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                MyBinding Blog > Community

                Bacon Vodka, Anyone?

                September 12, 2012 by Jeff McRitchie Leave a Comment

                LasBacon-Vodca-bm-content-1t month in the blazing sun at a rooftop networking party hosted by SEMpdx, Tarragon and I (Chelsea) were casually chatting with a few new friends when Jeff McRitchie, our VP of Marketing, excitedly came running up to us. “There’s someone I want you to meet to interview for a printer profile,” he says. As we follow him back to a tent in the shade of the American Marketing Association’s booth, Matt Miali shakes our hands and says some of the best words we’ve ever heard: “Would you like a shot of bacon-infused vodka?” As we love all things bacon, we knew it was the start of a beautiful relationship.

                After much cavorting, we got down to business and discovered he is a print industry rock star, just like all our other amazing interviewees have been. Recently we had the chance to sit down with him over coffee and learn a little more about Matt as well as his company, B&B Print Source.

                How did you get started in the print industry?

                I actually started my career on the flip side as a creative director in advertising. I co-owned an ad agency for ten years that began in Pasadena, CA, which is where I’m from. When my business partner’s wife got a job in Portland, we moved the business up here. Later, we amicably parted ways and I transitioned into my more recent occupation as a commercial printer. I began as a print broker for five years before moving into my current position as a salesman for B&B Print Source.

                Forgive my ignorance but what is a print broker?

                Most print brokers don’t own any equipment; instead, they work with various trade vendors. Your jobs are sourced out, which can be both good and bad. Good because you can get some pretty decent pricing. “Bad” because you can’t monitor quality. If your phone rings a few days after a job has been sent out, you’re always praying it’s not a client complaint.

                Sounds stressful. I can see why you wanted to switch to a print shop. Was it an easy transition?

                B&B was my go-to printer while I owned the ad agency. I was friends with most of the staff, and it didn’t hurt that B&B is rated as one of the top printers in the Pacific Northwest. It was a welcome reprieve from the broker world. B&B also has many different types of presses under one roof, which has allowed me to become more familiar with the mechanical side of things. Now I can monitor quality during each phase of a project as it moves throughout the shop. My background in design coupled with a working knowledge of print has really helped me better serve my clients. I’ve been in their shoes and can help them avoid some of the many mistakes I’ve made as a print buyer. I love it!

                In the nine years you’ve been in print, how have you seen things change?

                Without a doubt, online marketing is slowly cannibalizing the print world. Soon after the “dot com” boom, companies began relying on this single digital medium to market their products, because it was new and more importantly, “Free”. Unfortunately, they had no real marketing plan in place and didn’t understand how to reach their customers through digital marketing alone. I feel it affected a lot of companies and this “marketing shortcut” hurt their marketing efforts and helped contribute to the overall recession. I’m all for marketing online and well-executed social media campaigns, however, I still believe successful marketing campaigns incorporate a number of different mediums to help the message resonate. Today we’re beginning to see successful companies are, once again, coupling their online plans with other, more traditional, forms of advertising. It’s still the best way to go. Today you should send a postcard announcing the launch of your new website. I guarantee you’ll get more hits.

                What is your favorite part about working in print?

                The company I work for and my co-workers. They’re great people who are all very skilled. We have 70 people with very low turnover. Everyone does their job well which helps keep things highly efficient and sustainable. We all work together to solve problems, which takes off some of the pressure and stress that can come in this type of “deadline oriented” job. We run two 12-hour shifts, so things are always humming. I also love taking the stress of printing off of my clients who have enough problems to deal with in their day-to-day schedules.

                Tell me about B&B Print Source.

                B&B has been in business for over 25 years. It’s a locally owned, family run commercial print shop specializing in sheet-fed offset work. We have 5 different offset presses ranging from 2 to 6-color process. We’ve recently expanded our digital department to meet the growing need and have full in-house mailing services. Our sweet spot is in larger runs but, thanks to enhanced digital capabilities, we can work with all sizes of companies and most any sized project. Most of our clients reside within the Pacific Northwest, although, we do have a few national accounts as well.

                How are today’s clients different from those when you were a print buyer?

                People today are raised in a digital world. Young print buyers are often unaware of the complexities of print. It’s important to discuss projects with your printer during the design phase, instead of after everything has been approved. It may look great on a monitor but could pose a number of problems and cost a lot of money to produce in print. Quantities, finishes and color all play an important role as it relates to the cost of a project. We all work hard to win over our customers. Knowing how to save your clients money while producing high quality printed marketing materials will help make your client/vendor relationship last a whole lot longer.

