Should we recycle our paper?

29 02 2016

Paul I can hardly believe that Xmas has come and gone and Summer is all but over.

Being in sales, and in particular the print industry, means that you come into contact with just about every sector of the market. The print industry may have shrunk – but it still touches every business that I know of in some respect.

Last year proved to be a very successful year for us. We managed to more than double the modest 2014 sales total and we are off to a cracking start for 2016. Mike and I are now the Dunedin Branch (as opposed to a franchise) and we are looking forward to a lot of positive changes during 2016.

Keeping it Green

green_banner We have noticed an increase in our customer requests for information about recycled paper. Most are surprised when we explain the answer to going green is not always as easy as just buying paper that is marketed as recycled.

Over the last decade obvious climate change and pollution levels have seen a growing awareness of our environment and the impact we have on it. My teenagers know a lot more about conservation than I did when I was 30.

Recycling paper became very popular in the 1980’s with the first recycled “fine papers” becoming readily available in the market around that time. These papers were used for letterheads, business cards and other office stationery. Prior to this recycling was mainly used only for downgraded products e.g. fine paper would be recycled into kleen-saks, brown paper bags and packaging. New technology allowed fine papers to be recycled back into fine papers. Sometimes rags and cloth fibers would be added to give a visually “recycled” look.

As a young sales rep in the 1980’s I thought that recycling would really take off. Especially with my “hippy” customers.

In those days I literally sold tons of “lineflo” for dot matrix printers (now almost made extinct by laser photocopiers). Many of my customers showed extreme interest in the slightly creamier recycled lineflo when it was first introduced……………that was until they saw the price of recycled products.

In the 198o’s and 90’s recycled paper was a flop due to the comparative high cost .

Fast forward to the last decade. Opinions in the print and paper industry are divided as to whether recycling is actually good or bad for the environment. Even last year there was a fairly heated bit of banter in one of the leading printing industry magazines between the opposing factions.

Carbon Sequestrationers

In the blue corner we have those that believe that the best way of handling paper is simply to bury it. cellulose-aerogel-1

Simplistically, the contention is that it takes more energy and creates more pollution to recycle paper than it saves -when you take into consideration all of the energy required to de-ink, clean, pulp and then reform the paper (there is a substantial amount water, chemicals and energy in the way of heat, transport, power and by-products used to achieve this).

If we simply bury all waste paper this prevents it from being burnt and thus carbon entering the atmosphere. I guess it would eventually end up as coal and petrol after a few hundred millennium buried underground, although by that time we will probably not require fossil fuels or even be on this planet. We may have set off for greener pastures.

Proponents of burying paper waste tend to be also more focused on where our paper comes from. They advocate the “chain of custody” method – where emphasis is on providing managed forests specifically planted, grown and managed for the production of paper. This makes a lot of sense as it protects against deforestation which arguably causes more damage and climate change than pollution.

Recyclers

In the red corner we have the Recyclers. Very simplistically Recyclers believe that the energy required to grow trees, harvest them and manufacture in paper mills is too great and should be reduced by recycling paper. Less virgin paper production also equals more trees.

The newer generations of buyers and organisation leaders are willing to sacrifice brilliant whites for their branding – which paves the way for less processing and for the use of rapid growing plants such as hemp – to be considered for paper production . Great advanced are being made with the production of hemp and recycled pulp papers. Hemp can provide long fibers that can be mixed with short fibers (from recycled pulp for example) to produce high quality paper for a fraction of the energy and water cost of virgin wood pulp paper.

Hemp can be used as a rapid growth paper source

Is our paper green now anyway?

The printing industry has come a long way in the last 20 years. Printing was one of the dirtiest/polluting industries just a few decades ago. The printing industry has really put a lot of energy and effort into cleaning up its act and, compared to many other industries, it can now claim to be one of the most environmentally conscious.

Highly toxic heavy minerals and dioxins were used in ink manufacture. Almost all have now been replaced by vegetable dyes and water based inks. Bleaches, chlorine and corrosive chemicals used for paper whitening have been replaced with oxygenating techniques and newer technologies.

Most paper forests are now managed tightly with only a few rogue nations needing to be pulled into line to prevent deforestation continuing.

The theory of “managed forests” for paper production is very compelling and the associated certifications of FSC, PEFC, EnviroCert etc continue to grow and become the standard. We just need them to become a world wide legal standard.

Technology

The Recyclers may yet have their way through technological advances. Epson has announced plans to release an in-office recycling machine called PaperLab this year.

This machine is designed to sit in the basement of large office buildings and recycle paper previously destined for the shredder or dump. About the size of a large photocopier/digital printer the PaperLab cleans and restructures used paper into various colours and thicknesses.

PaperLab claims to be able to recycle 14 x A4 sheets per minute – that’s almost 2 reams and hour – depending on colour and weight selected. It apparently does not require water to be added though details on the process are not yet clear.

Epson’s Paper Lab A4 paper recycler

Epson could be onto a real winner if it carries the concept through to completion. It would certainly prove attractive for security reasons and silence many arguments against recycling. I guess it would be kind of neat to have a steady supply of paper on the shelves too.

Meanwhile if you want to “go green” on your print requirements – you are welcome to call into the studio and talk with us. We are going to have a lot of changes in studio this year and will be “going green” in a very different way soon.

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Categories : Innovation/ Trends, Print Industry News, Uncategorized

Business cards are dead…………not

10 11 2015

At times over the past few weeks I have had friends and customers tell me that “business cards are dead”. I had to smile since I was holding their very own business cards in my hand at the time.

I guess, due to being a seller of print, I have a very strong and biased opinion on the place and future of the humble business card…..i.e they are not dead. Let me explain why.

Many people use the rise of digital networking as the reason for the death of business cards. It’s true, that LinkedIn and other social/Business media can give you deeper insights into a person than the humble business card. But I’m sure that its also true that before someone checks out your Linked in profile – they are prompted by a business card they found in their pocket or purse.

