Reprographics 101

(more than you ever wanted to know about the reprographics industry)

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  • 2012 Premier Print Award Winners Announced

    So, if you’ve never entered a competition and never won an award, does that mean that your company does not produce, or is not capable of producing, outstanding quality print jobs? What’s the purpose of entering a competition if the “awards” only benefit a very few of those who participated in the competition.

    Similar to the above, for years, some organizations have held competitions to select the “Best Shop of the Year”. What really determines who is the “best” shop? To me, the “best” shop is the one that makes the most money, not just percentage of profit, but total dollars of profit. But, what’s the point of entering such competitions? Seems like ego-tripping to me.

    2012 Premier Print Award Winners Announced

    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July 18, 2012―Printing Industries of America has announced the winners of the 2012 Premier Print Awards, the world’s most prestigious international print competition. More than 2,800 entries were submitted for judging. Visit www.printing.org/ppawinners2012 for a complete listing of the 2012 winners.

    By visiting the official Premier Print Awards website, (www.printing.org/ppawinners2012), visitors will be able to see a list of the 109 Best of Category award winners (Benny recipients) as well as a listing of pieces and companies that received Awards of Recognition and Certificates of Merit.

    All Benny-winning pieces will be featured in a full-color publication mailed to 10,000 print buyers, as well as recognized in front of hundreds of industry executives at the Premier Print Awards Gala Featuring the InterTech™ Technology Awards and the web2awards, held in conjunction with GRAPH EXPO 2012 on Sunday, October 7. The Best in Show will also be revealed during the awards gala. 



    Jay Mandarino, president and founder, The C.J. Group of Companies, appreciates the importance of the recognition that comes with a Premier Print Award win. The C.J. Group of Companies annually participates in the Premier Print Awards and boasts an impressive collection of Benny wins.

    “These awards are very important to our marketing efforts in selling premium printed communication materials to our clients and for getting us into other countries,” Mandarino said.



    He continued, “Printing Industries of America has done a great job in developing and producing this award contest and making it the only truly prestigious international print competition.”



    For information on attending the Premier Print Awards Gala or general Premier Print Award questions, contact Mike Packard at mpackard@printing.org or 800-910-4283 ext. 704.

  • ARC to report Q2 2012 Sales and Earnings on August 7, 2012, after market close

    Visit the “Investor” page at e-arc.com to get details on how to listen to the earnings call.

    Event Details

    Even Title:

    Q2 2012 American Reprographics Company Earnings Conference Call

    Date and Time:

    Tuesday, August 7, 2012 5:00 p.m. ET

  • AIA ABI Index for June 2012 is below 50 again, definitely not good news

    Weak Market Conditions Persist According to Architecture Billings

    Index 
Drop in demand for design services across the board

    For immediate release:

    
Washington, D.C. – July 18, 2012 – The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) saw more poor conditions last month, indicating a drop in design activity at U.S. architecture firms, and suggesting upcoming weakness in spending on nonresidential construction projects.

    As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending.

    The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the June ABI score was 45.9, nearly identical to the mark of 45.8 in May. This score reflects a sharp decrease in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings).

    The new projects inquiry index was 54.4, up slightly from mark of 54.0 the previous month.

“

    The downturn in design activity that began in April and accelerated in May has continued into June, likely extending the weak market conditions we’ve seen in nonresidential building activity ,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. “While not all firms are experiencing negative conditions, a large share is still coping with a sluggish and erratic marketplace.” 


    Key June ABI highlights:

    – – Regional averages: Midwest (48.0), South (47.6), Northeast (46.4), West (44.3)

    – – Sector index breakdown: multi-family residential (49.0), commercial / industrial (46.9), institutional (46.0), mixed practice (45.9)

    – – Project inquiries index: 54.4

    The regional and sector categories are calculated as a 3-month moving average, whereas the index and inquiries are monthly numbers.

