October is one heck of a month for our industry. As we start to wind down from all the glories of drupa, we are off to Graph Expo for new oohs and aahs closer to home.
I personally love trade shows and always go home carrying entirely too many brochures to read over my next morning’s coffee. And while we all like the new trendy double-sided pens/highlighters, what I really get from these shows is a sense of community and growth—a chance to see where we are headed and a chance to be impressed.
While studying Graphic Communications as a student, I noticed the underlying theme was that print is slow to change. I disagree in both theory and practice. Being at the show really gives you a sense that the industry is evolving.
This month’s issue takes a look at the changes that have taken place in both the most likely and least likely areas of print—MIS and bindery respectively.
We begin the month with the new world of bindery. Ken Harbin will take you through the advancements, looking primarily at how to link the short-run digital world with high-end profitable bindery solutions. Thomas Sprinzing addresses today’s bindery challenges with his article about bindery for large-format offset jobs. Read up on all the details you may not have considered, like width of alleyways, pile-turners and etc. Most importantly, you will get a sense for what’s to come in the new world of finishing from these thinkers—because it’s certainly not the “same old.”
We know that change is a key word when it comes to Management Information Systems (MIS). While many of us have invested in some sort of “calculator,” there are a far lower percentage of companies that successfully integrate all their processes into one whole system. Systems are most typically modular so that printers can pick and choose which components are important to them. While this is effective in the short-run, I imagine we would like to end up having real-time data for every “what-if” scenario under the sun—and we’ll get there.
On a more personal note, I’d like to thank our Editorial Board for a great meeting! I am very excited about what we have coming up for the magazine. Some items you can look forward to include regular columns on estimating, accounting and sales as well as more tips and tricks on how to help you get things done effectively. I invite you to submit questions to our new monthly help column entitled “My customer asked me‚Ķ” at mycustomeraskedme@graphicartsmag.com
We look forward to bringing you current information and being a resource for you.