I can’t imagine telling someone to “check me out on Linked In” without first giving them my card………I would be worried that they forgot my name for a start. Business cards are still an easy and quick way of handing someone all your contact info. I think that interested people are more likely to check you (or your organisation) out on digital platforms if they have your card for reference in the first place.

Don’t get me wrong – Linked in is an awesome research tool. However, I have found that Linkedin can sometimes be well out of date and people are often not shy of embellishing their roles or history. I guess, in that respect, that LinkedIn has become pretty much the mobile CV of today. I have seen a few embellished CV’s.

Well there is my opinion – I’m sure it will get some responses. So lets get down to some interesting facts.about the humble business card.

A Rich and Lengthy History

Business cards have been around since the 1400’s (originating in Asia). They became a standard item as “visiting cards” by the European nobility in the 16/1700’s – typically one would have their coat of arms along with their title embellished on one’s card. One’s footman would present the card to the servants of the person you were visiting who would in turn present it to their mistress or master.

By the 1800’s visiting cards morphed into calling cards and were being used by the upper and middle classes and mostly just had the persons name on the card. There was quite a bit of etiquette around the use of cards. For instance if the person was not at home they would fold the corner of the card indicating that they had called in person.

Slowly, during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, cards had begun to be used for a wider variety of purposes other than visiting. This was primarily due to the invention of lithography which allowed more affordable printing with a variety of colours. Merchants began to use cards to provide directions to their establishments in busy city side streets and provide product information (marketing). Cards were even used for courting!!

By the early 20th century cards were used for a great variety of business and social purposes.

Today cards are taken less seriously in the western world – but there is still a lot of etiquette and protocol followed in Asia. You can run the risk of appearing rude, ignorant or even offensive if your card has a poor design and is not presented correctly ……….and you must handle others cards correctly to avoid upsetting them.

What Makes A Good Business Card

In summary – here are some tips to make sure you have a great business card that you will be proud of, will make the right impression and that others are tempted to keep instead of chuck in the recycling bin.

Hire a designer – we are spoiled for choice for designers in the deep South. A good designer will draw out what you want to project (even if you don’t know what that is yet ) and present that in a way your target market will respond positively to……..and……….. your cards will just look cool.
Use heavy weight card – I did a stint working for a print firm in the UK in the 90’s. The first thing I noticed was that the standard weight business card in the UK was 350gsm…….at that time the standard weight card in NZ was 250gsm. When I enquired as to why they used such heavy card, I was told that 250gsm was considered cheap and flimsy. There is a definite perception of quality in heavy weight card.
Use an embellishment or three – before batch printing was available, embellishments such as lamination, raised gloss varnish (Spot UV) or die cut shapes were hugely expensive. Now your designer can incorporate all of these features into your cards at comparatively small premiums. Try a different shaped card or jazz it up with some texture and contrast. Make it stand out and invite comment.
Make sure your card is fit for purpose – your designer will go through this with you. Is you card primarily a networking tool for handing out at meetings? Is it strictly an information giver? Is it part of a sales kit or is it more like an original calling card? Does it need to blend in with other materials or stand out against them?
Consider Ordering Online – there are some awesome tools available for driving the cost of business cards down – particularly for large organisations and franchise operations. Once your designer has come up with an awesome design, a template can be made so that on-line ordering is achievable. This takes out administration and set up costs, reduces delivery times and the frustration often associated with ordering business cards. I recently saved a corporate customer $10,000 per year on business cards …………and the cards arrive quicker and are on heavier stock…..no brainer really.

So let me know if you want some really cool business cards, want to look at reducing your costs ….or would just like to talk to a good designer.

The humble business card may be used less nowadays – but it still has a place in business promotion and networking.

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Categories : Products

A New Chapter

16 06 2015

Time for a change

Its been over a year since my last blog and there are many reasons for that. Well, safe to say- this post will be the return of the blog and will see more than a few changes around format and content.

The first big change is, that after over 12 years at Wickliffe, I have jumped ship and now look forward to sailing on a very different boat called printing.com. I will have to admit that when I resigned from Wickliffe I was not sure that I would be staying in the Printing Industry. Luckily, I was exposed to the energy and ideas of the printing.com team and am now, once again, very excited about the future of print in Dunedin and Otago. Best of all – I get to stay and work in Dunedin, while my two live-in divas go through their pre-University years.

The printing.com print supply model is a unique take on the printing market for New Zealand. printing.com focuses entirely on providing every region access to the best of quality print and services through a mix of good advice, people and web portals.

We are NZ’s very own wholesale printer. We batch , or gang run, print jobs from all over NZ every night – effectively allowing for the various jobs to “share” the set up costs…………which lets small businesses choose better quality print at lower prices.

The global print industry has seen the overall volume of print almost halved compared to 10 years ago. In the US and Europe much of the volume handled by small printers has moved to large online web-to-print services that can gang up multiple business card, leaflets and other print products. Small shops still exist for customers who can’t wait for more than one day or have more complex jobs. Our goal is to provide the best of both worlds – a low cost web-to-print service as well as a local digital shop for same/next day requirements.

So whether your preference is to order remotely on-line from your office in the paddock or sit down with a real person in your local town, we have the people and tools for you. Check out the group tab for nationwide site locations and our web site for online tools.

Well then – I guess that’s enough selling already (just call me or come into the store if you want to find out more ) so lets get into some proper blogging and print info.

3D Printing

It seems 3D printing is on everyone’s lips at the moment. There isn’t a week that goes by when I’m not asked by a customer to explain 3D printing.

Technically its a bit of stretcher to call this technology printing – but nevertheless it is a fascinating subject because of where the technology is heading and the potential it holds for all of us.

As far back as the 1980’s additive techniques have been used for prototyping. The term “additive” means that if I were to build a prototype for my mountain-bike chain ring/cog I would build one up out of layers of material, such as plastic or paper (we can start to see where the relationship to “printing” comes from), until I had the finished product. The traditional “subtractive” method of prototyping was to file or cut the prototype out of a block of wood, plastic or metal ie. keep on subtracting material until you end up with the shape or form that you desire.

