Graphic Arts Magazine articles

My customer asked me... "Can I make money from social networks?"

natalia@graphicartsmag.com (Natalia Gilewicz) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:07:57 +0000

Personally, I have been involved in this space for some time, choosing to complete my Masters of Management Science on the topic. The reason I became interested in social networks is the same reason that many are still skeptical about them; I wanted to identify their use and, more importantly, their value.

Revolutionizing printing

yhuje@aneon.ca (Myrna Penny) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:06:28 +0000

The Digital Imaging Association’s Annual General Meeting and Christmas Lunch featured keynote speaker Ray Schiavone, president and CEO of Quark.

Two decades ago, Quark helped spark the first revolution in publishing by developing software that moved publishing from proprietary typesetting systems to the desktop computer. QuarkXPress changed the way people published around the world.

Laser cutting applications

normrmrmrmmrmrm@graphicartsmag.com (Norm Beange) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:05:01 +0000

When used appropriately, laser cutting can be successfully combined with many other finishing processes with spectacular results – although conventional die cutting is still typically the most cost effective way to go.

How the process works

In the simplest terms, laser cutters use a focused beam of light to scan art onto, or completely through, material. No physical cutting tools make contact with the stock.

Featured markets: CTP and MIS systems

kread@graphicartsmag.com (Kristen Read) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:53:33 +0000

For many companies, buying Computer-to-Plate equipment is a big investment. There are a lot of vendors out there that make a lot of devices. How do you know which one is right for you?

We’ve looked at five different vendors and did the work for you. We asked what was the most popular CTP device sold at Heidelberg, Fujifilm, Presstek, Agfa and Xanté and found out all the details. We even talked to the customers that use the device who gave us the inside scoop. Find out what we discovered below

Graphic Arts' IT Guy - February 2010

af3@aneon.ca (Tim Mitra) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:51:55 +0000

Ever since I upgraded to Snow Leopard, I have been unable to print Adobe PDFs. I print the file, but I cannot find the PDF when it is done.

Apple’s latest operating system, Mac OS X 10.6 aka Snow Leopard, is an upgrade for Intel-based Macintosh computers that uses 64-bit processing, which allows for faster and wider data processing. As a result, the computing experience is much faster and seemingly gives new life to all compatible Mac desktops and laptop computers. While the upgrade has negatively affected some printing services, the refinements in Snow Leopard make it a welcome improvement.

Acrobat text tricks

ejlvkjekj@aneon.ca (Andrea Mahoney) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:50:04 +0000

The most common and annoying problem to deal with in a PDF workflow is adding new text to a PDF. Whether there are pages that need to be numbered or slug information that needs to be added for proofing or printing, something that should be so simple can be complicated within a PDF. The same is true when trying to automate the simple addition of text to PDF files; Javascript allows only certain commands to be automated within Acrobat and is subject to the same errors encountered when adding text manually.

The magic behind inkjet printing

dksdlfajsfj@aneon.ca (Peter Dulis) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:47:31 +0000

In this first of a series of articles, we would like to look at the heart of all inkjet printers – the print head. With a better understanding of inkjet printers and how they work, you will be able to capitalize on this technology to propel your business to the next level in an ever-changing graphics world where inkjet is quickly becoming a predominate technology in many areas.

Digital printing: it’s not about technology anymore

heidi2akj@kjfdaslkfjlaksdjf.net (Heidi Tolliver-Nigro) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:36:30 +0000

“Digital Printing: Transforming Business and Marketing Models,” an educational report offered by Digital Printing Reports, opens with the statement, “The importance of digital printing has nothing to do with the technology — its costs, its output capabilities, or the applications it can produce . . . It’s about transforming how you think about marketing.”

For the record - Marie Eveline

kread@graphicartsmag.com (Kristen Read) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:31:32 +0000

This month, I interviewed Marie Eveline, executive director of the Canadian Printing Industry Sector Council (CPISC), to learn about how the skills required of the industry’s workforce are changing and adapting to new technologies.

K: We’ve just wrapped up the first decade of the 2000s; how do you think the industry has changed in the last 10 years?

DIA event a great success

natalia@graphicartsmag.com (Natalia Gilewicz) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:29:42 +0000

This past month, I attended a great industry talk hosted by the Digital Imaging Association (DIA) at the Xerox Research Centre; and I don’t think I could say enough good things about the experience!

Laureen Chudzinski, director of business development strategies at InfoTrends, was the evening’s speaker, and she talked about social media marketing. What I really enjoyed about her presentation was her use of examples. I find that a lot of us talk generally abou

View from the publisher - February 2010

joe@graphicartsmag.com (Joe Mulcahy) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:28:33 +0000

A belated Happy New Year to all our readers. Times are not great in our industry, but we’re much better than those living in Haiti. With over 200,000 dead and many more injured, it’s hard to imagine how those in Haiti are coping with that kind of disaster. Even in our tough times, we can still afford to give a prayer or a donation to help these people in their crisis. The interesting dynamic with charity is that when you feel you can’t afford to give – but do – something good always comes of it.

Stop your mining

jonan@example.com (Jonathon Anderson) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:26:36 +0000

For years, I have been given a multitude of statistics that are meant to convince you that customized digital pieces for customers are far better than mass mailings. The customized units cost more per unit and often have a greater total cost than the mass mail counterpart, but everything else that you’d want is there.

The ROI is often as much as three times greater than traditional mass mail. You have nearly five times the response rate. This list just really keeps on going. The beauty of it is that you seem to get nearly the same results if you go with fully customized print as you do by printing a litho shell and then only hitting a few key areas with customized content. So why am I not getting more customized stuff in the mail?

The Swiss Army knife of printers

gail@gnana.an (Gail Nickel-Kailing) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:18:57 +0000

Pick up a Swiss Army knife and what do you have? A tool that will do just about anything you want. In addition to the main blade, you can get a smaller second blade, tweezers, a toothpick, a corkscrew, a can opener, a bottle opener, slotted/flat-head screwdriver(s), a Phillips-head screwdriver, a nail file, scissors, a saw, a file, a hook, a magnifying glass, a ballpoint pen, a fish scaler, a hex wrench with bits, pliers and a key chain. Recent additions include USB flash drives, a digital clock, a digital altimeter, an LED light, a laser pointer and an MP3 player. What else do you really need?

For the record - Ruben Silva

kread@graphicartsmag.com (Kristen Read) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:15:04 +0000

This month I talked with Ruben Silva, director of Agfa Graphic Systems Canada, to find out how the company is gearing up for the new year and what Agfa is doing to stay ahead of the game in a changing industry.

K: I noticed that Agfa didn’t participate in the recent Graphics Canada show this year; can you tell me what some of the reasons for that decision were?

Graphics Canada in action

kread@graphicartsmag.com (Kristen Read) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:05:04 +0000

This year’s Graphics Canada show at the Toronto International Centre, although smaller than usual, offered a lot of great value to both visitors and exhibitors. Although some exhibitors seemed apprehensive about what the show’s turn-out would be like, most people agreed that the attendance was better than expected. It was great to see a lot of the familiar faces of the Canadian printing industry, but also the new faces of many eager students.