The "No Print Day" Initiative

[prwhite]

Recently, one of our industry suppliers announced a "No Print Day" Initiative. Almost immediately, PIA President & CEO, Mike Makin responded by saying that: "(This is an) insult to the more than 800,000 Americans who owe their direct livelihood to our industry”.

PIA also responded by posting a "The Value of Print" flip book. This is well worth taking a look at.

 

[gordo]

Thanks for the head's up.

gordo

 

[Happyprinter]

Hey PR, who was the industry supplier that made that strange suggestion?

 

[gordo]

Hey PR, who was the industry supplier that made that strange suggestion?

I've got the baseball bat ready

Gordo

 

[james.bredenhof]

Hey PR, who was the industry supplier that made that strange suggestion?

The supplier is Toshiba. [ Link ]. (I wasn't much of a fan of Toshiba's products before this gaffe, but now…)

The Value of Print book is really good; Nicely designed and thoughtfully presented!

 

[OkiTech]

Lets not give them an idea to contact ConEdison to spark a "no elecricity" day. Hence, if this spreads out there could be "no subway day" in NYC, Hospitals may announce "No life support equipment day" , "No deliveries day" so just hold it ladies

 

[Greg_Firestone]

I can just see the headlines...

"Toshiba reports disappointing participation in their 2012 "No Print Day". Analyst and Marketing experts have weighed in and it seems that a lack of signage and printed promo material are to blame. Toshiba indicates that next years "No Print Day" will be heavily promoted with signs, flyers, postcards, posters, and direct mail in order to help grow audience participation"

 

[MailGuru]

I think Toshiba needs a new Ad Agency..............

 

[Mark]

I suggest "No Toshiba year!"

 

[prwhite]

Andy Tribute makes an interesting comment on WhatTheyThink about Toshiba's Marketing Idea: "I have to say however that I have seldom and probably never, seen such a stupid marketing message as that promoted by Toshiba in its proposal of a National No-Print Day for October 23, 2012." Andy Sparks some very interesting comments, too.

And yet another another rebuttal by Two Sides paper.

 

[gordo]

Being indignant isn't going to be very effective. To make an impact it may be better to comment directly on Toshiba's public sites:

National No-Print Day | Facebook

Tree Birch | LinkedIn

Email this Toshiba's contact: [email protected]

And if you can find his email address-the guy that's responsible for this campaign: Bill Melo, vice president of marketing, services and solutions, Toshiba America Business. He's on LinkedIn.com here: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/bill-melo/3/918/7b5?_mSplash=1

If you own any Toshiba printers and you know who sold it to you, contact the sales rep and tell them you are considering turning of your printer not just for one day but permanently. And when it comes time to replacing your device, Toshiba equipment will not be considered for purchase. That might get their attention.

Best, gordo

 

[D Ink Man]

Also heard from another source that the Toshiba employess will be restricted to use of toilet paper in the companies lavatories. Might be a good day for them to take a sick or vacation day. I am sure not FSC approved. It could be, National Bring Your Corn Cob to Work Day. Thanks Toshiba, for nothing.

 

[juliedpc]

The problem is that people, like whatever marketing "genius" at Toshiba came up with this ill-conceived No Print Day, act with absolutely no real intelligence or understanding of what trees are in danger and require "saving." There IS a deforestation problem in the world, but it happens to be in the Amazon, where the rain forest is being torn out for timber and to make room for cattle grazing. That has NOTHING to do with the paper industry or print. All of the banks and utility companies that ask us to "go green" and "save trees" by opting for electronic only statements are really just asking us to save them the cost of printing and postage – it's got nothing to do with saving anything except their money. But so many people don't think one level beyond what they're fed at the surface and as a result, they propagate more and more stupid "green" campaigns like this Toshiba No Print Day thing.

We can only hope that these folks can be educated through programs like Printing Industries' "Value of Print" and come to understand the facts. Value of Print | Value of Print Help get the word out!

 

[Deleted member 16349]

Toshiba probably has made a foolish campaign. What else is new.

The real issue is what form of distribution of information is the lowest cost and least impact on the environment.

We are in a transition period where it is difficult to see what is important. If the generation of electricity becomes possible without the introduction of CO2 and can be cheaply done, which is potentially possible with some of the new energy concepts, then the printing of paper may lose out. Paper may lose not because there is any problem with using paper, which is a renewable resource but because it may be more expensive and a bigger burden on the environment due to the need to transport it.

