Users Groups — Peert-to-Peer Networking
User groups are far more likely to be a source for news than the subject of it. That wasn’t the case in 2005, and continuing into this year, largely due to the ripple effect of recent consolidation within the industry vendor community. Advances in technology are also contributing to the transformation of user groups.
Much of this activity has been on the digital printing side of the industry, so user groups for products in that segment will be addressed here. An expanded version of this story—including updates on a broader spectrum of industry groups—will be published on www.piworld.com.
When Hewlett-Packard announced last year that it was no longer going to help fund the Indigo Customer Exchange (ICE), the organization’s board took it as an opportunity to consider expanding the group’s scope. The 2005 ICE conference last fall saw the first steps in that direction, notably by Kodak and Xerox stepping in as premium sponsors of the event.
During an administrative meeting held concurrent with the conference, the board voted in favor of changing the organization’s name to Digital Imaging Customer Exchange (DICE) and amending the bylaws to open membership to non-HP Indigo press users. The group is still working through exactly how the changes will play out, reports Michael Vinocur, executive director.
What is known for sure is that the now-DICE will remain an independent user group, but will have working relationships with certain vendors. Its operation and activities will continue to be internally driven, chiefly through the board. Vinocur says the group is on a sound financial footing, thanks to member dues and meeting registration fees, combined with minimal overhead. The board didn’t see any need to raise member dues as a result of HP’s pullback and that should remain the case for the foreseeable future, he adds.
Newcomers Joining
As owners/users of other-brand digital printing systems (not DI presses, though) become members, the working plan reportedly is to create parallel forums that are vendor/platform specific. The group currently operates an ICE Mail technical forum and ICE Mail Biz business development, sales and management forum. These are e-mail list servers hosted through Yahoo! Groups.
Someone has to own/operate an Indigo device to qualify for membership in the ICE Mail technical forum. The board is leaning toward setting a minimum production capability standard (maybe 40 ppm) for joining any new technical forums and having a color-capable litmus test for membership in the group as a whole. “We want people to have a vested interest in this business segment,” Vinocur notes.
The business forum is expected to become “cross-platform,” since it is intended for discussions that don’t really hinge on the specifics of any given technology.
Similarly, there will continue to be a single annual conference for all members, but tracks will be offered for various technologies based on the makeup and needs of the hopefully expanded membership. Vinocur says the group has had discussions with other digital press vendors about sponsorships for future activities, but it also would like to reestablish a constructive relationship with HP.
Webinars, primarily on Web-to-print solutions, are among the other member benefits that are expected to carry over to the now-DICE. Also, Vinocur says the group is about to launch an online, turnkey marketing materials resource for members. For a nominal setup fee, users will be able to generate personalized postcards from a set of templates, each targeting a specific market. (www.indigousers.com)
Concurrent with the decision to drop its funding of ICE, HP announced it was collaborating with certain HP Indigo press owners to form the Digital Solutions Cooperative (Dscoop). The organizers characterize it as a user focused, user-driven organization for commercial printers with HP equipment. This includes the large-format digital printing segment to a certain extent, explains Francis McMahon, North American marketing manager, Print Service Providers, HP.
The group’s mission is to bring Indigo press owners and their sales, marketing and production teams together, along with HP Indigo representatives, to support each other in bettering their print businesses and HP Indigo technology, according to Jack Glacken, chairman of Dscoop and president of Today’s Graphics in Philadelphia.
“It’s our aim that HP Indigo customers and affiliated professionals will use the Digital Solutions Cooperative as their front-line peer-to-peer resource for learning and sharing,” he says.
As part of the group’s launch, first-year membership will be free of charge through October 31, 2006. The intent is to enable companies to gauge the present and future value of membership before setting any fees or dues. HP currently is providing financial and manpower support, McMahon adds.
Dscoop’s first annual conference has been scheduled for April 27-29 in Sanibel Island, FL. Resources available on an ongoing basis include an online community forum, a dynamic member directory with peer contact information, and a monthly slate of Webinars on technical, business and marketing topics. (www.dscoop.org)
HP needs to understand the mission, vision and objectives of the evolving DICE organization before making any comment about its relationship with that group, McMahon adds.
The Scitex Graphic Arts User Association (SGAUA) arguably set the standard for printing industry groups. Having previously been transformed into the Creo User Association (CUA), its mandate now is being expanded to encompass all customers of the Kodak Graphic Communications Group, reports Lesley MacDonald, program manager of the former CUA and the new Graphic User Association of Kodak Solutions (GUA of Kodak Solutions).
Digital printing topics are already being added to the agendas of the association’s yearly regional conferences, including the 2006 North American conference set for May 24-27 in Vancouver.
As an independent, not-for-profit entity, the association continues to be owned by the collective board, with its governance and rules of engagement remaining as before, according to MacDonald.
