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March Madness 31 posts in 31 days

JimRaffel — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:23:06 +0000

Thirty-one days ago I set out to write 31 posts in 31 days. This is it, the thirty-first post. Thirty here and one on QuickInternetPages.com (or QIP.com) the blog idea that was created by the 31 posts exercise.

Now, I am going to ramble a bit.

I learned a lot about me, writing and the fine art of blogging. It’s not as easy as it looks. I look now at the shear volume of content Chris Brogan and Mitch Joel turn out and just think – wow! They have both been producing at this pace for years.

I wont’ be continuing at this pace at least not for a while. My lifestyle and my business won’t allow for it right now. I will continue to write everyday. I just have a posting schedule I am going to adhere to until I have built up a bit of a post backlog. There will be exceptions to this if a great topic pops into my mind.

So, starting next week here’s the plan:

Sunday at 8:00pm Central – A new post at QIP.com

Tuesday at 8:00am Central – A new post at ColorMetrix

Thursday at 8:00om Central – A new post at JimRaffel.com

Over the last 31 days I learned that I enjoy writing about several different topics and not all those topics belong in one place.

Over at QIP.com I will write about all the behind the scenes techniques and technology it takes to keep a self-hosted WordPress blog running as your internet business home base. The dirty grimy nuts and blots stuff. You will also find some social media and community topics there but more as they relate to connection of the social media outposts to your home base.

Over at ColorMetrix.com I will write about color and the printing industry I am so passionate and yet worried about. I’m going to kick off over there with a post titled Color Conversation, that is rolling around in my head. It will be there by 8am next Tuesday morning. That will be followed up with an interview with print industry powerhouse and social media guru Jeffrey Hayzlett, Chief Marketing Officer of Kodak.

Here at JimRaffel.com I am going to stick to what I consider the fun stuff. Self-improvement, motivation, some social media with real world spin and perspective. I’m not a journalist I am a commentator. I call it like I see it.

That’s my take on the last 31 day of posting, anything to add?

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisarupp/

Measure Your Way To Success

JimRaffel — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:10:10 +0000

A proper measurement methodology is how to gauge success.

How can you know where you are going and if you have arrived, when you don’t even know where you are?

Want increased sales? Determine an accurate way to measure sales today. Using sound business principals calculate what sales need to be in the future. Then, work out a plan with measurable milestones along the way to achieve the desired sales result.

This works because what’s measured gets done. – I have set out to write 31 blog posts in March (this is number 18). At 12:01am on March 1st I had zero posts for the month. I need to write one post a day on average. So on Day 18 I must have published my 18th post or have a plan for how I am going to catchup and on what day.

My friend Kevin uses my software to establish a baseline from which he will help his customers improve. He goes into their shop early in the sales process and measures some press sheets. By doing so he determines the current acceptable color and print quality. As he provides his products for testing it’s easy to gauge if the new products have helped, hindered or not changed the print and color quality. Now, he only has to address price and service and let’s be honest the salesperson who has gone to all this effort is down to price. I’d also guess you might be willing to pay a bit more for this quality of service.

Key success metrics should be micro managed. There are steps in every business process I have ever observed, that if followed, virtually guarantee success. Do you know what these steps are in your process? Do you measure them each and every day? When they are not improving do you take action based upon the measured results?

Feature Post: Printing (on paper) vs. Google

JimRaffel — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:44:38 +0000

Authors Note: If you do not work in the printing industry, read this post from the perspective of accepting change in your industry and recognizing who your real competitors are.

Your competition is not the printer down the street. Your competition is Google. Right now, they are kicking your butt.

The Situation – The last decade has not been an easy one for the Graphic Communications (we used to call it Printing Industry). Many organizations failed to accept that changes in information delivery are permanent and ever increasing. Others were slow to adapt and now are scrambling for their very existence. For those companies with a real, authentic and sustainable business model built to sniff out change and hustle to adapt – good times are ahead.

For large segments of the population electronic communication is overwhelming. Use of email, and social media tools like Facebook and Twitter will increase, but the noise that must be overcome for your advertising signal to be heard make these mediums less than ideal for advertising and promotional dollars. On the internet you get about 2-3 seconds to capture the prospects mind so they commit to look further at your message.

The Opportunity – How many emails do you delete each day without even opening them? That is after spam filters have captured a large percentage of the noise for you. Now, take a look at your postal mailbox. If your pile of mail is like mine it is about 1/4 to 1/3 the size it used to be. There’s so little junk mail I actually look at the pieces now. All of them.

Some of the junk mail I receive is beautiful printing. Extended gamut, die cut, spot coated, hyper-personalized so that the piece speaks to my needs and solves my problem. Occasionally pieces are so impressed I hang onto them and show my wife. Yes, that matters – a marketing touch is a marketing touch. Do that with an email I deleted.

