Worldcolor will install a Kodak Prosper 5000XL Inkjet press combined with a Muellar Martini Sigmaline into it’s Dubuque, Iowa, operations. According to Kodak:

For book printers, the KODAK PROSPER Press Platform offers a solution that, in many applications, will be superior to offset for run lengths up to 7,000 copies, greatly enhancing supply chain efficiency by reducing obsolescence and wastage from a publisher’s perspective. When combined with the MULLER MARTINI SIGMALINE in-line finishing system, the PROSPER Press delivers a complete files-to-books system.

For direct mail printers, the PROSPER Press Platform leverages high-quality customization to improve response rates and offers 30 percent lower total cost of ownership compared to offset printing in combination with offline laser imprinting. For catalog and magazine printers, the PROSPER Press Platform beats the overall cost of offset in run lengths up to 3,000 copies, while increasing response rates through the use of personalization and targeted marketing.

The 5000XL press print at up to 650 fpm, with image quality approaching 175 lpi and a monthly duty cycle of up to 120 million A4 pages. It can handle coated (including glossy) and uncoated paper in basis weights ranging from 30 lbs. to 200 lbs.

Read The Whole Story Here.

Entrepreneur Magazine has a great article for entrepreneurs and small business owners who wear all of the hats and are depended upon for setting the dream.

Here’s the basics: Set Yourself on Fire everyday, and Feed the Fire as often as needed.

What’s the fire? The passion that got you to be en entrepreneur in the first place. It’s that the thing you love to do.

And how do you feed the fire? Write a one sentance mission statement about your passion and when things aren’t going as planned, when the motivation seems to have left the building, stand up, relax, breathe in deep and recite your mission statement. Out loud.

And how do you keep that fire going?

• DON’T let your mission be what you have to do, instead of what you dream of doing.
• DON’T let your mission be what society says you should do, instead of what you want.
• DON’T forget about your mission and leave it stuffed in a drawer or hanging on the wall.
• DON’T beat yourself up, so you start to resist, then hate, doing what you love to do.

Read the Whole Article Here.

"Angst" by Ronny Sovik

Gretchen Rubin at Huffington Post has some great advice on handling those dreaded tasks that seem to just hang over your head, stifling all hope of happiness and peace-of-mind. It’s good advice for anyone in any business.

Here are the strategies Gretchen uses:

1. Do it first thing in the morning. If you’re dreading doing something, you’re going to be able to think of more creative excuses as the day goes along. One of my Twelve Commandments is “Do it now.” No delay is the best way.

2. If you find yourself putting off a task that you try to do several times a week, do it EVERY day. When I was planning my blog, I envisioned posting two or three times a week. Then a blogging friend convinced me that no, I should post every day. As counter-intuitive as it sounds, I’ve found that it’s easier to do it every day (well, except Sundays) than fewer times each week. There’s no dithering, there’s no juggling. I know I have to post, so I do. If you’re finding it hard to go for a walk four times a week, try going every day.

3. Have someone keep you company. Studies show that we enjoy practically every activity more when we’re with other people. Having a friend along can be a distraction, a source of reassurance, or just moral support.

4. Make preparations, assemble the proper tools. Clean off your desk, get the phone number, find the file. I often find that when I’m dreading a task, it helps me to feel prepared. There’s a wonderful term that chefs use: mis-en-place, French for “everything in its place.” It describes the preparation done before starting to cook: gathering ingredients and implements, chopping, measuring, etc. Mis-en-place is preparation, but it’s also a state of mind; mis-en-place means you have everything at the ready, with no need to run out to the store or begin a frantic search for a sifter. You’re truly ready to begin to work.

5. Commit. We’ve all heard the advice to write down your goals. This really works, so force yourself to do it. Usually this advice relates to long-term goals, but it works with short-term goals, too. On the top of a piece of paper, write, “By the end of today, April 7, I will have _____.” This also gives you the thrill of crossing a task off your list. (See below.)

6. Remind yourself that finishing a dreaded task is tremendously energizing. Studies show that hitting a goal releases chemicals in the brain that give you pleasure. If you’re feeling blue, although the last thing you feel like doing is something you don’t feel like doing, push yourself. You’ll get a big lift from it.

Read the Whole Article Here.

Print advertising
47.5% (-9.4%)

E-media
16.6% (+27.7%)

Events
10.6% (+8.2%)

Custom publishing
8.8% (+4.8%)

Paid subscriptions
6.9% (-5.4%)

Data information sales
2.6% (+18.2%)

Other
7.0% (no change)

And what did the publishers say was their biggest success in 2009? “Staying in Business.”

Read the Whole Article Here.

In an article over at Folio Magazine, Jason Fell reports that while things are still tough for magazine publishers, a few names have quietly almost doubled or doubled their stock price within the last 52 weeks. Big names like Playboy, Time Warner, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and Meredith Corp. all have shown substantial, if not volatile gains.

Read the Whole Story Here.

The Wall Street Journal reports that five major magazine publishers, Time Warner‘s Time Inc., Hearst, Advance Publications’ Condé Nast, Wenner Media (Rolling Stone) and Meredith, have formed a powerhouse group to reinforce the message that Print is still, not only a vital advertising medium, but also, one that is still growing.

With so much attention these days going to digital ads and digital publications, the group wants to remind advertisers that, while  publishers were announcing that their magazines would be ready to go digital just a few months ago,

Since then, however, industry executives say advertising has begun creeping back into magazines after a two-year drought. The improved results have given them more ammunition to persuade readers and advertisers alike that the ink-on-paper business isn’t dying.

The ad campaign will be the largest campaign ever undertaken by the group , will cost over $90 million dollars and the series of ads will start with a Michael Phelps ad in ESPN magazine. (see above)

Read the Whole Story Here.

And here is that group of publishers telling you their story themselves:

Folio says this:

Just as publishers are diving into new products and services that go far beyond their traditional lineup, so too are the printers that serve them. This Webinar looks at the new services printers are offering—from digital magazines to content management systems to data and even lead gen—and how they stack up in price and performance to some of the enterprise solutions available. Discover how to create the most efficient services package with your printer.

Interested? Register Here. It’s FREE!

According to Folio Magazine, Penton Media will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. According to Roland DeSilva, co-founder and managing partner of media investment bankers DeSilva + Phillips, “Penton is going through an effective transition from a traditional b-to-b publisher to an information and digital media company,” and the bankruptcy filing will allow them to manage that transition instead of managing debt.

Read the Whole Story Here.

According to a quick poll at Printbuyers Online, 48% of print buyers ALWAYS reviewed a prospective printer’s website before they contacted them for a quote. Another 28% said they’d FREQUENTLY check out the printers website, and 20% said that they’d SOMETIMES take a look at the prospective printers site. On the other hand, just 5% of print buyers said that they never looked at printers websites.

Mark Stevens: The Heat-Seeking Sales Machine writes for Entrepreneur Magazine, that true salespeople have the best three, unstoppable weapons:

1. A conviction that what they are offering will add immensely to the prospect’s personal or business life.
2. A belief that there is nothing better in the world the prospect can choose.
3. An absolute determination to communicate–through education and brute force of personality–that they are dead right on points one and two.

These three weapons are much more powerful than any Powerpoint presentation, cold-call spiel or how many at-bats you get in front of a customer. It’s all about the passion. Your passion about your product or service and your passion about yourself; that you are the person they need to make their lives better.

Read the Whole Story Here