Realization

[gordo]

 

[Possumgal]

Ain't it the truth, ain't it the truth.

 

[kaiserwilhelm]

I blame the Epson 7500 (or whatever number it was)

I started in 1990. Prepress was not free, because the film and Matchprint material cost alone to make a two sided 8 page form was like $500.
If you stopped a press for a fix, there WAS a price to be paid.

Along came platesetters and the that darn Epson. Suddenly, we gave it away. Not just the cost of the proof, but the plate.
Then, we started to give away our talent.

I work with digital presses now that go 500 fpm producing 17 million feet per month of digital direct mail.
I have shouted from the rooftop...if we give away the programming, we might as well shut down.
The "value" to our customer from charging them for this essential part of the job is this - it actually makes them give a d@mn about looking at the proof.
I have a job with 1,000 iterations right now. Think anyone is looking at those iterations?
They want me to program it.
They want the press to deliver it
But, because we give away the "craft", they see no value in insuring it is correct.

That bodes very badly for the industry to come.

 

[gordo]

I blame the Epson 7500 (or whatever number it was)

There's an old saying (and don't take this personally): "It's a poor craftsman that blames his tools"

 

[kaiserwilhelm]

Gordo - my craft has never been better. I am paid more and on more solid ground than when the 7500 came out. My point is that the advent of that technology allowed the customer to demand for free what should not have been free. We (the printing industry) is to blame. All chasing after an ever decreasing share of the buck.