There seems to be an ongoing discussion about names and descriptions of things in our industry, particularly when it comes to the seemingly hotly-debated phrases “print service provider” and “marketing service provider”, as well as their acronym counterparts, “PSP” and “MSP”. Cary Sherburne sparked some debate last year with her post on Print CEO about “PSP”. There have been more recent points of discussion, as well. WhatTheyThink’s Peer Groups blog has discussed what encompasses a company that bills itself as a “marketing service provider”. On Printing Impressions’ blog a few days ago, Margie Dana expressed her distaste for printing companies that bill themselves as marketing service providers. Dr. Joe also weighed in, providing his thoughts on how printers should approach marketing services.

All of the aforementioned posts make a number of great points, some call for new or different terminology to be used, and others call out vendors and industry analysts/consultants (like myself) for causing confusion by instituting these terms in the first place. Vendors often use these terms to describe their clients, and I certainly have used them in many of my writings for InfoTrends, although I try to mix it up a little for variety’s sake. To be frank, I see the discussion about the use of these specific terms as a bit silly at face value. That’s not to say that terminology is not important, but I think this specific discussion really leads to larger issues that are happening within the industry, mostly dealing with structural change and transitioning that many print businesses have been going through. (more…)

Digital printers these days are being pressured to “go green,” which typically starts with adding PCW (postconsumer waste) content into paper. But is PCW really all that it’s cracked up to be?

I recently did some investigating into this question and got some surprising answers. In fact, there is a legitimate argument for the fact that PCW might have a less positive impact the environment than preconsumer waste.
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I.T. Strategies, on behalf of the Print Industries Market Information and Research Organization (PRIMIR) and the world’s printing equipment and supplies manufacturers, is conducting comprehensive research to establish a baseline identifying when and under what conditions analog printing applications could shift to digital printing. The applications to be examined include Marketing Collateral, Catalogs, Magazines, Manuals, Newspapers, Books, Direct Mail, Transaction/Financial Printing, Labels, Packaging and Specialty Printing.

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Baker & Taylor has announced a number of deals in the last week for the company’s TextStream digital book printing service . On February 4th B&T announced a partnership with PublishAmerica to provide print on-demand and order fulfillment for PublishAmerica’s 40,000+ titles.

“We chose Baker & Taylor because of its extensive distribution network, its incredible ability to manage the logistics of shipping and handling a large number of small orders to multiple locations, and the completeness of its printing package,” said Willem Meiners, PublishAmerica co-founder.

On Monday B&T inked deals with Fordham University Press, University of North Carolina Press and Penn State Press to provide print–on–demand services.

The TextStream digital printing service was announced on October 13, 2009 at last year’s Frankfurt Book Fair. Baker & Taylor partnered with RR Donnelley which provides printing and finishing for the service.

Canon’s $1.1 billion bid for Oce NV may be in jeopardy after Hermes Focus Asset Management Ltd said in an open letter to to the Boards of Canon and Océ (PDF) that it’s “concerned that the offer terms do not represent a fair sharing of value between the shareholders of Canon and those of Océ” and they “won’t tender their shares.”

Bloomberg reports investors feel the Canon’s offer is too low:

Orbis Funds, with about 10 percent of Oce, in November rejected Canon’s bid. Investor group VEB, which represented 211 shareholders with about 0.003 percent of Oce at its last shareholders meeting, judged the bid too low.

Canon announced its plan to buy Oce in November for about $1.1 billion in cash. A premium of 70% over the closing share price of Friday 13 November 2009.

Courier Corporation, a leading book manufacturer and specialty publisher announced that it has acquired Highcrest Media, a provider of software and solutions that streamline the production of customized textbooks for use in colleges, universities and businesses.

“College professors around the country are flocking to this new technology,” said Courier Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James F. Conway III. “Using Highcrest’s software, they can create a textbook that contains only the information they want to teach from–eliminating waste and reducing costs. By bringing Highcrest Media to Courier, we are placing ourselves at the forefront of this trend as a strategic resource for a key customer base. Highcrest’s expertise fits perfectly into our vision and portfolio.”

In an article at WhatTheyThink Andy Tribute writes that the world of publishing has hardly been impacted by developments in digital printing. Almost all the developments have been aimed at short-run commercial printing, variable data printing, and web to print operations. It would appear that this year will see the start of a change as book publishers look to digital printing to change their business models to reduce their capital tied up in inventory. In the article Tribute asks “Is 2010 the Year for Digital Printing for Publishers?”

The biggest impact digital printing has brought to publishing is the ability to support mass customization of printed products. A lack of workflow applications has hindered the ability of print providers to offer mass customization to publishing clients. The Courier acquisition is a perfect example of a need to provide workflow to drive mass customization and digital printing applications.

With the economy staggering along like an arthritic, three-legged dog on serious drugs, most companies have cut back or eliminated many of their “community outreach” programs of social responsibility. This has left countless organizations that depend on the generosity of corporations feeling the pinch and cutting back on the programs and services they provide.

Happily, at least two companies in the printing industry are still fighting the good fight and are maintaining or have initiated programs that reach beyond their corporate walls and do so using digital printing technology. One is Océ, through its four-year-old Future Authors program in Palm Beach County, Florida, and Xeikon’s efforts at Print 09 in support of the fundraising activities of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Both firms have used their technology in ways that go beyond putting ink or toner on a page and deserve recognition for doing so in a time of economic stress and pressure.

Other firms in our industry are doing similar things, but these are the two that hit my radar most recently. If you know of other good examples please let me know. It’s high time that companies that do good are recognized for it.

I was reading PrintWeek about an upcoming digital seminar they are holding next month. Nothing special, just a breakfast sponsored by HP on how to market and sell digital print.

I was surprised by the reaction in the comments to digital printing technology.

Frank Romano reports from a PIP Printing & Marketing Services event in Manchester, Connecticut. The event revolves around digital printing and variable data and Frank shows us some classic examples of some campaigns over the years.

What are some of our favorite variable print examples from the past?

This week’s Print Tips at Margie Dana’s Boston Print Buyers lists “major reasons” media buyers are choosing digital print when they do decide to use print. There should be no surprises as you read the list. In the comments there is a case study from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts on their switch to Print on-Demand:
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