    Contact: Scott Frank


    202-626-7467

    
sfrank@aia.org

  • 6 Key Considerations In Defining Compensation For Former Owner Who Becomes Part Of The Acquirer's Organization

    BY JOHN E. HYDE 
CREATED: JULY 6, 2012 (found on myprintresource.com)

    A critical component of many M&A transactions in the printing and graphics communications industry is to define the role/compensation for the former owner(s) who is becoming part of the acquiring company.

    You can read the full article at this link:

    http://www.myprintresource.com/blog/10738987/6-key-considerations-in-defining-compensation-for-former-owner-who-becomes-part-of-the-acquirers-organization?cmpid=email_GRVDB120711002&utm_source=Quick+Printing+Weekly+Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=GRVDB120711002

  • Quarterly Index of A/E/C reprographer sales revenues from "plans printed on paper" (Q2 2012 update)

    This is the 2nd Quarter 2012 update to the index of the U.S.A. A/E/C reprographics industry’s sales revenues of “plans-printed-on-paper”.

    The A/E/C Repro PPoP Index …..

    This index does not attempt to track “total sales” of A/E/C reprographers. It attempts to track only sales of “plans printed on paper,” which, traditionally and even nowadays, is the core (main) revenue generator for all A/E/C reprographers.

    And, by “plans printed on paper”, I mean A/E/C “plans”, large-format, b/w and color, unbound or bound, full-size, half-size, whatever large-format size.

    There will be a recovery in the A/E/C industry and thereby in the A/E/C reprographics industry. However, some are saying that even though there will be a recovery in the A/E/C industry, the recovery of sales revenues from “plans printed on paper” may not mirror the A/E/C industry’s recovery, since some are expecting (I guess I should say, some are saying) that revenues from printing plans on paper are being negatively impacted by customers distributing CD’s (or files) instead of distributing “hard copy” plans.

    For this index, Q1 2006 is the ground-zero (base) point.

    YR– 2006—–2007——2008——2009——2010——-2011……2012

    Q1– 1.00——-1.09——-1.10——0.65——0.55—–0.65…….0.71

    Q2– 1.06——-1.18——-0.98——0.65——0.60…….0.61…….0.66

    Q3– 1.08——-0.97——-0.85——0.57——0.60…….0.62

    Q4– 0.89——-0.93——-0.64——0.49——0.58…….0.54

    (This index is based on A/E/C Repro Vendor sales to A/E/C Reprographers)

  • Staples and Office Depot downgraded by Bernstein Research

    (Note: our blog occasionally reports articles about Staples and Office Depot because both companies operate “copy/print centers”)…..

    Bernstein downgrades Staples, Office Depot

    Wed Jul 11, 2012 9:00pm IST

    (Reuters) – Bernstein Research downgraded office supplies chains Staples Inc (SPLS.O) and Office Depot Inc (ODP.N) to “market-perform” from “outperform,” citing stalling employment trends in the United States and a broadening recession in Europe.

    The research firm expects Staples’ full-year revenue to decline and said that its cost-cutting initiatives will not significantly add to its earnings.

    Growing competition from online retailer Amazon Inc (AMZN.O) could also hurt profits, Bernstein analyst Colin McGranahan said in a note to clients.

    “Current cost efforts (of Staples) look to be more surgical than transformative, and we do not expect much margin benefit in a sluggish topline environment,” McGranahan said.

    For Office Depot, he expects benefits from the company’s margin-boosting initiatives to moderate over the rest of the year.

    The company’s plan to increase retail store footprint by converting bigger stores to several smaller ones will also not significantly add to margins, the firm said.

    The stock has nearly halved in value over the past year, indicating investor pessimism. The analyst too said the cyclical business had few growth catalysts for the next several quarters.

    Data released last week showed that U.S. employers hired at a dismal pace in June, with non-farm payrolls growing by just 80,000 jobs in June.

    McGranahan lowered his price target on Staples to $14.00 from $18.00, and that on Office Depot to $2.50 from $6.00.

