Business Management - Productivity/Process Improvement

Oops! Printing Error Mars High School Diplomas
May 29, 2009

LOUISVILLE, CO—Nearly 400 diplomas from a high school here will need to be reprinted after an observant parent noted one tiny flaw: The city's name was listed as Lafayette, CO. The error was spotted following the graduation ceremony. The Associated Press reported that the unnamed printer is footing the bill for the rerun of 395 diplomas.

New Facility for Booklet Binding and Team Services
May 15, 2009

CAROL STREAM, IL—Booklet Binding and Team Services announced the opening of its new production center here. The new facility unites the operations of its two prior locations—Booklet Binding's Broadview, IL, bindery and finishing operation and Team Services' Itasca, IL, data, direct mail production, mailing and expanded packaging operations—into a single plant.The 366,000-square-foot integrated production facility required a capital investment of $21 million.

VistaPrint Forges Alliance with FedEx Office
May 1, 2009

HAMILTON, BERMUDA—Business-to-consumer online printing specialist VistaPrint and FedEx Office have developed a new application for designing, ordering and printing business stationery and marketing materials. Customers will be able to design and order their customized products online at fedexoffice.com or in-person at any of the 1,600 FedEx Office Print & Ship Centers in the United States.

A Workflow Overhaul
May 1, 2009

To eliminate production inefficiencies, Aflac's printing subsidiary, Communicorp, restructured its customer service methodology and installed the latest high-speed equipment.

Eight Costly Printing Issues - Lean Strategy Helps Minimize Printers’ Downtime
May 1, 2009

When you think of waste, what comes to mind? Many printers don't think beyond paper—makeready, roll slab, roll damage, running waste and so on. But in the bigger picture, waste encompasses time and material expenses that consume resources without adding value. As we'll see, if you want to minimize waste, you must embrace Process Excellence.

If you're not adding value, you are creating waste. Printers add value when their processes change or convert the form, fit, and/or function (print, cut, fold, collate, stitch, etc.) of materials and items into the final product.

Process Improvement — Work Smarter, Not Harder
April 1, 2009

OF THE MANY insights that stand out in Eli Goldratt’s book, “The Goal,” one of the most memorable is the plant manager’s frustration with a machine operator reading a newspaper while on the clock. Like most of us, the plant manager thought that working harder or faster would naturally generate more money for the business. That’s pretty straight forward, right?

New Financial Services Office for Donnelley
March 13, 2009

CHICAGO—RR Donnelley has opened a new Financial Services office in Calgary, Alberta, to serve businesses and law firms in Western Canada. This facility is positioned to meet the region's needs for transactional and compliance projects, particularly for businesses and institutions focused on oil and gas, services, mining and technology. The service center complements existing Donnelley offices in Toronto and Montreal.

What’s Lean Mean?
February 1, 2009

Jobs, business, profits, and a whole lot more! Lean is all about reducing/eliminating waste and improving productivity.

CIP4 Announces New Leadership
October 27, 2008

CHICAGO—October 27, 2008—The International Cooperation for the Integration of the Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress (CIP4) Organization today announced the results of it biannual election of Advisory Board representatives and Board of Directors officers.