Reprographics 101

The Reprographics Industry in the U.S.; Then and Now

March 13, 2012

“Officially” (meaning, according to statistics compiled by the U.S. Government), the “Great Recession” began in 2007 and was over and done with by June 2009. All “that” means is that U.S. GDP was negative for a period of approximately 18 months, and that U.S. GDP has been positive since July 2009. So much for GDP statistics.

Today, given the unemployment rate in the U.S., which stands at around 8.3% at the present time, and the lack of robust growth in the A/E/C sector of the economy, most people would, I think, say that “it still feels like we are in a recession.”

Several previous times on our blog, I’ve said that the A/E/C Industry in the U.S. and, with it, the Reprographics Industry in the U.S., experienced a depression (as opposed to a recession.) That depression has last for at least three and a half years by now, if not somewhat longer.

Thankfully, there have been recent signs that there will be growth in the A/E/C Industry in 2012 and, thusly in the Reprographics Industry (and we’ve written about these signs in recent posts on our blog). While I’d hesitate to say to my friends in the Reprographics Industry, “let’s get ready to rumble,” some growth is better than no growth (and certainly better than a continued decline.)

I’m a nostalgia buff. Occasionally, I like to look back at “then” in order to compare “then” to “now.”

Back “then” (several years ago), we had a fairly robust nationwide industry association – the IRgA – with hundreds of member-companies. Today, the IRgA has a much, much smaller member base. In the past three or four years, we’ve seen two regional reprographics associations go down for the count. And, when I attended the ERA (regional association) annual convention in October 2011, I noticed that there were only 14 member-companies registered for the convention, down significantly from more than 100 member-companies earlier in the decade. Last year, the IRgA reported that it would not hold a convention in 2012.

It is very hard to get accurate statistics regarding the size of the Reprographics Industry in the U.S. The only “publications” that talk about the size of the U.S. Reprographics Industry are publications, produced by ARC, called 10-K Annual Reports. So, here’s a look at the Reprographics Industry, THEN vs. NOW.

“THEN”………

From ARC’s 10-K Report for the year ended December 21, 2007 (filed in February 2008)

(Reprographics) Industry Overview

According to the International Reprographics Association, or IRgA, the reprographics industry in the United States is estimated to be approximately $4.5 billion in size. The IRgA indicates that the reprographics industry is highly fragmented, consisting of approximately 3,000 firms with average annual sales of approximately $1.5 million and 20 to 25 employees. Since construction documents are the primary medium of communication for the AEC industry, demand for reprographics services in the AEC market is closely tied to the level of activity in the construction industry, which in turn is driven by macroeconomic trends such as gross domestic product, or GDP, growth, interest rates, job creation, office vacancy rates, and tax revenues. According to FMI Corporation, or FMI, a consulting firm to the construction industry, construction industry spending in the United States for 2007 was estimated at $1.13 trillion, with expenditures divided between residential construction 46.6% and commercial and public, or non-residential, construction 53.4%. The $4.5 billion reprographics industry is approximately 0.4% of the $1.13 trillion construction industry in the United States. Our AEC revenues are most closely correlated to the non-residential sectors of the construction industry, which sectors are the largest users of reprographics services. According to FMI, the non-residential sectors of the United States construction industry are projected to grow at an average of 5.3% per year over the next three years.

Market opportunities for business-to-business document management services such as ours are rapidly expanding into non-AEC industries. For example, non-AEC customers are increasingly using large and small format color imaging for point-of-purchase displays, digital publishing, presentation materials, educational materials and marketing materials as these services have become more efficient and available on a short-run, on-demand basis through digital technology. As a result, we believe that our addressable market is substantially larger than the core AEC reprographics market. We believe that the growth of non-AEC industries is generally tied to growth in the United States GDP, which is estimated to have grown 2.2% in 2007.

And, “NOW”…………

From ARC’s 10-K Report for the year ended December 21, 2011 (filed in March 2012)

The Reprographics Industry

Traditional reprographic companies have historically served the non-residential segment of the AEC industry. They provided document management and document production services such as the printing and distribution of large construction drawings (formerly known as “blueprints”), and other related documents.

There are no other reprographics companies in the U.S. with the national presence that ARC has established. Local reprographics companies are often family- owned, and locate their businesses in proximity to customer locations. All reprographers market their business through local relationships and on their ability to turnaround jobs quickly. Reprographics services are purchased by nearly every trade in the construction industry and are often passed through to project developers for reimbursement.

Demand for services is closely tied to the level of activity in the construction industry, which in turn is driven by macroeconomic trends such as GDP growth, interest rates, job creation, and office vacancy rates. Reprographics revenues are closely correlated to the private, non-residential sectors of the construction industry, which are often the largest users of reprographics services.

There is little information available to help estimate the size of the reprographics market given that there are no public companies in the industry other than ARC, and that most reprographers are small and serve only one geographical market. Acquiring accurate information about the reprographics industry has been made more difficult by the pressure the recent recession and subsequent down cycle in construction has placed upon individual businesses within the industry. Sources such as trade associations and industry surveys have diminished with the decline in construction project activity, and business failures among our local competitors have increased over the past two years.

