Gimbel & Associates Blog

Wide-format printing, a large and resilient category, continues to show potential for growth and profitability. If you haven’t delved into wide format, it can be a significant new revenue stream for your print operations.

Definitions vary, but for our purposes, wide format means inkjet devices with printing widths of roughly five feet and greater. Encompassing many applications—posters, banners, pop-ups, labels, back-lit displays, textiles, home décor, wall art, and packaging—it also excels at very short runs with variable printing and customization.

Roger P. Gimbel and Gail Gimbel, of Gimbel & Associates, have established a new scholarship fund honoring Hy and Audrey Gimbel. The Herman L. Gimbel and Audrey M. Gimbel Memorial Scholarship Fund, will be part of the Xplor Member Scholarship program, which offers financial assistance to Xplor members and their immediate families who are pursuing careers in the electronic document and communications industry.

Hy and Audrey are the parents of Roger and Gail Gimbel of Gimbel & Associates. They were pioneers in the printing industry, opening their first printing business in 1942.  Recognizing early on the need for on-demand copies of business documents in the 60’s, they were one of the first to develop the concept of quick copy centers.

In the first article of this two-part blog, we discussed the major considerations of a business plan for a start-up printing company. This time, we’ll look at other aspects that must be handled well to succeed in the printing industry.

Equipment and Software

If you’re like most printers, you love equipment. The speeds, the colors, the rhythmic whir of the sheet intake and output — they’re all mesmerizing. Even if you’re not awed by presses and laser cutters now, you will be. It’s inevitable.

Designing for print and designing for digital presentation can be quite different. Some aspects are common to both, such as visual appeal, a pleasing use of color, and effective space utilization. Other practices, techniques, and executions will differ.

Complimentary Webinar Available

Navigating Your Inkjet Journey -

Navigating Your Inkjet Journey is a two part session with Part 1 focusing on the discovery process in this on-line webinar presented by Randall Swope, Sr. Consultant - New Market Development for Gimbel & Associates. In conjunction with Xplor International, the webinar is free to all those who wish to attend. 

In The Discovery Process discussions feature key milestones required to identify and select the best fit for your needs. Randy will cover the growing demand for digital print and how inkjet is leading this growth. What is happening with inkjet technology evolution, and key factors for defining if inkjet is the right fit. Then we will delve into the development of the business case, a step not to be missed. The discovery process we will show you how to define the best opportunities for targeting customers and applications, as well as considerations for workflow, media, and finishing. We will then cover how to build customer value propositions for the inkjet business, and focus on how to prepare the sales force for selling inkjet value.

It is a lot to take in but the framework for the Discovery Process will help you to better structure your approach to inkjet opportunities!

About the Presenter:

Randall draws on more than 30 years of international sales and marketing experience including living in multiple overseas assignments and regional management for Developing Markets. He brings a wealth of talent to bear by managing client consulting projects; developing strategy; providing organizational and business analysis; and conducting sales training and seminars for customers.

Unlike one-dimensional digital ads, printed marketing materials connect with more of our senses. You can you see vividly printed pieces, but you can also touch, feel, and even smell them.

A printed piece appeals to us visually and makes us want to touch it. We become engaged at a deeper neurological level. This heightened response makes us more receptive to messages conveyed through print. Printers can intensify this haptic response with embellishments that add tactile appeal.

Printers have historically performed embossing, debossing, foiling, die cutting, spot varnishing, and raised UV in post-press production, often outsourcing the work. Today, printers can embellish documents in-house. Some techniques can even be performed inline on an offset or digital press.

Printing can be alluring. The technology is fascinating and the end result, with its popping colors and textured finishes, can be a feast for the eyes. But behind the fancy ink and substrates, there’s a business to run. If you’ve ever considered starting a print company, make sure you have a firm handle on all the variables before jumping into the business. Also, keep in mind that some of the biggest printing firms started as a dream in a basement or a garage.

Establishing or expanding a printing business can be a complex undertaking that requires a lot of strategizing, planning, and a good business plan. Let’s run through the key areas of that plan.

Printers often focus on how a project looks. Are the colors right? Is the registration exact? Any smears or smudges? Are the graphics and text sharp and clear? These are all important, of course, but we usually base the analysis on what we can see, hold, and touch. How often do you consider the suitability of a printed piece for someone with a disability? Nearly a quarter of the global population is disabled, and regulations like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) make looking at a piece from an accessibility aspect important.

Digital printing has been an intrinsic part of the printing industry for over two decades, yet many printers still struggle with finding a successful sales strategy. Even the term itself has gone through various iterations, and the technology has evolved considerably over those 20-plus years.

For our purposes, we’ll take a broad view of digital printing, encompassing the first-out-of-the-gate toner technology, followed by inkjet and its incursion into most applications including flexo. Digital technology also has been a game changer for finishing, with raised UV, die-cutting, foils, and specialty inks.

How many of us have the time of day to sit and listen to the myriad of webinars being advertised in all industries.? After a year of being stuck in your house attached to Zoom, you are probably dealing with virtual exhaustion. We all want to get back out there and see actual live versions of clients and associates. But webinars are still an important way of getting first-hand information on what other print and graphics professionals have experienced, how they changed course to increase business and where they see the future of our industry. Here is a short report from one recent webinar you may have missed.

Fonts have personalities and convey different moods. A typeface or font matched to the personality or attributes of a specific individual or group can be the element that makes designs resonate with the viewer. Today’s variable printing technology makes it possible to match typography to audiences, but font usage in variable documents can be tricky. Fonts will display differently, depending on their attributes.

Font Considerations for Variable Documents

When designers create a variable project, they leave spaces in the documents into which the software will place the variable text. Since data files are not always available at design time, designers may guess at how much space to reserve for the variable data. Choosing too large a font for the data will cause unwanted line wraps or printing over static graphics or text. A too-small font results in odd-looking unused document spaces.

Recent studies show that there have been 66 school shootings since 2019. With the steady increase in these events, protection from active shooters has become a high priority for schools across the county. Once of these protections is called “target hardening.”

Target hardening is the process of making a school building a more difficult, or unattractive, target for violence and is one of the strategies schools have used to try and reduce the possibility of violence. Target hardening strategies include armed security on campus, keypad entries, metal detectors and safety and preparedness drills.

In-plant printing centers operate in an in-between world. They’re not commercial printers who must constantly hustle for business, but their continued existence is not guaranteed, either. The traditional model for in-plants to passively print documents for internal departments no longer works well. In many instances, those departments can outsource work to third-party printers or turn jobs over to staff members who may have only a passing acquaintance with design and production.

In this environment, we recommend in-plant centers develop strategic approaches that keep their operations relevant and thriving. In-plants can build a good strategy around adding value, selling services, and a little self-promotion.