Preparing for the Recovery Future Authors Return Color in the Brain Bag Digital Nirvana
One of the persistent rumors of the year is that 2009 will be the opposite of 2008. Last year we had three quarters of decent economic performance but in the last quarter went directly downhill. 2009 looks to continue to be difficult for the first three quarters but many economic wizards say we could see the start of an upturn in the final quarter. Hopefully they will turn out to be right, because we all need a lift. But until things turn around we have to work with what we have. We need to think beyond the headline, and that's the first discussion for today.
Preparing for the Recovery Plan now to be poised for the future
Cheer and optimism may be in limited supply among most print providers these days, but that isn't stopping smart business owners from thinking about the best ways to move forward. For many, the best strategy is to continue providing a high level of service which can help mitigate the price erosion that occurs as shorter deals become part of doing business in 2009. That's a basic survival tactic, but it's also important to prepare for the future, because this downturn won't last forever, and you need to be ready as the inevitable recovery takes place.
First, some companies are trying to reduce their risk by making sure that they have the print business before adding new equipment, which is a good operating policy even in the best of times. More importantly, they are taking extra time to better understand customer needs and how to address them. This helps in managing todays uncertainties while preparing for when the economy improves.
The lifeline Guy Broadhurst, vice president for new technology at Océ North America's Production Printing Systems division points out that convergence is the lifeline to being prepared for a better economy ahead. "The wider the range of jobs and types of applications you are able to run using a relatively narrow range of equipment and software, the better the return on your technology investment and the better you are positioned to survive and even thrive in tough times," he explains.
For instance, if you make your living printing and mailing bills and statements, adding informative or promotional content to the statement is a natural form of convergence that adds immediate and measurable value to the services you provide. Consider this: the Money section in the March 10 issue of USA Today noted that coupons are paying off in this economically stressful time and some marketers are willing to pay to produce coupons they know will reach customers and prospects. "Including those offers along with bill and statements ensures they will be seen," notes Broadhurst.
Convergence isn't just about the print engine. Some print providers who have printed transactional documents for years have not only added some type of trans-promo messaging, but are handling an increasing share of their customers' data processing. This not only makes them a more valuable resource for their customer, but deepens relationships beyond print and mail, making it harder for a customer to leave.
Cast a wider net With so much in flux, there are opportunities to cast a wider net and add to your repertoire of services and capabilities. Book production, for example, is a growing segment that's worth consideration by many digital print operations. Core segments with growing demand include religious and legal titles. It's easy to think of these are niche markets, but in a country of 313 million people niche markets can be very lucrative, notes Broadhurst.
Or consider newspapers. Often thought of as a dying business, it's really more of one in the throes of massive change. "We are receiving multiple requests to print newspapers digitally and are doing so in different countries worldwide, with more to come," recounts Broadhurst. "Small city and local weekly papers are ripe for hyper-localization and having deeper stories appear on the web, making newspapers part of cross-media communications. Digital printers have many of the skills to make this a reality and should be talking to local newspaper publishers.
Beyond equipment Conventional wisdom is that the best strategy is to hold on to what cash reserves we have or not go any further into deb. However, this is also a good time to look for lower lease costs on a new building or to invest in software to support the ever-changing world of PDLs.
"There is no magic bullet and none of us have all the answers," says Broadhurst, "but as I travel I'm seeing some rays of sunshine out there, so don't let it get you down. Look for jobs that are outside of your traditional business and hire some of the talent that could help you look into and prepare for the future.
Left to right: Sheryl Pattek, vice president of marketing services for Océ North America's Production Printing Systems division in Boca Raton; Author Jonathon King; and Constance Tuman-Rugg, Ed. D., associate superintendent of the School District of Palm Beach County.
They're Back! The 4th Annual Océ Future Authors Project
Nearly 60 middle and high school students will be participating in the 2009 Océ Future Authors Project. About 15 students from Glades Central High School will be joining through distance learning technology. Seven graduates of the program will be returning as mentors.
Now in its fourth year, the program is a partnership between the School District of Palm Beach County and Océ North America and is made possible due to generous grants from the Lawrence Sanders Foundation, BankAtlantic Foundation and Xplor International, a non-profit educational and networking organization serving users and suppliers of document technologies.
An accomplished author himself, Lawrence Sanders delighted in seeing young people develop a love of writing, said J. Daniel Brede, a trustee for the Foundation. This is just the kind of program he would have wanted us to support.
The Future Authors program is much more than just writing, it is about unleashing the minds and aspirations of tomorrows thought leaders, says Skip Henk, EDP, president/CEO, Xplor International, an association promoting the technological advances that enable digital book publishing.
Students gain insight into the process of writing, editing, and digitally publishing books through interactions with Océ executives, as well as published authors, who speak to the students. The day-long sessions are taught by certified Palm Beach County teachers. Writings from each student are then compiled, professionally published and digitally printed in final book form by Boca Raton-based Océ North America Production Printing Systems division. The book is unveiled at a book signing hosted by the City of Boca Raton at the Spanish River Public Library.
As founders of the Future Authors program, Océ believes the age of digital publishing will open up more opportunities for these aspiring authors. Digital printing technologies are revolutionizing the business of book publishing, said Sheryl Pattek, vice president of marketing for Océ North Americas Production Printing Systems division. Publishers can now cost-effectively print books in run lengths anywhere from 1 to 10,000 creating exciting opportunities for new talentlike these future authorswho now can get their works published. As a leader in providing digital printing solutions for the book industry, Océ is delighted to support the Future Authors program and to help make the children's dream a reality.