                Most importantly, how did you learn to make such delicious bacon vodka?

                I’ve been an active member of the American Marketing Association / Portland Chapter (AMA) for over 4 years. Last year, I was asked to sit on the board as the “Networking Chairman”. Coming form a creative background, I wanted to create something that would set the AMA’s networking apart from the usual “meet and greet” style networking events they’d been doing. That’s where the “Blind Pig Networking Brigade” was born. We started having events that pulled people out of their comfort zones and caused them to bond with the new people they met rather than just dole out cards. For instance, we had a Tiki party at the New Trader Vics. In order to get into the event, every attendee had to limbo their way in. Depending on how low you could go resulted in different “prizes” and accolades. We also hosted a “Let’s Duet!” Karaoke competition where we pitted our AMA friends against some other local marketing organizations. Nothing will make a friend for life like singing a heated duet together. With every event, we give away a bottle of homemade and “uncomfortably-delicious” bacon-infused vodka. It’s taken me awhile but I’ve finally got the process of infusing it down to a science, as you and Tarragon can attest from our first meeting. Hopefully we’ll see you at more Blind Pig Events.

                Filed Under: Community Tagged With: B&B Print Source, Matt Miali, printing, SEMpdx

                You Get What You Pay For

                September 4, 2012 by Jeff McRitchie Leave a Comment

                Today’s post comes from Mark Colligan, the man responsible for the creation of videos at a rate of ten per week. Mark quietly slips in and out of his small studio at various hours during the day and does most of his editing at home. He helped us launch our video marketing campaign over two years ago and is still going strong. Here is a look into his world here at MyBinding.com.

                Get-Wha-You-Pay-bm-content-1For the last couple of years I’ve snuck into the warehouse, stacked a dolly with various binding machines, and backed quietly out the door to my overheated video studio with 15000 watts of light glaring down on a white table. Here I open box after box of every binding system, laminator, and shredder you can imagine. Once I spent a whole month magically demonstrating a gazillion staplers to a faceless audience. Why? Because people want to “see it in action” before they buy it. So I learn it, video it, edit it, and create voice-overs as entertaining as it can get for paper finishing products. People watch, learn and buy.

                As I see it, I am the most experienced person at MyBinding.com with our products, and there are thousands yet to get to! I am experienced because I have to physically create a finished product with these machines that I have only just met. EVERY ONE OF THEM! Over the many months doing this and well into my 11th TB of hard drive space of video files, I have come to realize that you get what you pay for. The adage really is true.

                Depending upon your needs and amount of binding or laminating that your business undertakes, if you go cheap… you’ll be going again. And again. If you put out the money and look at it as an investment in your work, it will pay off.

                With that said, just because it costs the most, it does not mean that it will actually be the best. Do your research and seek out the best for your needs. (That’s why we make the videos after all.) Machines that do ONE function tend to do that one thing really well. You’ll have to invest then in other machine(s) for the next steps. Machines that are all-in-one (and there are many in the binding world) can be just fine, however the get what you pay for principle really shines through here.

                Everyone has a budget. Every business has needs. Be smart because your workers will be asking for another machine because it’s too slow or someone has just thrown it across the office in a fit of rage. And coming from experience… the machine probably deserved it.

                Filed Under: Community Tagged With: Mark Colligan, MyBinding, video marketing

                A Chat with Jamie McLennan

                August 29, 2012 by Jeff McRitchie Leave a Comment

                Jamie-McLennan-bm-content-1This week’s Printer Profile has bragging rights to the #1 spot on Klout for printers, has been involved in print since high school, and currently works for The Seibel Group. If you don’t know who we’re talking about, let us introduce you to Jamie McLennan. Jamie is known for enhancing online communities and making people feel welcome. Recently Tarragon and Chelsea had a chance to do a Twinterview with him and get a different perspective on the print industry. Here is what he had to say.

                So how did you get started in print?

                I started in high school print shop. I had a great teacher who told us this is not woodshop, so leave if you think this will be an easy A. I learned everything from layout, gallies, darkroom, stripping, to running AB dick presses.

                That’s awesome. So did you work for the HS newspaper or something like that?

