Pick up a Swiss Army knife and what do you have? A tool that will do just about anything you want. In addition to the main blade, you can get a smaller second blade, tweezers, a toothpick, a corkscrew, a can opener, a bottle opener, slotted/flat-head screwdriver(s), a Phillips-head screwdriver, a nail file, scissors, a saw, a file, a hook, a magnifying glass, a ballpoint pen, a fish scaler, a hex wrench with bits, pliers and a key chain. Recent additions include USB flash drives, a digital clock, a digital altimeter, an LED light, a laser pointer and an MP3 player. What else do you really need?

This month I talked with Ruben Silva, director of Agfa Graphic Systems Canada, to find out how the company is gearing up for the new year and what Agfa is doing to stay ahead of the game in a changing industry.

K: I noticed that Agfa didn’t participate in the recent Graphics Canada show this year; can you tell me what some of the reasons for that decision were?

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.

Could now be the right time to invest in cutting-edge equipment that will set you ahead of your competitors and win business? Learn from some successful trade printers who did it, and made it work.

Recently at the Graphics Canada show, I had the opportunity to attend a special panel discussion about why now could be a good time to buy an offset press. There weren’t many people sitting with me in the audience, and I’m sure we all know why: right now, the last thing on many people’s minds is making a huge investment like an offset press.

Here’s a brief month-by-month summary of some of the more notable highlights and lowlights of 2009. In general, print shipments and exports were down each month, often in double digits. But there was some good news too.

JANUARY

• Toronto’s ReproArt went big with HP, installing five new presses. • VistaPrint boasted a revenue increase of 32 per cent over the same second-quarter period last year.

As Charles Dickens said in the famous classic A Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” It is now official that Canada is out of the recession. This is great news, and we must be grateful that we are still in the game. There are tough lessons to be learned from 2009, but tough times help us learn and grow.

“What are some good iPhone apps?”

As many of you may know, two additional cell phone carriers have acquired the rights to the iPhone in Canada. Previous to this, only Rogers customers were able to purchase the device. Given that I’m tied into a contract with Telus, I missed out. Of course, because I’m mildly obsessed with Apple products, I went out and bought an iPod Touch to make myself feel better.