I initially
set up (and put up the first several posts on) the Reprographics 101 Blog in
February 2009. This month (Jan 2014)
completes five full years of pure unadulterated dribble. For those of you who have been frequent
visitors to the Blog over the past five years, my thanks to you for visiting
the Blog and, most of all, for bearing with me.
set up (and put up the first several posts on) the Reprographics 101 Blog in
February 2009. This month (Jan 2014)
completes five full years of pure unadulterated dribble. For those of you who have been frequent
visitors to the Blog over the past five years, my thanks to you for visiting
the Blog and, most of all, for bearing with me.
At the time
the Blog first commenced, the county (I’m referring to the U.S.) was already
well into what eventually proved to be the worst, deepest and longest-lasting
recession since the Great Depression.
Which is why someone coined the term “Great Recession” to describe this
past one. By all accounts, the Great Recession wreaked havoc on the reprographics
business and industry; my own estimate is that the industry’s revenues,
nowadays, are some 35-40% less than they were before the Great Recession
started. In addition to a decline in
plan & spec printing revenues caused by a vast slowdown in the A/E/C
industry, revenues have also been negatively impacted by A/E/C customers
adopting ways to “print less”, the latter brought on by – or, I should say,
“enabled by” – further “digital developments”, the latter, itself, made
possible by the computers, laptops, tablets, readers, software, and, of course,
the big bully in the room, the Internet (the latter, now including “the
Cloud”.)
the Blog first commenced, the county (I’m referring to the U.S.) was already
well into what eventually proved to be the worst, deepest and longest-lasting
recession since the Great Depression.
Which is why someone coined the term “Great Recession” to describe this
past one. By all accounts, the Great Recession wreaked havoc on the reprographics
business and industry; my own estimate is that the industry’s revenues,
nowadays, are some 35-40% less than they were before the Great Recession
started. In addition to a decline in
plan & spec printing revenues caused by a vast slowdown in the A/E/C
industry, revenues have also been negatively impacted by A/E/C customers
adopting ways to “print less”, the latter brought on by – or, I should say,
“enabled by” – further “digital developments”, the latter, itself, made
possible by the computers, laptops, tablets, readers, software, and, of course,
the big bully in the room, the Internet (the latter, now including “the
Cloud”.)
Around
1989-1992, the reprographics industry got rocked by a recession that seriously
impacted the A/E/C Industry, but, when that recession ended, reprographics
industry revenues rebounded – and, eventually, rebounded to revenue numbers
well above what the industry’s revenues were before that recession
started. In fact, reprographics industry revenues during the period 1992 to 2007
advanced at a startling rate and, by 2007, reached numbers that I think no one
would have imagined possible. (Yes,
I’m aware that some realized a blip brought on by the dot.com bust around 2000,
but many reprographers were not hurt by the minor recession the A/E/C Industry experienced
because of the dot.com bust. If
anything, a slow-down in/around 2000 gave everyone in our industry time to
catch a breath.)
1989-1992, the reprographics industry got rocked by a recession that seriously
impacted the A/E/C Industry, but, when that recession ended, reprographics
industry revenues rebounded – and, eventually, rebounded to revenue numbers
well above what the industry’s revenues were before that recession
started. In fact, reprographics industry revenues during the period 1992 to 2007
advanced at a startling rate and, by 2007, reached numbers that I think no one
would have imagined possible. (Yes,
I’m aware that some realized a blip brought on by the dot.com bust around 2000,
but many reprographers were not hurt by the minor recession the A/E/C Industry experienced
because of the dot.com bust. If
anything, a slow-down in/around 2000 gave everyone in our industry time to
catch a breath.)
