October 1st, 2018
Posted in Printing | Comments Off on Custom Printing: A Trip to the Modern Printing Plant
I’ve been attending press inspections at commercial printing plants for almost thirty years. Each time, I learn something new, so even now I get excited when I get a chance to go on a plant tour.
I had lunch this week with a friend of mine who is the CEO of a large, local custom printing company with a number of offices in the local DC Metropolitan area. Before we ate, we went through the new plant he and his company had just acquired (he had bought another commercial printing supplier’s business). I found it to be a most intriguing and educational experience. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Printing | Comments Off on Custom Printing: A Trip to the Modern Printing Plant
September 23rd, 2018
Posted in 3D Printing | Comments Off on Custom Printing: A Concise 3D Printing Primer
I just read an article online that captures in three pages the gist of the new 3D commercial printing wave. Written by Tyler Lacoma, this article, entitled “What Is 3D Printing? Here’s Everything You Need to Know,” presented on Yahoo News, delivers just what its title promises. If you’re interested in the subject, it’s worth your time. It will get you started on your research. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in 3D Printing | Comments Off on Custom Printing: A Concise 3D Printing Primer
September 16th, 2018
Posted in Book Printing | 4 Comments »
I’ve written many blog postings about a small color chip print book for which I broker the custom printing. It is only a few inches long, 118 pages plus cover, laminated, drilled, and attached with a metal post and screw assembly. There are 22 master copies of which each requires only three to six copies for my client’s clients. My client is a fashionista. Her clients love these little books. So she reprints the job every few months. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Book Printing | 4 Comments »
September 9th, 2018
Posted in Packaging | Comments Off on Commercial Printing: Personalized Package Printing
I just read an article by Tom Egan, vice president, industry services, at the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, entitled “Package Printing Gets Personal.” It was published online at www.beveragedaily.com on 7/30/18.
What makes this article intriguing to me is Egan’s ability to articulate the immense power of personalization. Basically, even when you buy a bottle of water (which is one of the examples he cites in the article), you’re making a statement about who you are: your essence, your individuality and values. And when the brand, as reflected through the packaging of the water, engages your emotions and makes you want to buy one kind of water over another again and again, it is clear that the marketing information on the product has created a tidal pull on you, both intellectually and emotionally. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Packaging | Comments Off on Commercial Printing: Personalized Package Printing
September 4th, 2018
Posted in Magazine Printing | Comments Off on Commercial Printing: Designing a Magazine Experience
After 14 years of driving a Jeep Cherokee, my trusted ride became unreliable. At about the same time, my fiancee decided to get a new, used car because her Subaru had reached the 14-year-old mark and was no longer trustworthy for long-distance driving. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Magazine Printing | Comments Off on Commercial Printing: Designing a Magazine Experience
August 26th, 2018
Posted in Lamination | Comments Off on Custom Printing: Troubleshooting Lamination Problems
I heard back from a client recently that the lamination on her fashion color chip book pages had air bubbles on all pages of all copies. This is the little print book of color chips I have written about many times in this blog, and given the problems we have had with the scheduled reprint, I was not pleased to hear this news.
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Posted in Lamination | Comments Off on Custom Printing: Troubleshooting Lamination Problems
August 24th, 2018
Posted in Book Printing | Comments Off on Book Printing: What Do You Do in an Emergency?
What do you do when a job goes south? It can happen in any number of ways. I have a client who regularly prints a color-chip book for fashion. I’ve written about her work a number of times in this blog. Her product is akin to a PMS swatch book for make-up and clothing based on one’s complexion. It is small (3.54” x 1.42”); 118 pages in 4-color process, produced digitally on an HP Indigo; and then drilled and assembled on a metal screw and post assembly. Depending on the particular press run, my client might print anywhere from 3 to 30 copies of each of her 22 master copies (each master copy addresses people with particular hair and facial complexion). Because of the ultra-short press run for each master copy, my client’s job needs to be produced digitally. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Book Printing | Comments Off on Book Printing: What Do You Do in an Emergency?
August 21st, 2018
Posted in Digital Printing | 2 Comments »
I found a most interesting article on www.inkworldmagazine.com on 7/18. I had been reading articles on the growth of inkjet printing as a tool for interior design, and I was aware that, like package design, corrugated board printing, fabric decoration, and large format printing, the use of inkjet technology in building interiors has been a growth industry within the overall commercial printing universe. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Digital Printing | 2 Comments »
July 22nd, 2018
Tags: commercial printing, custom printing, hang tags, restaurant marketing
Posted in Tags | Comments Off on Custom Printing: Restaurant Hang-Tag Printing
The first rule of commercial printing sales is to listen to your customer’s needs. Needless to say, when a print brokering client of mine came to me with her new client and a new project, I was very excited. My client is a graphic designer, and her new client is a restaurateur who needs die-cut hang-tags for his packaged Asian food (which complements his individually prepared restaurant food). Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: commercial printing, custom printing, hang tags, restaurant marketing
Posted in Tags | Comments Off on Custom Printing: Restaurant Hang-Tag Printing
July 15th, 2018
Posted in Book Binding | Comments Off on Book Printing: What Is Library Binding?
A few days ago when my fiancee and I were at the thrift store looking through print books of paintings and drawings for our art therapy classes, another teacher approached us. After a brief discussion of our respective work, she gave us a number of books she was about to donate. Not only were they a great overview of the history of art (in about fifteen volumes), but they were also very nicely bound. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Book Binding | Comments Off on Book Printing: What Is Library Binding?