Reprographics 101

Thoughts on 2012’s Southeast Construction Forecast

February 14, 2012

An article posted by Scott Judy on 2/9/12 on Southeast Construction News (a McGraw Hill site)

Title: “Thoughts on 2012’s Southeast Construction Forecast”

First two paragraphs of the article:

The economic downturn experienced by the Southeast’s construction industry has certainly had a profound effect on the industry. People have been tossed from their careers, companies have gone out of business, and expectations have shifted drastically.

For the last few years, reading the latest forecast numbers for the Southeast’s construction industry has kind of been like being a Cubs fan in advance of opening day. Hope always springs eternal, but once the season starts, it quickly becomes apparent that this is not going to be that special year, after all.

To access complete article, click on this link:

http://tinyurl.com/7ojmouu
DIRECTOR OF PURCHASING sought by printing company located in the Southeastern U.S.

February 13, 2012

The other day, I noticed this posting on LinkedIn:

“I am an executive, retained recruiter, working exclusively with a client to identify a talented Director of Purchasing with expertise within the print industry. My client is one of the largest digital, screen, litho and large format printers in the world, serving the nation’s foremost retailers. Increasing revenues 15-20% annually, my client is an award winning, premier in-store and out-of-home provider. This financially sound firm leads the industry by focusing on the most current research, the acquisition of leading edge technologies, coupled with superior craftsmanship and 21st century ideas and capabilities. They possess some of the largest, state of the art print equipment available, with the most extensive large format capabilities in the industry.”

This is a newly created role in which the individual will create and standardize the procurement and vendor management policies and procedures for the organization. We are seeking an individual with at least five years of professional experience in procurement and vendor management in the print industry and who has both an analytical, as well as a creative thought process.

The ideal person for this position must be an innovative, organized, independent problem-solver who has developed a strong track record of managing all aspects of procurement and vendor identification, qualification and management. The Director of Purchasing will work directly with the senior management team and will have access acrosss all levels within the organization. He/she will function as an ambassador of the firm, promoting the organization as the most widely recognized and respected POP provider in the area. This will be achieved within a dynamic, creative, technologically advanced organization that promotes empowerment, quality, productivity and high professional and ethical standards. This role is ideal for an individual who is detail oriented yet loves developing creative solutions. The successful candidate will be afforded the potential for tremendous professional growth and strong career advancement as this is a high level role that will lead the successful candidate to becoming a member of the senior executive team.

“I would like to share additional information; if this is not a time when you can take an open- minded look at a career opportunity, perhaps there is someone you know and respect that you might recommend. Please contact me at your earliest convenience so I might share additional information with you.”

Contact: Kathleen Kludt, e-mail is ksk@capstonegr.com
Early signs of recovery for Florida’s construction market?

February 13, 2012

Well, I’ve been noticing lately that traffic on weekends is getting busier and busier. Although I hate traffic, increased traffic is a sign of economic recovery, so, in this case, I actually like that traffic is increasing. It means that more and more people are out on the weekends …. to go shopping.

Florida’s construction market was hit particularly hard in the recession that “supposedly ended” in June 2009. My guestimate is that A/E/C sector reprographics revenues in the state of Florida are still off around 50% from the peak of construction activity in early 2007. In other words, Reprographers in the state of Florida, collectively, got hit not just hard, but kind of like with a sledgehammer.

This weekend’s major newspaper carried two articles about the possible revival of two major real estate development projects, a major office tower in downtown Tampa and a major regional mall in Sarasota. If these projects actually get going, that will be huge for the Florida A/E/C sector and for Reprographers as well. Reprographers, it’s time to make at least two sales calls:

Article from the Tampa Bay Times, February 10, 2012

Stalled Taubman mall plan (Sarasota FL) may be revived.

Taubman Centers Inc. CEO Robert Taubman said his company is “very close” to breathing life back into a stalled upscale regional mall project in Sarasota. The land was cleared for University Town Center, a 1-million square foot enclosed regional mall that would be across Interstate-75 from Lakewood Ranch, before the project was sidelined by the recession. Now Taubman is confident enough to budget starting construction in the second half of this year and opening in a 2014. It’s a joint venture with Benderson Development on 73 acres of Benderson’s 276-acre mixed-use project. Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Macy’s once signed up to be in the mall, but it’s unclear how much of the anchor store lineup remains. Developers recently pitched the project to Saks Fifth Avenue, which has another store in Sarasota. Dillard’s also has closed two of its stores in nearby malls in recent years. Taubman owns controlling interest in International Plaza in Tampa and three other Florida malls.