International Membership
The association is said to already have more than 3,500 members in 78 countries, including creative professionals and commercial, packaging and newspaper printers, and soon will be adding digital printers. Its 15 existing discussion forums are being switched from a listserv to online Web bulletin board as part of the transitioning of the existing Website (www.creousers.org).
MacDonald says she doesn’t see Kodak’s participation in last year’s ICE meeting, or any possible future involvement in the now-DICE group, having implications for the user association. However, Kodak does want to talk to digital printers, she notes, and will look for opportunities to do so at DICE or other industry events and meetings.
Along with exploring an on-going relationship with DICE, Xerox reports it has been working to strengthen the Premier Partners community in the United States. This program offers three benefits for printers—knowledge sharing, relationship building and business sharing, contends John Laurence, manager of Premier Partners and marketing operations for the Xerox Graphic Communications Business.
Business sharing was emphasized when the program was initially launched, but its focus has been tilted toward knowledge sharing and networking with the relaunch in this market region, Laurence says. He envisions the group adopting more of the European program model.
Currently, there are 150 or so printer partners in the United States and another 15 in Canada, Laurence notes. Members are provided resources on an ongoing basis via a members-only portal Website, and in-person knowledge sharing events are also held regularly.
Dues are charged in other regions, but for now—and probably until 2007—the $1,000 yearly fee (per establishment) is being waived in the U.S. to encourage participation, reports the program’s manager. “We want to make sure there is good content and reasons for companies to join before asking partners to fund the program’s ongoing development,” he explains.
There is an informal qualification process and guidelines for membership, including the company having at least three pieces of production equipment and doing at least 75 percent of its digital work on a Xerox device, the Premier Partners manager adds.
Premier Partners is a Xerox effort for the most part, but there is an advisory council of printer partners that gets a voice in determining its strategy, generating topics for Webinars, etc. Creating online forums is one of the requests that has come up, Laurence says, so the company is working toward implementing some type of threaded or bulletin board forum in 2006. It also is going to launch a quarterly newsletter in the United States.
The future of the Heidelberg Digital Imaging Association (HDIA) has been an open question since Heidelberg first went public (in 2004) with the decision to sell its digital printing business interests. No official announcement has been made as yet, but it seems reasonable to expect Heidelberg to follow the industry pattern of supporting a user group, especially given its commitment to the Prinect workflow management concept.
The 74 Karat User Group is run by owners of the namesake digital offset press from KBA North America. Sean Haley, vice president of CSI in Falls Church, VA, currently is serving as the group’s president.
Meets at Trade Shows
According to Haley, the group has about 40 members across the U.S. and Canada. It tries to hold two or three in-person meetings each year, usually coinciding with a trade show or other industry event because of travel budgets, he says. The group also maintains an online user forum, hosted through Yahoo! Groups under the name “Karat Press.”
Since there are no member dues or meeting registration fees, everything is done on a volunteer basis—largely by Haley at this point. The group’s activities tend to proceed on a pretty informal basis as a result, he says. Meetings are hosted by member companies, or occasionally by KBA.
“We try to have a sales and marketing segment at each meeting, along with focusing on maintenance and technical issues related to the Karat and complementary equipment,” Haley notes.
While there isn’t a formal Presstek user group, the company does offer an online resource it calls Club DI. Membership is free, but restricted to companies operating a digital press enabled by Presstek’s DI technology. The Website primarily has been used as a mechanism for giving members access to various marketing tools for promoting their capabilities, but the company reports it is considering enhancing the program in 2006.
The now-EFI Connect user conference, with registrations running more than 1,000 strong, obviously is a key component of that company’s relationship with customers. However, there are also individual user groups for its specific products.
The annual Connect meeting offers customers an array of educational sessions, opportunities to meet with product experts, hands-on experience with products in a computer lab and insights from company executives. The range of topics discussed was expanded to include digital printing (including variable data) and proofing following EFI’s acquisition of Printcafe in 2003, and super-wide digital printing is now being added as a result of the company acquiring Vutek. In addition, the exhibitors area is open to other vendors.
The separate MIS user groups are truly independent and operate in conjunction with EFI, not as a part of it, points out Ron Purdes, director of support for EFI’s PPA group. Each of the MIS products—PSI, Logic, Prograph, Printsmith and Hagen—has an active user group, although a couple are relatively young, he says. Each group is separate and distinct from the others in terms of its structure, funding, membership, etc., Purdes adds.
PSI: This is actually a network of some 15 regional user groups across the country, says Stephanie Zeidner, EFI’s designated PSI group coordinator. Each was established and is now governed by the users themselves, with EFI providing marketing and meeting support. Meeting structures vary, from biannual to quarterly, depending on what the group elects, she adds.