I wrote a blog 3 years ago (see “3D Printing – Beam me up Scotty” July 2011 in this blogs archive bar) which is still relevant if you want to check out where 3D printing evolved from. So what has changed over the last three year to make everyone start talking about this again?

Well, a couple of years ago the first consumer versions of 3D printers started to appear as people imported them. In fact, the sales of 3D Printers have grown 30% year on year for the last three years. Prior to this 3D printers were only available to the likes of large manufacturing companies and Universities. The first consumer models were extremely slow, the resolution was poor (the models made had a lumpy or rough finish) and you couldn’t make anything much bigger than a matchbox.

Some of the Maker Bot dometic 3D printer models available today

Some of the Maker Bot domestic 3D printer models available today

Buyers of the first consumer models were often disappointed to find out that they may need extra 3D software and perhaps a 3D scanning device if they wanted to copy something. However, that is all changing as some big player are entering the 3D consumer market and competition is heating up. You can already find 3D printers at outlets such as Warehouse Stationery and it won’t be long before most of the big retail stores are offering new bigger, faster and more capable devices for domestic users. Right now the domestic versions will set you back around the price of a large curved screen TV.

I recently read about a new consumer model marketed by Ricoh which stands at almost half a meter high – so just like TV’s they are getting bigger and smarter every year. If you want to see what they can do (and how much it will set you back) just call your local Ricoh or Xerox rep – they have many excellent samples to show you what these can produce.

So why would you want one of these 3D printer gadgets?

Most blokes will not need an answer to this – its the same answer to why do we need the latest bluetooth/noise cancelling headphones, curved screen TV, iPad and most of the power tools in the shed. Other than that, to be honest, they are really for hobbyists – model makers, jewellery and arts and crafts. They make great back- scratchers, massage rollers, replacement toy parts, ornaments, garden gnomes, phone cases, chess sets etc.

Of course the larger more expensive industrial models are already involved in producing custom prosthetics and other custom fitted devices such as hearing aids , machine parts and a number of other interesting innovations. 3D printers will continue to be extremely valuable for prototyping – but I doubt they will be fast enough for mass production at any stage in the near future.

The Future

At the moment most domestic devices are limited to the use of extruded plastics and polymers. However, the applications will move quickly as new materials are able to be used as the base material in these devices.

There has been some major progress in the use of amino acids and living cells as base material. This could enable the 3D printing of food and even replacement human organs in the future. This sounds far fetched but the Chinese, who are pioneering this aspect of 3D printing, are already experimenting with skin tissue, kidneys and liver replacements.

The Scots are already having some success with 3D “printing” chocolate and pasta. Some advances have also been made with the use of molten metal to produce metal prototypes – although it is still easier to 3D print the moulds for metal prototypes and then cast them – as has been done for centuries.

With all these advances it is not a huge leap to one of my favourite dreams – the Star Trek replicator. I fondly remember watching the old TV series as a child – in awe as the Enterprise crew ordered whatever they wanted from the replicator device. Seconds later their favourite meal or drink was “replicated”. Back then I would have replicated a phaser or the latest toy – now I would be happy with a good red wine or a single malt.

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Tags: 3D printing, Print On Demand, technology
Categories : Group News, Innovation/ Trends

Mixed Bag For Otago /Southland Printing

3 09 2013

Well here we are at the end of what has seemed a very long winter. I for one am looking forward to shedding a few kilos of winter insulation, dusting off the bike, pumping up the tyres and getting fit for summer.

Of great interest is our long overdue consolidation of the two Dunedin sites. This was announced in June along with the plan to convert to a digital production platform. Although the new digital platform is a point of excitement and opportunity for the Southern region it has some casualties in the form of job losses. No doubt many Southerners will have read articles in the local paper that include Wickliffe amongst the handful of large layoffs Dunedin has experienced this year.

The news is not all bad for the region though. There is an undercurrent of positive business activity in Otago /Southland and many businesses are eying growth in 2014. Although most businesses have to keep an extremely close eye on the purse-strings there are signs of investment and risk taking. You only need to attend the local Chamber of Commerce networking meetings to feel the vibrancy and hear the positive chat from local business people.

Wickliffe Invests in Otago/Southland Future

Upgraded and Expanded Kaikorai Valley Office & Plant

We are finally merging the two Dunedin sites into a combined unit. The Fairfield site (old Taieri Print operation) will be vacated while the Kaikorai Valley site (Glenelg Street) is being renovated and refitted.

Up until now we had only leased around 60% of the Kaikorai valley site, however, from the end of October we will take over the lease for the entire building. The extended building lease will accommodate the machinery and staff coming across from Fairfield. The refitting and renovation of the entire site is being undertaken whilst we continue to operate – so if its noisy when you call us over the next couple of months, or our team sounds a little frazzled, just picture them sitting in the corner while the carpet layer, builder or painters work around them.

A plug for our landlord and his very flexible team should go in here. If you need a quality site in Dunedin you should definitely talk to Chris at ADL Properties. Their team is doing a marvellous job in working closely with our team so that we can continue to operate at the same time as the building is spruced up.

Dunedin becomes Digital Hub with iGen 4 and more………..

We are very proud to announce the installation of the iGen 4 Digital Printing press in Dunedin. While you read this we are marking out the position where this large press will be placed in our Kakorai Valley site. This is no glorified copy machine. It is worthy of being called a printing press and can match offset press quality. It’s large sheet size of almost A2 means that landscape A4 and 3 panel A4 jobs can now be produced locally. We already have some customers who are interested in producing smaller runs of high quality publications to fit in with their reduced marketing budgets. This machine will change many people’s perceptions around the quality of digital print.

We will be retaining our existing digital presses and adding some redundancy to ensure that we can handle the South Island digital requirements. This positions Dunedin as the “digital hub” for Wickliffe in the South Island.

What will happen to Offset Production ??

