Words/terms used by Reprographers in their company names - what's correct, what's not???

I’ve always had a fascination with words, especially those used in and around the “reprographics” industry, ……or, er, uh, …… is it the “reprographic” industry?????

I prefer the use of the word “reprographics” rather than the use of the word “reprographic”, since adding the “s” implies that there are multiple methods of reprography (or, if you prefer, call it imaging rather than reprography), and, quite frankly, there are multiple methods of reprography used by virtually all reprographers.

A quick check on the IRgA web-site reveals that the IRgA refers to the association as the “International Reprographic Association”, rather than the “International Reprographics Association.” 

However, “Jiffy Reprographics” is the name that Bob Roperti uses for his company…. the name of his company is not “Jiffy Reprographic”.  Most reprographers who use that word in their name use “reprographics” rather than “reprographic.”  (Another example would be the full name that NRI used to go by, “National Reprographics”, not “National Reprographic”.

Is the correct term/word “blueprint” or is it correct to say and use “blue print” rather than “blueprint”.  According to Miriam-Webster’s dictionary, the word is “blueprint”, not “blue print.”  In spite of that, there are a whole host of reprographers around the U.S. who use two words “Blue Print” rather than one word, “Blueprint”.  (We must be a word-challenged industry?)

Case in point, and what got me thinking about this, this afternoon while I was taking a quick break from real work, …. was the article about Letterman’s Blue Print & Supply Co. that’s mentioned on IRgA Today. (“Vaulting into the Digital Age…”).  (Nice article and thanks to Ed Avis for linking IRgA visitors to that article.)  For prospective customers, those that have never used our companies, the names of our companies are, most often, the “first face” that prospective customers see.  Is it a good idea to continue to use a name that, just by the words used, implies that we are mired in the past?  Years ago, Carter Pope, then Pres/CEO of Atlanta Blueprint Co, took the bold leap of changing the company’s name to “Imaging Technologies.”  The ABC in ABC Imaging used to stand for “American Blueprinting Co.”; that was the first name used by ABC when it was founded around 1982.  But, in an effort to modernize the name and look, ABC changed its name to ABC Imaging.  Even ARC (formerly “American Reprographics Co”, now called “ARC Document Solutions”) made the bold move, incurred the expense, to modernize its name to better connect the company with its current offerings. 

For those of you who still use a name linked to the past, well, I guess you’re either nostalgic or don’t see any importance in updating your name.  At the very least, you might want to consider using the word/term “Blueprint” (or Blueprinting) rather than the words “Blue Print”.  That would at least bring you into compliance with the word that’s in the dictionary.

Summary:

Reprographics, not reprographic.

Blueprint (or Blueprinting), not Blue Print or Blue Printing.