Direct marketing merchants are still printing catalogs, lots of them. Each catalog may have fewer pages and mail to fewer recipients but that just means there are more targeted higher quality versions of the catalog. The direct merchants know that a printed catalog increases the likely hood you will visit their web-site and continue to browse and ultimately purchase. Their catalog is no different than a pay per click ad, designed to drive traffic to the point of action where you can spend your dollars.

The Plan – I have worked with the leaders, the followers and the “now out of business.” I have watched, listened and learned in my almost three decades in this industry. If you have a sales staff that can sell and do the things listed below together we can be successful, very successful.

1. The golden age of printing is ahead of us not behind us, so you can stop whining and complaining now.

2. Stop watching re-runs on TV and read one business book a week instead. Yes, one a week, it’s a cake walk when you turn the TV off.

3. Learn what your competition is doing – not the printer down the street, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, etc. (Hint: If you don’t have accounts on all four of those – do it right now. You don’t have to love them, but you have to understand them before they eat your lunch.)

4. Embrace the G7 methodology and learn what GRACoL is all about. (have you read all the FREE documents here?) There will be plenty of commodity jobs to fill the presses that require GRACoL and G7. With the first four steps you just became a break-even printer.

5. In order to achieve and maintain the GRACoL master printer status you will need a top notch continuous improvement and process control program in place. Without a such a program in place the next step is out of your reach so don’t even bother.

6. To print stand out pieces extended gamut, die cutting, spot coating and hyper-personalization are the future. Do you understand the technology and consumables you will need to get there? (Hint: The future is now and you are already behind if you don’t have the a plan.)

7. Pick your suppliers and outside experts carefully. Ask yourself if they have skin in the game. If they are drawing a paycheck as opposed to holding an equity stake in the business the answer is no. Your local dealer rep (working for a mega dealer) scrambling to meet his sales goals and sell you more of the consumable you already use (that are less than ideal for your environment) seldom has the time or motivation to help you with the six steps above.

So, there you have it seven steps to create you own golden age of printing. If you decide to join me steps 1-3 can be completed by the end of the day and you can be well on your way to step 4 by this time tomorrow. The hard work will not even seem like hard work when you start to see the results.

Comments are open on this and all posts at JimRaffel.com. Join the conversation and let me know what you think about the above post and how implementing the steps is working out for you.

Color & The State of Printing Industry 2010

JimRaffel — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 02:22:37 +0000

Color & The State of the Printing Industry 2010 also appears on the ColorMetrix Color Conversation blog.

It never ceases to amaze me how integral color knowledge is to the graphic arts industry at large, yet how few people in the industry really understand the topic. The problem is that color, like the game of chess, is very easy to learn and almost impossible to master. I believe this is because true color knowledge requires solid math skills. Color Science, after all, is applied physics.

In 2010 and beyond, the printing companies that thrive (profit leaders) will be leaders in color knowledge and implementation. For example, the GRACoL G7 methodology is the practical application of color science to achieve a more consistent and predictable print result regardless of where the digital files are converted to ink on substrate. Gee, sounds like a Real, Authentic & Sustainable way to reduce waste and increase productivity.

A significant advantage ink on substrate has over other information delivery methods is color vibrancy and consistency. Sure my iPod Touch, my Blackberry, my computer screen, and my TV screen can all deliver amazing and eye catching visual messages, but how consistent is the color fidelity of the same message delivered to multiple devices? (It was a rhetorical question, but the answer is awful).

On the other hand, you can produce a corporate color like “Coke Red” on just about any substrate anywhere in the world if you choose to do so, and I wrote about it here. The printing industry also has the capability to create amazing color messages by utilizing interesting combinations of unique spot colors. The key again is you can control the color and consistency of these colors like no other medium that is delivered to the general public.

The color challenge I issue for 2010 is twofold. First, invest the resources necessary to become a high level practitioner of color science, or provide the means for someone in your organization to do so. Second, keep your eyes open for projects that benefit from the delivery of a high level of color fidelity and color consistency to the general public. Go after these projects with a vengeance selling the benefits that you as a printer can provide over any other message delivery method!

Hard Work: A Year In the Making

JimRaffel — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:07:25 +0000

Tomorrow morning a press release will announce that ColorMetrix and SpotOn! Press have agreed to work together on a project to provide enhanced interoperability between our two products. There will be lots of flowery prose and 50 cent words in the release so I will spare you the sales talk here. Tonight I will write the story of how two “competitors” agreed to work together to provide an enhanced value proposition to our customers.

A little more than one year ago I began talking with my friend Bruce Bayne about how his SpotOn! Press software and our ProofPass.com color verification and process control system, while competitive products on some levels, really solved two different parts of the color verification and process control puzzle. It was a great conversation and right away I knew I was dealing with a kindred spirit.

