“Bid Services, Can I Help You?”

By Shaun Meany
The PEiR Group

For the past two years the PEiR Group has been promoting bid communication solutions and some of the opportunities technologies like BidCaster and SubHub can offer General Contractors with their Bid Processes. Some of our members understand this area of opportunity. Many do not - or just don’t see how it can benefit their customers and their own businesses.

I have talked with several reprographers who understand the bid process, have embraced our bid technologies and have enjoyed new sales as a result.

As our industry continues to evolve, many of the traditional services that you have grown to depend upon for sales and profits simply will not be demanded in the same volume as before. As the construction industry begins to crawl out from under its current cloud many of your customers, like General Contractors, will be looking to change the way they do their business processes; particularly the pre-construction or bid process.

When it comes to the bid process (often considered an overhead activity) most GC’s want to reduce expenses and boost productivity. Reducing bid set printing is one of the most obvious areas that GC’s focus on when trying to reduce expenses. There are two primary alternatives that GC’s tend to choose for reducing their printing costs: (1) send out cd-roms (2) post drawing and specs to a FTP site. While both these methods will reduce printing costs for the GC, neither approach improves productivity for the subs and suppliers. Sure, the documents get to their intended parties fairly quickly, but there are still inefficiencies (and costs) that could be controlled more efficiently with bidding solutions like BidCaster and SubHub.

Let's look at distributing bid-sets on cd-roms. The cd-roms still have to be mastered, duplicated and distributed (by mail, pick-up or express couriers). Any updates to the documentation must also go through a similar distribution process.

The next time a GC asks you to create a bid-set to be distributed via cd-rom here are a few questions you may want to ask: Why are the music and video industries moving away from cd/dvd media? How do you (Mr. GC) plan to update your subs when changes take place? How long does it take to update and notify plan holders of addendums? As you already know, with plan rooms like PlanWell or SubHub the documents are always up to date. Changes can be made real-time and anyone who has access will know what the current documents to bid upon is.

The same applies to FTP sites. It may sound simple for a GC to upload documents to a ftp site and send out instructions on how to download the documents. But when you look at this process in more detail FTP actually creates more headaches than it alleviates. First, the sub needs to know about ftp. Second, the sub needs to know a user name and password. Often the same user names and passwords are used by everyone who want access to the FTP site quickly breaching security. Third, how does the GC track who has documents? If a sub just wants to look at a document he has to download it and then view it. This can take a considerable amount of time if they have a slow Internet connection.

Here's something to ask your GC’s: Why do subs want a digital file?

An important component of bidding is tracking who is interested in bidding and who is still kicking the idea around. CD-Roms and FTP sites do not track who is interested in bidding the project. Sometimes this is the most critical information that a GC needs to know. Does he have coverage of all trades required on the project and if not how can he get more bids before due day?

More than at any other time in our industry’s history, it is vital that reprographers begin to market services beyond mere printing - and bid communications offers a perfect opportunity.

There are two approaches that you can consider with bid communications:

1. Offer bid communication software tools such as PlanWell Bidcaster or SubHub that your GC's can learn and deploy.
2. If your customers don’t want to take on learning a new system there might be an opportunity for you, the reprographer, to provide “Bid Services“ as an outsourced service.

One very progressive reprographer I've talked with recently said they've introduced a new department in their business called Bid Services and they've put a person with construction industry experience in the manager's position to make sure things run smoothly.

Either way, be it with BidCaster, SubHub or a dedicated Bid Services department, you will be offering intelligent choices that can address your GC’s needs, help them reduce costs and increase productivity. It’s a win win for both you and the customer!

What's YOUR Service Offering? Fast Food Or Fine Dining?

By Mahil Maurice
Special To The PEiR Group

Today, printing has become a commodity and only a subset of a greater service offering. Customers are looking for solutions to augment their bottom line either by cutting costs, creating more revenue through sales, or through a combination of the two approaches.

Printing Companies and Reprographers are under increasing pressure to be responsive to customer needs and find it difficult to compete in a digital age where Cutting-Edge Solutions and Impeccable Service go hand in hand.

Our industry prides itself in providing outstanding services to its customers. One wonders how a small reprographer can upgrade to the latest technology and still provide the services levels required to effectively compete.

Two primary areas where changes need to take place are ‘Work Flow’ and ‘Technology.’ Together, these need to drive adequate compensation for the services provided.

Both Work Flow and Technology go hand in hand and can be discussed in the same breath. Customers want the fastest and easiest ways to send files (content) and track delivery of those files. And the preferred medium is the Internet.

Digital methods of file delivery like FTP (File Transfer Protocol) developed in the 1970s were not designed to meet today’s requirements of optimal work flow and fast delivery of large digital files anywhere in the world. Strong consideration must be given to replacing FTP and email technologies with more nimble and robust Web Based File Delivery and Work Flow Tools.

What is your service offering? A Fast Food menu or a Fine Dining experience? FTP or Digital Work Flow?

FTP is complicated and outdated technology, for these and other reasons:

• Too cumbersome to set up, administer and time consuming for IT – With FTP, time must be devoted to setting up the hardware and software after which maintenance involves managing new users, managing credentials, setting up folder structures for projects and helping users locate files and download them. This is time that could be devoted to more productive activities by your IT staff.
• Weak Security – Data transferred via FTP can be intercepted. As a result many firewalls actually close it to ensure system integrity. Because of the open nature of FTP, an organization’s infrastructure is susceptible to viruses and malware attacks.
• Lack of Track ability and Delivery Guarantee – Track ability and delivery guarantee are vital when business critical files (content) are being delivered and FTP does not provide this. Files may be incompletely transferred if it is interrupted or stopped. End users need to know the files were received and opened by the intended recipient.

