Monthly Archives: July 2015

New Paper Cutter Helps to Ramp Up Productivity at Adams Direct & Media Services

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073115.adams_direct_&_media_servicesCesar Zuluga works on the new 31.5″ Prism paper cutter at Adams Direct & Media Services

Business has blossomed for Adams Direct & Media Services (East Hanover, NJ), and their direct mail side is attracting larger clients. That growth has triggered various equipment upgrades, including the purchase of a 30″ Prism® paper cutter from Colter & Peterson (Paterson, NJ) in 2012 and recently, a 31.5″ Prism from the same source.

“They handle all our paper work such as brochures, letters and postcards,” says Jesse James, president of Adams Direct. “We are a 100% digital operation with nine presses and no sheet size larger than 14″x 26″. Depending on the size of the run, we typically process anywhere from 500 to 100,000 pieces of mail.” The Prisms, he says, are working 10 hours a day now, “but in a couple of months they’ll be needed for two shifts, six days a week.”

James notes that his Prism cutters are already getting a workout every week, and he’s been impressed with the many benefits they have to offer.

“So far they have met all our expectations,” he says. “The Prisms are very reliable, easy to operate, and our operators like them. They change out the blades on a regular basis, and it doesn’t take long to do.” Both are outfitted with the Microcut® computer control system.

The Prism cutters also have wokflow automation features that increase productivity. Connected to the plant’s JDF network, the cutters can store up to 100 preset cuts. “This is a big thing for us,” says James. “Our first cutter could store only 10 presets. Where you notice the difference is in multiple jobs with multiple cuts. It saves us a tremendous amount of time.”

Nearly everything that Adams Direct produces is customized variable data printing, 95% of which is mailed. The shop also uses an on-site postal office to optimize postage savings for its clients.

James, who began working at Adams Direct in 1986, has guided the company for the last 20 years. Owned by Lillian and Allan Adams, it serves insurance, healthcare and pharmaceutical clients in the Pennsylvania-New York-New Jersey area, with some national accounts as well. Adams Direct also offers cross media marketing and fulfillment and kitting services.

Time is a hard thing for any shop to replace. It’s another reason why James chose Colter & Peterson, North America’s largest independent paper cutter distributor.

“Our business is very time sensitive and we can’t afford to be down in any department.” he says. It’s a tough industry and very competitive, so being late on a deadline because of equipment downtime is not an option. The fact that Colter &  Peterson is only 30 minutes from us was a huge factor. From a service point of view, they are very responsive and have always had our best interests in mind.”

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Economic Recovery Failed to Save Dozens of Medium-Sized Print Firms in the NYC-Metro Area

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The New York City metro area lost medium-sized printing firms at a sharper rate than four other major metropolitan areas during the economic recovery, according to data compiled by print industry economist Dr. Joe Webb.

His numbers, published today by WhatTheyThink, span the period from 2010 (about one year into the recovery) through 2013 (the most recent year for which data are available) and are drawn from the Census Department’s County Business Patterns database. They indicate that the NYC metro area lost 75 medium-sized firms (10 to 49 employees) in the period as this sector declined from 513 to 438 establishments (-14.6%). This was a steeper drop among medium sized firms than occurred in the metropolitan areas of Los Angeles (-8.1%), Chicago (-13.0%), Washington, D.C. (-4.8%), and San Francisco (-12.1%).

The NYC-metro firms didn’t necessarily vanish without a trace. “Many of these would have shifted into the small employee range, while others would have closed or consolidated,” Webb writes. An upside of consolidation may be the fact that large firms (50 or more employees) declined by only -5.7% in the NYC-metro area, the smallest such loss among the five cities examined.

The NYC-metro area saw an overall drop of -10.1% in establishments of all sizes, higher than the -7.7% loss for the rest of the county (i.e., exclusive of the five cities, which represent about one quarter of all U.S. printing establishments).

Partly responsible for the decline is the reality that the key business advantage for metro area printers, proximity to metro-based customers, is not as potent as it once was. “There was a time when being geographically close to customers was critical,” notes Webb, “(but) since the advent of digital proofing and various surrogates, and e-commerce, geography is less of an issue than it used to be.” But, he still rates personal interaction as important to sales and customer retention: “It may no longer be a 10, but it’s probably an 8.5.”

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Museum of Printing to Expand to a New Home; New Building Also Will House Romano Graphics Arts Library

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071715.museum_of_printingThe Museum of Printing, formerly based in North Andover, MA, has announced that it has secured a new site and will soon begin moving its contents there. After 13 years at its current location the museum is moving to Haverhill, MA, along Route 495, north of Boston in the Merrimack Valley.

The new building better suits the museum’s evolving mission of education, preservation, and exhibition of graphics arts materials and equipment. The new facility is also on a single floor and is fully handicapped accessible, with dedicated areas for workshops and lectures. The Museum will also expand its role of hosting educational events

“The relocated facility will house a world-class printing and graphic arts library and museum,” said Frank Romano, president. “There will be more dedicated space for exhibits, events, and workshops, plus stores for letterpress and related equipment. It will also offer more interactive exhibits.”

Two Libraries in One

A unique feature of the museum will be that it will house two libraries. One, for general reference, includes typographic books, type specimen books, and specialty publications. The second will be the Romano Graphics Arts Library for scholars and researchers. This collection consists of over 5,000 books, many rare, plus extensive graphic arts ephemera. Part of the Museum’s collections includes the original type drawings used to create US Linotype fonts.

“The Museum of Printing has existed for 37 years with no endowment. A passionate group of members and volunteers has made this possible,” said Kim Packard, founder and executive director. “Expanded exhibit space will make the Museum/Library the largest printing and graphics arts museum in the world and the only one with a collection of phototypesetting machines and documentation.”

The museum will remain open at its current location in North Andover throughout the summer and fall of 2015. The new facility will open in the early summer of 2016. Currently on exhibit is the Lance Hidy retrospective, the Anna Hogan wood cuts, and a collection of Mark Fowler prints. A major fundraising program will be inaugurated to upgrade the new facility and tailor it to the Museum’s needs.

About the Museum

The Museum of Printing preserves the past of printing for future generations to understand the impact of printing on today’s world. Showcasing a large collection of letterpress tools and presses, the museum is also the proud home to the only collection of historic phototypesetting systems in the world. The 25,000-sq.-ft. museum is also home to one of the largest collections of print-related books, ephemera, and typeface art.

The museum contains two 90′ galleries, a large lobby, a library, and access to the library’s four floors of archival stacks, making it an ideal educational field-trip destination for local school systems. For more information, visit www.museumofprinting.org.

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