All things considered, now is a very good time to invest in capital equipment in Canada.
With the flat economy still adversely affecting the graphic arts sector, key industry organizations have ramped-up their activities to promote and advance the causes of Canadian printers. I spoke to Bob Elliott, President of the Canadian Printing Industries Association (CPIA), to get an update on what his organization is doing.
Panelists included: Sue Britton, vice-president, Pareto; Vijay Saxena, marketing manager, Graphics Communications & Professional Colour Solutions, Xerox Canada; Tony Karg, Sr. director of business development & marketing, Fujifilm; and Maura Hanley, president, BigReach Learning. Moderator Doug Picklyk, DIA's technical committee chair, fielded questions.
The traditional textile market produced over $43 billion in worldwide billings last year, apparel textiles made up the largest portion of that amount at almost 90 percent of the total. Also included in this number are automotive trimmings and carpets, according to a recent I.T. Strategies report. The digital garment printing industry is starting to make its stamp upon this industry, with significant growth in recent years. And it looks like its set to grow even further in the future.
Ink tack is a crucial aspect in the printing process that needs to be constantly monitored for quality control. When we talk about ink tack, it refers to the stickiness of ink or the force required in splitting an ink film from one surface to another. Proper ink tack needs to be achieved in order for the ink film to transfer from the ink train to the printing units and onto the printed substrate. It is important to understand the factors that affect ink tack and this will provide us better insight into tack-related problems and how they can be solved.
As our economy is more dependent than ever upon intellectual capital (versus physical buildings or machines), the role of continuous education and training is all the more relevant and necessary to succeed in today's business world.
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Welcome to the (sometimes complex and intimidating) world of Management Information Systems (MIS) for the graphic arts industry! With so many options to choose from (and so much techo-babble to wade through), it can be difficult to narrow down the features and benefits of each system's offerings. Today's examination of four MIS providers includes HIFLEX, Avanti, EFI and Prism. This is meant to be a brief overview of each company's product and their capabilities. The focus is on the products' unique position in the marketplace, and not a comprehensive examination of each system. Although I can provide a concise explanation of each solution, I cannot do any company justice in one article. Therefore, there is a web address beside each explanation where you can find a great deal more information about all of the solutions available.
Webinars have become a low-cost way for people and companies to promote their products and services. In addition to using them frequently in the last year, I have also attended many webinars on a variety of topics. However, I have noticed that many webinar organizers, hosts and panelists, create a variety of mistakes that reduce the effectiveness of their program.
This is your official content warning: this magazine issue contains articles with numbers and mathematical language. Reader patience is advised! To redeem ourselves, this month's lead article, Capital Investment by Chris Smyth, is the result of many requests from readers like yourself for a how-to about the math. In particular, Smyth addresses methods for deciding if you should invest in new equipment. Further, he takes you through different avenues of financing if you have made the decision to buy. Presenting the advice of practitioner Sonya Kopecky Duffand, a key account manager at SL Financial Services Canada and academic Dr. Goss, Professor at Ryerson (who in fact is a GCM graduate with roots in the industry—and my old finance professor, but that's clearly a tangent!) Continuing in the vain of equipment and money, monthly columnist Diana Brown discusses a few options for Management Information Systems (MIS). There are of course many more companies delivering MIS solutions, however these are highly specialized for the printer and worth investigating.
At press time, a federal election was imminent. Well, here's the good news: banners, lawn signs and flyers will need to be printed. The possible bad news is that an election may see a delay in the extension (to Dec. 31, 2013) of the Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance (ACCA) which was to be included in the federal budget. "We have been asking the Conservative government to extend the ACCA.....and are extremely pleased that this has been granted," says Bob Elliott, CPIA President. "However the threat of a federal election.....would potentially put this concession in jeopardy."