September 29th 2008

Reply-to:	randy@whattheythink.com
To:	EMKAYDIST@HOTMAIL.COM

We are planning to feature interviews with some of the leading printing executives in the industry later in this year and I was hoping you would participate. The interview will be great exposure for your company as well as informative for our readers. Printers aren’t the only ones who read WhatTheyThink.com – thousands of print buyers do as well!

I have included a few questions below. Please answer them and include as much detail as possible. You can either reply to this email with your answers or spend a bit more time on it and send a Word attachment later.  Also include a current bio and photo if you have them.  We’ll include this in our piece as well.

- Tell us about yourself and a little history of your company. (This is for the introduction – include your title, location of the company, your responsibilities and type of services provided at your location.)

redundant. deleted.

-         What are the biggest challenges your company faces today?

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–        • Finding and retaining real talent. Craftsmen. And competition from overseas. China. Brazil.

- Where do you see the biggest opportunities in the future for your company?

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-         • It’s looking like printing my own currency to be the next viable move. Either that or bootleg NFL tickets on Sundays. Opportunities? I’m guessing picking up clientele that lost their printers/designers during the hurricanes ie; Ike, Katrina, Gustav etc. Someone has to benefit.

- Looking to 2009, how do you think the economy will do and what strategies can printers take to guard against further economic weakness?

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-         • Today is Monday September 29^th and we just saw the biggest DOW drop ever! 1 trillion dollars just evaporated from the market. is that possible.?

-         The first time I was laid off in 1994 the initial warning sign was a drop in stock points and dividends by DuPont and 3M. Know this……….I watch 3M and Dupont now and all it tells me is that we are in for a bumpy ride. Again.

-         Guard against further weakness? Shelter any liquid assets somehow, move 80% of holdings out of risk areas. Borrow as much money as you can right now and get your rates locked in tight.

-         Or put your money in GEO which is the end result.

-         We incarcerate more people than anyone in the world.

-         Bring on a depression and see how much crime we have.

-         My money is going with a company that builds prisons. GEO.

-         Odd answer from a graphic designer? Read on.

- Has your company considered becoming certified or implemented any other environmental initiatives? What are your thoughts on the push for printers to become more “environmentally friendly” or “green”?

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-         •  F anymore changes in commercial printing. I worked with MEK and Toluene when I did my apprenticeships. Birth Defects.

-         Need I say more?

-         We cleaned up that, the inks are soy based now, we use enviro friendly cleaners and no gas/toluene. There is no more alcohol in most shops anymore and most places recycle their own water to control costs and damage to the environment. Even in Flexo things have improved dramatically. You can print now and not get dirty, eat the ink, work in a white tile room and keep the sewer clean at the same time.

-         Printers have done more over the years to reduce their carbon footprint than any other industry on the planet.

-           Because we are better than them. Always have been.

- Describe the type of equipment used at your location and any recent investments you have made or plan to make.

-         Currently the main workstation:

-         3.0Ghz P4 Prescott

-         Asus Tek P4P800E

-         4GB DDR Crucial Memory

-         ATI X1650 512MB Ram

-         1 Terabyte of storage internal.

-         500GB Network server.

-         Twin Samsung Syncmaster 22” 226BW

-         Office near a nice shooting range.  And a nice fishing spot.

- What effect has digital had on your business or the printing industry in general?

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–         • It has definitely opened the door to more competition. I get emails from printers in China and India trying to get my business all the time. Costs, margins and prices are being driven through the floor.

-         I worked for a VDP that outsourced much of its non-date sensitive/long runs to Bangalore India. It would have been impossible for this expansion if there was not digital printing.

- Tell us about your customers. What are some of the challenges they have presented to you and how do you work to meet those challenges?

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-         • The list is extensive. We are constantly educating our clients. They cant keep up with what is possible.

-         Challenges? Explaining what is not possible.

-         Like lowering costs. Shine it.

- Does your company belong to any trade associations? Why or why not?

-         • hell yeah. I love industry people. You can’t solve everything alone. We need peers to bounce new ideas off of. People that we need to share our ideas with before we implement them. Be it managerial procedures or new manufacturing principles. You have to see who is who, where they stand and how much they will tolerate.

-         • Professional Affiliations

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-         Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia

-         Business Volunteers for the Arts® BVA

-         Partners By Design

-         National Association of Photoshop Professionals

-         Graphic Arts Association

-         Adobe Advisory Panel

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- Do you attend trade shows?  Why or why not?  Which ones and tell us what you saw or did there?

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-         • as many as possible. At most shows I make sure there are classes involved. At least a day or two with CEUs. I enjoy the Adobe and NAPP events. I normally meet with people I have been working with or for over the internet but have not met because of our proximity to each other. It’s great to put faces with the names of colleagues. I have found I relate well with people in the NE Atlantic region.

-         Seminar/Class PS World Miami 2006 with Jay Maisel was one of my favorite memories of a trade show class.

- Is there anything else you would like to add?

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-         I love print. Always have. It’s all I will ever want to do.

• • Matthew 215.796.2765

Thanks for your help with this.  It really is one of the best ways to inform our audience of over 55,000 about what is going on in the industry.  We’re called “WhatTheyThink” for a reason.

Thanks again.  Any questions, feel free to let me know.

Please remember to send a photo if one is available.
Randy Davidson
President & CEO
WhatTheyThink.com