But, the rebound that reprographers are now
experiencing, now that the A/E/C Industry is growing again, is not on par with
the rebound that reprographers experienced after 1992, and, yes, the difference
is attributable to the “digital developments” I mentioned two paragraphs earlier. Today and going forward, reprographers are
going to have to rely less and less on plan and spec printing revenues and are
going to have to focus on, push into, rely more and more on other areas of the
imaging business; large-format color graphics, MPS/FM services, document
management services (including scanning and archiving) and software/technology
that assists the mission of firms involved in the A/E/C Industry (and other
industries as well.) Just my own personal opinion, the reprographics business
of and in the future will be very, very different than it was in past times. Very challenging times ahead, but there will
be opportunities for those who are up to
the challenge and who face the future with their eyes wide open.
experiencing, now that the A/E/C Industry is growing again, is not on par with
the rebound that reprographers experienced after 1992, and, yes, the difference
is attributable to the “digital developments” I mentioned two paragraphs earlier. Today and going forward, reprographers are
going to have to rely less and less on plan and spec printing revenues and are
going to have to focus on, push into, rely more and more on other areas of the
imaging business; large-format color graphics, MPS/FM services, document
management services (including scanning and archiving) and software/technology
that assists the mission of firms involved in the A/E/C Industry (and other
industries as well.) Just my own personal opinion, the reprographics business
of and in the future will be very, very different than it was in past times. Very challenging times ahead, but there will
be opportunities for those who are up to
the challenge and who face the future with their eyes wide open.
That said, I do expect that the reprographics
industry will experience further consolidation. We
are seeing that in the “printing” industry, and the reprographics industry will
experience the same sort of thing over the next decade.
industry will experience further consolidation. We
are seeing that in the “printing” industry, and the reprographics industry will
experience the same sort of thing over the next decade.
Another reason why I founded the Blog – the
IRgA, the industry’s only independent
group bringing information to the
reprographics community, wasn’t doing a good job of that, and, when the industry continued to plunge,
that situation got worse, and worse, and
worse. By 2012, IRgA membership had
plunged to an all-time low, not just because reprographers wanted to reduce
expenses, but also because the IRgA wasn’t giving reprographers a good reason
to belong and participate. Long being an
advocate for an independent industry
association, I took on the role to rebuild IRgA membership and, in an effort to
support that, I moved the Reprographics 101 Blog to the IRgA web-site during
the ten-month period I was the Managing Director of the IRgA (Aug 1, 2012 thru
May 31, 2013). During the time I was
IRgA Managing Director, I paid Ed Avis to author articles for the IRgA web-site
and Ed was tasked to solicit sponsors for the IRgA.) On June 1, 2013, Ed Avis took over as
Managing Director of the IRgA, and, speaking quite frankly, Ed has done an
outstanding (repeat, outstanding) job in his role as Managing Director; he
built a brand-new web-site for the association, and his efforts to put forth
interesting, relevant content have been terrific and have well exceeded what I
was capable of doing. My “hat’s off” to
Ed for the direction he’s taken, and is taking, the IRgA. And,
the competency that Ed Avis displays is one of the reasons why I feel that
“it’s about time” for me to wind-down the Reprographics 101 Blog. Industry vendors who are not supporting the
IRgA should be very, very embarrassed.
IRgA, the industry’s only independent
group bringing information to the
reprographics community, wasn’t doing a good job of that, and, when the industry continued to plunge,
that situation got worse, and worse, and
worse. By 2012, IRgA membership had
plunged to an all-time low, not just because reprographers wanted to reduce
expenses, but also because the IRgA wasn’t giving reprographers a good reason
to belong and participate. Long being an
advocate for an independent industry
association, I took on the role to rebuild IRgA membership and, in an effort to
support that, I moved the Reprographics 101 Blog to the IRgA web-site during
the ten-month period I was the Managing Director of the IRgA (Aug 1, 2012 thru
May 31, 2013). During the time I was
IRgA Managing Director, I paid Ed Avis to author articles for the IRgA web-site
and Ed was tasked to solicit sponsors for the IRgA.) On June 1, 2013, Ed Avis took over as
Managing Director of the IRgA, and, speaking quite frankly, Ed has done an
outstanding (repeat, outstanding) job in his role as Managing Director; he
built a brand-new web-site for the association, and his efforts to put forth
interesting, relevant content have been terrific and have well exceeded what I
was capable of doing. My “hat’s off” to
Ed for the direction he’s taken, and is taking, the IRgA. And,
the competency that Ed Avis displays is one of the reasons why I feel that
“it’s about time” for me to wind-down the Reprographics 101 Blog. Industry vendors who are not supporting the
IRgA should be very, very embarrassed.
