Ratios
Are In
The 2009 Printing Industry of
America Ratios are now available. Printers use the Ratios reports to evaluate
their performance against industry profit leaders. Specific reports are available
for various firm profiles by size of firm, printing process, and print market
segments. So how did the industry fare? The sluggish economy and slowing
print markets continued to pull down printers’ profitability
over the prior year. Profits as a percent of sales average 1.5% for all printers
participating in the 2009–10 Ratios Survey. This is a decrease of 1.6%
from last year’s average of 3.1% and the first consecutive decrease
since 2001. At this rate the industry will earn approximately $2.5 billion
in total profits over the course of the year, down significantly from the
prior year’s approximate $5.4 billion in total profits. Even profit
leaders (printers in the top 25% of profitability) saw their profits drop
slightly over the year, decreasing 9.4% from the previous year. For all printers,
the average profit of 1.5% approximately equals the rate earned in 2003,
the year after the bottom of the last recession. In 2009 materials accounted
for the largest single cost category for the typical U.S. printer, approximately
35.1% of sales. Paper alone consumed more than one-in-five sales dollars
last year. Other major costs incurred by printers last year included factory
payroll (25.3% of sales), factory expenses (17.6% of sales), administrative
expenses (9.9% of sales), and selling expenses (8.1% of sales).
Want to learn more? Order your Ratios Volume at www.printing.org/ratios.
For more information contact Ed Gleeson at 800-910-4283, ext. 756 or egleeson@printing.org.
Help
Save Print
Darin Painter, Editor-in-Chief of Graphic Communications World, said: "The
print industry doesn't lack potential or power, it lacks presence. It needs
a combined voice strong enough to convince society at large (and marketing
professionals in particular) that print is not only powerful on its own,
but more importantly, drives people to digital components of integrated campaigns.
The print community needs to address two challenges:
1) What the industry
believes about the effectiveness of print -- through ROI studies, projects
with clients, etc. -- the rest of the world doesn't hear or believe and
2)
More printers need to develop deeper relationships with marketing professionals
who control campaign budgets."
The organizations listed below are already doing their part to help spread
the word about the value of Print. You can help, too, by sharing with your
clients the information found on the websites below. PGAMA is also
working on a BIG print promotion to launch in 2010. Stay tuned for more details!
American Forest and Paper Association
The Digital Nirvana
Direct Connection Printing & Mailing
Direct Marketing Association
(DMA)
International Paper
Mail Moves America
Markzware
National Association for Printing Leadership
(NAPL)
Paper University
Print CEO
The Print Council
Print In The Mix
USPS
Why Print
Personalized
Recycling Poster
The paper industry hopes to recover
60 percent of the paper Americans consume by 2012 and we
can help by practicing good recycling habits in the office
and at home. Now you can create your own poster to hang
at your office next to a recycling bin as a reminder for
all. Check out the poster at
PaperRecycles.org.
Packaging
Holds Up
Although the packaging segment of the industry
is down for the first time in seven years, the news isn't
all bad. The decrease is only 0.4% according to a new
report from packaging association PMMI in Arlington, VA.
Charles Yuska, President of PMMI, adds,
"Given the state of the economy, it should be no surprise
that shipments were down in 2008. However, the decrease in
domestic shipping was offset by a continued strength in exports
as member companies took their products overseas..." For
more information on the report, visit www.pmmi.org.
Tech
Tip of the Week
Joe Marin, Senior Analyst,
Digital Technologies for Printing Industries of America
shares this tip on converting images to CMYK. Many designers
and prepress professionals tend to convert images to CMYK
first, and then try to color correct images. This is not
the best choice as you will always get better results when
you color correct images in the RGB color space before
converting to CMYK. There are two major reasons for this:
1-When images are converted from RGB to CMYK, you lose a
lot of color information. As a result, you (and Photoshop)
have fewer colors to work with when attempting to make a
change.
2-When images are converted from RGB to CMYK, you're creating
the black separation. Depending upon how much cyan, magenta,
and yellow was eliminated in the separation, it can be very
difficult--or even impossible--to make color adjustments
to an image.
Given these disadvantages, why do people still choose to
color correct in CMYK? Probably because it seems to make
more sense. If you need to reduce the cyan, you might use
the Curves tool, select the cyan channel and bend the curve
down. Or if you need to add yellow, bend the yellow curve
up...and so on. But what if you're working in the RGB color
space and want to reduce the amount of a certain color in
an image? Just remember RGB=CMY. The cyan within the image
can be adjusted within the red channel, magenta in green,
and yellow in blue.
How
Else Can We Help You?
