Seattle Bindery Newsletter: Issue No. 55. We welcome your comments.

1. Those peaks and valleys. Over the past few years, our industry seemed to be subject to widening seasonal fluctuations in sales. Here’s one explanation offered in PIA’s October 2001 Management Portfolio report. According to the authors, “informational” printing (price and parts lists, directories, manuals, etc.) began to migrate about 20 years ago to electronic media. “Promotional” printing, which now dominates the commercial print community, has always been seasonal. Without informational printing to fill in the valleys these days, we’re even more vulnerable to reduced cash flow. The conclusion? “The need for improved cash management won’t go away.”

2. Speaking of going digital. As if to drive the above point home, I recently received my quarterly Accounting Management magazine, to which I’ve subscribed for years. And what did I read? This was to be my last printed issue of the publication. My subscription was being transferred to an “e-subscription” and future issues could only be accessed online at www.imanet.org. Now, I don’t know if this publication qualifies as “informational” printing in PIA’s eyes, but the trend toward online publishing sure doesn’t bode well for publications printers and those of us who work with them.

3. Tip of the Week. Moisture content of paper is one of those bugaboos that plague both publications printers and binderies. Perfect bound books, in particular, are especially susceptible to the vagaries of moisture in paper. Because heat-set webs typically take all the moisture out of signatures as they run through the press, it’s important to schedule extra time for trimming and binding to allow the signatures to condition, or adjust to the surrounding humidity. If turnaround is an issue, try turning your web oven temperatures to the lowest possible level to minimize the amount of moisture removed from the paper.

4. Power in numbers. According to a sidebar in the Autumn 2001 edition of Seattle Industry, “publishing, printing and allied industries make up one of the largest single categories of manufacturing in Seattle.” King County printers employed nearly 12,000 people, slightly behind food processing, which employed 13,400 workers. From these figures, I’d say we’re a staple (if not stable) economic factor in our region.

5. Yule-tide wishes. As another year draws to a close, many of us will begin the process of measuring our fiscal performance. Given the pitiful performance of the U.S. economy, the tragic events of 9/11, and the fallout our entire industry has suffered, we can be thankful we’re still afloat. So let’s prepare ourselves, both mentally and practically, to tackle the new year. It can only be up from here. From all of us at Seattle Bindery, have a very merry Christmas, and a prosperous New Year!


 
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