NAPL

THIS BAD economy thing has made me mad. Rip roarin’, snortin’, fire dirt kickin’ mad. I’m afraid to call it a recession. No two economists can agree on what it is.

Whatever it is, it’s lousy. It’s causing deep, dark depression to pervade the land.

Depression among Americans is up 113 percent this year, according to several sources. Antidepressant sales are up 156 percent, according to still other sources. So, that’s great for the pharmaceutical companies. When the economy turned South, sales of the new impotence pills probably tanked, so thank goodness here come the orders for antidepressants.

Of course, the oil-producing sheikhs and the oil companies

RESTON, VA—Creative service professionals will gain new insights into how to add value to client projects through the GRAPH EXPO® Seminar Program, to be held October 26 - 29 in Chicago’s McCormick Place South during GRAPH EXPO 2008. More than 70 educational sessions, as well as hands-on computer labs featuring the latest in software solutions, provide creative service pros with real lessons that can be put to use as soon as they return to the office. “Future success for professionals in creative services lies in knowing how to take advantage of new media on behalf of their clients, including on-demand digital

RESTON, VA—Demonstrating to printers JDF’s potential for profit, GRAPH EXPO® 2008 will showcase for the first time ever a JDF workflow live on the show floor this October 26 - 29, 2008, in Chicago’s McCormick Place South. Involving several vendors and the CIP4 Organization, JDF Works Print Shop Live! is designed to show attendees exactly what can be accomplished with technologies that are already available today. Mirroring conditions in a real print shop, JDF Works Print Shop Live! will produce an application from design to completion, using equipment from many different vendors. A greeting area will be set up so attendees

RESTON, VA—Enterprise printers will get the inside scoop on how to add value to client projects through the GRAPH EXPO® Seminar Program, to be held October 26 - 29 in Chicago’s McCormick Place South during GRAPH EXPO 2008. More than 70 educational sessions, as well as hands-on computer labs featuring the latest in software solutions, provide in-plant printers with real lessons that can be put to use as soon as they return to the plant. “Now, more than ever, corporations are looking to their in-plant printer to provide more than just a print job-they need a marketing partner who can offer value-added

Skilled Labor Controversy Dear Editor, I read with great interest your two-part article by Cheryl Adams, “Skilled Labor: Help Wanted” [March] and “Cure for Workforce Woes” [April]. My interest peaked when I read that parents are part of the reason that young adults do not go into the printing industry. Boy, is that the truth. Only the reason is that these kids have seen their parents laid off, downsized, globalized and right-sized out of the industry. So why would a young adult go into an industry that has abandoned their parents that helped build this industry? You bet, “It isn’t your daddy’s print shop

IAM writing this column from Room 316 in the Paoli Hospital in Paoli, PA. I am here as a patient. Bet you thought I’d say, “I am here as a brain surgeon.” This hospital thing stinks, and I’m not in the mood to write a column. But, alas, I am a slave to “showing up.” It was Woody Allen who said, “Eighty percent of success is just showing up.” Woody Allen also said, “The mafia takes in more than $40 billion annually and spends very little on office supplies.” I have changed that to read, “and spends nothing on printing.” I’ve shown up for

RESTON, VA—Commercial printers will get the inside scoop on new business opportunities and gain insight into how to add value to client projects through the GRAPH EXPO® Seminar Program, to be held October 26-29 in Chicago’s McCormick Place South during GRAPH EXPO 2008. More than 70 educational sessions, as well as hands-on computer labs featuring the latest in software solutions, will provide commercial printers with real lessons that can be put to use as soon as they return to the printing plant. “The successful commercial printer of the future will offer service that is customized to their clients’ specific needs, by

RESTON, VA—Graphic communications professionals seeking the latest wide format imaging technologies and equipment will find them at GRAPH EXPO® 2008, all highly visible across the show floor and more densely clustered in the Wide Format Pavilion. This year’s show, the largest graphic communications exhibition and conference in the Western Hemisphere will be held October 26 - 29, in Chicago’s McCormick Place. More than 600 exhibitors, including the industry’s top wide format manufacturers and suppliers, will showcase a full range of graphic communications equipment across 450,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space. The Wide Format Pavilion debuted six years ago with a mere five

IF IT’S about “sales” or “marketing,” I want to make sure you get it here first. It’s important to me because this column is named “DeWese on Sales.” Sometimes, however, I write about marketing and, like many other people in our printing industry, I am at least semi-confused about the difference between sales and marketing.

It has always been my position that “marketing” is a series of activities, like advertising, public relations, publicity, market research, etc., that includes “selling.” I have always believed and espoused in this column that good marketing is aimed at facilitating the selling function. Furthermore, since many printing companies have no

ALEXANDRIA, VA—May 22, 2008—The annual Printers & Suppliers Executive Conference has been planned for 2008 and will be held in Rochester, NY on July 13-18. The Print Services & Distribution Association (PSDA) hosted event will address issues specifically relevant to trade and commercial printers and print suppliers. “In a troubled economy, it is important to have an opportunity to convene as a group to discuss how to change to the current market,” commented Peter Colaianni, CAE, executive vice president for PSDA. “This event was designed with that in mind. Our speakers, the opportunity to exchange ideas with leading, national printers, and the