If you believe there is some additional
service PGAMA could provide that would be beneficial to your
company and employees, please tell us about it! But first,
let us know if you are currently taking advantage of the
following services available now through your association:
Credit and Collections
Insurance Services for your company and employees
Educational Meetings/Seminars
Credit Union
Business consulting
Email us with any suggestions about how PGAMA could further
benefit your company. Your input is very important! Send
comments to katie@pgama.com.
Members
in the News
The City
of Baltimore's in-plant is
featured in a 3-page story in the October issue of In-Plant
Graphics magazine. Lots of great photos of the staff and
equipment. Check it out at http://www.inplantgraphics.com.
Westland
Printers in Laurel,
MD was awarded one of the 10 biggest GPO jobs earlier this
month. See the complete list of job recipients at QuickPrinting.com.
Upcoming Events
| October 30 |
Special Event: ASI Advantages
Roadshow, 9:00am-1:00pm at BWI Marriott
(1743 W. Nursery Road, Baltimore, MD 21090.) The
Advantages Roadshow is a sales-building experience
like no other. Enjoy one-on-one conversations with
leading companies, attend FREE educational seminars,
and find hot new items to show your clients. *BONUS*
PGAMA members are invited to a special briefing
on ASI services! Call Paul at PGAMA for info. To
learn more about the Roadshow, visit www.advantagesroadshow.com. |
| November 3 |
Webinar: The Principles
of Social Media, Noon-1:00pm. Tune
in to the first of five broadcasts (Tuesdays, Nov
3-Dec 1) in the Social Media Webinar series focusing
on using social media to communicate. Learn the
unwritten rules of engagement for using Twitter,
LinkedIn, Facebook and blogs. Cost is $55 per webinar
per connection or $250 for the entire series. Register
online at http://www.pine.org/Education/webinar_social_series.html#principles |
| November 3 |
FREE Webinar:
Variable Data Printing~How Far Have We Come?,
2:00-3:00pm. Speaker Patricia Sorce will delve into
the topic of variable data printing adoption patterns
through a comparison of VDP applications available
in 2003 to those in the last few years, and explore
why the predicted growth of this VDP has not yet come
to pass. To register, go to www.seminars.cias.rit.edu and
click on the Webinars tab. |
| November 3 |
Special Event: Cocktails
& Connections Happy Hour 5:30-7:30pm
at Franklin's Restaurant in Hyattsville, MD (5123
Baltimore Avenue, 20781.) Join us for another
strictly social gathering! No speakers. No agenda.
Just the chance to get to know others in our industry.
You never know who you’ll meet...and how
they could benefit your business! FREE
for PGAMA Members, $20 for Non-Members
(Includes drinks & hors d’oeuvres.)
You Must RSVP to Attend! Call TODAY to sign
up--410-319-0900/877-319-0906 Or online at www.pgama.com.
Sponsored by Hewlett-Packard and Coleman One. |
| November 8-10 |
Special Event: 2009
Converge Conference, at
the spectacular new Hilton Bonnet Creek in Orlando.
This event is a must-attend for any service provider
looking to grow and prosper in these challenged economic
times of the new information age. Learn more about
the conference, resort and transportation deals, plus
register to attend at http://converge.printing.org/Default.aspx. |
| November 10 |
Webinar: How and Why
to Blog,
Noon-1:00pm. This is the second of five broadcasts
(Tuesdays, Nov 3-Dec 1) in the Social Media Webinar
series, and focuses on blogging. Learn how to set
up, maintain, and use this incredibly easy method
to release timely information to an audience of
readers already interested in what you and your
organization offer. Cost is $55 per webinar per
connection. Register
online at http://www.pine.org/Education/webinar_social_series.html#principles |
| November 17 |
Webinar: What You Need
to Know About Twitter,
Noon-1:00pm. This is the third of five broadcasts
(Tuesdays, Nov 3-Dec 1) in the Social Media Webinar
series, and focuses on how to stand out in the 'Twitterverse'
by generating hot topics of discussion. Cost is
$55 per webinar per connection. Register online
at http://www.pine.org/Education/webinar_social_series.html#principles |
| November 18 |
Member Seminar & Vendor
Expo: Its OK to Print, 9:00am-4:00pm
at PGAMA (9685 Gerwig Lane, Columbia, MD 21046).
Attend
this seminar and learn how to affordably promote
and expand your sustainable efforts. Attendees
will walk away better prepared to market their “green” processes
and practices—including getting listed on
the Maryland Green Registry—and informed
about other fast, easy, and budget-conscious things
that can be done to protect the planet AND boost
a bottom line. Cost is $30 per person and includes
lunch. Call PGAMA to register, 410-319-0900 or
sign up online at www.pgama.com. |
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