Friday, March 27, 2009

Vision over Visibility

I subscribe to a weekly email of Print Tips from Margie Dana who helps printers (and the rest of us in the supply chain) stand in the shoes of a Print Buyer. Great organization (www.printbuyersinternational.com) and they put on a very well run and information conference every year in Massachusets. In any case, for those of us once removed from our end customers, it can be a challenge trying to stay relevant and creative to their needs. Margie and her counsel help bridge that gap and I'm reprinting her most recent tips beacuse of their relevance for many of us in the industry.

I'd love to hear other ideas or strategies people have to step up to the challenge we are all facing. If you'd like to see what more Transilwrap is doing, contact us. You're already helping us achieve #5.

6 Ways for Printers to Flourish in Any Economy
by Margie Dana


Let's take a break from complaining about the recession and what it's doing to all of us. I'd like to offer six simple suggestions to help commercial printers break away from their competition and attract more business.

1. Don't sell; solve.
Every print project is serving a certain purpose. If your customer can help you understand the value of a print campaign and explain what it's meant to accomplish for the company, maybe you can make suggestions to get the job done better. . .more effectively for the customer. Show an interest in what led up to a print campaign. It may open up doors for you. Will every client be willing to have this conversation? Probably not, but many will.

2. Be relevant.
Know who your prospects and customers are. What businesses are they in? What challenges do they face? How can your services help them overcome these challenges?

3. Be innovative.
You must be different. There are approximately 30,000 commercial printing firms in the U.S. at this time (expect at least 1000 fewer next year). For the love of God, stop chanting "price, quality, service!" when asked what makes you different. If you can't articulate this, ask some good customers why they prefer to work with you.

4. Be sensitive to customers' budget issues.
Please don't fight me on this one. Budgets have been sliced and diced everywhere these days. It's not your customers' fault. They're performing their jobs in the best way they know how. They don't set the budgets, typically. They're playing the hands they've been dealt.

5. Be an educator in every way you can.
You know you've got it in you - I sure do. Without overhauling your entire web site, review the content and remove 2/3 of the promotional copy. Replace this with information that visitors can use. Articles, tips, a look at a brand new technology, ideas for making clients' projects "sing." You get the idea. Think about on-site sessions for a handful of clients (or more), good newsletters, social networking participation to keep in touch, email newsletters, and so on.

6. Be aware that new buyers need different information from experienced buyers. You probably have clients with years and years of experience - and others as fresh as the morning dew. Guess what? They need different information from printers. Does your site serve both markets? Do your promotional materials? These two groups have very different buying behaviors. How are you addressing them?

The old ways of selling print? Gone, baby, gone! Print manufacturers as well as print customers must evolve with current marketing preferences. Getting closer to customers to offer them solutions is one smart strategy.
©2009 Margie Dana. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Printing on....Electronics?

Great video from BNET on the future possibilities of printed electronics and e-ink applications. Keep a close eye on that Esquire magazine that is profiled - that material came from Transilwrap.

Want to talk about ways in which we see how these new ideas and applications can grow and integrate with your existing P.O.P advertising? Imagine a plastic loyalty card in a consumers wallet, purse or on a key ring that has an RFID chip to alert the signage at your favorite retail store that you're nearby and displays a sale item on a flexible display based on your past purchasing. It may be closer than you think.

Just one of the many ideas that we're working on.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Courage and Plastics

Do you have your copy of the "Future Classics on Plastics" yet? email cliff_brunson@transilwrap.com for your very own. * see below for more information

"Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway". - John Wayne

I saw this quote at a recent trip to a restaurant in the middle of East Texas. When I say middle, I should emphasize "middle of no where." When a good friend of mine told me about the Sacred Spur Steak House, located at the corner of Hwy 1844 and Turkey Road in East Mountain Texas, my curiosity had the best of me. As my friends know, I love the not so ordinary places to dine, and this establishment was exactly that and then some. Great food, and the atmosphere is definitely "Texas".

So, your wondering how does this little steak house have anything to do with printing plastics. It serves as a reminder that if it were not for my friend telling me about this place, I would have never known of its existence. The same idea goes along with the customers we service. Are we informing our clients about new concepts and products? In todays business markets, it is probably more important now than ever to be in front of your customers with fresh ideas that will help them with their business plans going forward.