New materials for packaging could be developed that cost less to produce and process.

I suspect the key to what will actually happen is related to how the development of new low cost and environmentally friendly electrical energy technologies will progress.

The argument about the value of paper and print is shortsighted and it seems much of the indignation is more related to self interest, which is understandable but is not something that will determine the final situation.

 

[Greg_Firestone]

No More No Print Day!!!

No More No Print Day!!!

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 20, 2012--This is a follow-up from our press release issued on June 13. The following message from Michael Makin has been sent to the Printing Industries of America membership.

June 20, 2012

Dear Member:

I am pleased to report that as a result of protests by Printing Industries of America, its members, and the industry as a whole, Toshiba has agreed to abort its National No-Print Day!

Last evening I had a lengthy conversation with Bill Melo, Toshiba USA's senior vice president of marketing, services and solutions regarding its ill-conceived initiative.

Mr. Melo was quite "concerned” with how the campaign had been received by the commercial printing industry and stressed it was never the intent of his company to disenfranchise or insult our industry. He explained that the
campaign was always directed at the office marketplace where he opined there was needless waste.

My retort to Mr. Melo was that if this was truly the case, his campaign should have been more specific. It was not promoted as "let's save office waste day” but rather National No-Print Day. I argued this was tantamount to having a "Do Not Walk” day or "Do Not Eat” day and that the grassroots response from our industry was only to be expected.

I reiterated our position that Toshiba abandon the notion of a No-Print day. If it wants to focus its eyes on the office marketplace, its campaign should be centered there and not by extension implicate or disparage America's printing industry.

Mr. Melo did commit to going back to the drawing board and assured me the promotion on its website will be removed and that any re-launch of a campaign directed at office waste will explicitly explain that this in no way references the legitimate commercial printing industry and its importance to the American economy. I thanked Mr. Melo for his swift response to our concerns but cautioned that any follow-up campaign containing misleading statements regarding paper would be subject to similar scrutiny, particularly from the paper industry. He indicated he would be making an outreach to this sector as well.

Thank you to everyone who joined in our effort to protest this initiative. This is a major victory for PRINT IN AMERICA!

Sincerely,

Michael Makin
President & CEO
Printing Industries of America
Program Contact:
Lisa Rawa
[email protected]
+ 1 412-259-1810

Media Contact:
Megan Flynn
[email protected]
+1 412-259-1837

Printing Industries of America and Its Affiliates–Your National and Local Resource

 

[gordo]

Bravo!

Gordo

 

[meddington]

An ill conceived campaign perhaps, But maybe now that its dead, everyone can stop patting themselves on the back and perhaps realize that paper industry initiated reforestation is more geared toward self interest/preservation, and not truly to any benefit of the ecosystems it depletes. Genetically engineered, monoculture plantations can have a negative impact on the environment and biodiversity. Can it be done better?

 

[meddington]

If changing from print to electronic media simply shifts the environmental impact from one source to another, than another option is to reduce consumption. Hence, "No Print Day". It could just as easily have been "Turn Off You Monitor" day, or "If Its Yellow, Let It Mellow" day, but its harder to come up with a lovable mascot for those.

 

[Deleted member 16349]

If changing from print to electronic media simply shifts the environmental impact from one source to another, than another option is to reduce consumption. Hence, "No Print Day". It could just as easily have been "Turn Off You Monitor" day, or "If Its Yellow, Let It Mellow" day, but its harder to come up with a lovable mascot for those.

I am with you on the "reduction of many things" point of view.

On the self serving side, one could also introduce the argument that if something is so good for the environment etc. then one should do a lot more of it. Let's print a lot more useless material and recycle it.

Recycling is good, sustainable paper processes are good, so then printing more must be good. Some how this does not seem like a good argument.

Printing may be the lesser of two or more evils but it is not necessarily a good thing to increase on its own.

I have been amazed by the level of indignation of the industry for the "No Print Day" promotion, while I have seen much less indignation regarding all the waste produced by the offset industry over the last twenty years related to problems in the process that could have been attacked and corrected.

It seems that this new environmental religion only comes when ones business livelihood is threatened and not from some deeper set of values. On this issue, I think the industry "doth protest too much".

 

[Al Ferrari]

Genetically engineered, monoculture plantations can have a negative impact on the environment and biodiversity.

Please explain how that genetically engineered, monoculture has a negative impact when carried out in a restricted area such as a plantation.

Al