    Staples shares were down 2 percent at $12.66 on the Nasdaq, while those of Office Depot were down 5 percent at $2.06 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

    (Reporting By Krithika Krishnamurthy; Editing by Sreejiraj Eluvangal)

  • Construction Economics Update

    From ABC (Associated Builders & Contractors); Construction Economics

    “Construction Spending in May Up 7 Percent from One Year Ago”

    Total construction spending in the nation – which includes both residential and nonresidential construction – increased 0.9 percent from April to May and is 7 percent higher from one year ago, according to the July 2 construction spending report from the U.S. Census Bureau. However, nonresidential construction was unchanged in May from the previous month, totaling $562.3 billion.

    Eight of sixteen construction subsectors registered gains from April to May….. read the full article at this link:

    http://www.abc.org/Hot_Links/ConstructionEconomicsIndex/Spending_July_2012.aspx

    From RER (Real Estate Roundtable); Construction Economics

    2nd Quarter 2012 Sentiment Index News Release

    Commercial Real Estate Mending, But Still Vulnerable to Ongoing Economic, Political Risks, Roundtable Survey Shows

    Without Stronger Job Creation, More Stable Policies from Washington, CRE Markets Likely to Bump Along at Low Level, Especially in Non-Gateway Areas

    (WASHINGTON D.C.) — Commercial real estate executives participating in The Real Estate Roundtable’s latest quarterly Sentiment Survey generally said market conditions have improved since a year ago, but signaled a lack of confidence in the outlook for the coming year, citing global economic risks, Washington’s ability to deal with looming budget and tax issues, ongoing Euro zone turmoil, and the vast amount of commercial mortgages maturing this year and beyond…. Read full article at this link:

    http://www.rer.org/ContentDetails.aspx?id=12241

  • 3D Model-to-Print™ Introduces an Economic Breakthrough for Printing Architectural Models in 3D

    Revolutionary Cloud-Based Service Now Available in North America

    July 11, 2012 — Tel Aviv, Israel and Bethesda, MD, USA — 3D Model-To-Print (3DMTP USA and 3DMTP LTD) today announces the industry’s first affordable cloud-based service available in North America (www.3DMTPusa.com). Released after three years of development and rigorous testing, 3DMTP’s revolutionary, cloud-based patented technology prepares models to be 3D printed by automatically converting commonly-used architectural software files into 3D printable models, all without the need for costly and time-consuming manual preparation.

    3D printing is used in architecture for a more effective and efficient design cycle, and improved visualization between the architect and their audience. The challenge of 3D printing for architects and designers has been the complexity, time, and cost required to prepare 3D design files for printing. With 3DMTP, architects and designers can see a return on investment in about one hour, compared to the traditional manual process.



    “The solution that 3DMTP provides is one that has long been needed for our architectural customers,” states Kevin Carr, General Manager of Imaging Division of Mastergraphics — a 3DMTP USA user, 3D print network member, and both an Autodesk and 3D Systems reseller with locations in Wisconsin, Chicago and Minneapolis. “Not only does it save hours–even days–in the process of preparing 3D architectural design for 3D printing, it also significantly reduces the cost to prepare the designs, making 3D printing a more usable and affordable option for those wanting to make models of their architectural designs.

    “

How It’s Done


    3DMTP is dedicated to making 3D scaled models printable and available to every architect, developer, and designer at a reasonable price. The innovation is based on cutting-edge algorithms which study the geometric structure of the model, then identify and automatically fix problems that would have prevented it from successfully printing.
 


    “We are committed to providing a state of the art experience that will simplify and enable seamless execution of 3D architectural scale model creation,” comments Ilan Sidi, CTO of 3DMTP and the pioneer of the technology.


    
How to Get Started 


    First, log in to the 3DMTP Portal. Once you are ready to turn your design into a 3D printable model, upload your design file and set your parameters: scale, profile, and desired 3D printer. 3DMTP automatically processes the file without any additional operator interface. 3DMTP also fixes holes between polygons and facets, repairs reverse surfaces, changes the thickness of walls to minimum print tolerance for the selected printer, fixes non-volumetric geometry (making objects “watertight”), and fixes many other problems of degenerated geometry that otherwise would prevent the model from printing successfully.

