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Print Tip of the Week

3.8.10

Margie Dana

Margie Dana

More great news: we have another new Print Tips and website sponsor. Say hello to Great Reach Communications, Inc.

Great Reach provides high-quality print and email newsletter programs to help offset and digital printers grow sales. Learn more about them below today's Print Tip. Welcome, Great Reach!

Are you reading this because it was forwarded to you? Click here to get your own copy!

Margie Dana

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Is Dawn Breaking for Downsized Print Buyers?

By Margie Dana

 

Spring is in the air, even for print buying professionals. I see signs of life in the job market for print buyers who were laid off during the recession.

Is this a cause for celebration or what?

Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of full-time print buyers lost their jobs last year and the year before. Not only have I sensed a slow down of such job losses, but recently, I’ve learned that print buyers are landing new positions.

The specialized skills of experienced print production professionals are still valued and quite marketable. If you are current with cross-media programs, digital printing applications, and customer expectations and buying behaviors, I am still peddling Hope. Even with the popularity of new media (including social), companies need your expertise to help them shape dynamic print campaigns, source the work with the right print providers, and manage the process.

Over the past 12 months I watched buyer after buyer getting downsized. It has been devastating and depressing for them, as they wondered if and when they would find new positions.

Now, in recent weeks, I’m seeing movement – new positions inside and outside of the field.

Some buyers, who tried for many months to find new work in the industry, decided to look elsewhere. Some are starting over in totally different fields, like health care. Some are following their passion and recreating themselves. I know a woman with serious print production experience who is now a nutrition counselor and fitness guru. (I love it when this happens – one door shut…and this one opened for her.)

But others are landing jobs in the field. In one week, I learned about two cases. One man was out of work for several months, and now, at a request from his largest client in his old position, he’s been hired as a regional director for a national marketing agency. He’s busy developing a custom program to maintain brand control throughout all aspects of the marketing communications supply chain. “I actually feel very lucky to part of a very progressive group that understands the state of our industry,” he wrote.

After being unemployed for 13 months, a woman with decades of experience landed a job through a previous colleague. They’d been discussing the position off and on for 9 months. She never thought it was a sure thing because the company’s very small. Then last month, they hired her. She had held a similar position at two previous employers, in much larger capacities. She works for a mailing company.

They worked their networks, both of them. Nothing could be more important for job seekers right now.

I take these examples as a good sign, and I continue to keep my eyes open.

By the way, do you know how I found out about these employment chan? From daily updates on LinkedIn. Both people are in my ‘network,’ so when I read that they’d updated their titles, I knew something was up. I was right: something very good was up for them, and it made my day. I hope this makes yours.

©2010 Margie Dana. All rights reserved. Your comments are encouraged. You're free to forward this email to friends and colleagues. However, no part of this column may be reprinted without permission from the author.

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Service for Printing Industry:
Customer Communications Consulting

I consult with printing firms to help improve their customer communications strategy. Whether you have such a strategy in place and want a professional critique, or you want to develop one, please drop me a line to discuss how I can help: mdana@printbuyersinternational.com.

Print Buyer Glossary

It's a great online resource you can use for free.

Here's an important term: Spot varnish - Varnish used to highlight a specific area of the printed sheet (emphasis on specific).

Save the dateMark Your Calendars!

5th Annual Print Buyers Conference
November 3 - 4, 2010
Westford Regency Inn, Westford, MA

We can accommodate 31 sponsors at 6' display tables.Here's the floor plan. If you want to reserve your spot now, contact Conference Manager Barbara Graham at (978) 490-0100 or at info@printbuyersinternational.com.

2010 Conference Sponsors

Solo Printing in Miami, FL, has booked their space at our Conference. Solo boasts an array of presses ranging from 2-, 6- and 8-color presses to web presses. Their multi-unit sheetfed presses accommodate formats up to 28" x 40", while their long cut-off, full webs are perfectly suited for 25" through 38" rolls.

They were with us in 2009 (I must say I loved their display table theme: all Miami sand, sun, and fun), and we're honored to have them back. Stop by Table #16 and meet the gang at Solo Printing. Visit them online at www.soloprinting.com, too.

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Job Posts!

Brown Printing* is looking for Sales Representatives. Visit our Job Bank page for details.

GMCR, Inc.** (Green Mountain Coffee) in Waterbury, VT, has two positions in the purchasing/print production department. Visit our Job Bank page for details.

*PBI Conference Sponsors get to post one position for FREE! Another benefit of PBI Conference sponsorship.

** Members of Boston Print Buyers always get to post jobs for FREE (a $250 value).

For details on posting jobs, visit www.bostonprintbuyers.com/jobbank.html.

Job Searchers

We have a few new resumes posted on our web site this week at www.bostonprintbuyers.com/jobbanklistings.html. Don't forget: if you're a print buying professional looking for a job, feel free to upload your resume to this page. Instructions are on the site. There is no charge. We list postings for 60 days.

Weekly Print Buyer Poll

Honestly, how often do you ask printers for innovative/creative ideas?

  • All of the time

  • Now and then

  • Rarely

  • Never

Cast your vote on our home page at www.bostonprintbuyers.com.

Last Week's Poll

Our last poll asked buyers this:
Of all the designers you know, how many design for print?

Poll Results:

34%    said 100%
50%    said 75%
8%    said 50%
8%     said 25%

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Website Sponsors

New Sponsor:
Great Reach Communications, Inc. Based in Lawrence, MA, Great Reach produces marketing programs, such as print and email newsletters, for offset and digital print providers. Their services make it easy and affordable for customers to stay top of mind, position their brand, and grow sales relationships. Great Reach is known for their high-value, professional content - which, by the way, is customizable and area exclusive. See for yourself at www.greatreachinc.com.

Xerox (our PBI Patron Sponsor)
ACME Printing Company
American Printing
Battlefield Graphics
Bentley Graphics
Brown Printing
Concord Litho
DS Graphics
Four-Colour Print Group/Lifetouch
Great Reach Communications
Japs-Olson
Mammoth Media Inc
Messenger Press


MicroPrint
Mtivity
NeoPrint
pressSIGN
Print Communications
PrintingCenterUSA
Ripon Printers
Sappi Fine Paper
Solo Printing
Standard Modern Company
UniGraphic
xpedx

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Print Tips Archives!

Our Print Tips archives are public. Access them from the home page of our site
under Print Tips at www.bostonprintbuyers.com.

Sponsor Directory

BPB Sponsor Directory

Take a look! The BPB Directory offers firms a unique online presence for their prospective customers. Interested? Visit our sponsor information page for details.

Become a Site Sponsor and "Travel with the Tips"

Have your logo appear on our site and emailed out to thousands of people worldwide each week at a very reasonable rate. Email us at info@bostonprintbuyers.com for details!

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