The great Graph Expo mash-up

Sep 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Katherine O'Brien

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Graph Expo and Converting Expo will be held Oct. 15-18 at Chicago's McCormick Place. Graphic Arts Show Co. (GASC) promises “four days of comparison shopping, networking, live equipment demonstrations, seminars and critical investment decision making.”

In addition to visiting more than 500 exhibitors' booths, show attendees can sign up for more than 60 seminars. According to GASC, Graph Expo is “the foremost show in all of the Americas serving commercial printing, prepress, converting, binding, finishing and more.”

This year, there is an added attraction in McCormick Place North, where the American Society of Anesthesiologists' (ASA) annual meeting will be conducted Oct. 14-18. Graph Expo is expected to draw about 40,000 attendees, while the ASA anticipates about 14,300 participants. So there will probably be plenty of time for the printers and doctors to mingle at the cab stand. Surprisingly, both groups have a great deal in common.

Pain points

Founded in 1905, ASA “advocate[s] for all patients who require anesthesia or relief from pain.” Pain relief is exactly what the United States printing industry needs. According to the National Assn. for Printing Leadership (NAPL) (Paramus, NJ), the industry has lost 5,900 printing establishments since 1998. The association predicts that the industry will lose 5,100 more printers by 2010. Razor-thin margins, fierce pricing competition and a commoditized market all are contributing to the industry's collective headache.

Details on the ASA annual meeting's educational program are sparse, but the subject headings suggest great crossover potential. Several sessions will cover “Pediatrics.” I don't know what the medical people will talk about, but in the graphics arts' version, we could conduct a seminar called “Because I Said So: Applying Your Parenting Skills in the Workplace.” As consultant and “Graphic Arts CEO” author Bob Rosen has observed, “Managing a printing business is a lot like raising children. Children can thrive in a highly disciplined environment, but they get confused when the rules change or their parents act inconsistently.” Rosen wasn't suggesting employees are childish, but he does advocate a consistent managerial approach.

“Chronic Can Pain” also is on the doctors' agenda. Now, in the graphic arts, we have many salespeople afflicted with “Chronic Can Pain.” This is because they have been sitting on theirs for too long or their impatient bosses keep kicking them in that particular spot. Why not conduct a management seminar on “Working with Subordinates: How to be Demanding, Yet Friendly.” “Develop a feedback loop to ensure your managers know how things are going,” suggested Rosen. “But the feedback must be based on facts, not feelings.” A CEO, for example, could implement weekly discussions with a sales manager on sales and quoting activities, current sales projections, new accounts and prospects, lost accounts, individual salespeople's performances and market conditions. Once you know the facts, said Rosen, it's much easier to exchange ideas.

“Experimental Neuroscience” is another hot topic at the ASA convention. Sounds perfect for all those prepress propeller heads. To further sweeten the pot, let's have an all-acronym session: PDF, JDF, RIP, CTP and ROI.

Paging Dr. Gorelick

The ASA meeting concludes with a series of discussions on “Critical Care.” In the graphic arts, we call this “Customer Service.” As Dick Gorelick wrote in his March 2006 column, CSRs are most companies' unsung heroes. “At print companies in which the culture and operating performance are both to be admired, customer service representatives are the broadcasters and defenders of an honest, ‘gut-level’ customer-oriented culture,” said Gorelick. “These are the individuals who typically have modest authority but are in a position to influence the attitudes and behaviors of salespeople, customers and production personnel. At companies whose management and performance we admire, customer service representatives are knowledgeable advocates for customers' needs at production meetings.”

In another column, Gorelick noted that most customers prize a hassle-free printing experience. “It's a giant dose of general anesthesia,” he wrote. “Most print buyers want to deliver their electronic files and then be awakened when the process is completed, without ever having to feel the pain.”

If you don't crash the anesthesiologists' event, do investigate the Graph Expo seminar program. Many industry experts, including regular AMERICAN PRINTER contributors, will be speaking on workflow, Web-to-print, color management, packaging, mailing and business management topics. The complete schedule at www.gasc.org. See you in Chicago!

katherine.obrien@penton.com