You might call this A Tale of Two Pepys, both of whom were involved with printing. The famous Samuel Pepys lived in the 1600’s. The other lived around the early 1900’s. The latter may or may not be real. He could well be an editor or writer for The Printing Trade News using the pseudonym, and writing in the style of Samuel Pepys.
Is there such a thing as too much due diligence? Dictionaries define it as “research and analysis of a company or organization done in preparation for a business transaction.” Some people love the act of researching a purchase. They’ll spend hours investigating a $50 gadget before they commit. On the other end of the spectrum are those who leave with a $50,000 car an hour after walking into the dealership on a whim.
Most of us fall somewhere in between. But then there are those who seriously overdo their diligence (pun in
When you hear about creativity in the printing industry, what do you think about? Maybe designers, ad agencies, graphic artists, or similar creative types come to mind. The fact is that creativity is important in all jobs from design through to print finishing and mailing. Whenever you try to solve a problem you are turning to a new idea. That too, is a form of creativity.
One effective way to get fresh ideas and inspiration for improving our productivity is to look at other industries. While I was watching a recent video about the latest Red Bull Air Races, it dawned on me that there are several similarities between the printing profession and competitive air racing. Because of the competitive nature of both industries, I figured there was bound to be something we could take away for our own personal and professional use.
Imagine a pressman from the 1940’s being transported to a modern digital printing department. He wouldn’t know where to start. Now imagine a bindery equipment operator from the same era dropped into a post-press department today. It probably wouldn’t take him or her long to find their way around the guillotine cutter, the folding machine, maybe a saddle stitcher, and start producing work. There would be questions, but the underlying technologies, despite being decades apart, are similar.
You might not think a poorly executed phone call from a sales person could lead to a discussion on business skills and the meaning of life, but it happens here at Technifold USA. Strange behavior from one caller had us asking why some sales people are afraid to admit they’re sales people.
Imagine this: your customer comes to you with a special bookbinding project. There is only one copy, it’s 800 pages long, it’s entirely hand illustrated and hand written on hand-made paper. Your binding method must be very sturdy in order to withstand repeated heavy handling. It must be artistically pleasing to some of the most famous and demanding artists in the world. And oh yes, it took the author untold years to complete to his perfectionist satisfaction.
There is a funny tendency in human beings to undermine their very own efforts at succeeding. Maybe it’s nature or nurture or a combination of both. Most of us at one time or another (me included) are guilty of occasional ‘self-sabotage.’ Here are five signs that you might be dooming yourself to falling short of your potential and harming your career.
My first day in the printing industry made me feel like I was one step closer to being a rock star. I had moved to New York City in the late 70’s, telling my parents I was going there to attend college. The real reason was that I wanted to join a rock-n-roll band, get a record deal and tour the world. You had to go to New York or LA to make that happen.