Many of our customers have been asking if we will be able to continue to provide larger offset runs. Although we will retain a small offset facility in Dunedin – we will produce all larger runs in our Christchurch branch. Christchurch has very flexible offset capability with new A3, A2 and A1 Machines being installed after the earthquake and more recently, new folding, collating and binding equipment. Wickliffe Christchurch will take on the role of the “offset hub” for the South Island as we focus on digital in the deep south.

Extremely large offset jobs will continue to be manufactured in our Auckland A1 10 colour platform.

It’s all in the Finish

Traditionally, Dunedin offset printers have used print finishers in Christchurch to complete large runs of bookbinding, foiling, or other types of finishing work. This has always made a lot of sense as the capital cost of large-run finishing equipment was difficult to justify in the Southern market.

The result has been the shipping up of pallets of printed sheets to Christchurch trade finishers, the subsequent completion of any jobs in Christchurch and then return shipping the finished good back to Dunedin.

We see an opportunity for us to work smarter by increasing our ability to finish work in Dunedin. With investment in new finishing equipment for our Dunedin plant we aim to print large jobs in Christchurch and ship down to Dunedin for finishing.

This has many benefits: Not only reducing the carbon footprint around large jobs (only one freight trip) but also adding more capability to the local print market by proving a trade finisher in town.

We intend to bring more options to Otago and Southland customers regardless of the print run size.

Finally a Rebrand

With the rapid expansion of the Kalamazoo group over the past two years our branding has become a little confusing. I guess anyone can take a look at the plethora of logos on the back of my business cards to understand this statement. We were very proud of the acquisitions at the time – but now it’s time to bring them all together..

I can recount some very pointed (and often hilarious) comments from some of our customers in the design, marketing and agency sector. The good news is that we have been working on a new brand and we have chosen to consolidate under the “Wickliffe” Banner.

So no more Wyatt & Wilson / Taieri Print / Keeling and Mundy/ Astra Print / Kalamazoo / Print Counsel / Print Shop / Publishing Press and so on. We will all be Wickliffe with branches in Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington , Palmerston North and Auckland.

So look out for the release of our new branding & logo. We will take you through our thinking around the new logo and will be keen to receive your feedback once it is released.

Once again – please do not hesitate to throw some questions my way via the blog – or just go old school and ring me.

I look forward to catching up with you all as we head toward summer.

Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: Digital Print, innovation, Print On Demand, technology, Wickliffe/Kalamazoo News
Categories : Group News, Innovation/ Trends, Products

Lets Get Personal

9 05 2013

Well here we are heading towards winter already. We certainly can’t complain about the weather down here in the South. We had a cracker Summer.

We have recently appointed a new branch manager in Christchurch – so we welcome Brent Goldsmid into the team. I know many of you will have dealt with Brent previously as he has a huge level of experience within the print industry. I am looking forward to working closely with Brent around the South Island.

Personally I am very keen to get back into the Dunedin market, spending more time with the Otago team ( and my resident princesses) and spending less time traveling.

Short Run Packaging

We have some exciting news on the technology front – we are entering the small packaging sector with the purchase of an igen 4 digital unit with a Stora Enso Gallop finishing unit.
This means that we will be able to produce small runs of high quality packaging combined with variable information. It will be of particular interest to customers wanting personalised Xmas gift boxes, marketers of highly targeted campaigns and businesses looking for short runs of high quality packaging.
Until now, suppliers of small-sized products in small volumes struggled with the cost of packaging. Typically, a high quality, custom-made package would only make economic sense if volumes of well over 10,000 were purchased – well out of the reach (or requirements) of many small businesses. Most businesses opted for ill-fitting, generic blank boxes and simply applied a sticky label to the blank box.

Digital igen press with Stora Enzo packaging finishing – described by one of my favourite customers as “a nice looking kitchen unit”

Now, with our new equipment, we will be able to offer glossy boxes with embellishments such as blind embossing, UV embossing and metal foiling in volumes well under 10,000. The digital front end means that we can even change images or text throughout the run.
I have just had a look at this machine (it’s up and running – but still it the testing phase) – and can only say it is AMAZING.
We are working on pricing models now – so if you have any projects coming up – give me a call and we can discuss the possibility of applying this new and exciting technology. I have some neat samples available that your local rep will be happy to show you through.

For all of you techie guys – a good example of this solution is explained in the attached video link below.

http://youtu.be/cGPj_oxeNq4

More Inkjet News

We have more good news on continuing investment in technology with the installation of a third FX2800 Inkjet press in Wellington.

This is due to an increased demand in short run publications, variable data and mailing jobs. We have been pleasantly surprised with how designers have responded to the new inkjet technology and have some stunning examples of what can be achieved with good design.

I myself have the creative skill of a doorknob – so can really appreciate what a difference a good designer can make to that special printed piece. Please let me know of you want to have a look at some of the samples we have of the latest inkjet designs.

I am hoping that it won’t be too long before we see this technology on the mainland.

Plastic Fantastic

Our other new piece of kit (introduced in my post “Summer Sun” last November) is proving to be very popular for non absorbent (plastic) print jobs that were previously the domain of screen printers.

Plastic Labels, shelf wobblers, menus etc produced on the Genius waterless press

The KBA Genius Press offers the ability to print on PVC, polythene, and vinyl stocks. It uses a process known as “waterless offset” to print on non absorbent materials………. that basically means we can consider things other that paper for labels, menus and various other high quality and special pieces. The lack of water in the process also means that an extremely sharp image is achieved.

The Genius is also able to apply an extremely durable gloss UV coating that is an economic and fast substitute for gloss lamination. It doesn’t stop there – this kit just keeps giving. The Geniusis versatile enough to apply latex coatings to produce “scratchies” for scratch and win type products. Scratchies were previously very tricky to produce but can now be considered for smaller, quality campaigns and promotions through the Genius

I have some neat examples to share – so give me a call if you would like to check them out for that different or classy approach to your campaign or promotion.