Times staff

Article from the Tampa Bay Times, February 12, 2012

Signs of a recovering Tampa Bay economy are multiplying; Southgate high-rise Office Tower Project may be back on track.

It’s a powerful symbol of “rising” downtown confidence. SouthGate, the first new office tower to be built in downtown Tampa in nearly 15 years, is back on track. The man behind the project is Bob Abberger, managing director of real estate firm Trammell Crow Co. He envisions up to a 20-story tower, an adjacent 350-room upscale hotel and a parking garage. It would rise across from the University of South Florida’s soon-to-debut Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation, or CAMLS, not far from Channelside. The fit is a natural. Abberger anticipates plenty of potential customers: physicians and their surgical teams flying into Tampa to be trained in the latest robotic surgery techniques.

Rezoning was completed in December in a 7-0 vote with no comments from the City Council. Says Abberger, 56: “We are proceeding with site plan approval, announcing our marketing team and advancing discussions with tenants.” Likely completion: early 2014.

Article that appeared (about this same project) on www.2tbo.com, August 18, 2011

Downtown Tampa will get its first major office tower in years if a developer can pull off his plan for a 20-story, energy-efficient office building and upscale hotel.

Bob Abberger, managing director of real estate firm Trammell Crow Co., expects to file a rezoning application with Tampa Friday for a new project tentatively called Southgate. The project would include the main office tower, an adjacent 350-room upscale hotel and a parking garage, Abberger said Thursday.

Trammell Crow will be taking a $250-million risk in a down economy. Vacancy rates downtown are around 20 percent right now, although they’re lower at prestigious “Class A” office buildings, he said.

Plus, Abberger will have to find some tenants willing to lease space in advance, because investors who are backing the project will want Trammell Crow to have tenants lined up before starting construction.

But the company believes in downtown Tampa’s long-term future, especially with a new mayor and the new ownership of the Tampa Bay Lightning, he said. He hopes to complete the hotel and office building some time in 2014.

“All things being equal, when you talk to most (corporate) users, they’d rather be downtown,” he said.

The Southgate project would be bordered by Whiting, Morgan and Brorein streets and by Florida Avenue. It would be directly across from the University of South Florida’s new Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation, or CAMLS.

In fact, Trammell Crow is betting that the physicians who fly into Tampa to learn about the latest in medical technology at CAMLS will want to stay at the Southgate project’s new hotel. He is looking for a hotel brand to partner with, he said.

At 20 stories, the project’s tower won’t be nearly as tall as some of downtown’s other office buildings, which run up to 40 stories. However, its 450,000 square feet of space will be comparable to other downtown towers because of its wider base, or “footprint.”

Southgate’s tower would have a footprint of about 28,000 square feet, where most downtown towers have footprints of 18,000 to 20,000, Abberger said. Trammell Crow will seek a LEED certification for energy efficiency for the building, he said.

The office tower essentially is the same project that Trammell Crow wanted to build four years ago in Tampa’s Channel District before the real estate market collapsed. However, the new location is closer to downtown’s core urban area and should capitalize on its proximity to the Tampa Convention Center, he said.

Trammell Crow has a contract to buy the property from the landholding Collier family, for whom Collier County is named.

Larry Richey, senior managing director for the Cushman & Wakefield real estate firm in Tampa, said timing will be crucial for the project.

At the moment, downtown Tampa can’t handle another office tower. But the location across from the future CAMLS research center is ideal, Richey said, and downtown eventually might need the extra office space.

The hotel seems less risky than the office tower, he said.

“Certainly given the expectations of the CAMLS project, the hotel portion of that plan would seem to make a lot of sense,” Richey said.

