Quick Printing

Judging from the outpouring of post show press releases from vendors, Print 09 went very well. Release headlines have included such gems as: “record sales … success story … well-received … results oriented … surpassed expectation.” I have written about how the first four days of the show were a mixed bag as far as attendance went. In reality, the six-day show finished much stronger than it started. Were the vendors happy? Well, that is always a tough question to answer. Having done the show circuit for more than 20 years, I have a pretty good handle on which vendors would gripe even if their booths were inundated with customers and which would put the best possible spin on lethargic attendance.

What makes a show successful? Is it good attendance? Or is it the quality of the attendees? Or perhaps a bit of both? Prior to the show I was reminded of the football coaches who talk up the opposition – even if it’s The Little Sisters of the Poor University – and downplay their own formidable talents. Lower expectations so that if the game is a disaster they can say “I told you so,” and if they stomp the opponent as expected they can claim a glorious win. Expectations were certainly lowered prior to Print 09 and the result was a show that indeed “surpassed expectations.” In these times I think that’s a victory.

Somewhere over Texas at around 35,000 feet I found myself thinking about the latest skirmish in the association consolidation battle. (That was after I was thinking about the drink cart that was coming down the aisle.) Seems as if PIA again has approached NAPL with the idea of consolidation in mind. Oddly, they phrased their tentative offer as "extending an olive branch," which doesn’t make much sense unless there’s a war going on. NAPL said thanks, but no thanks, although they left the door open for increased cooperation.

I think that’s a good move on NAPL’s part. Both association have their own strengths and weaknesses and they complement each other in many ways. They also compete for membership, which is good for printers. What I hope that they both remember is that — despite what some folks say — the backbone of both is the small and medium sized commercial printer. For PIA that’s on the chapter level. For NAPL that’s the majority of their membership. They forget that at their peril.

Well, it’s day four at Print 09 and so far it has been a mixed bag. It’s really hard to judge attendance as compared to last year’s Graph Expo since this show stretches out two days longer and is in two halls instead of one. First day was very light, although I talked to some vendors who said the quality of the leads was pretty good. Saturday was better, but still not overwhelming. Sunday, the same. However, today (Monday) saw a pretty large herd of folks lined up for the show floor to open.

Thus far, the highlight of the show has been the Xerox press event at the U2 concert. Sure, the music was great, but they had a light show that would be the envy of anybody who works in color. As far as the Print show goes, you really couldn’t tell from the exhibits of the major vendors (Kodak, Xerox, Heidelberg, EFI, xpedx, etc.) that we were in economic hard times. I’ll be very interested in how the rest of the show plays out, but even more interested in getting home and sleeping in my own bed.

A newspaper website in the UK has come up with 50 things that are being killed off by the Internet. (Just FYI, printing was not one of them.) While some of the things mentioned could be debated, several were beyond question.

• One was the art of polite disagreement, which is pretty obvious when you read the plethora of online flames from skuzzy people hiding behind the Internet’s anonymity.
• Another was enforceable copyrights. Despite efforts of copyright holders, the Internet has become a Wild West of unauthorized reproductions.
• Yet another is geographical knowledge. Thanks to GPS systems in cars and cell phones, even cab drivers don’t have to know their way from here to there any more.
• One of the more scary ones was privacy. As the story noted, “Users of social media websites make more information available about themselves than Big Brother could ever hope to obtain by covert means.”
• Mainstream media were also listed as being threatened, but despite several publications going belly-up, I think many are using the Internet to reinvent themselves.

Finally, they listed one that I have become very aware of lately – knowing telephone numbers by heart. While not all the fault of the Internet, I’d be willing to bet that once you put a number into your iPhone or Blackberry, it will be quickly forgotten. Quick, what’s the phone number of your child’s school?

Just got back last night from the Allegra Network convention in Chicago. That’s the third Chicago industry event so far this year, and Print 09 is still to come. That particular six-day trade show promises to be as exhausting as all the other conferences and conventions put together, which makes me a bit more amenable to the idea of virtual trade shows.

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to sit in front of your computer and learn all about the offerings from the various printing industry vendors?

Well, not really. You’d probably go cross-eyed staring at the screen for so long, and you’d miss out on all the noise and smells that come with an actual show. You’d miss walking until your feet hurt. You’d miss overpriced trade show food and mile-long taxi lines to get back to your hotel to rest. You’d miss paying jacked-up hotel prices. You’d miss the thrill of moving along shoulder-to-shoulder with other attendees and probably swapping germs along the way.

Okay, you probably wouldn’t miss any of that, but you would miss the opportunity to get up close and personal with the various equipment and software offerings and the chance to get some in-depth information about them. You’d probably miss the keynote and educational sessions, too. Fact is, while trade shows can be a pain they also are of value—much greater value than any online experience could offer.