IRgA changes name to ..... Association of Printing and Data Solutions Professionals - my thoughts on this

Recently, the IRgA (the International ReproGraphics Association) announced that members had voted to change the name of the association to the Association of Printing and Data Solutions Professionals.  Evidently, the name change will take effect on September 1^st, 2016.

So, the IRgA will become the APDSP (or will it be called the AoPaDSP?)

First thought; you know you are not just old, but very old, when you’ve been around in the industry long enough to see the industry’s name go from “Blueprinting” to “Reprographics” to “Printing and Data Solutions Professionals”.

Second thought; not sure why the industry had to change its name.  The name of an industry is less important to “customers” than it is to its “members.”  At least, that’s my take on that issue.

While I am certain that the decision to change the industry’s name and the process of coming up with a suitable new name were difficult and challenging, I question whether “customers” will understand the new name……in the context of what most of the members offer/provide/do.

As to the word “Printing”, most non-industry people (I’m referring to customers and prospective customers) think of “Printing” in terms of offset printing (whether digital or analog) and services related to that; think, “brochures, annual reports, menus, calendars, business cards, stationery, envelopes, direct-mail and other print-advertising, forms, etc., etc., etc., and finishing services related to those, such as folding, numbering, scoring, perforating, perfect binding, saddle-stitch binding, mailing and variable-data printing.  Most IRgA members do not offer all of those services, and many IRgA members don’t want to offer those services (even though they could.)

And, as to the words, “Data Solutions”, that’s a very broad term; do customers and prospective customers looking for document management and distribution services “Google Search” on “data solutions” to find prospective vendors?  When I think of large-format digital printing and reprographics services, “data solutions” doesn’t pop into my mind.  Are our industry’s members capable of offering data-mining?, data-management (rather than document-management) solutions?

Oh well, I simply hope that the industry’s name change does not give customers and prospective customers the wrong idea about what the industry’s members actually offer!

IRgA seeks a board member for the IRgA Board of Directors

Well, here's your chance to contribute to the future of the industry.

The IRgA is looking for someone to join the IRgA Board of Directors.  (Well, actually, since the IRgA has announced a name change, it won't be called the IRgA Board, but, rather, it will be called the Association of Printing and Data Solutions Professionals Board.)

Link to article on IRgA.com….

http://www.irga.com/blogs/Repro-Industry-News/irga-seeks-one-for-board-of-directors

Canon U.S.A. Announces New Executive Appointments

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

MELVILLE, N.Y. – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, has announced the recent promotion of Mr. Nobuhiko Kitajima to vice president and general manager of the business imaging solutions group as well as the appointment of Mr. N. Scott Millar as vice president and general manager of corporate human resources.

Nobuhiko Kitajima, Vice President and General Manager of Business Imaging Solutions Group – Serving in the position of vice president and general manager, Mr. Kitajima's concentration will be on Canon's large format solutions and image capturing products, as well as mixed reality products and the DreamLabo production photo printer. Mr. Kitajima joined Canon U.S.A., Inc. in 1986, before returning to Canon Inc. in 1993. Beginning his second assignment with Canon U.S.A. in 2002, Mr. Kitajima led the launch of the imagePROGRAF large format printer line in U.S. market, and rose to the position of senior director before his promotion to vice president and general manager. A thirty-five year Canon employee, Mr. Kitajima began with Canon Inc. in 1981. 

N. Scott Millar, Vice President and General Manager of Corporate Human Resources – In his new position, Mr. Millar, successor of Mr. Joseph Warren, will be involved with talent acquisition, talent and leadership development, total rewards, employee engagement and HR operations and support. Since 2015, Mr. Millar has also served as senior director of human resources for Canon BioMedical, Inc., Canon's global headquarters for molecular diagnostic medical operations. Mr. Millar initially joined Canon Virginia, Inc. in 1992, where he served as the senior director of human resources for Canon Virginia, the company's flagship operation for manufacturing, engineering and technical support in the Americas.

HP PageWide XL and DesignJet Printers Win Coveted Red Dot Design Awards

 HP Inc. today announced that the HP PageWide XL Printer series and the HP DesignJet T830 Multifunction Printer have been honored with prestigious 2016 Red Dot Awards.

The HP PageWide XL Printer portfolio was awarded the highest distinction, the Red Dot: Best of the Best Design Award, for its outstanding and ground-breaking design quality. The HP PageWide XL Printer series was among the 1.5 percent awarded out of more than 5,200 product submissions from manufacturing and designers representing 57 nations. The large-format HP PageWide XL Printer portfolio, which includes the flagship HP PageWide XL 8000 Printer as well as the HP PageWide XL 5000 and 4000/4500 Printer series, enables reprographic houses, print service providers, enterprise central reprographic departments and print corners to produce computer-aided design drawings, opening new business opportunities with geographic information system maps, point-of-sale applications and posters. The HP PageWide XL 8000 Printer, which also recently received the 2016 iF Gold “Best of Best” Design Award,  is the fastest large-format monochrome and color printer ever, offering up to 50 percent savings in total production costs ⁽¹⁾.

The Red Dot jury, comprised of 41 international experts, including freelance designers, design professors and specialized journalists, noted in official commentary that the HP PageWide XL Printer portfolio, “impresses with a technical and aesthetic quality that immediately casts a spell on users,” and touted its elegant appearance, easy accessibility and perfectly thought out functionality along with its intuitive operation.

The HP DesignJet T830 Multifunction Printer was also awarded international distinction for high design quality, receiving the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2016. The HP DesignJet T830 Multifunction Printer reinvents how architect, engineering and construction professionals print, scan and copy and is the industry’s most affordable, compact and transportable integrated large-format MFP^(2,3,4). 

