|
PRINT World News—for Leaders in the Global Graphic Communications Industry
NPES and the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC), the producer of the US-based PRINT show, have developed this free resource for leaders in the global graphic communications industry.
PRINT World News is unique as a worldwide overview report for and about today’s graphic communications industry. Each month it will deliver a summary of key stories addressing vital trends and emerging issues from around the globe.
Ralph J. Nappi, President
Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC) and
NPES – The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies
USA
Headlines
Industry News
"France: First Internet Connected Magazine Launched"
"The Future: Why QR Codes Could Help Save Print Advertising"
"Middle East: Room for Growth for Book Publishers"
"The Future: A License to Print Gadgets"
"The Future: Shellfish and Inkjet Printers May Hold Key to Faster Healing From Surgeries"
"United States: Time Inc. Embraces the Future With Made-to-Order Magazine"
"Strategy: Reinvention in a Downturn"
"South Korea: Samsung Looks to Print Flexible Electronics"
"Asia-Pacific: Managed Print Services to Double"
"UK: BPIF Launches Print Industry Standardized Carbon Calculator"
Industry News
France: First Internet Connected Magazine Launched
When creativity and technology come together with print it provides a compelling product and message.
The latest issue of French gadget and games magazine Amusement is linked to the Internet. The second page of the magazine features an embedded radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag, which can be read by France-based company Violet's Mir:ror scanner to unlock online content. According to Violet, such content includes a "game designed by the artist Messhof, an interactive multi-user device, an interactive installation by Factoid (Pierre Nouvel, Valere Terrier) and The Tone, a 3D video by Gkastere and wallpapers by Philippe Jarrigeon." The Mir:ror is in essence a USB device that responds to RFID ISO 14443 tags that can instruct the device to launch applications, and it is compatible with Windows, Mac OS and Linux. Amusement magazine's publications director, Abdel Bounane, says that the issue is "a new genre all in itself, considering the relationship our paper had with dematerialized information." He elaborated that "with the launch of Amusement magazine, we had hoped to rework old press technology into the Internet era by offering a real object-magazine. One year later, by connecting our publication to the Web, we have demonstrated that it is still possible to redefine the paper magazine for our generation."
From "First Internet Connected Magazine Launched"
bit-tech.net (03/24/09) Hardwidge, Ben
The Future: Why QR Codes Could Help Save Print Advertising
Quantifying "return on investment" for print ads will allow print to thrive.
Quick Response (QR) codes, or bar codes added to newspapers, magazines, and outdoor advertisements, could help save print advertising by linking it to mobile devices, writes marketer Allen Stern. A somewhat similar idea was tried in 2000 with the CueCat barcode reader, but the execution—requiring a barcode scanner linked to a regular PC—and attendant privacy issues made that a failure, he writes. Today, with so many people using mobile devices, QR offers much more integration, Stern writes—for example, someone could point their device at the QR code at a bus stop and get instant schedule information, use the device to scan a Coke ad's QR code and download a ringtone, or point the device at a Target billboard's QR code and download a coupon. Lost Highway Records recently posted a video of how they plan to use QR codes in conjunction with print marketing to direct people to downloadable music and information on concerts. QR codes are already catching on in Japan, and they offer branding possibilities and timesaving possibilities for marketers and business people, according to Stern, who says he fought to include Web site links on ads and coupons years ago and would fight to add QR codes as well now.
From "Why QR Codes Could Help Save Print Advertising"
InformationWeek (03/07/09) Stern, Allen
Middle East: Room for Growth for Book Publishers
Voids are generally filled by fleet-footed entrepreneurs that see opportunities.
Print runs only average between 2,000 and 3,000 copies for a book published in Arab-speaking countries, despite the fact that these markets have more than 340 million inhabitants. Chad W. Post of Open Letter Press says the Arabic book market was led by Lebanon and Egypt in 2008, with Lebanese publishers releasing 3,330 titles and Egyptian publishers releasing 2,310 titles. The scarcity of titles has led to a flourishing black market for textbooks and other popular books in the Arab world. "The influence of Egyptian and Lebanese publishers can be attributed to the more advanced distribution systems in both countries," says Post. "There is no 'mega-distribution' system in the Arab world, so getting books across borders and into other countries can be quite difficult. Addressing this is one of the main priorities of the Arab Publishers Association, and could go a long way in cultivating a larger audience for some of these works." The entire article written by Post on the state of the Arab book market can be found at www.adbookfair.com/cms/archives/419.