At the time Bruce was busy dealing with the release of his version 1.0. I was busy ramping up work on one of our largest customization projects. We continued to have conversations as our paths crossed. Sometimes months would go by between calls or emails but the lines of communication remained open. As Print ‘09 approached it was clear that to survive in this marketplace I would need to once again re-invent ColorMetrix and forge new strategic business relationships as some tried and true partners from the past went different directions, including directly competing with me.

At Print ‘09 Bruce and I along with a couple members of his team sat down for a cocktail supper high above Chicago at ROOF, the year-round rooftop lounge on the 27^th floor of the theWit hotel. In hindsight a lofty venue was the perfect place to launch almost three months of work hammering out the details of getting two technology products produced by two small businesses working together.

Over my 23 year career in the printing industry I have worked with the good, the bad and the ugly. At a couple of key crossroads I have been lucky enough to have mentors who nudged me in a slightly different direction than I would have gone on my own. (There is a reason I have an MBA and not a Masters in Computer Science.) I have worked with smart people, people of integrity, personable people, fun people, serious people, you name them I have worked with or for them. This interoperability agreement really works for one reason; Bruce Bayne and Jim Raffel trust each other and get along.

We entered into this agreement because it is real, authentic and sustainable. Tomorrow morning our joint press release will tell the story of two separate companies that will work together to sell each other’s products. Sunday we will debut the interoperability of the two products at the PIA Color Management Conference in Phoenix. I am not positive what the future holds but I know it’s a lot brighter working side by side with Bruce Bayne and SpotOn! Press than going it alone.

#70: Ink Jet Print for Pay vs. Proofing

JimRaffel — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:57:59 +0000

Not too long ago I attended the IRgA annual conference and continued to see a growing trend I first saw at an ISA show several years ago in Las Vegas. Ink jet printers that many in the traditional graphic arts (commercial and publication printing) have viewed as proofing devices are competing increasingly for commercial print dollars. IRgA is the organization that used to, almost exclusively, represent blueprint printers. While many of these companies still produce blueprints and architectural drawings, they are also now heavily involved in the sign and point of purchase market.

As I walked the show floor at the conference, a high percentage of the booths contained large format printers that are used in traditional graphic arts. Just as many innovative small and mid-size commercial printers have discovered that these devices purchased for proofing can be used for signage printing, so has the IRgA. Why not bid on the signs for the architects grand unveiling of the new skyscraper? Why not bid on the signs for the construction site? For that matter, why not bid on the signage for the new building? It is, after all, almost always easier to acquire additional business from an existing customer than it is to land a new customer.

Several other factors are driving this growth in wide format ink jet printing.
-    Faster printer speeds
-    Ink technology improvements
-    Expanding media choices
-    Expanding post print options (vacuum forming, etc)

As the ink jet industry matures and blurs the lines between sign shops, blueprint printers, and commercial printers, print buyers are becoming increasingly more comfortable with the print quality attainable via ink jet, not to mention some of the cost and turnaround time benefits. Finally, as more consumer product companies begin to rely upon wide format ink jet printing as part of the marketing mix, color quality becomes increasingly important.

I know this to be a fact because; large format ink jet print shops are a rapidly grown market segment of ProofPass.com user base. Some of these wide format digital printers have become multi-plant national concerns. As such, they work with critical color customers who expect color to be maintained with 3-4 delta E tolerance. These multi-plant shops also want the ability to shift work between locations, which requires that they know devices in different locations produce color in the same way. This verification process is simple with a tool like ProofPass.com that centralizes color measurement results in a single web-browser accessible internet database.

Overall, the growth of effective color management and methodologies like G7 has further blurred the lines of competition in the graphic arts industry. Standardized color is now a barrier to entry. If you are not capable of consistently producing “Coke” red, trust me someone else is and will take any business you have from that customer away from you.

EXTREME Color Management Conference Update

JimRaffel — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:21:39 +0000

It has really been too busy to write something each day. I do have some topics rolling around in my head and will write more when I get back to the office. So far it has been a good conference with many excellent speakers.

During lunches and other networking opportunities I did pick up a bit of frustration on the part of Ink Vendors and users of G7 related to repeatability of ink trap from press run to press run. Achieving the ISO spec for the individual Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black is no problem but getting repeatable trapping (measured with L*a*b* of course) is often times very difficult.

The panel I was part of focused on press room process control. I bring this up because part of the answer to the ink trapping problem is better utilization of process control techniques by printers. I presented two case studies of printers who have successfully utilized our ProofPass.com product to see significant improvements in press room quality and consistency.

I will focus on these two topics and more when I have more time to write.