Congrats

Congratulations to Forsyth Barr in maintaining a spot on the “Whats Hot” app list. Forsyth Barr released a finance app late last year to provide a tool that facilitates charts on ASX and NZX securities, tracking of currencies and commodities, ASX stock research and even Forsyth Barr insights; all in one place on your iPhone/iPad (Android coming soon) .

This five-star rated app could be just what you need on the forthcoming cold winter nights.

Download the app and check it out by clicking on the link below.

https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/forsyth-barr-investment-insights/id582067715?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Well that was a fairly blatant sales blog this time – but we have so much new and exciting products to share – I just really couldn’t help myself.

I hope to catch up with you all over the winter season and look forward to providing some great solutions for you. All of this technology is very new to New Zealand (and some of it new world-wide) so we are on the lookout for new applications and ideas to challenge the capabilities of our new machines and solutions.

Take care and as usual – contact me any time for a catch up.

Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: Digital Print, innovation, Print On Demand, technology, Variable Data, Wickliffe/Kalamazoo News
Categories : Group News, Innovation/ Trends, Uncategorized

A Brave New Year

11 03 2013

The year seems to be sprinting ahead with the new financial year just a few short weeks away already!!!

2012 ended up being a “full on” year for the entire Dunedin team and, I for one, was really glad for the Xmas break when it finally rolled around. This will also be an interesting year for me on the home front. With my youngest princess becoming a teenager – we now have a household containing two teenage girls. Everything has suddenly become a hell of a lot more complicated.

Just over a year ago I posted a blog predicting some events in the print industry (see Nov 2011 – Merry Xmas – New Year Picks) I thought it is probably worth taking a look at those predictions to see how many were proven accurate and also making some more predictions for 2013.

Pick Number One: Digital print will move into the rotary phase

OK – I had a bit of a heads up in this one knowing that we were going to order two rotary inkjet digital presses. However, the impact of rotary digital really did take off during 2013. Apart from our purchase of two Fuji Xerox FX2800 inkjets other transactional and mailing organisations (such as Datam and HP) have also commissioned rotary inkjet presses. Rotary technology has impacted the billing and mailing market so much so – that there has been some large staff layoffs recently. A trend that looks set to continue in the mailing industry.

I think we are only just getting started with inkjet technology and beginning to understand the possible benefits and application. There are already obvious advantages for short run newspapers, newsprint mags, catalogues, variable data work and any other application where large page count, small run size items are required.

Pick Number Two: The “Touch Revolution” will continue to grow and develop – especially in Video

There has certainly been an increase in the use of smart phones with mobile plans steering more toward data usage. My predicted drop in tablet prices hasn’t really come about yet but there are signs of it being just around the corner. As a footnote, the above mentioned teenage daughters both have smartphones and NEVER use them as a phone. They text, kick, chat, google, tumble, listen to music and play games ……..but never use the devices as a phone. Are we seeing the beginning of the end of the voice call?

We have certainly seen the on-line market eat into magazine publication numbers and volumes with many customers trialing on-line publications and measuring results/ROI against printed publications.

Pick Number Three: Social Media and mobile will continue to eat into print’s share of the Marketing Spend

There is no doubt that SM is effecting the way marketers think about, conceive and execute marketing plans. We have identified the need to re-skill our sales team to understand the new needs of our customers – particularly the way our customers communicate with their customers.

Pick Number Four: The Print Industry will merge locally and fragment nationally

Well I nailed this one. In Otago we acquired Taieri Print, in Manawatu we acquired Keeling and Mundy and Print Council in Auckland. All this moves the Kalamazoo group to 4th largest Printer in NZ overall and largest privately owned print organisation.

Nationally we have seen BlueStar sold and Geon Group enter receivership. I think this year will see further fragmentation or consolidation of these two groups capacity (perhaps moving us to number three).

Pick Number Five : Print orders will increasingly be placed by a new breed of “broker”

There has been a definite rise in print consultants and brokers in the market. This is partly due to many struggling print firms focusing on survival – which often means that they become less innovative when offering solutions to customers. This opens the doors to experienced brokers.

From my experience this situation occurs during periods of industry unrest and turmoil and lasts for some years until the cycle continues and printers again begin to focus on service and innovation.

It’s my pick that web-based solutions will rise in the next few yeas to offer a reduced cost of serve and reduced price for smaller jobs. Leaving consultants/brokers focusing on the large run, complex and big ticket items.

Pick Number Six : End to end Process Automation will become an essential part of print

This has proven key to survival for printers in the print industry. The challenge is for printers is to adapt to the ever decreasing print run volumes and still make a profit. One way to do this is to make the business of supplying print very fast and very efficient.

We have done some very interesting work in this space and will be showing our customers some of the new tools we have developed during 2013.

So what will this next year bring us in the print industry?? I have fewer picks for this year but here goes

No 1: The Print industry will start to stabilise

There has been a real shake out over the past three years with many of the less adaptive and financially stable players falling by the wayside.

Hopefully, we will see NZ’s print capacity become more aligned to the market size and some more effort go into customer needs analysis as opposed to survival. This will, in turn, lead to innovation and the print firms once again developing their role in marketing and communications.

N0 2: Printers will embrace integrated marketing and become more than just printers

You won’t readily find a printer now that will argue against the speed of uptake that marketers are converting to on-line publishing, social media and the touch devices that support this. Most printers are now moving away from the denial phase and into begrudging acceptance that the future is less around heavy metal and more about data and value added products.

I believe 2013 will see more printers move into acceptance of this and many into active participation. This could be the game changer the industry needs to revitalise itself – especially for small regional print firms.

No.3: Many printers will become more automated

Achieving profit will become more about reducing the cost of serve and the ability to charge for more value added services and products. Automating the basic processes such as quoting, input and workflow will allow printing organisations to become more nimble and change faster. This will enable more time and resource allocation to innovation and research.

I will revisit these in 2014 to see if any of these prediction hit close to the mark.

Meanwhile feel free to contact me or your rep if you would like any more information on any of the above topics or products.