From "Arabic Print Runs Dwarfed by Demand"
Mediabistro.com (03/24/09)
The Future: A License to Print Gadgets
Devices that employ inkjet-printed elements such as polymer transistors and organic light-emitting diodes were on display at a new research center in Sedgefield, England. "Printed electronics potentially has tremendous advantages in terms of costs--perhaps up to three orders of magnitude cheaper than silicon," notes University of California at Berkeley's Vivek Subramanian. Flexible and more durable electronics can be put in new places, such as bottles. One version of Polymer Vision's Readius prototype e-book reader features a fold-out display, while another version has a screen that is wrapped around the device when not in operation. Printed electronics are also more power-efficient, but further development is required. For instance, the polymer "inks" used to print out displays and other devices will need to be augmented. Also, displays are still only black and white. Spotlighted at the Sedgefield center were colorful patterned wall panels that supply illumination, and an "active dinner table" with decorative displays under each place setting.
From "A License to Print Gadgets"
New Scientist (03/24/09) Marks, Paul
The Future: Shellfish and Inkjet Printers May Hold Key to Faster Healing From Surgeries
Mating healthcare and inkjet printing in a most unusual fashion.
A research team led by North Carolina State University has found a method of producing medical adhesives that could produce less scarring, faster recovery, and more precision in procedures such as eye surgery. Sutures and synthetic adhesives are the two traditional ways of joining tissues after surgery, but both have caused concerns about follow-on effects such as surgical complications or toxicological and environmental issues. The new method, on the other hand, uses a natural adhesive produced by marine mussels for adhering to rocks, which unlike synthetic adhesives are biodegradable and non-toxic. The proteins can even be placed in solution and applied with inkjet technology to produce customized medical adhesives. "This is an improved way of joining tissues," says study co-author Dr. Roger Narayan, "because the use of the inkjet technology gives you greater control over the placement of the adhesive. This helps ensure that the tissues are joined together in just the right spot, forming a better bond that leads to improved healing and less scarring."
From "Shellfish and Inkjet Printers May Hold Key to Faster Healing From Surgeries"
EurekAlert (03/18/09)
United States: Time Inc. Embraces the Future With Made-to-Order Magazine
Going back to "limited" print runs and a first-come basis is an old way to create demand and buzz for a product.
Time Inc. is experimenting with a made-to-order magazine called "mine" that puts together reader-selected portions of eight publications, seeking to produce a sort of printed version of popular online personalized news feeds. The 10-week, five-issue experiment also supports a branding message for its sole advertising partner, Toyota's Lexus 2010 RX SUV, which is that the vehicle is as customizable as the magazine. The free magazine, to be shipped starting in early April and then once every two weeks, will be available in print only to the first 31,000 respondents at the www.timeinc.com/mine Web site, while another 200,000 people will be able to access the online version. Readers will be able to select five titles from eight published by subsidiaries of Time Warner Inc. and American Express Co. The eight choices are Time, Sports Illustrated, Food & Wine, Real Simple, Money, In Style, Golf, and Travel + Leisure. Editors will pre-select the stories that will be included in issues. Lexus will purchase four full pages of advertisements for each 36-page magazine. "I wouldn't call this an ad, this goes much beyond this," says David Nordstrom, Lexus' vice president of marketing. "Our message of 'driver-inspired' and 'customization' will come through a lot stronger." Stephanie George, Time Inc.'s president of advertising sales and marketing, says, "This is the most unique project that we've ever done that combines their messaging with our magazines. ... It also showcases our great edit." Meanwhile, MediaNews Group, publisher of The Denver Post and other newspapers, will experiment with its own reader-created publication, likely at its Daily News in Los Angeles, this summer. Readers will be able to choose specific stories for a customized publication that will be laid out like a newspaper and sent with targeted advertisements as a digital PDF file for printing at home.
From "Made-to-Order Magazine Lets Readers Choose"
Associated Press (03/18/09) Nakashima, Ryan
Strategy: Reinvention in a Downturn
Moving from a manufacturing mindset to a service model mindset provides great opportunity with the same equipment!
