This year’s Graphics Canada show at the Toronto International Centre, although smaller than usual, offered a lot of great value to both visitors and exhibitors. Although some exhibitors seemed apprehensive about what the show’s turn-out would be like, most people agreed that the attendance was better than expected. It was great to see a lot of the familiar faces of the Canadian printing industry, but also the new faces of many eager students.
When creating automated workflows, the tools you choose should have features that allow you to grow in any direction you want. Opening software up to third-party developers ensures variety, creativity and the ability to choose. There is a long list of third-party plugins created for FullSWITCH and PowerSWITCH offering extensive flexibility to customize workflows. One of these plugins is Quite Hot Imposing.
Most commercial printers print on paper. Seems simple and straightforward until one thinks about the different kinds of paper: coated and uncoated free sheet; coated and uncoated groundwood; newsprint. Even within each category there are gradations of quality, basis weight and brightness. It’s not so simple anymore.
Still sticking with offset, unusual but increasingly common substrates include folding carton and paperboard, card stock, plastic and lenticular. When there is a need for more specialized jobs, one normally thinks of flexo presses for flexible films and screen print for just about everything else.
All of us are familiar with barcodes. We see them everyday being scanned by cashiers as we make our purchases in a shop or supermarket. Originally, barcodes were created to automate the process of checking-out items from grocery stores, making it easier to keep track of the inventory. The traditional barcode uses vertical lines and spaces to encode data and is referred to as a linear or one-dimensional barcode. Today, these barcodes are very common and are used worldwide to encode information.
For more than 12 years, Oakville-based Norprint Corp. has been one of Canada’s top niche marketing success stories. Now, with new ownership, the company is poised to set an even higher standard worldwide.
The Print Supply Chain
Designers and consumers are more aware of the environmental issues surrounding them. A survey of 326 graphic design, marketing and advertising professionals by Monadnock paper company, discovered that a very high majority (84%) felt that sustainability as a design factor is increasing. And, nearly the same number believe that sustainable choices have a direct positive impact on the environment. These are the folks who imagine, create and specify printed products.
The current global economic situation makes an article on workflow flexibility both timely and relevant. We have all heard, feared and lived through some tough times lately, and there seems to be no shortage of bleak stories affecting everyone in some capacity or another.
In a recent presentation entitled “Profiling the Economy and Print 2009-2010,” Dr. Ronnie Davis, vice-president and chief economist for the Printing Industries of America, reported that the annual rate of change for ink-on-paper in the U.S. was down by 6% in 2008, while total printing shipments declined 4.5%. While Dr. Davis predicts a small increase in the latter half of 2009 and through 2010, the growth is likely to be slower than we have seen previously, and Dr. Davis suggests that recovery for the printing industry will be somewhat slower than the overall economic recovery. With predictions like this, the necessity to become more efficient, leaner and profitable is paramount.
Niche markets have allowed printers to define areas of specialization where they can succeed, even in tough economic conditions. While no one enjoys the challenges of today’s economy, a slow time is the right time to re-evaluate your company’s business strategy. After all, in busy times, when orders are coming through the door fast and furious, and you are working overtime to meet deadlines, who has the luxury of free time to do the planning required to successfully launch into new markets?
Planning for perfect-binding crossovers is part art and part science. In addition to grinding 1/8-inch off the signature spine, accurate crossovers depend on your layout and how the books are opened.
For maximum operator flexibility, place your crossover images 3/16-inch from the spine edge. Your crossover should appear to meet right at the spine. To achieve this effect, strip your copy 1/16-inch short of the grind-off area. If your book is thick or is printed on heavy paper, nudge the image outward, perhaps another 1/32-inch.Until the 1990s, sheetfed printers had little opportunity to sell products with remoistenable glue. Today, short-run remoistenable glue jobs are practical because current machines yield high-quality jobs at good production rates.
Both sheetfed and non-heatset web printers can now produce products with direct response reply devices and participate in profitable direct-mail campaigns.