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Tags: Digital Print, innovation
Categories : Group News, Innovation/ Trends, Print Industry News, Uncategorized

Summer Sun

12 11 2012

Well we are over the long winter (here’s hoping) and its only a few weeks before its summer again. Although there are times in the Deep South that are still reminding us of winter.

It’s officially summer next month and, as I am writing this blog, there are hail stones battering against the window. Good old Dunners.

I thought, with all the extra outdoor activities beckoning and people starting to move around a lot more, it would be a great time to talk about logistics. Getting things from A to B.

In many cases timely delivery of printed material is just as important – or even more important – than the printing of the job itself. The impact of the digital media age has meant that print material is needed in extra short time frames (when compared to expectations of just a few years ago).
Printing has always been subject to deadlines, whether it be a marketing campaign release date or an end-of-month billing run – however the lead times we were given when I started in the industry (during the 1980’s) are nothing like what are given today.

Way back in the days of fixed close and ship schedules, printers were able to maximise profits by scheduling jobs, with similar specifications, to be run concurrently. This meant less press changes, paper changes and finishing machine change-overs for the manufacturer. This was great for the manufacturer’s productivity and profits, however, customers often needed to ensure many weeks “lead time” were given to the printers. Of course you could always pay a premium for a fast delivery – did I hear someone laugh.

As technology improved the speed of machine make ready and the level of production capacity has increased exponentially – the customer can now expect to receive their job whenever they need it (hence the all-encompassing term “print on demand”).

The challenge for the print industry has been, therefore, to respond positively to the need for “print on demand”.
In the late 90’s and early noughties Wickliffe’s response to this challenge was to increase capacity and capability in production. Wickliffe increased press power by purchasing new and varied printing presses which allowed us to reduce lead times and print jobs faster.

Secondly, Wickliffe got directly involved with the post production or delivery stage of the supply chain. Wickliffe invested in warehousing and logistics services to deliver printing faster and also handle speedy distributions and deliveries to multiple sites.

The need to offer logistics solutions led to Wickliffe purchasing Stocklink, a specialist 3rd party logistics operation in 2002. Many corporates and Government agencies found that the ability to combine print and logistics components, especially in major projects, provided huge cost savings. Good (current) examples of this are the NZ Census, local body and general elections.

Wickliffe also developed an on-line ordering tool (ECOS) that provides real-time access to printed stock, apparel and anything else our customers wanted to store and distribute from Stocklink.
Stocklink has continued to develop our 3rd party logistics offering and is now one of the fastest growing and most profitable divisions of the group. Some of the logistics and supply chain services are as follows.

Distribution project management
Multi site national storage
Pick, Pack and distribute
Web-based ordering portals (set up and management)
Loyalty scheme set up and management
Re-branding projects/ product launches
Trade Shows
Hard copy Records Storage

Interestingly, much of Stocklink’s growth is coming from non print areas such as apparel/ fashion, retail goods, wholesale goods, records management, electronic parts etc.

Today, these logistics tools and services are available to any customer, providing next day delivery into any region in New Zealand.
If you are looking for storage of products, some smart solutions for distributing your product, or just need to consolidate your supply chain – let me know and we an discuss how Stocklink can make your life easier.

We are excited to welcome Print Counsel as the latest member of the Kalamazoo group .
Print Counsel is an Auckland based print firm specialising in specialty and niche printing products. This brings some interesting new abilities into the group: primarily through the abilities of the Print Counsel’s KBA Genius 52UV printing press.

This is a unique piece of kit that uses a waterless offset process to print on thick and non absorbent stocks. It is also extremely quick to set up and has a very low levels of waste. It can take only 10 sheets to get to the sellable product – saving waste and time cost.

So the Genius is ideal for printing small to medium run packaging in boards or plastics up to 0.8mm thick. Other prime uses are plastic type cards, menus, labels and pot plant tags, shelf wobblers and so on.

The Genius allows us to offer offset quality to pieces that were considered only viable for screen printing in the past. We have some neat sample that we can share showing plastic, 3D and lenticular (image moves when you move the piece) – so ask your account manager to show off what this amazing machine could provide for that “special” printing piece you have been looking for.

For all of you who enjoy the technical details – check out the following video to see what this amazing machine can do.

Well here’s hoping you all enjoy getting into the good weather and I hope to catch up prior to Xmas.

Meanwhile – if you have any questions or comments – please feel free to contact me or leave a comment on the blog.

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Tags: innovation, Logistics, on-line tools, Print On Demand, technology, Wickliffe/Kalamazoo News
Categories : Group News, Innovation/ Trends, Products, Uncategorized

Autumnal Update

15 05 2012

It has been a very busy time for the Kalamazoo Group so far this year. As predicted, the print industry continues to change at a fast pace in NZ and the KZ Group is leading the charge locally. We have a few of the team at the Drupa Print trade show as I sit and write this blog – hopefully they will bring back lots of goodies for me to share with you in the next blog.

For Christchurch customers I will be splitting the my time between the Dunedin and Christchurch offices during winter, so let me know if you would like to catch up for hot coffee at any stage.

Meanwhile, this blog will serve as a quick group update for all those interested.

Otago News

The merger of Wickliffe Solutions and Taieri Print in Dunedin is going well. As with all big moves, there is always some project task that ends up much more expensive than first anticipated. In our case we have had some “extra” costs for machinery moving and on-site power supply – so we will continue to operate out of two sites for the short to medium future. Production will be based in the Fairfield site while the Sales Team , Call Centre, e-Commerce team, Supply Chain heads and admin will remain at the Kaikorai Valley site at 11 Glenelg Street. The Mosgiel Warehouse remains at Factory Road.

I have received many questions from customers asking about how many staff and what equipment we will be retaining. We will be retaining all equipment that is not duplicated. Unfortunately this means that we have lost some staff as a result of quitting some equipment (and other efficiencies achieved due to the merger). This is a difficult time and we appreciate the concern and patience shown by our team and customers. I am committed to growing our Otago business and, with local support and investment in technology , I am sure we can do this in a very short time frame.

