Boston Print Buyers - Margie's Print Tips

Margie Dana

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I'm off to the UK next week to give a keynote at Print Yorkshire's Showcase2006 , and 3 days later I head to Auckland, New Zealand, to do the same at PrintNZ's biennial conference. Once home, I'll have two weeks to put the final touches on our first Boston Print Buyers Conference on November 2nd. (Not to mention overcoming jet lag.)

I'm really looking forward to meeting and learning from print and buying professionals in both countries. Tres exciting!

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The Major Printing Processes - A Snapshot

by Margie Dana

New to working with printers? Then you can certainly benefit from knowing a bit about the different printing processes. Here goes:

Offset lithography is the most common printing process. There's sheetfed as well as web offset. Web presses use webs or rolls of paper; sheetfed presses use paper that comes in sheets. Ink is offset (transferred) from metal plates to a rubber blanket (cylinder) to the paper. Most commercial printers do offset printing. Offset is used for all run lengths - from short to long. Web presses are used for long runs. Don't presume you know which press your job should run on. It all depends on the specs, particularly size, paper, format and quantity.
Letterpress is "relief" printing. It was founded by Gutenberg in 1440. Relief printing means the images on the plate are higher than the surface - think rubber stamps. Fine letterpress is being done by fewer and fewer printers, but it is absolutely gorgeous.
Flexography is another type of relief printing. It uses flexible rubber or photopolymer plates and is a web process. Flexo is used for packaging products that include cardboard boxes, grocery bags, gift wrap, and can and bottle labels.
Gravure printing (aka "intaglio") is used for printing millions of impressions: think magazines, newspapers, and direct mail catalogs. It's also used for upholstery and textiles, wall paper, plastic laminates, and postage stamps.
Screen printing was always called silk-screening, but today's screens are also made of fabric like nylon or Dacron, or even stainless steel, as well as silk. Ink is forced through a screen, using a stencil pattern. Typical uses are T-shirts, signage, point-of-sale displays, decals, and truck signage.
Engraving produces the sharpest image of all. Steel dies are cut or chemically etched to hold ink. Paper's forced against the plate using tremendous pressure, causing an embossed (raised) impression. Run your fingers over the back side of the sheet and you'll feel the engraving. It's a dead giveaway.
Thermography is a less expensive alternative to engraving if you want raised printing. It uses special powder that adheres to any color ink. Uses include all sorts of stationery products. It doesn't require a die, as does engraving.
Reprographics is a general term describing copying and duplicating. Think in-house copying departments and copy or quick printing shops. (But today, every job is a quick printing job, isn't it?) Duplicates are made of your originals.
Digital printing is the newest kid on the block - and every customer and company I know has a need for digital printing. Today's presses use either toner or ink-jet technology. A brand-new image is made from your digital file every time. Digital's ideal for short-run, fast-turnaround jobs. You can print exactly the amount you need, which means no waste. Digital has improved tremendously, in pricing as well as quality. Most printing firms offer digital. Variable Data Printing (VDP) is a type of digital printing that lets you personalize every copy. Words, images - or both - can be changed with each impression.

There will be a test. Study up.

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Our Boston Print Buyers Conference is shaping up to be extremely well attended. We might top our goal of 300, because nearly 200 have already registered! Sign up today and be a part of this event - whether you buy print or manufacture it, you're welcome!

You must register online at www.bostonprintbuyers.com

Go to to our Conference schedule page, choose your sessions and register online.

Don't wait to register!

The conference is at the Westford (MA) Regency Inn & Conference Center. We have built a rock-solid program of 12 dynamite sessions, plus a game show featuring printers vs. buyers (and hosted by Frank Romano), a sold-out exhibit hall with 27 excellent service providers, and a party.

This event is well on its way to attract hundreds of print professionals.

Everyone is welcome - NOT just buyers.

Exhibit Space Is Sold Out!

For pricing, benefits, and details on other conference sponsor opportunities go to our exhibitor page.

Who's Exhibiting?

Adobe Systems, Inc.
Alliance Print Group
American Printing
Colonial Printing Company, Inc.
Concord Litho
Creative Automation
Daniels Printing
Deschamps Printing
DMI, Inc.

FGS
Flagship Press
Graphic Litho
Hewlett-Packard
J. S. McCarthy Printers
Japs-Olson Company
Matheson Higgins/ Congress Press
Millennium Graphics
Mohawk Fine Papers

NeoPrint, Inc.
Printable Technologies
Reynolds DeWalt
Sappi Fine Paper
Shawmut Printing
StoraEnso
The Journeyman Press
UniGraphic (also sponsoring the keynote!)
Winthrop Printing

Welcome our Cocktail Sponsor: The Tripp Company!
(Please inquire if you are interested in the same opportunity.)

New BPB Poll!

Our current BPB poll asks the following question - and is for print customers only:

How likely is it that you'll source some printing overseas in the next 12 months?

To participate in our poll, please go to www.bostonprintbuyers.com. It's there on the home page, bottom left. Have fun!

Print Tips Archives!

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under Print Tips at www.bostonprintbuyers.com.

Margie Dana Services: New and Improved!

Print Consulting - I help printers understand customers and vice versa.
Sales Rep Coaching - I educate new sales reps about today's print buyers.
Print Education - I educate corporate staffs of buyers about the current industry: what's happening and what's about to happen.
Great Writing - I develop marketing materials of all kinds for printers and other firms. Brochures, direct mail, sales letters, ads, articles, etc.
Web Sites - I develop new content for web sites or audit and edit old ones.
Customer Surveys - I develop written ones and also surveys done via the phone.
Speaking - I deliver energetic and memorable presentations about printing and print buying. Call 617-730-5951 for more information or look at the speaking page on our website.

BPB Sponsor Directory

Take a look! The BPB Directory offers firms a unique online presence for their prospective customers. Interested? Visit our sponsor information page for details.

New Guest Article

Jack Miller, Senior Consultant for Pira International, has written two articles that we've posted on the BPB web site. One is called "Digital Papers," and the other is "Stability Now." Please visit our Resources section and click on these PDFs.

Want to meet Jack? Come to the BPB Conference, where he'll be presenting "Inside the Paper Markets - The Real Story of Paper Prices," from 10:45 - 11:45 am on 11/2. Look under Conference Schedule on the Conference tab for more information on the program.

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If you want to contribute an article that will help enlighten customers of printing and the graphic arts, email me at

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