We are thrilled to be partners with Océ in this unique educational opportunity, added Constance Tuman-Rugg, Ph.D., associate superintendent. Programs like this exemplify how the public and private sectors can work together to bring valuable experiences to our students.
Color in the Brain Bag Jeppesen Relies on Océ for Crucial Flight Information
One of the bags every airline pilot always has on the flight deck is his or her "brain bag" the collection of checklists, procedures, log books, maps, and navigational tools that are essential in getting an airplane safely from Point A to Point B. Some of the materials come from Jeppesen, the leading producer of transportation navigation information in the United States. Pilots and airlines around the world depend on Jeppesen charting and navigation services for the latest information about airports, runways and airspace. When changes occur at airports, FAA requirements mandate that updates be published and delivered to all pilots flying to those airports within a specified time frame.
Speed and Versatility While these mission-critical flight manuals are indispensable tools for helping pilots reach their destinations safely, producing them presents several challengestight production windows, increasingly short runs, exacting quality standards and variable content. Each flight manual is compiled based on specific airline or pilot requests and contains current data on hundreds of airports. The manuals, which feature comprehensive full-color approach images, visual details about runways and taxiways, and alerts highlighting recent changes or unusual conditions, are updated frequently.
To better handle a diverse array of jobs with speed, versatility and quality, Jeppesen will replace two aging black and white printing systems with two Océ ColorStream 10050 systems, expected to produce up to 14,000 different jobs a month. With an average monthly volume of 25 million Jeppesen sheets expected for the Océ ColorStream systems, Jeppesen can handle the hard deadlines and high print volumes in a single pass. Automating production tasks and removing manual intervention as much as possible increase productivity, and the speed of the new systems will produce the complex manuals within the tightest production windows.
With the new systems, Jeppesen can produce black & white, full-color and Océ CustomTone spot color applications on a single system. The Océ ColorStream 10050 models include an optional fifth color station that will be used to create brown contour lines on charts and maps to make navigational information easier for pilots to understand.
With its speed, capacity, paper-handling flexibility and quality, the Océ ColorStream system will help us produce high-quality manuals within very short delivery windows to satisfy FAA requirements. As Jeppesen stays focused on customer satisfaction and adapting our business model to include flexible digital print, Océ helps us improve the service levels we can provide to our customers, said Jeppesen Manager of Imaging and Printing Services, Ken Navarra.
Facilitating Offset-to-Digital Migration Previously, color pages were produced on offset presses and hand-inserted into flight manuals, a time-consuming and inefficient process. With the Océ ColorStream digital systems, the color pages can be printed inline with the job. What's more, Jeppesen can handle more color work in-house and cost-effectively migrate volumes from offset to digital. In addition to automating manual processes, Jeppesen can increase productivity with faster changeovers, customization, and easier setup and operation.
Excellent Quality for Fine Lines and Halftones Jeppesen manuals include images such as contour maps, runway layouts and photos of airport approaches, so legibility is critical. The Océ ColorStream 10050 systems deliver the quality Jeppesen requires for screens, halftones and precise printing of numbers, lines and other data. Océ ColorStream multilevel screening ensures that even the smallest details are clearly visible. This is truly a mission-critical application. Lives depend on the readability of charts and flight manuals, and we are proud to help Jeppesen provide high-quality aviation information, said James Hughes, Director, Finishing and Continuous Forms Product Marketing, Océ North America, Production Printing Systems Division.
Paper Handling Flexibility To ensure that the lengthy flight manuals don't add too much weight or take up too much space in the cockpit, they must be printed on extremely lightweight paper. The Océ ColorStream system easily handles the special 40-gsm paper required to ensure that the manuals are not too bulky and are easy to handle. This is another way Jeppesen is able to better accommodate customer preferences with the Océ ColorStream systems.
Redundancy and Backup By installing two Océ ColorStream systems, Jeppesen will establish redundancy and reduce the risk of downtime. The Océ systems will integrate smoothly with existing workflow using Océ PRISMAproduction Server and Océ TrueProof software for quality control. The new systems will be installed in July with final testing and live production expected to take place by late August.
Ideas, discussions and thought-provoking commentary are bringing more
readers to The Digital Nirvana. Recent columns include:
These commentaries and the conversations around them have all shown up lately at The Digital Nirvana. !
About Océ Océ
is a leading international provider of digital document management
technology and services. The company's solutions are based on Océ's
advanced software applications that deliver documents and data over
internal networks and the Internet to printing devices and archives --
locally and around the world. Supporting the workflow solutions are
Océ digital printers and scanners, considered the most reliable and
productive in the world. Océ also offers a wide range of display
graphics, consulting and outsourcing solutions.
Océ
employs around 23,000 people, with 2008 revenues of approximately $4.3
billion, operates in more than 90 countries and maintains research and
manufacturing centers in the Netherlands, the United States, Canada,
Germany, France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Romania and Singapore.
Océ North America is headquartered in Trumbull, CT, with additional
business units in Chicago, IL; New York City; Boca Raton, FL; Salt Lake
City, UT and Vancouver, BC. North American revenues represented
approximately half of Océ's worldwide business in 2008, and employment
is approximately 10,000. For more information about Océ, visit . Outside the U.S., consult .