Update: pulled from a story in the Tampa Bay Times (article appeared on Monday, Feb 13th):

Developers broke ground Monday on a $55 million apartment complex in the Channel District. Within 18 months, the complex is expected to open with 356 apartments and 4,800 square feet of stores in four buildings.
Another Memjet-enabled printing system coming soon; Delphax to introduce its system at drupa 2012

February 13, 2012

Well, I have to admit that, until I saw this news, I’d never heard of Delphax Technologies before.

I found this on the web-site operated by “drupa 2012″….

Delphax Announces Game-changing Color Print Systems

Delphax Technologies Inc. (Pink Sheets:DLPX.PK), a global provider of high-speed digital printing equipment, announced today that it will introduce its new elan series digital color print systems powered by Memjet technologies at the drupa 2012 international trade show May 3-16 in Dusseldorf, Germany.

elan brings to the commercial/industrial printing market a transformational advance in imaging technology in a robust sheet-fed print system offering production speeds up to 500 impressions per minute in full color and 1600 dpi print quality on a wide range of substrates and sheet sizes.

“We are introducing a game-changing print system at drupa,” said Dieter Schilling, president and chief executive officer of Delphax. “elan represents an entirely new category of digital print technology and is our response to growing customer demand for more efficient, versatile and affordable color printing equipment.

“We have developed a revolutionary sheet-fed transport technology and integrated this with multiple Memjet printheads to provide a unique high-resolution, high-quality and high-speed inkjet printing system. Developed, engineered and manufactured by Delphax, this system offers an unprecedented combination of speed, versatility, affordability and high quality for color sheet-fed inkjet production. There is nothing approaching this performance in the market today.”

A pioneer in digital print production, Delphax brings over 30 years of experience in sheet-fed printing innovation to the creation of elan , a commercial class platform exploiting the stunning color-reproduction capability of Memjet’s scalable high-speed inkjet technology. Each Memjet printhead lays down 1600 dpi color graphics by delivering up to 700 million drops of ink per second with more than 70,000 ink nozzles on a single printhead.

As a multi-application system, elan is expected to have multi-market appeal. By providing fast turnaround and short set-up time between jobs, the system promises to be ideal for commercial print-on-demand applications in direct mail, transpromo and billing, book and manual publishing or security printing. elan is designed for an extremely wide range of applications requiring high quality results, whether text or images, in full color.

“The addition of high-speed color capability is an exciting and essential strategic advance for Delphax,” Schilling said. “It’s what customers have been asking for and represents our opportunity to remain in the forefront of digital printing technology in the years ahead. Digital color is a segment of the printing market that has grown despite the recession and social-media-driven declines within the printing industry. It is projected to gain steadily in share of revenues from equipment, supplies and services.

“In over three decades of serving the printing industry, Delphax has created a global presence and captured the largest worldwide market share in check-printing applications. We have developed industry-leading paper-path designs, the world’s fastest toner-based monochrome sheet-fed and roll-fed presses and a reputation for unexcelled customer service and support. In short, we have built a solid foundation for the kind of innovation represented in elan —and we are excited about the opportunity to demonstrate the breakthrough potential of this system at drupa.”

Held every four years, drupa is the largest and most prominent printing equipment exhibition in the world– the preeminent showcase for the newest trends and technologies in the graphic arts industry. elan will be presented to the industry in the Delphax exhibit located in Hall 8b, stand C10.

Quick Comparison: KIP c7800, OCE ColorWave 650, Xante Excelagraphix 4200

February 11, 2012

KIP C7800

“The KIP C7800 print system offers superb resolution at remarkable print speeds; up to 4,200 sq. ft. per hour in B&W, 3,500 sq. ft. per hour in color.”

Océ ColorWave® 650

“It can print in black & white and color at up to 225 A1 prints per hour for all round productivity.”

Xanté Excelagraphix 4200

“Print speed; up to 12″ (305mm) per sec at 1600 dpi x 800 dpi or 6″ (152mm) per sec at 1600 dpi x 1600 dpi.”

Quick Comparison:

I put together a table so that I could compare at-a-glance the comparative print-output speeds these three systems offer: (Note: If someone finds an error in my math or typing, please let me know so that I can correct the table!)

