My Name Is _____________. I am a Frankophile.

When I crave print history and print education, I look to Frank Romano, Emeritus Professor at RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology), author of nearly 50 books on print and publishing, popular public speaker, and an acknowledged expert in his field.

To listen to a Romano session (live and in person is the best) is a marvelous experience, for the man has a photographic memory unlike anyone else. Although I've heard him speak about the different printing processes many times, I always learn new and interesting facts to share with print buyers and others who love printing.

At this month's Print Buyer Boot Camp! in Boston, Frank was an instructor, along with Steve Suffoletto of RIT and yours truly.

Among the facts I learned from one of Frank's Boot Camp modules are these:

• In gravure printing, a half a million run is considered short. The average run for this process is over a million.

• Wallpaper and shower curtains are growing applications for the gravure process.

• Packaging is a major application for gravure.

• There are only 3 gravure publications printers left: RR Donnelley, Quebecor, and Quad/Graphics.

• Today, magazines are most often printed using two processes: half of the magazine is done by gravure, and the other half, by offset lithography.

• There are currently 11 versions of National Geographic printed.

• Web printing got its name from Webendorfer, which was the first company to make web presses.

• The terms "roll," "web," and "continuous" are used interchangeably when referring to web-fed printing.

• The three dominant plate makers for offset lithography are Kodak, Agfa and Fuji.

• HP Indigo presses can handle 97% of PMS colors. They are the exception among digital presses, as others cannot print PMS or spot colors. Yet.

• 20% of all books printed today are printed POD - Print on Demand.

If you should ever get the chance to hear Frank Romano speak, don't think twice. Go for it. By the way, if any of the terms used in today's Tip are foreign to you, chances are you'll find definitions in our Print Buyer Glossary, in our Resources section.

Comments? Talk to me at mdana@bostonprintbuyers.com.

©2008 Margie Dana. All rights reserved. You're free to forward this email to friends and colleagues: please do! However, no part of this column may be reprinted without permission from the author.

Print Buyer Conference News

September 11th - 12th, 2008

Sheraton Boston Hotel, Boston, MA

It delights me to tell you that Conference attendees raved about the sessions, the content, the speakers, the Learning Labs, and the networking. Don't feel left out if you missed it this year: you can access PDFs of most of the presentations on our conference site .

GRAPH EXPO Print Buyers Forum

October 28-29th, Chicago, IL

"Beyond Survival: How to Thrive in Today's Business of Print Buying"

Early Bird Rate ONLY $299 if you register by Friday, October 3rd!

Go to http://graphexpo.gasc.org/printbuyers.cfm to register.

Your Print Buyers Forum registration includes a FREE Exhibit Hall pass, which provides you access to the show for all four days of GRAPH EXPO! Economically priced at $299 (Early Bird Rate), this event is truly your on-ramp into the new world of print. Come explore all the hottest technologies that are driving the industry to new heights.

In-depth morning and lunchtime sessions will cover the issues of greatest interest and concern to sophisticated print buyers. The afternoon ‘practical application tour’ will provide participants with the opportunity to explore the expansive GRAPH EXPO exhibit hall and visit with more than 600 manufacturers and suppliers. (A handy pamphlet featuring the special 'must-see' technologies for the print buyer will be provided to assist Forum attendees.)

SPONSOR ANNOUNCEMENTS from ADOBE

Want to learn more about the special features of Adobe Creative Suite 4 for Print Professionals?

Sign up for one of these live, free eSeminars.

Faster and More Accurate Project Collaboration

How many times have you tried to "get on the same page" with your customers? Communication is key in our business, and it needs to be quick and accurate. Adobe Acrobat 9 provides a new option called Collaborate Live, an online collaboration tool that helps project teams build consensus and make better decisions, faster. Collaborate Live allows up to three customers to share and review a PDF file online. When a question is posed about the type or graphic in the upper left corner on page 22, all participants will see the same page at the same magnification. You may prefer to use the online chat functionality so there's no need to pick up the phone. To get started, the initiator of the session needs Acrobat 9, but all participants can join using the free Adobe Reader (version 8 or later). For more information, please visit: www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/

Guest Article

Every Exhibitor at our 3rd Annual Print Buyers Conference was offered a great opportunity: to submit an article for inclusion in our Print Tips newsletter. I'm delighted that Landmark Impressions has already accepted our offer.

Are You Working in a Digital City?

By Bob Pease
Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Landmark Impressions

Picture the downtown of a major city: skyscrapers tower; traffic stutters; people hurry. It's a hectic place…and a common scene in the 21st century. It's where business gets done. However, without one important invention, none of it would exist, because no one would be willing to work there.

What's this essential innovation that brings order to the physical world? It's the elevator.

Think about it. Would you work in a skyscraper if you had to climb hundreds of stairs – up and down, down and up – day after day, week after week? While you would be in great physical shape, you would waste much of your productivity traveling vertically.

Now, consider the technological world, where you spend a lot of your working life. Are you dwelling in a city without elevators? What if there were skyscrapers that house solutions to all your problems? There are, and they're part of a world powered by another important innovation: Digital Technology.

Digital Technology is the new elevator. In a Digital City, the skyscrapers are those digital products and services your vendor should be continuously building to help maximize your productivity …things like 24/7 on-line ordering, digital printing delivered in hours not days, variable data printing, personalization and more.

Gone are the days of having a large staff and working with single-source vendors. In today's economy, you are expected to deliver more with less. You need skyscrapers to achieve superior results. Seek vendors with multiple products and services and state-of-the-art digital print technology. Your rise to the top will feel like a ride on an express elevator.

Bob Pease owned a graphic design firm for two decades before joining Landmark Impressions four years ago to help clients focus on increasing their productivity and results with digital technology. To discover how to reduce stress in managing multiple projects in your world, email bpease@landmarkimpressions.com. Visit www.landmarkimpressions.com.

Print Buyer Poll for September

Buyers, newer media are giving print a run for its money. With that in mind, which statement rings true for you?

• My role as a buyer is not likely to change much in the next few years.

• My role as a buyer will change a lot in the next few years.

• I haven't given any thought whatsoever to this subject.

• I don't plan to stay in this field to find out.

Cast your vote on our home page at www.bostonprintbuyers.com.

Print Tips Archives!

Our Print Tips archives are public. Access them from the home page of our site
under Print Tips at www.bostonprintbuyers.com.