EXTREME Color Management Conference

JimRaffel — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:51:25 +0000

New Orleans, LA – As part of ColorMetrix’ sponsorship of the EXTREME Color Management Conference I will be in New Orleans the rest of this week (9/14-9/18). The week is actually comprised of 3 conferences; starting with a G7 Summit all day Monday; then a day and half of EXTREME the second day of which overlaps with the first day of IDEAlliance Spectrum360.

This promises to be a very exciting week. We all started arriving last nigh and the gang is here (well the Color Management gang so far). It was decided that what happens on Boubon Street stays on Bourbon Street! So, no stories from last night.

My goal is to kick start my JimRaffel.com activity with daily posts from the conferences this week. There I go setting myself up for success by putting my goals out there where all of you can read it. Tomorrow look for my thoughts (OK, my sometimes strong opions) about the G7 Sumitt. Because I need to get a tabletop display set-up and man that table during breaks I will not actually be attending the sessions, but I am sure the comments made during breaks and meals will be quite interesting.

Thanks to the New Orleans Marriott staff.These folks have only been home about a week since the Hurricane evacuation. They have done a fantastic job getting the hotel back up and running and making us all feel welcome.

Kuler is not cooler – by Michael Jahn

JimRaffel — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:36:37 +0000

Michael Jahn, a JimRaffel.com reader replied to me via email about a previous post and I found his comments enlightening about how scary the world of color has become for those of us in the graphic arts that have to actually print this stuff.

So, for the first time ever (I think) a guest contributor at JimRaffel.com….

Hi Jim,

Read you blog about Kuler;

As I suggest in my subject like, I do not think Kuler is cooler.

Okay, I will give you it has a sweet looking thing to look at, but so was that Brazilian chick I dated.

example – go to Kuler – in the search tool, enter “swop”

See attached (this is made from several screen captures – Kuler runs in a browser, so that is RGB – I did my screen captures in Photoshop building while in CMYK, profile was SWOP version 2 – not wanting to debate the fine points, as Kuler seems to have no real notion of CMYK that one wonders why they offer it at all…

So, my gripe is that if one were specifying in CMYK

– 50k should look fairly close to 50c, 38m, 38 y, 0k – in Kuler (TOP) they don’t, and in Photoshop, (BOTTOM) they do

and 50c, 50m, 50y 0k should look a bit warmish brownish, in Kuler it is neutral (incorrect) and in Photoshop it is a bit warmish brownish (correct)

I have no explanation as to why 19c, 0m, 0y, 38k should look like 50c, 38m, 38 y, 0k – in Kuler, or anything that might create, display, report proof, print or plate.

Clearly – This is not ready for prime time for color specifying in the world of print

–
Michael Jahn
Jahn & Associates
PDF Color Conversion Specialist

Virtual Proofing – Oh Boy!

JimRaffel — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 21:23:55 +0000

I believe virtual proofing is at the same cross roads ink jet proofing was around 2001. I am both hearing and observing information that provides growing support in my own mind for this position. First, I am not going to name any names in this post. Why? Because gut feelings and intuition are not fact.

Think back to 2001 and earlier as it relates to ink jet proofing. For a frame of reference think Print ‘01 in Chicago, just try not to remember that 9/11 fell right in the middle of the show We finally had a good stable pigment based printer. We had a few good RIPs emerging from the pack, but you still really needed 3rd party color management software to make the whole thing work. Of course there was the nightmare of the day which was trying to find a suitable media for Graphic Arts proofing purposes.

The reality was if you understood all the steps involved (or hired a good color management consultant) you could make decent ink jet proofs that rivaled the standard analog and digital proofs of the day.

Now think about virtual proofing today. While I believe there are at least two (and quite likely more) solid products capable of producing virtual proofs rivaling the ink jet proofs now carrying the standards flag; getting even those two systems to work in multiple locations can and does prove tricky at best. This is no knock on the virtual proofing software vendors, but instead really an issue of hardware.

Putting together a solid ink jet proofing system requires an end-user to source a printer, media, a RIP, a computer to run the RIP, and probably a good color management consultant as well. Putting together a solid virtual proofing system requires sourcing a display…let’s stop right there. There is more to it, but the display is proving (at least my gut tells me this) to be a huge thorn in the side of virtual proofing working in multiple locations.

I am hearing some crazy numbers like less than 1 in 10 “qualified” displays can be used in a 2 or more location virtual proofing set-up. If this is true (and I am starting to think it is), than it is no wonder virtual proofing is being used more and more for intermediate color (as I predicted in a previous post) and good old reliable ink jet proofs are still being produced as a final contract proof.

I still believe virtual proofing will continue to make gains over hard copy proofing. I just think it may be a little slower than we thought until this display issues gets worked out. Part of the problem is that measuring displays is not the easiest thing in the world to do….but that could be a whole post or even a complete white paper.