What can you discover during your wide-format discovery with your customers? More importantly, how can your discovery questions open your customer’s eyes to the proper substrates, processes, finishing, and hardware options you can offer.  Don’t be just “order-takers.” 

We gain nothing but contempt and lost talent in today's environment – avoiding the issues while looking busy. Every Employee Survey we ever administered uncovered major surprises to senior management. What we avoid, or happens in the darkness of night, eventually sees the light of day.

Font knowledge helps printers increase client value. Printers can differentiate themselves with font options to enhance printed documents. With the explosion of fonts in use today, understanding fonts is vital to executing a full-service business model that attracts and keeps profitable customers. This is the first of the Font Article Series.

In a previous life, my boss gave me a project to make it happen that subsequently increased in value every year. My "reduced-risk" lifesaver for dealing with unknown architects and contractors in Mississippi about 500 miles away? Get a "Performance Bond" from the contractor.

Avoid the Invoice black hole! Streamline your internal processes now. I know many of you believe you might leave money on the table if you don’t spend days reviewing the job pocket for accuracy. But, don’t pass over a dollar to get to a nickel – it’s just not worth it in the end.

Kodak was honored with the Pinnacle InterTech Award for its KODAK SONORA XTRA Process Free Plates. "The judges found it compelling that the undeniable benefits of process free plates are now available to mainstream printers without compromising quality or run length," said Jim Workman.

If maximizing production and profits are important initiatives, consider a cross-functional business analysis as Step 1. Begin by reviewing the five critical business areas from the front office to the loading dock and all points in between. Then determine optimal paths for decreasing costs while also maximizing efficiency, productivity, and profit...

I'd asked a high-performing client and Business Development Director Peer Group Member to provide my Adm. Asst. -- a Plant Tour. At the end of her Tour, he introduced her to a view of his office, and particularly his "Office Whiteboard", including Sales Team Objectives and Goals, which are updated, weekly.

So are we in a rut – do we lean towards producing the same products the same way time and time again? Shifting our mindset to focus on un-mapped and un-surveyed services and products permits us to be confident that we are genuinely utilizing our internal box to its fullest extent! Learn how to Think Inside The Box.

"As a longtime supporter of the Print Affiliates across the U.S., we're proud to offer this opportunity for printing companies to save money while optimizing their operations with industry-leading printing solutions," said Jeff Zellmer, Vice President of Global Sales & Strategy at Eastman Kodak Company.