We estimate that there are approximately 1,550 reprographers in the U.S. based on our experience operating an independent trade association within the industry. Previous data from other trade associations suggests that the average reprographer produced about $1.5 million in sales per year. Based on this information, we estimate the traditional reprographics industry to be approximately $2.3 billion in annual revenues.

We believe that reprographers who have diversified into related offerings that include facilities management, digital color printing, managed print services, and other technology-enabled services are likely to remain viable service providers in their local markets. We also believe the definition of the reprographics market is likely to change as it moves toward a more comprehensive approach to document solutions and addresses needs beyond construction project work.
(Service Point) AGREEMENT WITH BONNIER AB, SWEDEN HOME PUBLISHING

March 13, 2012

On March 9^th, Service Point Solutions issued a press release to announce a deal between its Swedish operation and Bonnier AB, whereby Service Point will be printing (sounds like one-off printing) books-on-demand from publications in Bonnier AB’s catalog of publications.

For those of you who read Spanish, here’s a link to the Spanish-language version of the Press Release (feliz lectura!)…..

http://tinyurl.com/7tqt6kt

For those of you who do not read Spanish, I used Google-Translate to create an English-language version of the press release. Note that Google-Translate does not do a perfect job.

Okay, here’s the English-language version of the press release:

(Service Point) AGREEMENT WITH BONNIER AB, SWEDEN HOME PUBLISHING

Service Point accelerates its position in the online publishing sector

• The Swedish subsidiary of Service Point created an integrated production with demand Publit, the publishing company a leader in innovation in Sweden

• Each month the Swedish subsidiary of Service Point printed 5,000 books-most-unique items, a figure expected to double in 2012 thanks to agreements signed with Bonnier AB

Barcelona, March 9, 2012 – The Swedish subsidiary of Service Point has signed a collaboration agreement with Bonnier AB, the lead editorial in the Scandinavian country, to 300 titles from its catalog are available in the new production solution on demand has been launched with Publit, one of the most innovative firms of Swedish publishing industry.

Bonnier AB’s bid for the production on demand, which allows you to print to a single copy of a book at a reasonable cost, is a strong endorsement of the integrated solution that created the Swedish subsidiary of Service Point in collaboration with Publit. This solution provides an automated orders to print even a single copy of a book with tight costs and delivery time not to exceed five days from the time of ordering.

“As production is fully integrated, standards are very high quality throughout the process, which has led publishers like Bonnier AB to rely on our solution,” explains Per Helin, managing director of Publit. “Our partnership with Service Point will meet the future demands of the publishing industry with the ability to adapt to this joint solution allows printing on demand.”’’

The solution Publit Service Point and currently prints about 5,000 books a month, most of them unique copies that have no place in a conventional printing system. In addition, publishers can monetize, thanks to this demand printing solution, their catalogs at a low cost.

“Currently we have 1,400 titles in Publit, a figure that will grow by 20% with the addition of Bonnier AB catalog,” said Jimmie Holmberg, CEO of Service Point Sweden. “We are confident that the trust has placed in Bonnier AB Service Point and Publit is translated into new agreements and collaborations both in Scandinavia and the rest of the markets in which we operate,” he adds.

It is recalled that in 2011 successfully completed the integration of the Swedish company Holmbergs within the perimeter of activity Service Point.
Denise Gustavson of Wide-Format Imaging authors two related articles about Wide-Format Imaging's Top 40 Shops

March 12, 2012

Denise Gustavson, Editor at “wide-format” imaging (myprintresource.com) (and a long-time reporter on happenings in the imaging industry) recently posted two related articles on her company’s web-site, and, just in case you missed them (or don’t regularly receive e-mails from myprintresource.com), here are intro’s and links to her two articles:

First of two articles:

Editor’s Note: The Best Stuff On Earth

BY DENISE GUSTAVSON

Industry leaders share the secrets of their successes

I have to admit that I work with some of the best people on the planet—and I’m not just talking about the ones who are a part of the WFI team, either. I’m talking about the owners and the presidents of digital graphics and sign shops that I have the privilege to talk to, report about, and be inspired by each and every day.

This year for the Top Shops Report, in addition to asking them key questions about their businesses, I asked these industry leaders to share with me the best advice they had ever received during their careers. I wanted to share some of their responses with you because I think it’s all right on point. I think you’ll agree.

To continue reading the above article, click on this link:

http://www.myprintresource.com/article/10628785/editors-note-the-best-stuff-on-earth

And, here’s an Intro to Denise’s next article (which is related to the first article):

Top Shops 2012: Striking A Careful Balance

BY DENISE GUSTAVSON

It’s all about profits and margins this year—at least according to Wide-Format Imaging’s 2012 Top 40 Shops.

It’s all about profits and margins this year—at least according to Wide-Format Imaging’s 2012 Top 40 Shops. Whether you’re talking about the national economy, pricing, commoditization, the difficulties in hiring, training, and retaining employees, local, national, and international competition, shipping costs, credit availability and interest rates, health insurance costs, taxes, worker’s compensation issues and costs, government regulations, or sustainability issues, it’s all about the margins—and profits.