    

Become a Member of the 3D Print Network 


    3DMTP USA is now cultivating a 3D print network in the US and Canada, comprised of 3D printer dealers, BIM/CAD dealers, and 3D print providers such as architectural model shops and reprographics service bureaus.



    “We are creating this professional network to help support the anticipated demand for printing 3D architectural models, due to the reduced time and cost to ready AEC models. This increased demand will be a direct result of the introduction of the 3D Model-to-Print™ automated technology into the North American markets,” explains Phil Magenheim, Director of 3DMTP USA.
 


    Those interested in learning more about converting their 3D architectural designs into printable 3D models, or those interested in learning more about becoming a member for the 3DMTP print network member, should visit 3DMTPusa.com or contact 3DMTP USA by emailing info@3DMTPusa.com or by calling 301-637-5900.


    
About 3DMTP 
3D Model-To-Print (3DMTP) develops and offers a unique, innovative, patented cloud-based processing service and studio software that can make every architectural 3D CAD, BIM, or SketchUp design a scaled printable model. 3DMTP is a privately owned and funded venture founded by a group of software entrepreneurs and architects who identified a novel and cost-effective solution for automatizing and optimizing the creation of 3D architectural scale models using 3D printing technologies.

    

For more information contact:

    
Phil Magenheim

    
3D Model-to-Print USA


    301-637-5900

    
phil@3dmtpusa.com


  • Mimeo Named to Crain’s New York Business Fast 50

    Press release from Mimeo.com………..

    Tuesday, July 03, 2012

    Mimeo, the leading online printing and distribution solutions company, announced that it has been named to the #43 spot on Crain’s New York Business Fast 50 list. The Fast 50 is a list of privately held companies in the New York City area ranked on revenue growth, as a percentage, from 2008 to 2011.

    “We are proud to be named to the list of fastest growing companies in one of the most competitive technology communities in the world,” said Mimeo CEO Adam Slutsky. “This is a testament to the loyalty of our customers, the value of our business solutions and the commitment of the Mimeo team.”

    In addition to the Crain’s list, Mimeo has been named for the last seven consecutive years to the Inc. 5000, a list of the fastest-growing private companies in North America. To learn more about Mimeo, the company invites all interested parties to call 1.800.466.4636 or visit Mimeo.com.

  • Leon H. Porter – In Memoriam

    Leon Horace Porter, a veteran reprographer who, considering mergers and acquisitions, worked for the same company for 50+ years, passed away a few days ago in his hometown, Washington, D.C. The sad news of Leon’s passing was brought to my attention by Derrick Williams, a long-time business associate and friend and former co-worker of Leon’s.

    Leon started his career in the reprographics industry, in 1956 or 1957, at Max Scher Blueprint Co. in downtown Washington D.C. When Max Scher Blueprint merged with Rowley’s Blueprint Service (forming Rowley-Scher Reprographics), Leon continued on with Rowley-Scher. Rowley-Scher’s name was later changed to Reprographics Technologies Inc (RTI). When RTI was acquired by Darras McCord, Leon continued on with RTI. When Darras sold RTI to American Reprographics Co (ARC), Leon continued on with ARC (it was still called RTI at that time.)

    Leon was a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served in Germany sometime around 1962.

    Leon was a teammate that everyone could always count on. No matter what the production demands were – nights, weekends, holidays, you could always count on Leon to pitch in. John Scher Zeller, ex-President of Rowley-Scher Reprographics, worked with Leon for nearly 27 years, and I know that the news of Leon’s passing was very sad news for John (and, I’m sure, for anyone who had the pleasure of knowing Leon.)

    There is no question in my mind that you would be hard pressed to find anyone with the exemplary work-ethic Leon Porter had.

    May he rest in peace.

    Link to Memorial Service document:

    https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B81al4kFAU9Jc0ZWNkNFaDZ3NzQ