First, I have not stopped writing.  I just hit a very busy stretch of business travel over the last four weeks.  I have three or four good golden nuggets ideas in the hopper (a couple thanks to my editor Michael Woods).  Keep in mind that comments on the posts I make do encourage me to post more.  Over the next two weeks leading up to GraphExpo look for three to four posts and please post your comments to let us know what you think of the topics and the content.
Second, Michael Woods and I spent this past week in Las Vegas at the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA) show.  Our main purpose for the trip was to assess the potential value of exhibiting at this show in future years.  On that subject I just do not see most of this market being ready for what we do.  While the top 1-2% of producers in this space seems to be concerned with color process control we will just have to catch them at cross over shows like GraphExpo.
What I did find interesting is the apparent rapid transition from screen printing to flat bed and wide format inkjet digital printing.  While digital printing has been coming on strong for several years, now is the time to seriously look at this medium if it is not already part of your production mix.
I am, however, optimistic that not all digital printing capacity replaces conventional capacity but instead opens up new short run opportunities at more economic levels.  In addition, digital printing allows for rapid prototyping which in turn can lead to large orders.  The key to securing potential long run screen work may now lie in the ability to prototype that work in a color managed (and color process controlled) workflow on a digital printing device.
In conclusion, while there may not be a large number of SGIA members reading this, the same concepts can clearly apply to conventional offset and flexographic printing environments.  If you have not already added digital printing capabilities to your production mix now is the time.  You will be able to utilize these capabilities for both rapid prototyping and profitable production of short-run work.