A great month has come to an end, but another great one has just begun! By the time you read this, you likely would have come back from Graph Expo and are potentially gearing up for Print World, which runs Nov. 22-24, 2008 at the Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto.
I haven’t missed a single Toronto trade show for at least 5 years—in fact, participating in industry events has always been important to me (as well as being fun). Tony Curcio gives us a great preview of what you may expect at the show this year. For those of you in the short-run industry, it will be a must attend in November.
This past month, I got to attend the Print in the Mix conference put together by our friends at Canadian Printer. I want to congratulate Doug Picklyk and team on a wonderful event. The exhibitors were informative, the food was great, and the speakers were knowledgeable. I know how difficult it is to take a day off work to attend such an event, but I would argue that it is highly valuable. The speeches were so uplifting that I had to share the great news with my third year class at Ryerson; print is and always will be a great place to be, thanks to the people!
We also had a wonderful time at the Ryerson Press Inauguration, which you may have read about on our website already. We welcomed the new equipment in style and in great company. (See News for more details).
That brings us to what this issue has in store for you! This month, we focus on automated, online and offline estimating and workflow solutions. What a mouth full! Jeanette Clinkunbroomer does a great job looking at some of the more local options available to printers in her article “Automating the automation: print estimation and job management tools.” It seems that, overall, the trend toward online and modular systems continues. Of course, as digital work starts consuming more of our daily activities, these systems will have to change. Given the “per click” nature of the costs involved, digital has the potential to be highly template driven. As the technology advances, the jobs will become more specialized leading to different estimating needs. Clinkunbroomer recognizes that the time to automate straightforward jobs is today. Fleshing out costs has always been important, but it’s even more relevant given the short-run nature of the digital business. So, whether you start with browser-based applications, or full-blown workflow solutions, costing (especially for digital) is not something you should leave on the back burner.
New this month is our “My Customer Asked Me” column. I’m very excited for you to read Diana Brown’s article on how the 75th anniversary E-ink magazine cover for Esquire came to be. Brown looks at the technology behind the lightweight and discrete blinking cover and identifies its potential for your customers. We had a great time answering your questions, and look forward to next month’s. To find the answer to any question that your customer might have stumped you with, email mycustomeraskedme@graphicartsmag.com
Natalia Gilewicz
natalia@graphicartsmag.com