To continue reading the above article, click on this link:

http://www.myprintresource.com/article/10627751/top-shops-2012-striking-a-careful-balance

March 10, 2012

Reprographics Services Bid Opportunity ??? Contra Costa Water District

If interested, you must register to view the bid document; go to this web-site address to register and view this opportunity:

http://www.ccwater.com/buscenter/

Current Open Bids/Professional Services Opportunities

PROJECT NAME	BID TYPE	CLOSING DATE
Boats & Trailer	Gen. Proc.	3/9/12
Herbicides	Gen. Proc.	3/15/12
Aggregate Rock	Gen. Proc.	3/16/12
Courier & Delivery Services	Gen. Proc.	3/16/12
Tractor Maintenance	Gen. Proc.	3/20/12
Copy & Reprographic Services	Gen. Proc.	3/20/12
Temp Agency Services	Gen. Proc.	3/21/12
Fencing Materials	Gen. Proc.	3/21/12
Canvas Covers	Gen. Proc.	3/22/12
Fuel	Gen. Proc.	3/23/12
Carpet & Blind Cleaning	Gen. Proc.	3/23/12
T.O.C Analyzer	Gen. Proc.	3/23/12
Janitorial Products	Gen. Proc.	3/27/12
Equipment Rental	Gen. Proc.	3/27/12

What's the future hold for A/E/C plans-printed-on-paper? (IPAD app eliminates the need to print?)

March 10, 2012

Yesterday evening, I received an e-mail from one of my reprographics industry friends (he’s a vendor to the industry), and here’s what he said ….. and asked:

“The article about the iPad app that replaces construction drawings in the field is depressing.”

“Do you have a guess as to how quickly paper prints are going to go away (or mostly go away?). Do think this is going to happen soon?”

Where he refers to “paper prints”, he is referring to “plans printed on paper”; b/w and color prints from CAD files and b/w and color copies from hard-copy plans. For convenience sake, hereafter I’m going to refer to that stuff as “A/E/C plans-printed-on-paper.”

While I don’t think that A/E/C plans-printed-on-paper are going to disappear anytime soon, Reprographers have, over the past 10 years (if not somewhat longer than that), observed the development of, and advances in, “digital technology”. We’ve not only “observed” developments and advances, we’ve had to learn to deal with them, to adapt to them, and, yes, to live with them.

To me, the term “digital technology” includes a lot of different things (at least it does to me) – including, but not necessarily limited to –

Digital files: when I first got into the reprographics business, back in 1970, digital files (at least with respect to A/E/C plans), did not exist. Plans were (literally speaking) hand-drawn on vellum or mylar. Today, who, other than an older design-architect who still sketches his/her thoughts on paper, hand-draws plans? No one that I’m aware of. So, digital files have become a fact of life.

Electronic take-off: when I first got into the reprographics business, and for most of my career in the business, our GC and sub-contractor customers did manual take-offs in order to estimate their costs to build and to come up with their bids to owners. Estimators would measure stuff using A/E scales (a ruler of sorts) and hand-record their measurements in an accounting spreadsheet. Later, they began to use Excel software (or alternatives to Excel) to record their measurements and costs. While some estimators still do manual take-offs, the trend is definitely moving, and, I think, moving quickly, to electronic take-off, using software programs that work directly with CAD files. Adaptation to electronic take-off software hasn’t moved as quickly as some might have though would have been the case, but I think the main reason for that has been (and may still be, for a few more years) a “generation” issue. Older people working as estimators in construction are not as computer-literate as the generation coming up behind them. Older people (my generation, now that I’m 65) are less comfortable using electronic software for take-offs; they are used to the way they’ve always done take-offs. But, what about a 25 year-old estimator, one who started using computers at the age of 6 or 7?

Electronic permitting: we’ve done several articles on this blog over the past couple of years about firms who’ve introduced software and processes that enable “electronic permitting”. Firms who develop this software have, and continue to, target government agencies. As government agencies adopt electronic permitting, fewer “sets” of A/E/C plans will be printed on paper for permit applications.

The Internet: Everyone knows that the Internet has changed our lives. Every Reprographer is aware that the Internet has had a huge, major, gigantic impact on the way reprographers, and our customers, do business. The Internet was in its infancy when I first got into the reprographics business. Even in the decade of the 80’s, it was still pretty much a new thing. But, since the beginning of the 90’s, the Internet has grown to be “the one thing than no one can live without.” It is everywhere. Did not the Internet enable Reprographers to develop e-planrooms? Today, e-planrooms make it possible for A/E/C teams to collaborate on project documents, without anything being printed on paper. Plan-prints on paper are “optional”.

Digital communication technology; smartphones, e-readers, tablet computers, the iPAD (and iPAD wannabees): Voice, Text and Data move at incredible speeds today. And, it’s getting faster and faster and faster! At this very moment, I’m at the Boston Public Library (beautiful, historic building, great café) and I’m in the café. Currently, there are 19 people in the café, and not a single person isn’t using some sort of electronic device! 3 iPADs, 10 laptops and 6 smartphones. (Okay, a person older than me just walked in and sat down with a real newspaper; but he probably has a cell phone in his pocket.) Can you remember when one used a phone line and modem to dial up and tie into a mini-computer that was located somewhere else, and what a pain in the neck it was when, for some unknown reason, the line disconnected? Can you remember how slow it was, back then, to transfer a CAD file from one location to another? How about if you had to transfer 300 CAD files over a modem? (Well, using T-1 lines was faster, but they were very expensive.) How many people now have laptops, tablet computers and iPADs (and devices that are iPAD alternatives), and is not that increasingly so? Younger people (both of the generations behind me) think of these devices as part of their daily lives. They would not know what to do without them.

