WhatTheyThink

Offset Lithography: Never More Relevant to Printing than Now

A printing process born in the 19th century remains the most-used method of graphic reproduction in the 21st. This is because of the tremendous technological advancements it has made and the rich profit opportunities its users continue to enjoy. A new editorial section, debuting here, will chart offset’s ongoing innovations and market success.

How Offset Ink Rises to the Challenge of High-Output Print Production

Technical advancements in offset lithographic ink typically don’t attract much notice. But they’re real, and they are as essential to quality as everything else that goes into offset litho presswork.

WhatTheyThink Launches Special Offset Lithography Section Led by Patrick Henry

In this latest episode of the "What's Up?" series, Patrick Henry speaks to WhatTheyThink's Eric Vessels about the launch of a new Offset section and why this technology deserves a focus area. They discuss advances in technologies and what members can expect from this new effort.

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Industry News

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Navigating the Print Industry Community: User Groups vs. Customer Advisory Councils

There are many ways to learn about the latest changes in the print and e-communication industry. Industry associations and the events they host are a good start. The next most valuable sources are the user groups and vendor customer councils. They let you dial into the specific information that will help you grow your business.

Core Publishing Solutions’ Brandon Nowak on Managing Massive Page Volume

In this video, sponsored by HP, Kevin Abergel talks with Brandon Nowak, Director of Print & Engineering for Core Publishing. Over the past five or six years, the book-printing company has been taking its legal printing business in a more commercial direction, producing billions of pages on a combination of offset and HP PageWide presses.

drupa 2024: A Preview

In anticipation of the upcoming drupa show, there is usually a “pre-drupa” media event. This has been the place for a sampling of the exhibitors to lay out what they see as their future direction and even pre-announce some of their latest technologies.

How Serious Are We, Really, About Saving the Planet?

Over the past couple of years, companies, governments, non-profits and individuals have made a lot of noise about achieving certain sustainability goals by 2030 (only six years away now) and Net Zero by 2050. How well are we doing? It’s a little shocking and scary!

Road to Drupa: Kyocera Belharra Photo Printing

Kyocera, very much like Fujifilm, Epson, and others, have been developing and supplying system components to print solution providers for years. Those developments have been at the cornerstone of many products in the market today. Kyocera (NIXKA) has been working on an inkjet photo printer for a while and this full color 1200 dpi grayscale system press is ready for its introduction during drupa 2024.

Industry Data

Printing Outlook 2024 - The WhatTheyThink Overview of the Current State of the Printing Industry

The Printing Outlook 2024 report provides detailed analysis of the latest WhatTheyThink Printing Industry Survey, the latest industry economic data and macroeconomic trends, as well as industry and cultural technological trends to look out for in 2024 and beyond.

Purchase Report

Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portal Establishments—2010–2021

According to County Business Patterns, in 2020 there were 8,947 establishments in NAICS 51913 (Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals). This category saw a net increase of 66% since 2010. In macro news, Q1 GDP is much lower than expected. Full Analysis

February Shipments: Well, At Least It’s Seasonal

February 2024 shipments came in at $6.01 billion, down from January’s $7.04 billion—and right between February 2021 and 2022. Full Analysis

Assorted Publishing Establishments—2010–2021

According to County Business Patterns, in 2021 there were 726 establishments in NAICS 511199 (All Other Publishing). This category saw a net decrease of 39% since 2010, although establishments spiked from 2020 to 2021. In macro news, estimates of Q1 GDP are running around +2%. Full Analysis

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WhatTheyThink Magazine is the resource for the Commercial Printing, Visual and Graphic Arts Industries. Industry experts share their ideas and technical knowledge on ways to improve operations.

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Around the Web

WhatTheyThink's weekly miscellany

Around the Web: Color Culture. Bard Birthplace? Control Controversy. Planetary Puzzle. Jukebox Johnny. Aldi Aisle. Crustacean Crash.

A new book explores “the implications of color and its cultural impact.” Was Shakespeare really born in the “Shakespeare Birthplace” in Stratford-upon-Avon? If you’re ever in Philadelphia, be sure to visit the largest typewriter company in the world. Reading The Hobbit à la the BBC’s Shipping Forecast. Do you prefer touchscreens or tactile controls? A new wireless lamp design uses rechargeable bulbs. Could a ninth planet be hiding behind Neptune? A reconstruction of a three-hour Dr. Johnny Fever radio show from episodes of “WKRP in Cincinnati” is the best playlist we have ever heard. 20% of Aldi’s revenue comes from its “Aisle of Shame.” Red Lobster may file for bankruptcy. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany. Read More

Around the Web: Met Medics. Type Tenets. Bend’s Blockbuster. Insurance Inflation. Follicle Fashion. Humdrum Handset. Bee Bandits. Clever Cutlery. Collaborative Condiment.

Inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s book conservation lab. A new book lays out the Universal Principles of Typography. 11 signs from around the country that evoke “pure Americana.” Mattel releases a team-based version of Scrabble. Physical media’s last stand. Car insurance premiums have sure kicked into overdrive. Textiles made from human hair may not be as creepy as they sound. HMD and Heineken introduce the Boring Phone. Battling the West’s “bee rustlers” would make for an interesting John Wayne film. Horatio Nelson’s “Knork.” Heinz and Mattel team up to launch “Barbiecue sauce.” All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany. Read More

Around the Web: Publishing Posters. Pyrotechnic Packaging. Mock Media. AI Aide. Agile ANYmal. Tail Tech. New Nova. Silent Solo. Dairy-esque Dye.

A new book celebrates the short-lived “literary poster” craze. A new zine looks at the art of fireworks packaging design. One of the most game-changing technologies in the history of civilization was affordable artificial light. A social media platform that doesn’t actually exist. A new wearable AI device. A four-legged dog-like robot can do parkour moves, freakishly enough. Jet suit racing is now a thing. A prehensile stabilizing tail for floating astronauts. Another upcoming celestial event. The decline of the guitar solo. Apparently it’s a real thing: Velveeta Hair Dye. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany. Read More

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Recent Discussion

Chuck Werninger on Road to drupa: Standard Finishing's Katelyn Pinch

Katelyn and Nick, the industry is glad to have your help, we have lots of work to do. You're exactly right, there's a tremendous lack of talent under age 55 so we hope you'll help us recruit more bright minds who are ready to lead the industry into t… Full comment Reply

Chuck Werninger on Core Publishing Solutions’ Brandon Nowak on Managing Massive Page Volume

Congratulations on reinventing your business by leveraging automation and best-in-class digital technology. The sky's the limit, well done! Reply

Jacob Aizikowitz on Xerox Statement on Production Print Strategy

The iGen played an important role in convincing my investors to trust the commercial outlook for XMPie; hence, it's saddening to see its end of life approaching. From 1995 to 1999, my team and I at Scitex developed software and hardware for a novel … Full comment Reply

Robert Godwin on Xerox Statement on Production Print Strategy

XEROX, the exemplar of a noun that became a verb and is now evolving to an extinct term. Reply

Patrick Henry on Xerox Statement on Production Print Strategy

It's hard to believe that the company that invented print on demand on the distribute-and-print model with the DocuTech platform has come to this. I guess it demonstrates that no matter how groundbreaking a new technology might be, innovation alone i… Full comment Reply