Brand/Model	Approximate	Real, actual
	sq ft output	productivity
	per hour (color)	per hour (color)
KIP c7800	3,500	3,500
Xante Excelagraphix 4200	10,800	t-b-d
OCE ColorWave 650	1,350	1,350

The KIP and OCE systems offer automatic roll-feed and automatic cutting, so it’s my impression that the “actual productivity” (actual sq ft output per hour) of both of these systems will be close to, if not the same as, their rated print-speed output.

The first version of the Xante system will not have a roll-feed option. Nor, will it have automatic cutting. The first version will be a cut-sheet model, with some sort of cut-sheet feeder, similar to what you’d find on an offset printing press. Of course, with a cut-sheet feeder, you wouldn’t need an automatic cutter.) However, at this point, it would, I think, be impossible to say, or predict, what the “actual productivity” (actual sq ft output per hour) will be.

If someone decides to do a comparison chart – for these three systems – to show price comparisons (cost of system, operating costs, service costs, consumable costs etc.), please kindly send me a copy of your work and I’ll post it on the blog.

Are we getting any closer to being able to produce A/E/C plans in color for around the same price per sq ft as b/w?

Pitney Bowes (PBI) and Consolidated Graphics (CGX); struggling to increase their top lines?

February 11, 2012

As most Reprographers are aware, Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI), is not just in the postage meter business, PBI operates one of the largest Managed Print Services (FM) businesses in the U.S. (known as PBMS, or Pitney Bowes Management Services.)

Years ago, when I first researched PBMS, I found, with one exception, that PBMS was not a player in the “reprographics” staffed FM (OnSite service) business. That one exception was a deal that PBMS had with a New Jersey A/E firm; if I’m recalling this correctly, that deal was with the Hillyer Group. Since then, I’ve not seen them active in the A/E/C marketplace. (That does not mean that they are not active in the “reprographics” marketplace. It just means that I, personally, have not heard anything about PBMS doing deals with A/E/C firms.)

To go on, the other day, Feb 9^th, Consolidated Graphics (CGX) reported that its revenue for the December 2011 quarter was $283.9 million, a $15.2 million or 5.1% decrease compared to the prior year quarter. The decline in revenue compared to the prior year quarter was due to an expected $11.3 million decline in election-related business, a 3.5% decline in same-store sales, partially offset by sales growth related to acquisitions. Not a particularly good quarter for CGX, especially considering that GDP was up in Q4.

Yesterday, Feb 10^th, Morningstar Research said this in a note to investors about Pitney Bowes’ recent earnings release:

Pitney Bowes‘ PBI fourth-quarter (2011) earnings results were boosted by a sizable gain resulting from a settlement with the Internal Revenue Service related to discontinued business operations. Excluding this one-time benefit, quarterly operating results confirmed our concern that continued investment in no-moat business lines is eroding Pitney’s overall return on invested capital. Quarterly revenue decreased year over year by about 6.5%, with all business segments posting declines except for international mailing (up 1%) and marketing services (up 4%). The historically fast-growing software segment stumbled this quarter, reporting the largest segment decrease of 10%. Management explained that the software division was unable to close several deals in its sales pipeline within the quarter. Although management said this trend should turn around over the next few quarters, we remain cautious. We believe this segment needs to improve in order for Pitney to realize any material growth. These developments are negative, and we will watch how this trend develops into 2012. Operating margins before interest and tax for the quarter were much lower than we anticipated, coming in at about 3% (including goodwill impairment) versus 10.9% during the same period last year. Excluding impairment, quarterly operating margins still fell 160 basis points year over year. Overall full-year results also fared a bit worse than our forecast, as total revenue declined 2.7% and operating margins contracted to 9.5% from 11.9%. In our view, the nonrecurring tax benefit is not a high-quality, sustainable driver of earnings; we would have preferred to see improvement come from core business operations. Company guidance for 2012 predicts stronger sales in the enterprise business segment, which includes the lower-margin, no-moat business lines that continue to weigh on the company’s overall profitability. This unfavorable mix shift coupled with additional investment in Pitney’s new Volly platform is already expected to affect operating margins in 2012. In addition, we continue to expect weak capital spending trends in Pitney’s target markets, which may hamper top-line growth near term. Even though core quarterly results were slightly lower than our expectations, our long-term assumptions are intact and we reaffirm our fair value estimate.  Barbara Noverini

Both CGX and PBI are involved in the printing-services sector. Are their struggles to grow their top lines just attributable to a lackluster economy? Or, are their struggles to grow their top lines driven by companies finding ways to print less?