Software for Project Management, Project Collaboration, Document Management, smartfiles (my term for stuff like BlueBeam PDF), Integrated Project Delivery (BIM included): Reprographers are not the only ones who’ve developed, promoted and pushed-out software to A/E/C Industry participants. There’s a huge amount of competition in this field, and Reprographers have had to deal with that, live with that. And, developments in this arena are not slowing down. Many software products promote “paperless” construction. Or, promote a “reduced need” to print plans on paper.

Well, so much for “digital technology” developments and advances – or, as some might say – the “digitalization” of the A/E/C Industry. These developments and advances have had an adverse impact on A/E/C plans-printed-on-paper, and I suspect that adverse impact will continue, if not grow even more onerous, in the future.

Then add to that the “Great Recession” that hit the A/E/C Industry. Less projects, less A/E/C plans-printed-on-paper. Fact of life.

But, the other fact of life is that the A/E/C Industry has always recovered from its recessions. Always! And, this time will be no different. There will, at some point, be a recovery in the A/E/C Industry (and I’ve already gone on record to say that 2012 will show evidence of a recovery in that industry.) And, at some point down the road, A/E/C Industry activity (project-activity, that is) will grow larger than the peak that Industry hit back in 2006/7. You can count on that happening.

But, what we – Reprographers – cannot count on is that the Reprographics Industry’s recovery will be directly proportionate to the A/E/C Industry’s recovery. We cannot count on that because of “digitalization”. But, no one has a crystal ball that works. As the A/E/C Industry climbs out of its depression, there’s always the chance that A/E/C customers will revert to printing lots of A/E/C plans-on-paper, just like they did before. I’d love to see that happen. But, I’m not going to bet the bank that that will happen. And, that’s because another generation – a very highly digitally-inclined generation – is getting ready to move into positions occupied by the only slightly less digitally-inclined generation behind my generation, as my generation, the baby-boom generation, retires. And, if the generation immediately behind me pushed for change, what might be reasonably expected from the generation behind them? A push for even greater change?

Back to the comment my friend made and the question he asked:

“The article about the iPad app that replaces construction drawings in the field is depressing.”

“Do you have a guess as to how quickly paper prints are going to go away (or mostly go away?). Do think this is going to happen soon?”

Personally, I don’t think that iPAD apps will replace A/E/C plans-printed-on-paper in a very meaningful way in the near-term future. But, long term, the story might be very different.
aecbytes.com reviews Newforma Project Center Professional

March 9, 2012

Product Summary

Newforma Project Center Professional is the new version of Newforma’s flagship application for project information management (PIM) and collaboration application. It is part of the new Newforma Design Suite targeted towards architecture and engineering firms. It was previously known as Newforma Project Center.

Pros: Continues with core PIM capabilities such as email management, comprehensive search capability, the ability to store project files, record documents, images, and file transfers; the ability to markup drawings and record meeting minutes and action items, and collaboration with external project team members using a web-based module called Info Exchange; includes new “Newforma to Newforma” project connection capability which allows a firm to transparently connect directly with any other firm using Newforma to exchange drawings, models, and other project documents; enhanced web interface of Info Exchange module making it more graphical, easier to navigate, and optimized for tablet access; new Contact Directory that allows a firm to centrally access and manage its global company and contact database; new Project Publisher capability provides the ability to package selected documents to a destination folder, CD or DVD when it comes time to close out, hand over, and archive a project.

Cons: New functionality not as extensive as previous new versions of the application.

Review Link

http://www.aecbytes.com/review/2012/NewformaProjectCenterProfessional9.html

To provide comments and feedback on this article, or see what others have to say, please visit its AECbytes blog posting at:

http://aecbytes.com/blog/2012/03/08/newforma-project-center-professional-ninth-edition/
Stop selling and start storytelling – the secret to success in winning MPS deals (and FM deals as well)

March 9, 2012

This article has appeared on several different blogs and web-sites the past couple of months, and I thought it might be of interest to Reprographers, especially to those who are promoting/selling MPS and FM deals.

To say that I completely agree with the author’s conclusions, about the success of storytelling, would be an understatement. In my prior life (meaning, when I was active in the Reprographics Industry), selling FM’s by “storytelling” was, essentially, my “m.o.” If you truly believe that what you are going to be proposing (or have already proposed) is truly in the best interests of your customer (or prospect) and, if in the past, you’ve already done a great job for a customer who was like the one you’re now working with, then telling “the story” – “before and after” – to your current customer/prospect goes a long, long way towards convincing your customer/prospect that you are not only sincere in your desire to serve his/her firm, but are hell bent on doing everything necessary to help his/her firm succeed. In order to be an effective storyteller, you must be able to do a total recall of experiences from past times and be able to communicate with confidence (but not come off as arrogant!)

Okay, here’s Robert Newry’s article…..

