I don't think there's a PMS color for how I'm feeling about what I want to cover in my weekly Tips.

On the one hand, there's the urge to write about print manufacturing topics that never go stale, like writing good job specs, offset vs. digital printing, industry acronyms, press OKs, color management, diecutting and other finishing topics, binding techniques, letterpress, paper choices (don't get me started), and on and on.

Then I think about jumping on topics that deal with working with printers, especially for those of you new to the business. Topics like how to find printers, how to talk to printers, why printers are all different (and what makes them all alike), going on plant tours and press checks, how to negotiate with printers, buyers' responsibilities, how to review a proof, how to resolve conflicts, how to interpret an equipment list, and on and on.

I also have a dozen different ideas about skill building for print customers, especially in light of today's economy and the adaptation of newer media in the workplace.

Tips for printers about working better with print buyers are causing an idea pileup in my head nothing short of a content calamity. I've done so much research on print buying over the past 10 years that I'm itching to get my ideas out on paper, as it were. Please be patient. It will come.

In my travels, I'm fortunate to meet and befriend some of the industry's greatest thinkers and specialists. From time to time I run interviews with them in this space. These are always popular with readers, and I have four or five more in the pipeline for 2009.

There's this, too: suggestions for improving the web presence of printing companies. It's a particular pet peeve of mine. I can't help but look at printers' sites through the eyes of prospective customers. Some sites get high marks, but most fall woefully short. They don't write for their markets; they write for themselves.

For 10 months I've been learning all I can about new media, including the social ones (per se), and see all kinds of great applications for printers and print buyers. These media fascinate me. I'd love to write about integrating social media into your print campaigns. Social media are altering my business - and yours, I suspect. Ignore them at your own risk.

And then there's the granddaddy of all issues: what's happening to print buying as a long-term career? Unless you've been living under a rock, you know how shrinking budgets and growing digital media have taken a bite out of commercial printing as a communications medium. If you work in print production for a company or other institution, your role will change dramatically. I'd be remiss if I didn't address it in this space. I want to share observations and career trends that I'm seeing. Frankly, there's nothing as urgent as this topic.

Coming up with a Tip topic has never been an issue for me these past 10 years. My dilemma is selecting only one per week. What is the opposite of writer's block? If it's a crime, color me guilty.