Meanwhile, if you need fast turnaround commercial colour print , digital print, wiro-binding, flow-wrapping or distribution and storage solutions – give you sales rep (or myself) a call.

New Team Members

In early May – we acquired Keeling and Mundy Print (K&M) in Palmerston North. This gives the group a strong presence in central North Island and adds further commercial offset colour and finishing capability to our total offering. K& M have been particularly strong in quality A2 Colour Printing and finishing. The KZ group now has the most wide-spread footprint in NZ giving us the ability to print and supply locally wherever our customers have branches or sites based.

Zoomit……………Web-Fed Inkjets

We have named our new division (that started with the acquisition of two Fuji Xerox CF2800 Inkjet web presses and Hunkeler finishing units) Zoomit. This new division is offering cutting edge technology for the print industry and represents the next phase in the evolution of digital print. It is amazing to think that these machines can run at 200m/minute printing both sides simultaneously with variable data. Keep a look out for more details in our press release later this month.

Both inkjet presses have completed the installation and testing processes and are now up and running in our Mt Wellington, Auckland plant. Andrew Healy, who heads up this new division, will be collating samples and videos highlighting all the benefits of Zoomit, his new team and equipment. This is very exciting stuff and is a first for New Zealand. We will be in touch in the near future to talk about how your business can benefit from Andrew and his team’s new technology and solutions.

As a teaser – take a look at the video above. There is sure to be a valuable application for this within your organisation – call your rep or myself and we will be happy to discuss this with you…………or if you are visiting Auckland on business you ar most welcome to call into the plant and take a look at these machines in operation.

Flat Bed Wide Format

We have installed a wide format/ flat-bed printer in the North Island. This is particularly useful for large posters, billboards etc and can be used on a variety of substrates such as corflute, rigid signage and much more. I will gather some info on the capabilities of the new machine and share in the near future. In the meantime – if you have any requirements for large format printing let us know what your needs are and we will supply a cost-effective solution.

Skinart Tattoos

For your next marketing campaign or public event consider getting a tattoo !! Seriously – our Christchurch branch can produce temporary tattoos that are safe, effective and limited only by your imagination. These are produced with a special process right here on the mainland – so we can guarantee the safety of all materials and process of manufacturing. Skinart has proven extremely popular with kids and families in public, sporting and fund-raising events. For more information check out this site http://www.skinart.co.nz/index.html , give me a call or contact your rep. We have samples of the jobs we have produced over the past few years if you want to some ideas or inspiration

On The Cards……….

The group is looking at some new investments later on this year, in particular we are investigating heat-set offset print (think magazines and large run publications) and beefing up our mailing, inserting packaging and distribution capabilities………..watch this space. The variable, short run packaging market has been tagged as a growth area here in NZ and overseas – and will fit nicely with the personalised capabilities that we have been building on with our digital platform of laser and inkjet presses.

Well that’s all the news in brief, I’m sure that there will be even more to share over winter. Meanwhile, please call me if you want to discuss any of the information in this blog or would like samples of any of the new products and services.

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Tags: Digital Print, Inkjet Printing, innovation, Print On Demand, technology, Wickliffe/Kalamazoo News
Categories : Group News, Innovation/ Trends, Print Industry News, Products

Printed Magazines and Newspapers – Will there be a demand tomorrow?

6 03 2012

Someone asked me the other day if I thought newspapers and magazines would be around for much longer. As a printer I hope they will be ……….as a technology and gadget lover, I doubt it.

Large run daily newspapers and weekly magazines look set to come under threat as the next generation of readers matures. The main threat is the “touch revolution”. Readers such as Amazon’s “kindle” and the growing range of tablets that are available are already touting mobile versions of newspapers, magazines and comics. The increased connectivity that these devices offer and the variety of reader personalisation, is seen by some, to herald the end of the newspaper as we know it.

Like many of us, I do enjoy sitting down to read the newspaper. However, if I’m honest, it’s really only on the weekend that I have time to sit back, relax and actually read my way through a whole newspaper. Mostly, I quickly flick through a paper, scanning the headlines and looking for anything of interest. Wouldn’t it be great if I could get a “newspaper”, or magazine, delivered that only had articles and news on the subjects that I was interested in? Without all the extra pages of things that I am not interested in (and would probably never read). There are three quite different ways that this is achievable (and happening as you read this blog).

Digitally Printed Magazines & Newspapers – with inkjet digital printers and advanced web to print solutions now entering the market, it will become economic to print newspapers and magazines on demand. This means that “subscribers” will be able to choose topics, articles, products and events that they want to make up their magazine (from a list provided by the publisher). These newspapers and magazines can be printed on a digital press and each copy will be printed to the subscriber’s preferences – it is likely that each copy will have the subscriber’s name printed throughout it (for easy postage on the front and personalised advertising). This will probably be good news for many publishers as advertising can be matched to the chosen, products, services and particular interests of the subscriber – and many of the magazines will contain fewer pages (none of the stuff you normally skip).
Mobile Magazines and Papers – Many applications are springing up that allow you to choose format, pages, topics and subjects that your subscription magazine, paper, comic or periodical contains………..and have it delivered directly to your mobile device. You can even choose the frequency you receive the publications. Software enabling publishers to mobilise (and personalise) their products are springing up regularly: (see Flipboard, Pulse, Zite, Livestand).
News, blogs or social aggregators – aggregators are software that search and organise content on the web. You can choose broad concepts such as “latest news” or define it to particular topics. Similar software is likely to be developed and used by publishers to personalise magazines and newspapers for the extra connectivity required today. In effect, you can create your own daily news updates or magazines.

All this new technology could be good news for the environment.The print industry has probably taken up the environmental challenge better than most industries. Most paper production is become sustainable and forestry is being managed by most of the world’s major governments. The dirty manufacturing processes of paper and ink is fast becoming a bad memory and printing may soon even be responsible for a growth in forestry around the globe. Even so, it remains a fact that 40% of printed office material is trashed the day it is printed………..and the use of paper (printed in the office) has double twice since the 1980’s. So the possibility of reducing paper usage in high volume pulp users (such as magazines and newspapers) will prove to be very popular.