“Stop selling and start storytelling – the secret to success in winning MPS deals”

by Robert Newry Managing Director and Co-Founder NewField IT

At a recent MPS event, the keynote speaker told an entertaining story about why only a genuine Gucci handbag, at five times the price of a good copy, would satisfy his wife. For him the physical difference was only in the stitching; for her it was the emotional value of the brand. At the time I didn’t see much relevance in the story to our less glamorous world of office printing. Only when running a training course shortly afterwards to a group of ‘wannabe’ MPS sales professionals, I happened to refer to the “story” that a good assessment allows you to tell and the penny dropped. To be successful in selling an MPS programme, you need to be storyteller, someone who can inspire the customer towards an emotional decision, where they choose the competency to deliver over the cost to acquire. Telling a good story is why successful MPS sales people, whether from small or large players, win big deals – often at higher prices too.

Given we are in the business world, the story has to be credible rather than fictional and the skill is in constructing and communicating a compelling proposition. Yet few of the training courses out there teach us how to do this; mostly because storytelling is something we were meant to have learnt in childhood. The problem has arisen out of the legacy of product selling that still permeates our industry. Although the days when selling was about functions and specifications and every sales call ended by giving the customer a brochure are fast diminishing, they have been replaced by simplified data gathering and the customer being left with an impersonal and templated report. Sales managers around the world crave the standard report and automated proposal maker – the only differentiation fast becoming the cover. For me giving a customer an automated and statistic driven report is like turning Snow White and The Seven Dwarves into a description of the daily gemstone output of their mining activities! The clever observer picks up so much more from their assessment and delivers that back to the customer in a meaningful and personalised way, comforting the customer with their understanding and professionalism.

So for those who want to become the “Pied Piper” of their territory here are three fundamentals to get you going.

Every tale should have a twist

Any good storyteller has to grab and keep the audience’s attention. This can only be done by telling them something they didn’t already know and the skilful storyteller will do this by releasing information slowly, hinting always of greater things to come, and creating a desire in their audience to know more. The material for your story line should come from a thorough assessment but the data itself is not the story. I have seen some assessments where the provider believed that the customer would rate the value of the story in direct proportion to the weight of the report! The opposite is usually true. The customer is looking for insights, mini-stories of their own organisation’s inefficiencies, not reams of charts and tables. One law firm we approached proudly told us they had a state of the art document management system, yet when we walked around we could see paper all over the place – the natural by-product of legal activity we were told. Yet when we did the assessment, a few questions revealed that the scanning facilities on each floor were woefully inadequate and the electronic filing structure did not cover all the requirements, so some staff were still storing every paper record as a back-up. After we told stories of blocked fire escapes and overflowing offices, the client was quick to award the next stage of the project. The trick is not simply the extent of the data gathered rather the way you use that data to demonstrate your competency and expertise. Toner storage cabinets become “mini Staples stores” and discarded piles of paper by devices are “security risks”.

Visualise the value

We all know that a picture speaks a thousand words and the best story books are illustrated. Yet, many of the presentations I have seen from providers trying to make their mark in MPS are static MS Powerpoint slides filled with charts and floor plans in the hope that the customer is impressed by the mono/colour split or the volume by department. In a world of touchpads and interactivity the customer is far more impressed by a presentation that projects all the data on a floor plan, where walking distances to coffee machines can be demonstrated and user interviews as well as data can be combined with device volumes to show who are the print paupers and who are the print princes. By doing this the customer becomes engaged in your story and suddenly the situation is no longer a one way delivery of statistics, transforming instead to an active discussion about the challenges and how they might be solved. In such circumstances, the good storyteller is no longer a sales person but an advisor – someone the customer wants to listen to more and trusts now to get the job done.

Personalise the pitch

When my kids were younger, I used to regularly read them bedtime stories. The ones they liked the most were the ones where I added in different voices and tones for each of the characters. All I was doing was personalising what was already a good story, but they loved the way this gave the story an extra edge and made it special to them. A good MPS presentation should be no different (well you can skip the voices!). The customer is comforted when you use their terms, speak about the business in their way and above all show true understanding of their environment. Taking the time to think about the data you have gathered and how that can be presented back in the most meaningful and insightful way will endear you to them. At the end of the day, what do you want your pitch to be – the cheap and cheerful paper-back, read in a monotone or the beautiful hard-back (at twice the price), read with vitality?

In summary, telling a good story is what will impress the customer. But don’t go over the top. We are short-story tellers. Keep all reports to less than 10 pages and any presentation to less than 30 minutes. Go through your upcoming reports and presentations and check that they are personal, compelling and inspiring. Ask yourself each and every time: “Can I make this story any better?” If you have followed the advice above successfully, you should be on course of for a happy ending and with any luck the customer should be asking for a signed hardback!

Robert Newry is Co-Founder and Managing Director of NewField IT, a software and services company that helps both end users and channel organisations implement successful MPS programmes.
Drupa 2012, the Inkjet Drupa…again? A closer look at Memjet and three unique OEMs

March 9, 2012

An excellent, very thorough article about Memjet is now up on whattheythink.com

Here’s the beginning of the article, and, later, you’ll find a link to access the full article:

Commentary & Analysis

Drupa 2012, the Inkjet Drupa…again? A closer look at Memjet and three unique OEMs

By David Zwang Published: March 9, 2012

Until now, each article in this series has focused on a specific printer manufacturer’s technology and offerings. While many of them share integral component partners, or even the same equipment manufacturer as in the case of Ricoh InfoPrint and Screen, the Memjet OEM relationship is a bit different.