Since
founding the Blog in February 2009, I’ve put up more than 2,000 posts. (Over 1,600 of those appeared on the
Blog-site hosted by Google’s “Blogger” blog service, and about 400 of those
appeared on the Repro 101 Blog when it was hosted on the IRgA web-site.) So far, the posts I’ve put up have hade more
than 250,000 “page-views”. The Blog has
been visited by people from around the globe (reportedly, the Blog has had
visitors from more than 75 different countries.) Admittedly, some of the posts on the Blog
have been very mundane, but some of them have bordered on the
controversial. Taken altogether, I do believe that the Blog has been informative –
which was my intent – and I hope, sincerely
hope, that you’ve enjoyed visiting Repro 101. I’ve never wanted to waste anyone’s time,
mine or anyone else’s.
founding the Blog in February 2009, I’ve put up more than 2,000 posts. (Over 1,600 of those appeared on the
Blog-site hosted by Google’s “Blogger” blog service, and about 400 of those
appeared on the Repro 101 Blog when it was hosted on the IRgA web-site.) So far, the posts I’ve put up have hade more
than 250,000 “page-views”. The Blog has
been visited by people from around the globe (reportedly, the Blog has had
visitors from more than 75 different countries.) Admittedly, some of the posts on the Blog
have been very mundane, but some of them have bordered on the
controversial. Taken altogether, I do believe that the Blog has been informative –
which was my intent – and I hope, sincerely
hope, that you’ve enjoyed visiting Repro 101. I’ve never wanted to waste anyone’s time,
mine or anyone else’s.
The Blog is not going to shut down
completely. But, from here on out posts
will appear less frequently. Every post that’s ever appeared on the Blog
will continue to be available on or through the Blog. (A link to the posts that were put up on the
Blog when it was hosted on the IRgA web-site is explained in the right-hand
column of the Blog.) For those of you
who have been bringing, and are continuing to bring, younger people into the
reprographics industry, consider pointing them to Repro 101 as “homework” for
their education about the industry – and, especially, for information about the
industry’s challenges.
completely. But, from here on out posts
will appear less frequently. Every post that’s ever appeared on the Blog
will continue to be available on or through the Blog. (A link to the posts that were put up on the
Blog when it was hosted on the IRgA web-site is explained in the right-hand
column of the Blog.) For those of you
who have been bringing, and are continuing to bring, younger people into the
reprographics industry, consider pointing them to Repro 101 as “homework” for
their education about the industry – and, especially, for information about the
industry’s challenges.
Although I
knew a lot of reprographics industry
people before I started Repro 101, publishing Repro 101 (and my brief tenure as
Managing Director of the IRgA) enabled me to meet hundreds more. Although few took the time to post “comments”
on the Blog, many, many people took the time to contact me via e-mail and phone
calls. I value the many friendships I’ve
made over the 43+ years I’ve been in and around the industry, including the
friendships I’ve made because I’ve been publishing a Blog about the
reprographics business and industry.
knew a lot of reprographics industry
people before I started Repro 101, publishing Repro 101 (and my brief tenure as
Managing Director of the IRgA) enabled me to meet hundreds more. Although few took the time to post “comments”
on the Blog, many, many people took the time to contact me via e-mail and phone
calls. I value the many friendships I’ve
made over the 43+ years I’ve been in and around the industry, including the
friendships I’ve made because I’ve been publishing a Blog about the
reprographics business and industry.
To each and
every one of you who are still involved in the reprographics business, my best
wishes to you for luck and success.
every one of you who are still involved in the reprographics business, my best
wishes to you for luck and success.
To those of
you who are now retired from the business, I hope you are enjoying
retirement. Take the time to contribute
to the IRgA web-site; there are many young people who could benefit from your
wisdom. Share!
you who are now retired from the business, I hope you are enjoying
retirement. Take the time to contribute
to the IRgA web-site; there are many young people who could benefit from your
wisdom. Share!
Very truly
yours,
yours,
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Joel Salus
Reprographics 101 
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