Quick Printing

There is a continuing debate over the relative “greenness” of paper versus that of electronic media. Now International Paper has put out a brochure on the subject. “Pixels vs. Paper” is part of the company’s “Down to Earth” series, which also includes brochures on certification, recycled vs. virgin paper, and carbon footprints. (www.ipsustainability.com)

As far as the pixel/paper comparisons, paper comes out looking pretty good. It comes from trees, which are a renewable resource, while electronic devices use non-renewable plastics and contain metals and chemicals. The amount of electricity used to run a computer for five months could produce enough paper for the average person to use for a year. Also, paper is biodegradable and nearly 60% of all paper in the U.S. is recycled, while only 18% of all electronic devices are recycled and “e-waste” is the largest single waste export in the U.S.

Paper has other attributes, too. Books don’t crash, get viruses, or receive spam. And print is not given to obsolescence like electronic media. You can read a 100-year-old book, but probably can no longer access data stored on a 15-year-old floppy disk.

Of course the question is, if I like paper so darned much, why am I writing this electronic blog? I guess that, as in so many other cases, there isn’t an either/or choice and pixels and paper will have to coexist.

We lost a great one last Friday.

In his time, he was arguably the most trusted man in America. In the days before cable TV, the Internet, blogs, and tweets, Walter Cronkite delivered the news in a calm and reasoned manner to a nation that relied upon him to give them the facts they needed to know about the important events of the day. He didn’t have to declare himself to be fair and objective, that’s just the way he was.

How different it is today, with indiscriminant and instantaneous communications broadcasting opinions, rumors, innuendos, and vitriol from blogger keyboards and cable news cameras. It’s little wonder that the media of today is trusted only slightly more than are politicians.

Of course, there are exceptions—a handful of professional and meticulous gatherers and reporters of the day’s news. Sadly, they are too often drowned out by the shouting and spouting of those who put personality, politics, and personal gain above delivering relevant information.

Of course, Cronkite did stray into emotional territory from time to time—the deaths of President Kennedy and Martin Luther King, the moon landing, the conclusion that Vietnam was an un-winnable war. He also took the American people on trips through history on the 1950s TV show “You Are There,” which always closed with those memorable lines: “What kind of a day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our time. And you were there.”

I doubt we will ever see his like again. And that’s the way it is.

Despite the fact that everybody is trying to run lean and mean right now, there still is a need to keep an eye on the future workforce. When things turn around, and they will, who will be available to fill the jobs that open up due to prosperity or retirement? What will influence the next generation to consider the graphic arts as a smart career choice?

Well, PGSF (Print & Graphics Scholarship Foundation) joined up with Illinois State University in an attempt to find out what influenced up and coming graphic arts students when it comes to career choices. The study, which involved high school and college students who were on PGSF scholarships, found that “high touch” experiences are the most influential in motivating students to pursue a career in graphic communications.

High school graphic communications classes were the strongest influence for choosing a college major in that field. Yearbook and school publication experience and part time or summer employment in printing firms were also influential. What was not particularly influential were attempts at promoting the industry through recruiting information or career counseling.

So it appears that even in this age high-tech age, high-touch still matters. So, if you get a chance, give a kid some hands-on experience in your shop. He or she might someday prove to be your next rising star.

I was preparing for my keynote “Habits of Recession Survivors” presentation at the Xerox Thought Leadership Workshop late last month when I ran across a 2003 presentation that was remarkably similar. Back then the dot.com bubble had burst and the economy was hurting, and I quoted Trend Watch as saying, “Too many printers are waiting for the economy to get better and fix their business.” I found that similarity so fascinating that I used it as the subject of my editorial in the July issue of QP, which will probably show up in your mailbox this week.

What I didn’t mention in the editorial, nor in my last blog about using resources, was the overwhelming importance of knowing one’s finances. QP columnists Tom Crouser, John Stewart, Mitch Evans, and others harp on that fact all the time; and rightly so. As Dr. Marlow Marchant, a professor in the EKU technology program notes: “Sadly, business failure in printing, particularly in small printing companies, has been linked to top management who are unable to understand their own financial information…”

How do you get that information? One way is through the features of today’s management information systems (MIS) which can track all sorts of things. As QP columnist John Giles noted not that long ago, “Most printers don’t even begin to use the full power of their printing management programs… a user can look at data a hundred different ways.”

Last blog, I talked about the importance of using available vendor and association resources. What I didn’t emphasize was the importance of the financial tools available in your MIS software and from vendors and associations. Like I said last week, there are a plethora of resources available to quick and small commercial printers, but they aren’t worth anything if you don’t use them.