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Yep. VPNs are under-rated by many people but without one you can be pretty vulnerable. I'm only medium nerdy but still do a lot online. A VPN isn't ideal, but a good one does work. Over a few months the VPN has dramatically cut the amount of spam I receive in my email. The story I wrote only...

Got VPN? By Noel Ward, Editor@Large Just because you’re not paranoid doesn’t mean someone isn’t out to get you. And there are now more ways to get you than ever. Printers are visible targets and if you haven’t done so already you should take some steps to say safe. On the business level the...

Ransomware at Play By Noel Ward, Editor@Large The bad guy penetrated your computer system while you were sleeping. His ransomware landed while you were driving to work, locking up your files, which are inaccessible behind his encryption. Now you’re having a bad day before your second cup of...

Got ERP? By Noel Ward, Editor@Large A lot of butts were in chairs at recent conference for a session on ERP systems, aka Enterprise Resource Planners. ERPs are complex software offerings that purportedly provide business owners with the info they need to run their businesses more efficiently...

Postpress Opportunities and More By Noel Ward, Editor@Large You may be wondering how to replace some of the revenue lost in the downturn of commercial print. There is no overall answer but there are ways for some shops to generate new lines of business. Do what you do well You’re good at...

Good input. Thanks. I considered using a standard survey format ( have written around 100 mail and phone questionnaires). instead, I have noted that people can respond to as few or as many as they wish. As I noted, this is like a big focus group (I've done about 50 of those) and open-ended...

Looking for Mr. Goodbar By Noel Ward, Editor@Large So after 30-plus days I have had a whopping single response to my plea for your insights on your business. More than 400 people have seen the request, less than the usual number who read my articles. My sole response came from a chap in Europe...

Growing Your Business Marketing is like commercial fishing By Noel Ward, Editor@Large In response to one of my stories some readers suggested ways of expanding a business. This is good! The things they provided were good starting points but were positioned as marketing even though they were...

Making Print Cool By Noel Ward, Editor@Large Having trouble hiring? You’re not alone and the print industry is not unique. One part is a lack of skilled workers because many are ageing out or retiring. Another is there are people who seem allergic to hard work. And part of it is that not...

Your Turn So Tell Me…. By Noel Ward, Editor@Large I’ve been visiting and talking with printers for a long time. On a good day I have a somewhat decent understanding of the inner workings of the printing business. It is definitely not the easiest way to make a living. It’s time to write about...

The Truth about Light Production You May not Know This By Noel Ward, Editor@Large "The definition of light production is not what it was ten years ago. Market dynamics change and so do the definitions,” affirms Andre D’Urbano. As Vice President of Sales at RISO he may have a handle on this...

Recycle This! By Noel Ward, Editor@Large A few times a week I find some aggrandizing press release about how some name-brand package goods company is rolling out new packaging claimed to be recyclable and reduce a carbon footprint. You’ve probably seen this too. The skeptical me wonders how...

drupa has little to do with print Don’t drink the KoolAid. It’s just a trade show. They don’t matter. by Noel Ward, Editor@Large I recently ran a story here about the illusion being perpetrated about the end of printing. Among the detractors of print are those who point to the decline of print...

The End of Printing? Bullcookies! By Noel Ward, Editor@Large There is no shortage of people claiming the days of print are over. They say we’ll soon be reading off screens, that only packaging will survive Bullcookies. There’s no denying that the number of print businesses is decreasing, as...

I didn't read all the responses so I may have missed it. Are you printing an application file or a PDF? I've had PDFs do some decidedly weird things, especially out on InDesign. If nothing else, the PDF may show the page as being flipped. If it does not it may be a RIP issue, as I think PDF...

AI is a Bit Like Having Kids (part 2) Coming soon to a print plant near you By Noel Ward, Editor@Large You stroll into the warehouse. Robots are pulling stock from the shelves and taking it out to the printers and presses on the shop floor. You have to be careful. The mobile bots “know” you’re...

Why AI is a Bit Like Having Kids (part 1) What matters is the training By Noel Ward, Editor@Large Artificial Intelligence is getting a lot of headlines but that doesn’t mean much. Blah, blah, blah. Yadda, yadda, yadda. What matters is how you can use it as a printer. You are probably already...

The dollars are there. But like most things, you have to know your market and work at it. But any printing pro can do this.

The Profitability of Living Large By Noel Ward, Editor@Large How wide can you go? Some commercial print shops I’ve visited have inkjet printers that print sheets up to 72-inches wide. Such wide or large format machines are one of the easiest ways for print providers to increase their offerings...

Just When you Least Expect It By Noel Ward, Editor@Large Meetings of print providers have one thing in common: that there’s stuff missing. While many print providers talk about the equipment they have, the good and bad of various software, relate anecdotes about customers, and complain about...