Memjet is San Diego CA color printing technology company that is a partner of Silverbrook Research, an Australian R&D company that was co-founded in 1994 by Kia Silverbrook, an inventor (one of the largest single individual U.S. patent holders), scientist, and serial entrepreneur. It is the largest non-governmental research company in Australia. Silverbrook co-founded Memjet as a spin off in 2002, and the fruits of its labors are starting to come to market to wide acclaim.

David’s article is long, but very well written, and I urge you to read the full article, which you can access at this link:

http://whattheythink.com/articles/56686-drupa-2012-inkjet-drupaagain-closer-look-memjet-three-unique-oems/
iPad App to Replace Printed Blueprints? (PlanGrid.com)

March 9, 2012

Two of our blog-visitors suggested we post this article on our blog. (One was David Brownell, the other was one of our readers who wishes to remain anonymous. Thank you to both for bringing this article – and PlanGrid.com – to my attention.)

Here’s an article that comes from www.constructiondigital.com, one of the on-line magazines for construction executives:

iPad App to Replace Printed Blueprints?

A small startup’s unique platform for construction plan management could save the industry billions

March 7, 2012, article authored by Jon Walton

The construction industry has a $4 billion dollar problem – in the endless modifications to expensive printed blueprints, building plans can often swell to nearly half a percent of a project’s total budget, making for some extraordinary costs on larger builds.

Not exactly renowned for innovation, the construction industry has been slow to adopt the range of technologies that have transformed so many other sectors. Plangrid, a small Y Combinator startup company, is looking to change all that with an ambitious app for the iPad that looks to replace costly and cumbersome printed designs with a sleek, manageable digital archive of customizable plans.

Plangrid’s new iPad app allows users to manipulate plans in the field, quickly flip between blueprint versions, and share new designs via cloud services or e-mail. The intuitive layout balances simplicity and functionality, and the software’s ease of use will be surely appreciated by a not-so-tech-savvy sector.

Because plans take so long to move through the modification and reprinting process, many unnecessary rework costs are associated with outdated designs being used in the field – a problem remedied by the immediate availability of Plangrid’s instantaneous updates and cloud-storage capabilities. The company offers a three-tiered pricing plan for building professionals, and for smaller projects (less than 50 sheets), the app is free.

With today’s announcement of the iPad 3 – boasting a 2048 x 1536-pixel retina display, 5 megapixel camera and LTE capabilities – the incorporation of tablet technology into the construction field is even more irresistible. Whatever the success of Plangrid’s app, the industry is sure to move towards digitizing blueprint management for field use in the near future.

Now, more about PlanGrid, now that I’ve visited PlanGrid’s web-site.

In the “tour” section of PlanGrid’s web-site, they say this….

Reduce Printing Costs

Construction industry experts estimate that for every $1,000,000 of project volume, $3500 is spent on printing alone! With PlanGrid, you will slash or eliminate those costs and save tons of money.

PlanGrid will slash or eliminate printing costs.

Two of PlanGrid’s founders gained experience in the construction industry. One of PlanGrid’s founders is a former rocket scientist! All four of PlanGrid’s founders graduated college (two have master’s degrees). (Can’t help but wonder if Mr. Santorum would refer to these highly educated young people as elitists.) Founders’ backgrounds:

Ryan Sutton-Gee

Cofounder, CEO, and head janitor.

Ryan is the business leader of PlanGrid and is passionate about bringing good software to the construction industry. Ryan came up with the idea for PlanGrid after wrestling with the nightmare of document control and now spends most of his time guiding the overall vision of the company. Prior to founding PlanGrid, Ryan worked as an estimator and as a project controls analyst at ITSI-Gilbane and graduated from Stanford University with a masters in civil engineering.

Tracy Young

Cofounder, COO, and chief ass kicker.

Tracy is in charge of the day-to-day operations at PlanGrid and is always driving the rest of the team to new levels of productivity and long hours. With the most field experience of the founding team, Tracy is responsible for the feature set and ease of use of PlanGrid. Tracy is always arguing for better functionality, clearer interfaces, and a better user experience for all of our customers. Prior to founding PlanGrid, Tracy helped build hospitals for Rudolph and Sletten Construction. Tracy has a BS in Construction Management from Sacramento State University.

Ralph Gootee

Cofounder, CTO, and master of all he surveys.

Ralph is PlanGrid’s iOS develolper, and graphics programming expert, and is the reason why PlanGrid is so much faster than anything else out there. Not only that, but Ralph is one of those mythical beings who can both design a good UI and make it work. Prior to founding PlanGrid, Ralph worked as a software engineer at Pixar and even had a stint as a ballistic missile defense researcher at the Applied Physics Laboratory. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a masters in applied math.

Kenny Stone

Cofounder, VP Engineering, and literary scholar.

