Seattle Bindery Newsletter: Issue #39. We welcome your comments.

1. State sales tax news. As if it’s not confusing enough trying to figure out the sales tax exemptions on purchases and repairs of manufacturing equipment, yet another item to keep up with is the issue of what is taxable as consumables and what is not taxable as items for resale. We’re talking about state of Washington rules here now, so anything you know from another state is irrelevant. The regular items for discussion are film, plates, cartons and dies, among others. My advice is to seek out a professional on this topic. Your CPA is a good place to start. I also have a friend, Mike Bernard at Madison Cooke, who makes his living consulting on these very issues. He can be reached at 425-688-1409.

2. Boss embossing. Don’t forget about our letterpress operation. Often customers are surprised to learn that die-cutting, foil stamping and embossing are an important part of our comprehensive suite of services. In fact, we routinely do all the finishing work on presentation folders for customers who either don’t have the capabilities or have a large job they need help with. So don’t forget about us when you need these services.

3. Comfort in numbers? According to our often-quoted industry maven, Kevin Keane of IAPHC’s Tuesday Morning News, even the big boys are hurting in these lagging economic times. In his 4/30/01 issue, he cites press releases from Quebecor, Banta, Consolidated Graphics, Mail-Well, Bowne and Donnelley reporting slowdowns due to a decrease in advertising expenditures. At the same time, though, other printers are announcing record-breaking sales. Says Keane, "Perhaps the weak can teach the strong a few lessons about nimble-footed reactions to a market that wants it yesterday."

4. Tip of the Week. On Wire-O and plastic spiral projects, don’t forget to tell your customer to allow for gutter margins to avoid hitting type when we punch those holes.

5. Off the power grid. As a summer of rolling blackouts nears in California, we Washingtonians might want to take some of their precautions to heart. After an unusually dry winter, energy shortfalls may threaten us as well. Printers to our south are installing back-up generators, and those with Web-based services, like FTP sites and online order-taking, are doubling and tripling their server strength by signing on with multiple hosting services. Of course, conservation is something we should always be doing, but simple things like reducing the number of lights we use during the day and, yes, turning up the thermostat in our offices can go a long way to keeping the power grid from blacking out.

Return to Newsletter Archive

If you wish to receive our fax newsletter please contact Judy.
email her at judy@seattlebindery.com
Phone 425-656-8210
Fax 425-656-4400