Twice as nice

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Katherine O'Brien

Second Print Buyers Conference draws a crowd.

The Second Annual Print Buyers Conference attracted 235 print buyers from as far away as California, New Zealand and Japan. According to Margie Dana, founder of Boston Print Buyers, the two-day event drew a total of 463 participants, which included 235 registered attendees, 201 exhibitors and 27 speakers and panelists.

“It was remarkable who came — I was really humbled,” says Dana, noting that domestic attendees hailed from California to Maine and many points in between, such as Colorado, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina and many other states.

Listen up, plebes

Seventy-five attendees attended a daylong, preconference Print Buyers Boot Camp. Hosted by Dana and RIT's Frank Romano, the concept will be spun off into a standalone product. “Everyone who did it loved it,” says Dana. “We realized we needed something for newcomers, and this was a true home run.”

Many people at the Westford, MA, event thanked Dana for hosting an event specifically dedicated to print buying. “It was heartening to hear that,” says Dana. “That was my hunch for many years [prior to creating the conference], that there was a real need for an event that would provide these professionals with an education on printing and the graphic arts.”

Attendees could choose from among almost 20 sessions on topics that included mailing, print buying negotiations, color management, sustainability, cross media, press checks, print trends, digital printing, spot color capabilities, file creation and an introduction to major offset press brands.

“It was an extremely effective conference,” says Brian Rooney, chief technical officer for Pantone (Carlstadt, NJ). “It was probably one of the better ones I've been to, with real interaction among the audience and the presenters.”

Rooney, who didn't attend last year's inaugural Buyers Conference, came away with a new perspective on buyers' roles in the printing process. “It's an overlooked audience that plays a pivotal role in a lot of areas,” he says. “There are lots of educational opportunities in this space.”

Session breaks, which were conducted in the expo area, gave attendees ample opportunity to mingle with fellow buyers as well as visit vendors' displays. “I made a point of speaking to as many people as I could,” says Rooney. “I met designers, people from corporate implants, some people from Harvard and MIT and even someone who manages press checks for other companies.”

That someone was Sandi Peterson (www.thepresscheckpeople.com), who gave attendees pointers on “Press Checks from Heaven.”

Rooney provided an overview on spot colors in a presentation called “Pushing the Spot Color Envelope.” “Everybody knows the Pantone name and the basics of what we do,” he says. “But few know [the company's true scope].”

The conference also enabled Rooney to offer some clarification on Pantone's new Goe System. “It's an extension of the Pan-tone Matching System, not a replacement,” Rooney says. “That was probably the single biggest question most people had.”

Can we talk?

Four print buyers participated in a far ranging panel discussion on their responsibilities and print buying in general. The group agreed that few people other than their colleagues understand what they do. BettyLou Edwards, direction of production for Creative Services at Northeastern University, said many people assume she is a designer.

“My mother thinks I run the photocopier,” said Rebecca Anderson, who actually runs print management and distribution for JP Morgan Asset Management.

When asked how they select a printer, the panelists cited factors such as appropriate capabilities and print quality, with several maintaining sample files and equipment lists for handy reference. “A company's reputation is important, but it comes down to competitive pricing,” said Dan Rollins, assistant vice president of creative services for John Hancock. “You have to have consistent quality and pricing. If it's a guessing game, if pricing is all over the map, no thank you.”

Edwards said there's no substitute for the peace of mind a trusted vendor can supply. Facing a complex project with an impossibly tight deadline, she immediately called a printer she'd worked with previously. “There was no time to put it out to bid and I didn't trust anyone else,” she said. “One [sales]guy even learned to run the a foil stamper so he could help. I would do that again.”

Panelists were asked to define the perfect printing company. “A clean plant,” responded Kim Ryan, senior print production manager for Arnold Worldwide. “A clean operation reflects well on a company. A strong service environment also is essential. After the sale is made, the salesperson shouldn't [disappear]. Job status and other information should be readily available.”

Rollins said he wants to feel like the printer's only account, “like the press operator is standing by and waiting for me.”

Got to be there

Plans are already underway for next year's conference. “We're delighted with the tremendous response we received again this year,” says Dana. “Building on our successes, we're moving to a larger venue in downtown Boston.”

The 2008 event will take place at the Sheraton Boston Hotel in Boston's Back Bay. A day-long Boot Camp will be held September 10, followed by the two-day conference on September 11 and 12.

For more information or to download the 2007 conference presentations free of charge, see www.bostonprintbuyers.com.

Contact O'Brien at KOB@americanprinter.com.

There aren't any alligators in the sewers, either

A decade ago, digital presses had quality limitations. But these days, toner-based printing no longer takes a back seat to offset. Xerox's Bob Wagner led a session that exposed and debunked the top digital print misconceptions. Attendees received “A Formal Investigation into the Urban Legends of Digital Color Printing.” (See www.xerox.com/creative/urbanlegends.)

With sponsorship from Adobe Systems and Xerox, commercial illustrator Jeff Moores set up a booth where he sketched attendees. The portraits were created using Adobe Photoshop CS3 and printed on-demand on a Xerox Phaser 7760 on Xerox Digital Color Supreme Gloss 10 pt. Coated One Side paper.