RE: Contest to Guess ARC’s Full-year 2011 Sales Revenues

February 11, 2012

In January, ARC issued a press release indicating that it will release its full year 2011 results on Feb 21st. On January 19^th, we posted an announcement about a contest to “guess ARC’s full-year 2011 Sales Revenues.”

The table, below, shows you what “analysts” are estimating ARC’s full-year 2011 Sales will be (as per yahoo finance, Feb 9 2012)

Revenue Estimates	Current Qtr.	Next Qtr.	Current Year	Next Year
NYSE: ARC	11-Dec	12-Mar	11-Dec	12-Dec
Avg. Estimate	100.00M	107.22M	420.92M	427.97M
No. of Analysts	3	1	3	3
Low Estimate	98.52M	107.22M	419.41M	423.04M
High Estimate	101.00M	107.22M	422.00M	435.00M
Year Ago Sales	104.97M	106.50M	441.64M	420.92M
Sales Growth (year/est)	-4.70%	0.70%	-4.70%	1.70%

Deadline for entries was February 7^th at 5:00 pm. Per my blog’s Google Analytics statistics, 136 blog-visitors read the contest announcement, but only 5 people submitted guesses for the contest.

Here are the “guesses” we received.

$464.88

$437.00

$421.50

$421.00

$420.93

One of the entries – $421.00 – is, quite obviously, “boxed in” on the top and bottom. As a special consideration for that contest entry, if person who guessed $421.00 wins the contest, the prize will be doubled.

We will only announce the winner of the contest if the winner gives us permission to post his/her name.

In the table above, I included the column that shows analysts’ current estimates of ARC’s full-year 2012 Sales – I think their estimates are low.

Is OCE going to soon be exiting the plain-bond-paper media business in the U.S.?

February 10, 2012

A few minutes ago, I received an e-mail from someone (who wishes to remain anonymous), who is connected to the large-format paper business. Here’s what was said in that e-mail:

Joel –

Precision Paper is going to sell media under the OCE label and OCE is OUT of the paper media business. This is an imminent happening. I would appreciate my name not be referenced as a source, but you should have other avenues to verify this. This means: National Azon, Precision Paper, Converting Solutions, Inc., Dietzgen and Oce all come under one umbrella and all under control of one majority owner.

Regards

Can anyone out there verify this news? If it’s true, it’s a very interesting development, for sure.
Dr. Joe Webb and Bo Sacks Talk about Getting Customers to Pay for Digital Content

February 10, 2012

During the conversation between Dr. Joe Webb (of WhatTheyThink.com) and Bo Sacks (of Precision Media), Bo Sacks says …..

“I think what we’re going to find is that news is everywhere, intelligent, thoughtful news and news written by less than intelligent, thoughtful people, but there is so much out there that I think it’s unnecessary to pay for news.”

And, considering the fact that I am the publisher and author of a blog that attempts to bring “news” to my blog visitiors, Bo’s statement made me laugh out loud, because I’m definitely one of those “less than intelligent, thoughtful people” that Bo referred to.

Anyway, I found viewing their conversation to be worthy of the time I spent to do so, and I think you’ll agree, once you take the time to view this video….

Dr. Joe and Bo Sacks Talk about Getting Customers to Pay for Digital Content

By Dr. Joe Webb

Exclusive Video

Bo Sacks of Precision Media and WhatTheyThink’s Dr. Joe Webb have an in-depth discussion about the progression of pay wall business.

View Video…
Reprographers, how has your year started out?

February 10, 2012

This morning, I received an e-mail from one of my frequent blog-visitors, and here’s what he said …..

Joel –

So far 2012 is starting off very strong for us. January Sales were good along with a strong Gross Profit. February is shaping up to be a blockbuster month with more printing and a lot equipment sales/rentals. We expect March and April to be the same as February. This is the complete opposite for the same months in 2011!

/s/ name withheld

My prediction for Reprographers for 2012 – your Sales will be up at least 10% in 2012. I do think that the Reprographics Industry is set for a rebound this year. Finally.

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