Kenny is the creator of the web-side of PlanGrid and the man in charge of our cloud-based back-end. Kenny’s tireless efforts are the reason why our site never goes down, and why we’ll never lose a single sheet of your drawings. Prior to founding PlanGrid, Kenny worked as a high frequency trading programmer for several years and graduated with a BS in computer engineering from Purdue University.

You can learn more about PlanGrid by visiting their web-site:

http://www.plangrid.com/

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Blog-publisher’s comments:

We’ve previously posted articles and news about iPAD App’s developed for the A/E/C industry; here are links to some of those previously articles, if you care to look back at them:

iPAD app and SAAS e-planroom

Article on “HKSTracepaper” about the use of an iPAD for accessing documents when an architect is on the road

Autodesk Buzzsaw Mobile App Provides Access to Building and Construction Data on iPad or iPhone

iPAD Apps for Project Management and Construction in the AEC Industry

Related to previous post about “Paperless Construction” – Builditlive.com

I don’t have much doubt that, over time, the use of iPADs in the A/E/C industry will grow. PlanGrid is not the first company “out there” with an iPAD App that provides an e-planroom service. Most reprographers have been offering e-planroom services for years and years, by now, and files in e-planrooms can, if and when a user wants to, be called up on digital devices (tablets, notebooks and desktops, and, I would imagine, on iPADs.) I wish PlanGrid’s founders the best of luck and success with their new business venture.

It’s mentioned (this was either in the article the author wrote or somewhere on PlanGrid’s web-site) that the use of PlanGrid’s service can help construction-industry-users avoid having to print plans on paper, saving the cost of printing as a result. Billions to be saved. Billions? Well, prior to the “Great Recession”, the reprographics industry was reportedly a $5 billion industry. Given the drastic downturn in A/E/C business, the reprographics industry may now be a $3 billion industry. I do believe, as do some others, that A/E/C customers are not printing as much “per project” as they used to print. But, who’s actually tracking that? Any reprographer who’s in the FM business and in the production center business and who has exclusive relationships with an architecture firm (who’s an FM customer) and a GC firm (who’s also an FM customer), who collaborate on the same project, could probably capture the dollar amount of printing that’s spent on “a” project. I seriously doubt that reprographics firms have been doing this – tracking the REAL, TOTAL DOLLARS spent on a single A/E/C project (by both the A/E firm and the GC firm involved in a single project) – but, would that sort of cost-capture exercise not provide the kind of “trend” information that would be meaningful for forward business planning purposes? Meaningful information for a reprographer? I’m so old that I can remember when most of our A/E/C customers printed nothing in house (they did not have blueprinting equipment and there were no such things as plotters); they did all of their printing “off-site” at our production centers. Because of that, we knew how much printing work was being done for “a” project, and, if we had very close relationships with our A/E/C customers, we could predict how much business (printing work) we were going to do in the near term future. Nowadays, difficult, if not impossible, to project. It was mentioned, somewhere in the article or on PlanGrid’s web-site, that printing costs total up to as much as ½ of 1 percent of total project cost. That may have been the case 15, 20 and 25 years ago, but I don’t think that’s the case now. Probably more around half of what it used to be.
iPad App to Replace Printed Blueprints? (PlanGrid.com)

March 9, 2012

Two of our blog-visitors suggested we post this article on our blog. (One was David Brownell, the other was one of our readers who wishes to remain anonymous. Thank you to both for bringing this article – and PlanGrid.com – to my attention.)

Here’s an article that comes from www.constructiondigital.com, one of the on-line magazines for construction executives:

iPad App to Replace Printed Blueprints?

A small startup’s unique platform for construction plan management could save the industry billions

March 7, 2012, article authored by Jon Walton

The construction industry has a $4 billion dollar problem – in the endless modifications to expensive printed blueprints, building plans can often swell to nearly half a percent of a project’s total budget, making for some extraordinary costs on larger builds.

Not exactly renowned for innovation, the construction industry has been slow to adopt the range of technologies that have transformed so many other sectors. Plangrid, a small Y Combinator startup company, is looking to change all that with an ambitious app for the iPad that looks to replace costly and cumbersome printed designs with a sleek, manageable digital archive of customizable plans.

Plangrid’s new iPad app allows users to manipulate plans in the field, quickly flip between blueprint versions, and share new designs via cloud services or e-mail. The intuitive layout balances simplicity and functionality, and the software’s ease of use will be surely appreciated by a not-so-tech-savvy sector.

Because plans take so long to move through the modification and reprinting process, many unnecessary rework costs are associated with outdated designs being used in the field – a problem remedied by the immediate availability of Plangrid’s instantaneous updates and cloud-storage capabilities. The company offers a three-tiered pricing plan for building professionals, and for smaller projects (less than 50 sheets), the app is free.

With today’s announcement of the iPad 3 – boasting a 2048 x 1536-pixel retina display, 5 megapixel camera and LTE capabilities – the incorporation of tablet technology into the construction field is even more irresistible. Whatever the success of Plangrid’s app, the industry is sure to move towards digitizing blueprint management for field use in the near future.

Now, more about PlanGrid, now that I’ve visited PlanGrid’s web-site.

In the “tour” section of PlanGrid’s web-site, they say this….