                No, but as a senior I was in print class four classes a day. We printed everything for the school that we could. We had lunch in print class, and every free period my teacher had my schedule changed to his class.

                What interested you in the class in the first place?

                I was told we would do silk screening and other cool stuff so I took the class. I liked to draw, so I signed up. The class was much more then I thought it would be and I loved learning all about print.

                (T) I remember silk screening in high school art class.
                (C) I never took art but I don’t remember the students who did getting to do silk screening.
                (T) So I would assume the love of print started in high school?

                We had a class where we learned silk screening, block printing, and more. We also got to draw a lot. So the next year, I took print.

                Are these classes still offered or has budget cuts destroyed print in schools?

                The print class is still there but not the same teacher, they’ve since retired. I’d have to see if the class is still the same or not.

                So moving from there, what was your major in college if you knew you loved print?

                College? I went right into print. I walked into a print shop over the summer and asked if they needed a pressman. They said they would call me that night. I waited until nine pm but they didn’t call. So I went back next day to ask why and they hired me on the spot.

                (C) That’s amazing. Good for you for being so proactive.
                (T) Do you think high school is too late to introduce print as a career?

                High school is a good time to introduce print. My brother was three years younger and took the same class, then went to RIT and on into pre-press. I had about five friends all take this class and all ended up in print as well.

                Sandy Hubbard said something similar, that you have to recruit people young.

                I think you do. Most kids today don’t think about it, it’s not cool enough for them.

                Don’t you think if kids where made aware of all the awesome things about print today, it would be cool enough? What do you love about print? I am amazed and blown away and I have only scratched the surface.

                I do think they need to know that print is more then ink on paper. What do I love about print? It is something new everyday. I love showing clients what they can do to create new ideas.

                There certainly are many innovative things in the print industry today. I had no idea, you and Sandy and Cam have been enlightening for sure! How have you seen print change over the years?

                Since I got into print, there have been many many changes. We used to have mechanicals, darkrooms, stripping film, and burning plates. We had zip drives and disks, now files are sent via FTP sites, and presses are now direct to plate. No more bluelines or matchprints, just color proofs and PDFs. From offset to digital, the turn around times are much shorter now. It keeps you moving now with digital and variable and integrating QR codes and augmented reality. There are many cool ideas still coming down the road. Digital presses are getting larger, too.

                It sounds like that would allow you to complete jobs much faster than before.

                Yes, turnaround times are much shorter. Jobs are completed in days, sometimes in a matter of hours, instead of eight to ten days. It depends on the project size and binding options but overall is much faster.

                What do you miss about the old ways of print? What do you love about the new?

                As for the old ways, I think typesetting was more of an art and the type was cleaner. I was a pressman first, so I loved offset. In the early days of digital print, offset looked much better. Now, digital has come a long way. A good “digital” design looks great on the new presses and is much quicker as well.

                Tell me about the company you are working for now.

                The Seibel Group is a great offset and digital shop. People come in early and stay late. We provide excellent quality, service, and turn times. We put the clients first and look out for the details. Everyone is very hands on. It’s a great feeling to know you have good people taking care of your projects.

                What is your role there?

                My role is now sales. I got into sales in the early 90’s while also running presses. I help with bindery and collating on rush jobs when needed. But I am out on the road about half the day visiting people.

                I imagine your passion for print helps your sales.

                It does. In early days clients came to press checks and I was a pressman. They loved it. I still have some of the same clients today. Being able to talk about the paper and ink and knowing how it will look is a big benefit.

                That seems to be a theme in print, needing to learn the tangible to accurately do digital.

                That is true.

                So what do you see as the future of print?

                I think you need a print futurist for this. 🙂

                Haha, you might be right. I did discuss this a lot with Sandy Hubbard.

                From what I see, more print will go digital. Our digital business grows each year with more VDP.
                I have also seen some interest in nice papers again, not just coated stocks. I’m not sure if this trend will continue to grow.

                I’m going to show my ignorance and ask what is VDP?

                Anytime you have questions, just ask. VDP stands for variable data print, or personalized printing. A few clients slow to use this but there is still plenty of room to grow. Sometimes I like to use examples to encourage clients to personalize their materials, though some still like to just print and mail to a general audience.

                Thanks! I’m in the marketing side over here so print is a relatively new field for me. So far I’ve had great teachers! Have you noticed any changes or shifts in the industry related to the recession?