The Red Dot jury’s official statement lauded the HP Design T830 Multifunction Printer’s space-saving design that enables large-format prints, scans and copies to be easily created on site in any place where they are required.

“HP designs its products with end users in mind, continually innovating to provide customers high-quality printing technology that is ergonomically and beautifully constructed,” said Xavier Garcia, general manager, Large Format Printing division, HP Inc. “We are proud to have the HP PageWide XL Printer portfolio and the HP DesignJet T830 receive the esteemed Red Dot Awards, recognizing these products’ impressive, user-friendly designs.”

HP received the awards on July 4, 2016 in a formal ceremony at the Red Dot Design Museum Essen, where all award-winning products will be presented in the special exhibition “Design on Stage” for four weeks, before becoming part of the permanent exhibition.

(1)      Printing at up to 30 D/A1 pages/minute and up to 1500 D/A1 pages/hour, the HP PageWide XL 8000 Printer is faster than alternatives for large-format printing of technical documents, GIS maps, and point-of-sale (POS) posters under $200,000 USD as of March, 2015 including 36-inch wide LED printers (printing up 22 D/A1 pages/minute) and wide-format printers based on Memjet technology (printing up to 800 D/A1 pages/hour). Based on internal HP testing of the HP PageWide XL 8000 Printer in line drawing print mode on uncoated bond paper printing in D/A1 landscape.

(2)      Based on 36-inch Wi-Fi integrated MFPs available in the market as of September, 2015.

(3)      The HP DesignJet T830 Multifunction Printer is the most compact 36-inch device performing large-format print/scan/copy functions and is at least half the size (without the legs) based on H x W x L specifications published as of September, 2015.

(4)      Available for the first time in the industry, the HP DesignJet Rugged Case is compatible with the HP DesignJet T830 MFP and features bigger, reinforced wheels and feet on its stand, making transport for printing at job sites more convenient.

Bob Roperti Sells Jiffy Reprographics!

As reported in the most recent IRgA Newsletter, Bob and his wife, Mary- Dianne, have sold Jiffy Reprographics. 

Apparently, Jiffy was sold to a gent not in the reprographics business, and that gent (Travis Masters) will be morphing Jiffy’s business offerings to suit his objectives.  Jiffy operated out of one location in Clearwater, FL.  Masters has renamed the business, “Jiffy Graphics.”  (You can read more about this at IRgA.com)

Hearty congratulations to Bob and Mary-Dianne!

A few comments about Bob Roperti:

An absolute class-act by any stretch of the imagination.  Of all the wonderful people I had the pleasure of getting to know in the reprographics industry during my 45+ year involvement, Bob stands out as one of the nicest, kindest, giving people I ever met.  Bob took seriously the idea of giving back …..and did so in large measure.  He is a past President of the IRgA and served on the IRgA Board for several years.  He guided the IRgA through the Great Recession.  He has been very active in the RSA, one of the industry’s leading trade associations.  He was always willing to share his knowledge ….. even if you were one of his direct competitors.

I first met Bob when he was a VP with Dupont.  Bob managed the two Dupont reps (Fred in DC and Paul in Baltimore) who called on our first reprographics company (then known as Rowley-Scher Reprographics).  Back in the ‘80’s, we were a big buyer of Dupont’s film products (for our engineering photographic labs.)  Bob was instrumental in developing a program for our business, which involved Dupont placing film processors at our main plant, without us having to purchase or lease those processors, in trade for us exclusively buying Dupont film products.  They even stocked film products at our warehouse, and we did not have to pay for film until we took it out of inventory.  Thanks to Gary Rowley, Rowley-Scher developed a very large (and very profitable) engineering photographic services business, and Bob and his Dupont team members helped enhance our profitability. Thank you, Bob!

After several years out of the industry, in 1997 I relocated to Florida, eventually joining National Graphic Imaging (NGI), which was based in Tampa, FL, across Tampa Bay from Clearwater, where Jiffy conducted operations.  So, at that point, Bob’s company, Jiffy, was my competitor.  And, a tough one to compete with, because Jiffy provided excellent service to its customers.  Under Bob’s management and guidance, Jiffy was one of the key players in the Tampa Bay reprographics market.  A well-respected key player.

As we all know, the Reprographics Industry community took a severe hit during the Great Recession.  During the several years that recession lasted, Bob was a member of the IRgA Board and, for one of those years, was President of the IRgA.  In spite of the fact that, during that period, Jiffy required Bob’s keen attention – to successfully navigate Jiffy through the recession – Bob devoted a significant amount of his time to IRgA affairs; his objective – keep it going, keep the IRgA vital and of interest to its members. And, that is what he did!  I’d like to thank Bob for inviting me to spend time as Managing Director of the IRgA.  And, we should all reach out to thank Bob for replacing me with Ed Avis, current Managing Director of the IRgA (Ed is absolutely awesome.)

Best wishes to Bob and Mary-Dianne for many, many forward years of great health, lots of fun and adventurous travels!

On behalf of the Reprographics 101 Blog, I’d like to thank Bob for his many, many years of service to the Reprographics Industry and Community.

Memjet vs. HP vs. Memjet - "Game Over" (Patent Dispute Settled)!

Excellent news for the Reprographics Industry community:

Memjet and HP Inc. Agree to Settlement of Patent Dispute

Tuesday, July 05, 2016

San Diego, California – Memjet and HP Inc. have reached a global settlement that includes the dismissal of all current actions between the parties and a cross-license. The terms of the settlement are confidential.

“We are pleased to have reached a settlement with HP,” said Len Lauer, CEO of Memjet. “We will continue to stay focused on creating innovative printing technology that enables our customers to realize optimal speeds, quality and costs.”