Logic: With some 150 member companies, this group holds only one or two meetings a year, one of them being during Connect, according to Purdes. Member companies pay a fee that helps fund regional/national meetings.
Hagen: The group just recently reformed, having been on a hiatus since 1999, Purdes points out. It is regrouping under a national format, with the next meeting set for just prior to Connect 2006 in Las Vegas.
The Apogee Users Group is more of a conference or community than a traditional users group, according to Steve Musselman, Agfa’s senior manager, Market Development, Digital Solutions and Emerging Technologies (North America). Its focus had centered around a series of international gatherings, but members have expressed a preference for live meetings to be held more frequently and regionally.
“That’s what we plan to do in 2006,” Musselman reports. “There may still be a major international get-together, but we are finding that the community prefers less pomp and circumstance and smaller, more frequent local events.”
In addition to in-person meetings, the group also maintains an online users forum—the Apogee Users Digest. It is a daily e-mail bulletin that enables participants to share questions/replies, tips and tricks with each other on any topic related to Agfa, but primarily focused on Apogee.
Agfa funds these activities, but it doesn’t formally moderate them, Musselman explains. Company representatives do attend the meetings and are available to answers any questions submitted to the online forum.
Screen (USA) has expanded the Trueflow user group’s focus and renamed it the Trueflownet group, to reflect the company’s growing breadth of solutions for production, says Michele Zajac, workflow product manager. Membership is comprised of registered Trueflow and Trueflownet customers.
The group holds a yearly conference (date to be determined for 2006, but sometime this summer), along with running year-round interactive forums. Screen (USA) maintains the contact list for the user forum, which is managed by the company’s Application Support Department, and funds the conference, she adds. It also works with members to produce “User Speak-out” papers detailing their experiences.
Originally launched as a user group oriented to press operators, MAN Roland’s PowerPrinters has evolved into more of a training and education program, says CEO Yves Rogivue. Anyone who operates or supervises the operation of a MAN Roland press—sheetfed or commercial web—is entitled to become a PowerPrinter.
A core part of the program is the certification courses designed for specific press models. Each week-long initiative certifies the skills and knowledge of press crews and their supervisors to ensure they can take maximum advantage of the machines they use. Conducted at MAN Roland’s Technology Center outside Chicago, the program emphasizes hands-on training supplemented with classroom instruction that also covers the offset lithographic process.
Plans for 2006 reportedly include launching an interactive Website that will enable users to access FAQs for products, view the latest news and interact with the MAN Roland Tech Center team. The program is run by MAN Roland as a dues-free resource, but participants are charged a fee for any certification courses. (www.manroland.com/PowerPrin/PowerP_000.htm)
There is a separate, independent user group specifically for companies with MAN Roland newspaper presses. MANRUG (www.manrug.org) was set up to be a vehicle for information sharing among users in North and South America, and is run by its members.
A similar organization, the Metro Users Group, is open to newspaper printing operations using Goss press technology. Its membership has been expanded to include the single-width Universal press range, as well as all double-width models—Metro, Metro-Offset, Metroliner, Cosmo-Offset, Headliner, Colorliner and Newsliner. The group’s main activity is an annual conference, next set to run February 25 through March 1, 2006, at the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Resort in Arizona. (www.metrousers.com)
As a complement to its DUO (Dalim User Organization) user group meetings, Dalim Software recently launched a free online forum Website (forum.dalim.com). The company says it will manage the site, but wants content to be generated by users. Most of the content will be open to all visitors, but Dalim users (whether under service contract or not) can register to gain the added benefits of contributing messages and viewing certain password-protected forums.
The main feature of the site is a shared forum for users to discuss business and technical issues related to any Dalim application. There are also separate “hardware” and “software & technology” general forums, as well as several news forums—corporate, DUO and industry-wide.
There’s undoubtedly an industry group or two out there that hasn’t been addressed here. CIP4 (the International Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress), for example, merits inclusion as a final entry even though it stretches the definition a bit.
According to James Harvey, executive director, CIP4 is an “open and public association whose mission is to encourage computer-based integration of all processes that have to be considered in the graphic arts industry.” Equipment and software vendors constitute the bulk of its membership, but the roster also includes more than a few printers.
Printers, publishers, prepress operations, consultants, distributors, integrators and educational institutes are afforded a significantly discounted membership rate ($150 per year). Printers can gain several benefits by becoming members, he contends, even though the final result of any work done by the group is made available to the public.
If a shop is doing any internal development work to implement JDF, it can get access to technical resources such as the JDF Java and C++ SDK’s and a variety of development tools produced by CIP4. Members also get ready access to the experts responsible for integrating this capability into the systems they use, Harvey adds. On a broader level, they gain the opportunity to have their ideas and concerns heard during the development process.