                Yes, for the most part I’ve seen smaller print runs and more digital. People are also doing more targeted mailings with less expansive paper choices.

                That makes sense, streamlining the process to be more efficient. Have you seen an increase in environmental initiatives or a push for local businesses?

                Recycled paper is still big but not as big as it was. Local is starting to get more traction here in New Jersey. We’ve been printing a few things for local restaurants farm fresh. Seems print is not as big to go local yet. I am big on local and love shopping small family-owned stores and local restaurants. I help where I can.

                I’m big on local as well. That’s partly why I like this company, we started as a small family-owned company.

                I have only worked for family-owned print companies; I like the atmosphere.

                Awesome. Well I think I am about out of questions… and time. Anything you would like to add?

                Thanks for thinking of me for this Twinterview. Keep on printing to #HelpPrintThrive.

                Filed Under: Community Tagged With: Jamie McLennan, Klout, print industry, Twinterview

                A “Twinterview” with Cammie Swegman of iPresort

                August 22, 2012 by Jeff McRitchie Leave a Comment

                Cammie-Swegman-bm-content-1This week for Printer Profiles, we chatted with Cammie Swegman of iPresort. IPresort, previously known as Total Fulfillment, is a mailshop in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Over the years, they have evolved into a distributor of presorted mail and marketing materials, specializing in affordable mailings of 500-500,000 pieces. Cammie was kind enough to be a part of our first Twitter interview, a novel idea for us both. 

                Tell me your background, how you got started in this industry. Did you grow up involved in print?

                My mom was editor at a small newspaper. She also had to do some of the reporting and I got to meet musicians and other interesting people when she would take me. I used to love watching the big presses. I also love the smell. I think it’s in our blood because my son got a journalism degree. 

                Sounds fun! Your son was probably exposed at an early age as well, I would imagine. Sandy Hubbard told us printers needed to recruit kids young, before they dislike getting dirty or choose another profession.

                Yes, I agree with her. I read your great profile on Sandy and was surprised at things we have in common. Young people are the future of everything so that includes print. The trick is how do we get them excited about it?

                Good question. So did you start out your career in print?

                Yes. I started at a small shop running multiliths and AB Dicks. Then I did darkroom work and burned plates. I loved the process. There’s something gratifying about seeing something evolve onto paper. Like magic. But with more hard work than waving a wand. That was back in the days when layouts were done with wax and little rollers. I didn’t do that part. Oh, and blue pencils. I’m not a patient person so I liked seeing the end product in a relatively short period of time.

                I think there’s something to holding a book in your hand while reading it. I haven’t been able to embrace digital book technology

                eReaders are great for traveling but at home I love to hold a book, too. Can’t get author autographs on eReaders.

                I agree the results are more tangible. I watch Google analytics for results, very different from having something physical to show

                True for me, too. Although, Google Analytics are fun in their own way. I think I’m lucky to be able to enjoy both. I see tangible things are making a come back. I just read that many still prefer news in print.

                I can relate to that! Tell me about iPresort.

                Thanks for asking! We started in 1993 as Total Fulfillment. We couldn’t get the URL, so we went with iPresort. It was well before iPhones, etc. At iPresort we are primarily a mail shop. Shaun started the company after being on the buying side of print and fulfillment. We used to do POS & literature fulfillment and get a lot jobs from print shops and print brokers. When printers added mail to their list of services, we started handling print, as well. But years ago I worked in small print shops.Our customers kept asking if we could handle more and more of their mail and mail was more profitable so we did less fulfillment. These days we also do managed email and custom WordPress plugins.

                Nice to grow from demand like that. I noticed that you’re based in Dallas. How far does your business stretch?

                Yes, but with the help of local meet up groups and events, we’ve pumped up our online SEO and have customers from all over the US.

                Awesome, good for you guys! What is your role at the company?

                I do a little of almost everything. I run tabbers, inkjets, clean bathrooms, I do customer care and social media. I don’t run equipment as often these days but I still manage jobs. 

                That is quite the range! Is it a small company?

                Yes, we are a small company. Most of our customers are small companies, although some are national, and we can relate to them.

                Personally, I’m a big fan of local businesses working together. There’s a huge push right now for local businesses here in Oregon. Is it the same way for you?

                Yes. We just attended a meet up about improving local search results for that very reason. The majority of our customers are local.  

