Monthly Archives: November 2008

Northern lights

By , Friday, 28 November 2008, 2 Comments

Harrogate. Lovely place. Up north, just past the end of the M1. Spa town. Nice fresh air that hasn’t been through as many exhaust pipes and nostrils as it has down here in the filthy overcrowded south.

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What’s in a name?

By , Wednesday, 26 November 2008, 1 Comment

What’s in a name? Some recent news from the States gave me reason to pause and consider this. Florida firm Paramount Printing, a print company not far off from celebrating its centenary, is changing its name to Paramount Performance Marketing.

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Worcestershire woes

By , Monday, 24 November 2008, Be the first to comment

Judging by the number of calls and emails already this morning, it feels like this will be a week when I shall need eyes in the back of my head, a fully-charged mobile phone at all times, and a permanent hotline to the PrintWeek newsdesk in order to keep abreast of developments on a number of hot stories.

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Online mag moves

By , Friday, 21 November 2008, 2 Comments

Lots of comment and coverage today about a decision from across the big pond, where troubled US publisher Ziff Davis has decided to cease publication of the printed version of PCMag. From the February 2009 edition it will be an online title only, with a new digital version for those who like the page-turning feel. There’s a link to the Zinio digital version in the editor’s letter explaining the decision to can the print version. Irony of ironies, this didn’t actually work when I tried to access it, I get error code 8. The joys of the digital age, eh?

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Standard formats stifling innovation?

By , Thursday, 20 November 2008, Be the first to comment

Do print management companies stifle innovation? Discuss.

This was a point that came up at the recent Vision in Print conference, where GI Solutions’ Robin Welch spoke compellingly about his company’s strategy of continuous innovation. “We’re an innovative business” is one of those phrases parroted by pretty much everybody these days, but few companies truly manage it. GI has adopted a structured approach towards being innovative, and although this might sound like a contradiction in terms it really does seem to work.

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Paper: an increasingly precious commodity

By , Wednesday, 19 November 2008, Be the first to comment

Paper prices are a hot topic right now, as publishers and printers grapple with the implications of having to pay rather more for this fundamental commodity.

As a result, I’m sure we will see more closures of marginal magazine titles, and there will be reductions in page formats, paginations and print runs, while other products may well move online. Many publishers have contracted prices that expire at the end of the year, after which some tough budget reviews will undoubtedly be taking place.

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Hefty HBOS pack provides short-term boost

By , Tuesday, 18 November 2008, 1 Comment

The great day is here and my Lloyds TSB/HBOS offer documents have arrived. The pack is, as predicted, a whopper. The scheme document is 352pp plus covers. Also included is a 16pp Q&A, a 4pp voting form, and a pre-paid envelope. The whole polybagged lot weighs in at getting on for a kilo. Ooof. Poor postie.

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BGP: friends in high places?

By , Monday, 17 November 2008, Be the first to comment

Following the comment trail on the BGP “sustainable pricing” story over the past few days has been both enjoyable and illuminating. I’m just a bit disappointed that there has been no contribution on the matter thus far from BPIF chief executive Michael Johnson.

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BGP beyond belief

By , Friday, 14 November 2008, 1 Comment

Jonathan Ross, he of the notorious potty-mouth, has a new book out. Its title is “Why do I say these things?”. To my mind this would be an appropriate caption for Bob Caley’s picture on the story where he proclaims that BGP is the only UK magazine printer with a sustainable business model.

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FT flying the flag for savvy spending

By , Wednesday, 12 November 2008, 1 Comment

Readers in the London area may have noticed a clever Financial Times advertising campaign that recently appeared on billboards in the capital. The billboards look like they have been stripped of their posters, leaving behind fragments of poster paper and paste. In one corner there’s a small area in the FT’s trademark salmon saying “Global downturn. What’s the first mistake businesses make?” The copy directs us online to find out more at www.ft.com/budgets.

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