Reduce Printing Costs

Construction industry experts estimate that for every $1,000,000 of project volume, $3500 is spent on printing alone! With PlanGrid, you will slash or eliminate those costs and save tons of money.

PlanGrid will slash or eliminate printing costs.

Two of PlanGrid’s founders gained experience in the construction industry. One of PlanGrid’s founders is a former rocket scientist! All four of PlanGrid’s founders graduated college (two have master’s degrees). (Can’t help but wonder if Mr. Santorum would refer to these highly educated young people as elitists.) Founders’ backgrounds:

Ryan Sutton-Gee

Cofounder, CEO, and head janitor.

Ryan is the business leader of PlanGrid and is passionate about bringing good software to the construction industry. Ryan came up with the idea for PlanGrid after wrestling with the nightmare of document control and now spends most of his time guiding the overall vision of the company. Prior to founding PlanGrid, Ryan worked as an estimator and as a project controls analyst at ITSI-Gilbane and graduated from Stanford University with a masters in civil engineering.

Tracy Young

Cofounder, COO, and chief ass kicker.

Tracy is in charge of the day-to-day operations at PlanGrid and is always driving the rest of the team to new levels of productivity and long hours. With the most field experience of the founding team, Tracy is responsible for the feature set and ease of use of PlanGrid. Tracy is always arguing for better functionality, clearer interfaces, and a better user experience for all of our customers. Prior to founding PlanGrid, Tracy helped build hospitals for Rudolph and Sletten Construction. Tracy has a BS in Construction Management from Sacramento State University.

Ralph Gootee

Cofounder, CTO, and master of all he surveys.

Ralph is PlanGrid’s iOS develolper, and graphics programming expert, and is the reason why PlanGrid is so much faster than anything else out there. Not only that, but Ralph is one of those mythical beings who can both design a good UI and make it work. Prior to founding PlanGrid, Ralph worked as a software engineer at Pixar and even had a stint as a ballistic missile defense researcher at the Applied Physics Laboratory. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a masters in applied math.

Kenny Stone

Cofounder, VP Engineering, and literary scholar.

Kenny is the creator of the web-side of PlanGrid and the man in charge of our cloud-based back-end. Kenny’s tireless efforts are the reason why our site never goes down, and why we’ll never lose a single sheet of your drawings. Prior to founding PlanGrid, Kenny worked as a high frequency trading programmer for several years and graduated with a BS in computer engineering from Purdue University.

You can learn more about PlanGrid by visiting their web-site:

http://www.plangrid.com/

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Blog-publisher’s comments:

We’ve previously posted articles and news about iPAD App’s developed for the A/E/C industry; here are links to some of those previously articles, if you care to look back at them:

iPAD app and SAAS e-planroom

Article on “HKSTracepaper” about the use of an iPAD for accessing documents when an architect is on the road

Autodesk Buzzsaw Mobile App Provides Access to Building and Construction Data on iPad or iPhone

iPAD Apps for Project Management and Construction in the AEC Industry

Related to previous post about “Paperless Construction” – Builditlive.com

I don’t have much doubt that, over time, the use of iPADs in the A/E/C industry will grow. PlanGrid is not the first company “out there” with an iPAD App that provides an e-planroom service. Most reprographers have been offering e-planroom services for years and years, by now, and files in e-planrooms can, if and when a user wants to, be called up on digital devices (tablets, notebooks and desktops, and, I would imagine, on iPADs.) I wish PlanGrid’s founders the best of luck and success with their new business venture.

It’s mentioned (this was either in the article the author wrote or somewhere on PlanGrid’s web-site) that the use of PlanGrid’s service can help construction-industry-users avoid having to print plans on paper, saving the cost of printing as a result. Billions to be saved. Billions? Well, prior to the “Great Recession”, the reprographics industry was reportedly a $5 billion industry. Given the drastic downturn in A/E/C business, the reprographics industry may now be a $3 billion industry. I do believe, as do some others, that A/E/C customers are not printing as much “per project” as they used to print. But, who’s actually tracking that? Any reprographer who’s in the FM business and in the production center business and who has exclusive relationships with an architecture firm (who’s an FM customer) and a GC firm (who’s also an FM customer), who collaborate on the same project, could probably capture the dollar amount of printing that’s spent on “a” project. I seriously doubt that reprographics firms have been doing this – tracking the REAL, TOTAL DOLLARS spent on a single A/E/C project (by both the A/E firm and the GC firm involved in a single project) – but, would that sort of cost-capture exercise not provide the kind of “trend” information that would be meaningful for forward business planning purposes? Meaningful information for a reprographer? I’m so old that I can remember when most of our A/E/C customers printed nothing in house (they did not have blueprinting equipment and there were no such things as plotters); they did all of their printing “off-site” at our production centers. Because of that, we knew how much printing work was being done for “a” project, and, if we had very close relationships with our A/E/C customers, we could predict how much business (printing work) we were going to do in the near term future. Nowadays, difficult, if not impossible, to project. It was mentioned, somewhere in the article or on PlanGrid’s web-site, that printing costs total up to as much as ½ of 1 percent of total project cost. That may have been the case 15, 20 and 25 years ago, but I don’t think that’s the case now. Probably more around half of what it used to be.

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