                How have you noticed print evolving over the years?

                Of course the obvious change is digital print. We can now customize individual mail pieces like never before.

                How so? Give me an example.

                Print and technology are hand in hand, so both are always changing. I don’t think the Harry Potter newspapers are far-fetched.

                Wow, that just blows my mind! I’m saying this as Chelsea, not as MyBinding, but I’m slightly print illiterate, so I had no idea that was even possible!

                You mean the Harry Potter newspapers?

                That is just amazing to me, everything that can be done. Sandy shared similar things with Tarragon and I

                Really shows how technology supports print and vice versa. You always hear that ‘content is king’ but really ‘data is king’.

                ‘Content is king’ is definitely the motto in my world but data backs up the content.

                And if you have customer data you can really fine tune campaigns, can’t you?

                Yes, Cammie, you can pinpoint customers better with exact data. To learn more about what Cammie and iPresort can do for you, check out their website: https://ipresort.com/

                Tune in next week for an inside look at the world of Jamie McLennan.

                Filed Under: Community Tagged With: Cammie Swegman, iPresort

                How to Make Your Own Chore Charts

                August 21, 2012 by Jeff McRitchie Leave a Comment

                chore-charts-bm-content-1With Summer winding down and back-to-school on its way, now is a great time to start getting your kids settled into a routine. For many parents, that can mean instituting (or reinstituting) a chore chart. Chore charts are easy to make and even easier to find online. The information added will depend highly on your child’s age, abilities, needs, etc. Recently two of our employees, Chelsea and Tarragon, got together with our children (six between the two of us!) and created individual chore charts. Here’s how we did it.

                First, we went to ChoreCharts.com and picked out exactly what we needed. ChoreCharts.com has hundreds of styles and designs, and not just for chores. On this site, we found options for chore charts, behavior charts, and reward charts. Even with six kids of all different ages, we were able to find designs that matched each child’s personality.

                As alternative, you could create your own chart in Excel with specific things, such as your child’s name, what type of chart it is, what is expected, days of the week, measures for rewards, etc. Once you’ve customized your chart, simply print it out. You could even use paper printed with a pale design and get the same look we did with the benefit of having exactly the image and text you want.

                Either way, the first step is to choose a chart and print. You may choose to mount your chart onto colored cardstock to add a border as well as support. For this demonstration, we used a lady bug chore chart without a backing.

                Next, we laminated each chart. This process is so simple that Tarragon’s pre-teen daughter, Alex Rose, was able to do this without any help. Granted, this was not her first experience with a laminator. In their house, things are laminated often and she has been taught how to safely use this particular laminator. Plus, there were two adults supervising the entire process.

                chore-charts-bm-content-2

                1. First, Alex put the chart into a laminating pouch, lining it up carefully. Laminating pouches come in a variety of thicknesses, ranging from three mil up to ten mil on average. The higher the mil, the thicker the laminate, the more protected your materials will be. For our purposes, we used five mil laminate.

                2. Next, she put the pouch into a laminating carrier. Carriers are always a good idea to use, even if your machine doesn’t require one. Carriers protect the rollers from coming into contact with the laminate. As a result, your machine will last longer and your laminated materials will be smoother and cleaner.

                3. After the materials in the laminating pouch are lined up in the carrier, Alex inserted the carrier into the laminator, crease end first.

                4. As she gently fed the carrier into the laminator, the machine grabbed onto it and took over. Lamination works fairly quickly, even on this home device. This specific laminator is the GBC Creative 9, a nine-inch pouch laminator perfect for home and small office applications. The laminator pulled the item through, sealing as it goes.

                5. Alex watched to make sure it stayed straight. When it appeared to be slightly crooked, a light tug kept the carrier from jamming the materials.

                6. Just to make sure it didn’t fall and wrinkle, she waited for it to finish. The laminator could just as easily have been placed further on the table so that upon exiting it would simply lay flat.

                7. There you have it, a perfectly laminated chore chart! While we took several pictures to be able to show the entire process start to finish, the whole thing only took a few minutes.

                And here is a close up of the finished product:

                chore-charts-bm-content-3This is a great project you can do with your kids to get them more interested in completing a chore chart. For more fun craft ideas, check back next Monday to see what happens when Mom find your stuff lying around the house.

                Filed Under: Community Tagged With: chore charts, laminate, Laminating, laminator, making chore charts

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