Apart from tablets and smart-phones there is some other interesting mobile hardware in development. One of the most interesting of these is the flexible video screen. Sony has put some effort into this and has come up with a working model. Right now it is not mobile – but I guess that will be available within a few years. This provides the potential to give us a reusable newspaper – simply roll the paper out each day and upload the latest copy and pics directly onto it. The idea behind this is that you will be able to get the feel of holding a “newspaper” but the content will change every day. Something directly out of Harry Potter – but it could be here in a few years!

I guess that one of the clearest, loudest messages for the publishing industry is the news that Time Inc., the largest magazine publisher in the United States, would be run by Laura Lang. Lang was the chief executive of the digital advertising agency Digitas…………obviously some execs have a fairly pointed idea of where things are heading. At the same time big name developers are releasing software that enables fast, easy publication(of existing publications) to the web (see Adobe Digital Publisher and Apple Newstand) – it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where things are heading.

The bean counters amongst us (and the hardcopy diehards) will point to the news that the Australian print and publication industry reported a 3.5% growth last year. However, the largest growth was reported specifically in the packaging and digital print areas. Other interesting figures show US magazine circulation falling by 15% in the past two years (they stayed fairly static in the 18 years prior to that). In those same 18 years the number of US titles increased by 50% as publishers developed a successful strategy to keep numbers up. US newspaper ad revenues have also dropped 65% since 2002. Interestingly, on-line advertising has only made up for 10% of these lost ad revenues. So where have they all gone? Although reduced marketing budgets have probably been the main reason for reduced ad revenue, it is very interesting to note that mobile advertising has experienced exponential growth for the past three years straight.

So will magazines and newspapers be around tomorrow……….I think so – but – I think they will be a speciality/novelty item by the time my kids are my age.

As usual please let me know if you want any more information relating to anything in my blogs.

I also have some A2 calendars available free to good homes. They depict scenes of CHCH. Just let me know if you would like some and I will drop off for you.

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Tags: Digital Print, technology, Variable Data
Categories : Innovation/ Trends, Products, Uncategorized

Great News For The Otago Print Industry

21 02 2012

Well last week was awash with a buzz of excitement when the announcement was made that Taieri Print was to join the Kalamazoo Group.

Taieri Print will join Wickliffe Solutions in the Kaikorai Valley site to form the largest and most capable printing outfit in the Otago/ Southland Region.

This is really exciting for me as, finally, we have a local med- large run colour offset capability in the group. Although Dunedin has always had access to other parts of the group for colour offset, having a local machine is sometimes more expedient and fits better with the local needs.

Taieri Print, on the other hand, will now be able to offer more complex solutions to their customers through the group’s digital, supply chain and technology divisions.

Anyway we look at it – the move is great news for the Otago Print industry. It keeps machines and jobs in the region and allows our sales team to provide a better offering to our Southern customers.

So – for Wickliffe Customers – what exactly will improve? For years Wickliffe has suffered from a lack of colour offset machinery in Dunedin. Taieri comes equipped with a 10 – colour press and complimentary finishing equipment. This means that many of the medium to large brochure jobs we previously manufactured in other branches – can now be done right here in Dunedin. All of you who have needed a “next day” or urgent turnaround will know the frustration of having to wait for out-of-town deliveries. Taieri also brings across some neat flow-wrapping and spiral binding finishing gear. Most exciting of all though is the experienced staff and new potential that this will bring to the Dunedin manufacturing unit.

What’s in it for the Taieri customers? Wickliffe’s Dunedin branch has focused more on digital print and supply chain over the past few years. This means that Taieri customers will be able to consider supply solutions for print (or non print) projects that require rapid, complex or national distribution. Taieri customers will also be introduced to print on demand, web to print and other web-based print solutions. There is also a peace of mind element for Taieri customers now, with back up for the 10-colour press available through the group’s presses in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland. Very short-run print jobs will be available through the Wickliffe digital print fleet of 7 Fuji -Xerox machines in Kaikorai Valley.

Although it is very early days, we intend to move fast to get Taieri Print and Wickliffe under the same roof. Some details are still being worked through – but please call me or your account manager if you want to discuss how changes may affect your organisation.

New Equipment

It seems like good news is coming in pairs at the moment. Steve D’Souza announced , in conjunction with the Taieri Print merger, that we will be bringing in two new inkjet digital presses – the first of their kind in New Zealand. The two CF 2800 presses from Fuji Xerox are reel-fed inkjet presses. I won’t bore you all here with the technical specs – just that they are FAST.

The CF 2800 is aimed at the direct mail and trans-promo market. Let me translate “trans-promo”: think invoices, statements, reminder notices etc (transactional print), with a promotional element on them – say a voucher or advertisement on the reverse. This is nothing particularly new, but with smart customer information, the CF 280o can make each promotional piece relevent to the recipient. Promotions can target the products and services you know the customer buys and uses, or alternatively, cross sell services they may not be aware that your offer.

2800 Continuous Feed Colour Inkjet Press

This continuous (reel) fed inkjet could also herald the end of base-stock requirements for many jobs. Typically, it is more economical to run off large volumes of coloured base-stock and over-print the transactional information, in black only, as required. The CF2800 is able to print both sides simultaneously with static and variable information. This moves the transactional print model closer to a single process, print on demand model.

Variable direct mail and trans-promo print are considered to be important emerging markets for New Zealand. Kalamazoo is in the process of recruiting specialists in both areas and we look forward to introducing them to you in the near future. Once the new team ( and machines) are on deck, I will be in touch with how this technology may have possible application in your business. Meanwhile, please feel free to ask any questions.

These are exciting times. Please feel free to comment or sign up for auto updates on this blog.

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Tags: Digital Print, innovation, southland region, Web to Print, Wickliffe/Kalamazoo News
Categories : Group News, Print Industry News, Products