The Big Picture - March 2014 - (Page 4)

insight by Gregory Sharpless www.bigpicture.net EDITORIAL Gregory Sharpless Editor-in-chief gregory.sharpless@stmediagroup.com Adrienne Palmer associate Editor adrienne.palmer@stmediagroup.com Expanding Boundaries As the snow continues to pile on here and temperatures stay well south of normal, the ever-growing and ever-hungry local deer population has begun pushing its boundaries with regard to territory as well as food. On one of the coldest and whitest of weekends here, I was surprised to find a small herd of about a dozen or so surrounding my house. And while they typically have always remained just south of the tree line on the other side of my property, now they were exploring my deck and garage. A couple of them were peering into my living room, their big black noses nearly pressed against the window pane, briefly fogging it up. When a couple of the largest bucks began contemplating crossing my creek's bridge, I had to shoo them all away lest their weight prove too much for it. Beyond going places where they shouldn't, they were also eating things they normally would just sniff and ignore. Some noxious plant that grows in my creek was soon gobbled up, as was a similarly foul vine that wound its way around the stone escarpment circling my biggest white sycamore. Eat first, worry about the consequences later, must have been what was going through their deer heads - survival is priority one. What can print providers learn from these deer? You can expand the type of jobs and clients you take on, like the deer broadening their diets - particularly in tough economic times. Is there a specific market you know you can produce jobs for, but have felt that the profit margin is typically too low to sustain over a longer period of time? That's good thinking when things are going well, but if cash flow occasionally trumps profit margin, then perhaps some of those jobs or clients might get you over an economic hump? Or if you have primarily been a local shop, perhaps your sales team can put out some more regional feelers. Expanding your geographic territory - even if it's just for a few jobs when you're in a crunch - can keep the production floor churning out jobs. Can smaller print shops that don't have your production capabilities make use of your machinery and expertise? Or perhaps you have an install team that's second-to-none; can they be an additional profit center for shops that outsource installation work? Sure, you can wait until a crisis to explore options like these, but better to map out this kind of urgent diversification. Have a "low-profit/cash flow emergency plan" in place, something you can go to when you absolutely have to until things return to normal. Like the deer, be ready to look into every nook and cranny for a profitable meal. Kathleen DeZarn art Director kathy.dezarn@stmediagroup.com Marty McGhie, Craig Miller, Beth Osborne, Jared Smith columnists Rick Bachelder, Kathy Boydstun, Terry Corman, Scott Crosby, Brandon Gabriel, Michael Garcia, Kirk Green, Robert Kissel, Tina McLaughlin, Craig Miller, Carmen Rad, Greg Root, Jared Smith, Mark Taylor Editorial advisory Board SALES Murray Kasmenn Senior VP/Group Publisher 770/578-2577 murray.kasmenn@stmediagroup.com Lou Arneberg Business Development Manager East and Midwest US, E canada 800/654-5169 lou.arneberg@stmediagroup.com Ben Stauss Business Development Manager West and South US, W canada, Europe, asia 513/263-9363 ben.stauss@stmediagroup.com Linda Volz Production Supervisor linda.volz@stmediagroup.com Tedd Swormstedt President Steve Duccilli Senior VP of content Christine Baloga audience Development Director Kari Freudenberger Director, Online Media Subscription Services/ Copies/Back Issues (847) 763-4938 tbp@halldata.com bigpicture.net/subscribe bigpicture.net/renew ThE BIG PIcTUrE (ISSN 1082-9660) is published 9 times annually (Jan/Feb, March, april, May, June/July, august, September, October, Nov/Dec) by ST Media Group International Inc., 11262 cornell Park Dr., cincinnati, Oh 45242-1812. Telephone: (513) 421-2050, Fax: (513) 362-0317. No charge for subscriptions to qualified individuals. annual rate for subscriptions to non-qualified individuals in the U.S.a.: $46 USD. annual rate for subscriptions in canada: $77 USD (includes GST & postage); all other countries: $101 (Int'l mail) payable in U.S. funds. Printed in the U.S.a. copyright 2014, by ST Media Group International Inc. all rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for product claims and representations. Periodicals Postage Paid at cincinnati, Oh and at additional mailing offices. POSTMaSTEr: Send address changes to: The Big Picture, P.O. Box 1060, Skokie, IL 60076. change of address: Send old address label along with new address to The Big Picture, P.O. Box 1060, Skokie, IL 60076. 4 THE BIG PICTURE March 2014 11262 cornell Park Drive cincinnati, Oh 45242 tel (513) 421-2050 fax (513) 421-5144 http://www.bigpicture.net http://www.bigpicture.net/subscribe http://www.bigpicture.net/renew

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Big Picture - March 2014

The Big Picture - March 2014
Contents
InSight
Wide Angle
Up Front
Inside Output
Business + Management
White-Hot: Five Shops Explore White Ink
Great Ideas: ISA Expo 2014
Front- and Back-End Tools
R+D
Job Log

The Big Picture - March 2014