I was a teenage printer
Aug 1, 2010,By Steve Johnson
By Steve Johnson...
Make your printing clickable
Jul 1, 2010,By Steve Johnson
Have you seen Playboy's June issue, featuring Miss Playmate of the Year in 3D? Put on your special glasses and voila. Who says printing is old school...
Going up
Jun 1, 2010,By Steve Johnson
I was standing in an elevator in commercial printer Rider Dickerson's old building on Chicago's Printers Row, in recent history. As I recall, that building...
Root, root, root for the home team
May 1, 2010,By Steve Johnson
Mandolin virtuoso and folk humorist Jethro Burns once explained, I moved to Chicago because I wanted to live someplace with professional baseball. I may...
Digital presses run the (color) gamut
Apr 1, 2010,By Steve Johnson
A designer asked how color differences between two HP Indigo digital press models would impact the quality of a book he was planning. I questioned why...
I'm on a mission
Mar 1, 2010,By Steve Johnson
In tough times, there is a tendency to look for quick and easy answers. Unfortunately, easy coupled with quick is rarely the answer. Simple often is,...
Who's a printer?
Feb 1, 2010,By Steve Johnson
I've noted in the past that U.S. Commerce Department statistics and NAPL surveys indicate print total volume is declining, as is the total number of printing...
Another decade
Jan 1, 2010,By Steve Johnson
Can 10 whole years really have passed since so many of us gathered to party like it was 1999? Since much of the world was paralyzed by fear and consulting...
Quality is a sticky issue
Dec 1, 2009,By Steve Johnson
If you live in the great state of New York and you own a motor vehicle, you've already heard this story. They don't stick. I've had this discussion with,...
Fonts still matter
Nov 1, 2009,By Steve Johnson
For a few fleeting moments, the arcane world of graphic arts basked in the glare of the mainstream media courtesy of Ikea, that international icon of...
Get involved in print's evolution
Oct 1, 2009,By Steve Johnson
Last month, Google announced a deal to provide two million book titles for printing and binding on the Espresso Book Machine. If you are not a book printer, you might think this is not important to you. It is. ...
Print, by any other name
Sep 1, 2009,By Steve Johnson
Before I opened my digital-only printshop, I worked in conventional shops of varying sizes, performing various job functions. This gave me the opportunity...
Three to get ready, four to go
Aug 1, 2009,By Steve Johnson
This magazine is filled with PRINT 09 coverage. Not familiar with my opinion of print industry trade shows? Read One for the money, two for the show,...
There are no magic print markets
Jul 1, 2009,By Steve Johnson
Several years ago, long time printing industry sales guru Ron Kendig (www.winningstance.com) shared his observation about a hitherto overlooked trend,...
Johnson's World: Telling your company's story
Jun 1, 2009,By Steve Johnson
I just read a press release from a printing company, proudly boasting that they have just installed the world's longest 41-inch sheetfed press, or some...
Johnson's World: Just the facts
May 1, 2009,By Steve Johnson
A prominent digital press manufacturer recently treated me to a dog and pony extravaganza. The demo was probably most memorable for highlighting a niche...
Johnson's World: The Holy Grail of digital printing
Apr 1, 2009,By Steve Johnson
In 2001, my company did a feature series in our monthly newsletter, Overnight Lite, comparing the quality of two digital presses we employed at the time....
Letters about mail
Mar 1, 2009,By Steve Johnson
In the 1863 United States, postal rates were standardized, meaning a letter could be mailed anywhere in the country for the same price. Twenty years later,...
Would you print less to add more value?
Feb 1, 2009,By Steve Johnson
Big Wave Advisors (www.bigwaveadvisors.com) is my financial planner. David Nielsen, Big Wave's owner, is an outspoken advocate of adjusting one's portfolio...
Standing resolute in the new year
Jan 1, 2009,By Steve Johnson
Nobel Prize-winning author and Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's book The Oak and the Calf employed the metaphor of a calf repeatedly butting...
The colors of the season
Dec 1, 2008,By Steve Johnson
The holiday season is upon us once again. A season of colors, all of which have significance. Beware, for here in Johnson's World, everything has a double...
A table for two
Nov 1, 2008,By Steve Johnson
Adelle's is a popular restaurant near me. Hidden out of the way near the train station, it serves high-end American cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere. With...
Would you like fries with that?
Sep 1, 2008,By Steve Johnson
Tony Wochnik is a skilled and professional salesman of digital graphic arts equipment. Originally with Xerox, Tony has represented Ikon for many years....
Drawing conclusions
Aug 1, 2008,By Steve Johnson
Barbara Carlson and her husband, Bob, sit in near me on Sunday at Southminster Presbyterian Church. Sometimes Barb hits me with her cane to get my attention....
May I have your attention?
Jul 1, 2008,By Steve Johnson
The kind folks here at AMERICAN PRINTER recently shared with me comments from a readership survey. Good news for me: Lots of people said they read the...
