple manufacturers working together to create standards for tape and drive compatiblity.
The Exabyte VXA-320 PacketLoader 1x10 1U sets the standard in data density, data reliability, transfer speed and price for this class of automation product. In addition to its compact 1U rackmountable form factor, it offers a midrange feature set, including a barcode reader standard, random library operation and standard remote management. Plus, it's the only 1U autoloader with a field-replaceable drive. The VXA-320 PacketLoader 1U offers dramatically higher data reliability than comparable tape automation due to its ground-breaking VXA Packet Technology.
The Exabyte people have been demonstrating their VXA tape durability by freezing tapes, boiling tapes and yes, dropping them in a cup of coffee. Then they restore the data from the tapes. I guess their cleaning tapes take care of any leftover coffee inside the PacketLoader. These tapes are Advance Metal Evaporated (AME) tape. They have a 30-year shelf life with typical usage life of 500 compared to 100 uses with DDS and AIT Metal Particle (MP) tape.
How does this Packet Technology work? The VXA Packet Technology writes and reads data in small, digital packets, much like the Internet. This is a significant difference from all other tape technologies which rely on costly and expensive track-based technologies. With their trademark Perfect Write and Error Correction, these tapes are up to 180x more likely to restore, even from a damaged tape! The transfer speeds (up to 43 GB per hour) allows a backup of 160 GB of data (equal to one VXA-2 tape) in under four hours. The drive will support smaller tapes available in three different cartridge capacities (20/40GB, 40/80 GB and 80/160 GB). For less than $3,000, you get backup automation for 1.6 TB (3.2 TB with full compression) with tapes costing approximately 25¢ per GB.
The Ultrium format is the high-capacity, single-reel implementation of LTO (Linear Tape Open) Technology. It's ideally suited for backup, restore and archive applications and provides excellent performance and reliability in both stand-alone and automated environments. Drives are manufactured by IBM, HP, Quantum and there are many tape manufactures.
An Exabyte Magnum 224 Ultrium LTO-3 Autochanger with 12 x 400GB tapes (800GB with compression) has a capacity of 4.8 TB (9.6 TB compressed) and has a transfer rate of 288 GB/hr and up to 576 GB/hr with compression. It comes with a bar code reader, and the plus model comes with remote management. The LTO-3 version also supports the WORM (Write Once, Read Many) for data that needs to be non-erasable and non-rewritable. This uses special tapes. WORM supports the long-term retention of data required by many regulatory bodies worldwide. With this setup, you can back up a 2.8 TB server in 10 hours. This package will set you back approximately $7,400 and the tape cost is about 25¢ per GB.
So, if you're taking more than one day to backup your server, you should be looking at new technology. A server carrying 500 GBs of data online could benefit from the VXA Packet Technology. For servers that are larger (over 750 GB), the LTO-3 capacity will be a better choice. Automation is available on all platforms and there is always a way to use your tools at hand to create an automated workflow in all areas of your business.
Andrea Mahoney
TriBay Enterprise
T: 416.729-9687
E: andrea@autoflowforprepress.ca
"What if I could show you how you could save money? Would that be of interest to you?"
"What if I told you that you could capture more market share? Would you like to hear how we can help you do this?"
"What if our system saved you time? Would that be of value to you?"
"What if I matched our competitor's price? Would you buy it?"
What if you were a buyer who heard one of these lines? Would you feel compelled to buy from that person? I highly doubt it.
Manipulative selling techniques are seldom effective when it comes to dealing with customer objections and they really have no place in the world of professional selling. Even though it's an old and tired approach, I encounter salespeople who think that the "What if" method of overcoming objections is still effective.
The real key is to address your prospect's objections during the sales process. This means asking the right questions early in the sales process and positioning your product, service or solution so that you answer their objections before they express them.
It's fair to say that many people will have objections about buying your product, and the most effective way to get past this is to uncover what their true concerns are before you start talking about your solution. This means that you need to invest time asking questions to learn more about their particular situation. It really doesn't matter what you sell; this is a critical aspect of successful selling.
You need to ask high-quality questions that make your customer or prospect think. This may sound easy but in reality, it's actually very difficult because thought-provoking questions are tough to ask. Many salespeople perceive these types of questions as personal and often think that their customers and prospects will not be willing to respond to them.
What's important to remember is that most business people, especially senior executives, ask tough questions and as a result have little or no hesitation in responding to them. In fact, their level of respect for you will increase when you pose challenging questions. I'm not suggesting that you challenge your prospect; I'm simply recommending that you learn to ask high-level questions.
Here are some examples of thought-provoking, high-level questions:
- What are your goals in the next 6-12 months?
- How do you plan to achieve these goals?
- What challenges are you experiencing in reaching these goals?
One of the challenges salespeople have in asking these types of questions is that they can't always anticipate the answer – which means they don't have an immediate response available. But that's not the objective. Your goal is to find out what problems your prospect is facing. Then, assuming your product or service can help them, you can position the solution more effectively.