Global Printing, based in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Alexandria, Va., has managed to survive the move of much of its business to the Internet by transforming itself from a traditional printer to a state-of-the-art consultancy under the leadership of owner Jonathan Budington. Founded in 1978, Global was a profitable firm that made about 15 percent pretax profit year after year with large clients such as MCI, Booz Allen, and the American Red Cross, although it was not a growth firm. After the Internet forced a change in its business model, however, the company found new life in helping clients to assemble data, target customers, and efficiently deliver content while still being able to run its presses around the clock. With revenue at $6.5 million a year in 2000, the company borrowed $3 million for higher quality color printing machinery, but it was soon hit by the tech crash and the 2001-2002 recession, which saw many of Global's customers go out of business, prompting Budington to put together the new strategy: "We looked at clients and instead of focusing on printing, let's look at what services go along with everything we were producing. In the old days, we would print and the client would distribute. We changed the model. Instead of a manufacturing bent, we started a service model." This has included offering to deliver printed material directly to its final destination rather than leaving it on a client's loading docks; packaging things like welcome kits for employees including a catalog, forms, ID badges, and wallet cards; buying a mailing company to collect client data; and hiring programmers to offer Web design. "When we tie all this together, I can make money on the printing, I can make money on the data, I can make money on the fulfillment, and I can make money on the mailing and on Web developments," says Budington, who is also looking at real-estate opportunities and the outdoor sign business to keep growing in the current downturn.
From "Value Added: Reinvention in a Downturn"
Washington Post (03/24/09) Heath, Thomas
South Korea: Samsung Looks to Print Flexible Electronics
South Korea's Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, along with research partners Stanford University and Sungkyunkwan University, says it has developed an n-type organic semiconductor material and a method of separately fabricating nano- and micro-wire transistor channels, which have thus cleared two of the remaining hurdles to large-scale flexible electronics. "We studied both single wires and many wires between source and drain electrodes," says team leader and Stanford professor Zhenan Bao. "Single wires were studied to measure their charge carrier mobility, which is the largest of any reported n-type organic transistors." The researchers say this could be used for such printable plastic electronics applications as digital paper, smart merchandise tags, large-scale displays, flexible solar panels, and sensor arrays. In the past, it was difficult to make n-type transistors with organic "inks" that can offer comparable performance to organic p-type transistor materials. The researchers say they overcame problem came by using pure single crystalline transistor channels that were precipitated in solution and aligned in parallel over the transistor electrodes.
From "Samsung Looks to Print Flexible Electronics"
EE Times (03/16/09) Johnson, R. Colin
Asia-Pacific: Managed Print Services to Double
Springboard Research predicts that the managed print services (MPS) market in the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan will more than double in value by 2011 thanks to maturing demand from markets like telecom, banking, and finance. HP has the largest market presence in the region, followed by Fuji-Xerox, while Lexmark is the only other global vendor with a noticeable market presence in the region. The largest MPS market is expected to continue to be Australia and New Zealand while India is expected to be the fastest growing market. "In addition to the market forecasts, services players need to base their investment decisions by also taking into account the emerging market trends," says Sanchit Vir Gogia, senior research analyst for services at Springboard Research; "For instance, while a few vertical industries like banking and finance and telecom have maturing printing demands, a few segments such as retail, are still nascent in their use of managed print offerings."
From "Managed Print Services to Double In Asia Pacific"
Network World (03/16/09) Storey, Ross O.
UK: BPIF Launches Print Industry Standardized Carbon Calculator
As sustainability moves to measureable benefits the likelihood of broad adoption increases substantially.
The British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF) has created a carbon calculator intended to allow printing companies to benchmark their carbon footprint for products and plants based on the PAS 2050 and GHG protocols. The calculator, which BPIF head Michael Johnson described as "world-class" and said has already brought in queries from as far away as Australia and New Zealand, is being supported by the CarbonNeutral Co., which is one of the companies that printers could hire to have their carbon offset after finding out their carbon footprint. It will be available for free to BPIF Platinum members at first before being rolled out to the rest of the U.K. industry, and Johnson says he is in talks with Kodak about extending it to the United States. The product's calculations take into account such factors as energy consumption, paper, inks, plates, landfill waste, staff commuting, and sub-contracted operations, among other things. There are 28 different kinds of paper with profiles in the calculator, enabling printers to show clients how their environmental impact would change by choosing different paper stock, although Bill Sneyd of CarbonNeutral says the process is still evolving: "There's currently a lack of data available, especially from chemical producers."
From "BPIF Launches Print Industry Standardized Carbon Calculator"
PrintWeek (03/10/09) Whipp, Matt
Abstract News © Copyright 2009 INFORMATION, INC.
|