Printer notes

Editor's note: These are just a few of the printers who participated in the Print Buyers Conference. We'll feature more in our next issue.

“We print smarter,” boasts Franklin Printing's (Farmington, ME) elegant self-promo piece. The all-Komori shop showcases a variety of four-color process, spot gloss varnish, metallic, embossing and other effects. See www.franklinprinting.com.

Allied Printing Services' (Manchester, CT) brochure features the photography of John Madere with effects such as seven-color process combined with HiFi color and full UV gloss coating. Capabilities include commercial web and sheetfed printing, digital printing, and mailing and fulfillment. Allied also can handle large-format offset and digital jobs. See www.alliedprinting.com.

Penmor Lithographers (Lewiston, ME) specializes in annual reports, fine art posters, catalogs, marketing materials for schools and business collateral. Joe Fillion founded the company in 1968. “We hold one another to a higher standard,” says Fillion of his family-run company. “Not only are we accountable to our clients, but also to each other.” See www.penmor.com.

American Printing's (Rumford, RI) brochure uses photos of tasty looking pies, cakes and cupcakes to tell its story. Customer testimonials alternate with copy on topics such as service, special effects, color, varnishes and foils, paper, mailing and fulfillment and budget. See www.amprintri.com.

Landmark Impressions' (Woburn, MA) full slate of services includes Web-to-print, variable-data print and personalized URLs for direct mail, full color digital and offset printing and mailing and fulfillment. Speedy delivery is no problem: Landmark boasts an on-time delivery record of 93.9 percent. See www.landmarkimpressions.com.

J.S. McCarthy Printers (Augusta, ME) impressive equipment upgrade includes an eight-color Komori Lithrone S40 perfector. Specialties for the FSC-certified printer range from academic and technical publications to greeting cards, fine art, general commercial work and retail folding cartons.
See www.jsmcarthy.com.

Shamut Printing's (Danvers, MA) pressroom boasts two six-color 40-inch Komori presses as well as an HP Indigo 5000 for digital work. Services include design, print, mail and fulfillment. From concept to mailing, this printer can do it all.
See www.shawmutprinting.com.

Direct-mail specialist Japs-Olson Co. (St. Louis Park, MN) has more than 25 presses, 20 lasers for simplex, duplex or MICR imaging, 12 ink jet stations and 67 inserters. Four onsite commingling stations maximize postal savings while minimizing time to market. See www.japsolson.com.

Established in 1876, Finlay Printing (Bloomfield, CT) prints high-end literature for colleges, specialize point-of-sale materials, corporate marketing collateral and design projects. Capabilities include digital asset management, design, on-line ordering systems, sales automation systems, variable data printing, digital printing, sheetfed printing, fulfillment and mailing. Finlay boasts a fleet of HP Indigo digital presses and MAN Roland offset presses. Its newest addition, a Roland 700 eight-color perfector with aqueous coater is the first U.S. installation of the Prindor Inline Foiler. Finlay will market the state-of-the-art cold-foil capabilities as “The Brilliance” process. It's a cost-effective way to enhance marketing messages. See www.finlay.com.

Concord Litho's (Concord, NH) promises “innovation with impact.” The FSC-certified printer distributed a practical promotion, sheets of holiday wrapping paper. Concord Litho is known for its high-volume, heatset web printing as well as its large-format sheetfed capabilities. Other services include an in-house bindery, bindery, kitting, fulfillment and mailing. Concord Litho is a corporate partner of the DMA and DMA Nonprofit Assn. See www.concordlitho.com.

“Communicate with Confidence” is the motto of Flagship Press (North Andover, MA). Its pressroom includes eight sheetfed presses, two Xerox iGen3 digital color presses and three Docutechs. The FSC-certified company also offers promotional products and web-to-print/fulfillment services.
See www.flagshippress.com.

Performance Specialty Printing (Dallas) was among the first printers to use UV to print on plastics, foils and other substrates. Offset, screen and digital capabilities are used for lenticular, display packaging, gift and loyalty cards and point-of-purchase.
See www.performanceprinting.com.

Neoprint (Chelmsford, MA), formerly Northeast Offset/Sullivan Brothers, is a woman-owned business specializing in multicolor collateral, sheetfed and cold web print, packaging, CD, DVD replication, variable data printing, fulfillment services and mail management. See www.neoffset.com.

UniGraphic (Woburn, MA) showcased its capabilities in digital large and grand format printing (both indoor and outdoor) as well as its commercial and digital capabilities, web-to-print services and digital asset management skills. See www.uni-graphic.com.

Mark your calendars

Printing Industries of New England (PINE) will host Graph_Comm 08 Graphic Communications Day on April 10, 2008, at the Boston Marriott Copley Place. Pine expects at least 400 buyers to attend an event that will feature more than 50 exhibitors. Jim Mikol, executive vice president and director of print management for Leo Burnett (Chicago) is the keynote speaker.

Graph_Comm 08 will focus on the sustained role printed materials serve in a complex, crowded and confusing multichannel communications environment in B2B and B2C markets. Special sessions will highlight personalized URLs, response URLs, e-mail marketing campaigns and other cross-media vehicles. See www.pine.org.