You need to develop the courage to ask difficult questions; questions that you may not feel comfortable posing. This means that you should practise asking these questions before you actually meet with your prospect. I remember a sales meeting with a new prospect, and as the meeting drew to a close, I had one question that I was very uncomfortable asking. Fortunately, I had rehearsed this question before the meeting, so I took the leap and presented it to my prospect. There was a long silence afterwards but I remained silent. After a few moments, my prospect responded and gave me the additional information I needed to move the sale forward. Had I not asked that particular question, I would have developed a proposal that would not have addressed their specific needs and situation. And I probably would have lost the sale.
That was a huge learning experience and it taught me the importance of rehearsing and verbally stating the questions I wanted to ask. As I reflected on this conversation, I realized that I could have posed this same question with other prospects in the past and achieved different results.
Let's face it. Your customers and buyers are much more sophisticated than ever before and in all likelihood they have heard every line similar to this. And they despise people who use tired and traditional lines or manipulative approaches.
If you've been selling for any period of time, you know that most people express certain objections about making a buying decision. In fact, you probably hear similar objections on a regular basis. Most sales are closed because your customer sees the value in your product or service, or because you have established yourself as an expert who can help them solve a problem.
Asking, "What if I could" is not an effective approach. It's old. It's tired. And it seldom works.
Kelley Robertson, President of the Robertson Training Group, works with businesses to increase their sales and motivate their employees.
www.RobertsonTrainingGroup.com
The Western World faces a dramatic shift in the constitution of our workforce. Throughout the 20th century, declining fertility and increasing life expectancy dramatically raised both the median age of our populations and the number of workers who are retirement-bound. Projections indicate that nearly 25% of the U.S. population will be eligible for retirement by 2025; for Canada, the percentage is 28%; and for many European countries it is more than 30%.Moreover, the people turning 60 in 2006 belong to the front ranks of the Baby Boomersóthose born during a period of elevated fertility after World War II between 1946 and 1964. Yet the workforce coming up behind them, called Generation Xópeople born between 1965 and 1981ówill number only about 58% of the presently available work pool. So as the Baby Boomers retire, a lot fewer people will be available to work.
These demographics of a shrinking workforce are expected to alter business employment practices significantly. One adaptation already well under way is the abolition of mandatory retirement to keep mature workers in the workforce longer. So far the U.S. retirement age has been raised to 67 for those born after 1960, and it is expected to be raised again, probably until it reaches age 70. In Canada in December 2005 Ontario was the latest to join the majority of the countryís 13 provinces and territories in legally enacting a partial or complete ban on mandatory retirement. And by this year all 15 European Union member countries will be required to introduce legislation prohibiting employment discrimination on the grounds of age.
While at this point in history necessity may be driving the workplace towards greater balance in the age of employees, it has actually always been in the workplaceís best interest to retain its mature workers while cultivating the job skills of the younger generation.
Respect Experience
Incredibly, age bias is still prevalent enough that too many consultants suggest their older job candidates dock all but the last 10 or 15 years of experience off their resumÈ. Supposedly, this dubious tactic fools employers into thinking applicants are younger and therefore granting them interviews and a shot at offsetting any age concerns by extolling their potential contributions. But does anyone seriously think the interviewer is not going to notice the candidateís mature appearance in the first 30 seconds and potentially feel duped?
Alternatively, at PrintLink we advocate a complete and inclusive resumÈ because it reveals mature candidatesí hard-earned depth of experience and professional credibility. We also do not screen candidates for specific positions on the basis of their age--but rather their qualifications, experience, and total fit for the job and the company. We do this because in every case our primary concern is to help clients hire the best person for their requirements. So even in instances where a specific age range may be among the hiring criteria, we will still introduce the staffing manager to qualified candidates who fall outside that age range, rather than let the client miss out on hiring a prime candidate.
Many hiring managers are increasingly aware of the benefits of mature workers. Studies show their assets include equal productivity to younger workers, superior experience, a stronger work ethic, and reliabilityóboth in terms of taking less time off for emergencies common to young families and of less frequent turnover. And the best older workers possess refinements, including adaptive techniques, people skills, and a level of emotional stability, that require years to develop. Additionally, older employees are less likely to job hop. They are more likely to stay with a job for the balance of the years they wish to work. Younger employees, on the other hand, are looking for career advancement, and unless your company can provide it, they will likely move on in the very short term.
As the worker shortage escalates, governments and companies are increasingly expected to adjust their retention, recruitment, and management policies and practices to include older workers as never before. Already business leaders are devising strategies such as ìphased retirementî and ìretirees on callî that allow their companies to retain employees who are past retirement age in their current positions either part-time or as on-call consultants. Such programs allow older workers to continue contributing their invaluable experience and coaching expertise to the economy. Major companies, including Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and McDonalds, are leading the charge to hire older personnel as well as young people. But have these progressive practices taken hold in the printing and graphic industry? Maybe not yet.
Next monthís column continues the discussion of age-blended workforces.
Victoria Gaitskell is a placement specialist with PrintLink, a professional placement firm for the graphic communications industry.
T: 1 877 413-2600
E: vgaitskell@printlink.com