I had a customer tell me a few weeks ago that the "green movement" had stopped, and that their customers were just looking for materials that had the best price. That brought up the perfect opportunity to discuss our Green Line of plastic products, and also a brief summary of the presentation that Barry White and I gave at this years sold out 2009 Print UV Seminar in Las Vegas.

The "green movement" is just getting started, and is expected to produce several million jobs in the U.S. within the next 5-10 years. I included several pieces of information about how Transilwrap is informing and teaching our customers and end users about "green plastics"that are currently available to them. This presentation is a very non bias forum of important information surrounding this subject.

That conversation has since led to an invitation from this customer to give our presentation to their sales staff and customer service so that they are better informed about the materials that their customers are requesting to be printed on.

If you are interested in knowing more about Transilwrap's "Green Plastics" presentation, please email me at cliff_brunson@transilwrap.com , You can also email me to request our brand new Bio ProPrint LP Album and Cover. A guaranteed conversation starter.

* Are you ready to brighten up your office and desk? Then order your free copy of "Future Classics on Plastics" today by emailing us with your address and contact information.

Problem Solving

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
- Albert Einstein

It seems that whenever things get difficult (and in this economy every day has its challenges) there tends to be too much emphasis on just maintaining the status quo. While that can't (and shouldn't) be relegated to the sidelines, it certainly should not take precedent over continuing to look for solutions to customers needs, ideas and wants.

At the end of the day, there is nothing better than working to find the right idea that can build something new. We spend quite a bit of our time here doing just that from the simple exercises of looking for alternative materials or down gauge opportunities based on material characteristics that better fit an application or the complex that involve creating a new composite material with multiple layers that fit into the card market, for example.

In these times of uncertainty, it is refreshing to start each day hoping to push beyond the conventional way of doing something and look for a new way. This is a great value of a company, one you can't easily articulate on a marketing piece, but comes through in the conversations and discussions that lead people to new horizons.

Printing on Plastics does not come easily but has rewards upon rewards if done correctly and with the guidance and assistance of those who truly enjoy solving problems and creating new.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

The Original Day of "Green"


As we celebrate the original way of going "green" today, it's a fitting time to reflect on recent history and look ahead to the future.


Over the past two years, the conversation with many customers has turned to going "green". It may mean something different to everybody but for us it has meant searching for supplies to a growing demand. Often times in life it's not the big, final-action scene in a movie type events that inspire change but rather a collection of small events that lead to bigger and better ends. That's true in plastics also.


It would be easy to focus on the negative claims of many that no matter how you shake it, you can't create a truly environmentally friendly product with plastic. I won't profess to be an expert and will save that discussion for another time. What I do know is that even small incremental changes in the products we make and source can have a very real change in the long-term.


It's great to talk about our biodegradable plastics and the various applications and uses we've seen over the last couple of years, from high-end retail signage to magazine publishing to gift cards and more. But we're not done there - there is much more that we can and will be doing, as a company and and industry. We continually are evaluating new products that fall under some banner of "green" - recyclable, recycled content, degradable, biodegradable, compostable and more.


To me, the excitement is in the chase. We've hit upon a series of bio-products that we're proud to create and sell. But our efforts are just beginning.


So take the time today to raise a pint and toast the small efforts, in your lives and ours, that are collectively making the big changes.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Dare I say it...

Optimism. Not exactly a word you hear much of these days if you read a paper, magazine, turn on the news or open your door for the day. But I must tell you, I have it. Just enough recent events have shown me glimmers of what may be.

Where, you ask, did this delusion of mine come from. Simple things, really, like walking into a customer and seeing the presses running (with plastic, of course), with people moving around their offices in a hurry, sitting in a roomful of sales people and listening to all the activity they are working on. On top of that, I've seen companies investing in new equipment and infrastructure and making bold plans for the next 12-24 months.

There are people and companies out there today doing their part and not putting their head in the sand and waiting till the storm passes. I'm glad to be a part of it and excited to see what comes.