With FTP you provide a “Fast Food” menu for your customers, not a superlative service experience!

Ask yourself, is your customer ready for a fine dining experience and are you committed to providing that level of service to them?

Consider ishipdocs as the “Work Flow” tool of choice to provide a superlative service experience. The cost of subscribing to ishipdocs is less than purchasing and maintaining a FTP solution. With ishipdocs, you get;

• Software as a Service (SaaS) – Sign-up as a Print Provider and start using the solution instantly. No infrastructure, software or maintenance costs. You are up and running instantly, the essence of SaaS. Your IT personnel can be doing other things.
• Highest Security Levels - The widely used “HTTPS” protocol. This is http over encrypted SSL (Security Sockets layer). This protocol is widely used for payment transactions on the web and for sensitive transactions in corporate information systems.
• Closed Looped Work Flow Manager – No more setting up folders or helping users locate files. One Web-based tool allows files to be sent, provisioned and fulfilled for the customer and the print partner.
• Track ability and Proof of Delivery – Both customers and print partners can track an order and obtain Proof of Delivery through the tool.
• Business Intelligence – Both customers and print partners can sort and export data into Excel and CSV for Business Intelligence, Auditing and Reporting purposes.

With ishipdocs you can provide that “Fine Dining” experience you customer is looking for at a fraction of the cost of an FTP solution and effectively compete in the digital age with a web based Work Flow Manager.

In addition, a print partner instantly becomes a Global player with access to over 350 locations world wide. This completes the fine dining experience with your dessert of choice! You can distribute and receive files from and to Anywhere, Anytime!

The Reprographics industry prides itself on providing outstanding service to its customers however it cannot be achieved with obsolete FTP solutions. ishipdocs, with its robust Work Flow Manager and World Wide Reach is the solution that will enable a Reprographer/Print Partner to provide that Fine Dining experience.

Custom Pocket Folders Are A Snap With Instafinish

Spiral Binding is now the exclusive manufacturer of the Instafinish Print On Demand Folders.

Color copies, brochures and laser printed documents can be turned into custom pocket folders in seconds - perfect for sales presentations, meetings, promotional materials and reports.

Easy to use with a quick four-step process, you can create beautiful yet durable custom folders. Printed documents insert under the laminating sheets on the front and back cover. Then folders run through any pouch laminator to seal the documents. After lamination is completed, the adhesive strips from the tabs are removed and pockets are pressed into place. You can laminate everything from thin photos to heavy-duty presentation materials with the same beautiful effect.

The Print On Demand Folders are sold in packs of 10 (or boxes of 100) and are available in letter-sized format.

Spiral serves major corporations, small to mid-sized businesses, printers, facility management organizations, as well as the United States government and education markets.

Contact Info: For more information, including specifications on this machine and other Spiral products visit their web site, www.spiralbinding.com or contact Ann Marie Boggio at 800-631-3572 ext 1231.

Turning Hospital Ceilings Into Cathedral Windows - How About You?

Not too long ago our John Bidwell, no stranger to the dentist's chair, mused about how cool it would be for reprographers to contact their area dentists and hospitals and work on adding a soothing mural to those sterile surfaces.

Well, one reprographer did just that recently, using their 350GT to turn out these pastoral landscapes for a cancer treatment center in their area.

The result? Instantaneous approval from staff and patients - who are much more relaxed when visiting and who comment often on the soothing qualities of the ceiling murals.

How about you? Have you run a job you're particularly proud of, lately? If so, contact us and we'll feature it in an upcoming Point of View!

Housing Market Stirs - More Hammers Swinging

It's a tough call, trying to pinpoint the precise time our industry recovers from the most serious economic malaise since World War II, but there are increasing signs of life from the sectors we serve.

Toll Brothers Inc.'s stock jumped Wednesday after the luxury homebuilder posted its first annual increase in signed contracts in four years.

New home contracts rose 3 percent from the third fiscal quarter last year, and the number was up a surprising 44 percent from the second fiscal quarter this year. Toll told the Associated Press that demand was so robust the company has been able to scale back the incentives it offered to get buyers in the door.

Toll sold 792 homes, generating $461.3 million in revenue for the three months ended July 31. Revenue was down 42 percent from the same period last year because home prices have declined and Toll has fewer communities around the country.

"Although some of our markets are still stuck in the mud, many are improving," Robert Toll, the company's chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

Other major builders - including D.R. Horton Inc., Pulte Homes Inc. and Centex Corp. - all recently reported better earnings for the first half of the year.

POV "New Product" Advisory: Drytac Introduces Flexible UV Curable Liquid Coating

Drytac®, a leader in liquid coating technology, has a new UV curable clear coat for use on applications requiring maximum flexibility.

InstaCure SuperFlex is a high gloss coating flexible enough to form around rivets and stretch into compound and complex curves. It is also thermo-formable.

Tests show that InstaCure SuperFlex has the ability to stretch up to six times its original size, allowing manufacturers of fleet and vehicle graphics to benefit from the low cost and high speed applications made possible with high UV curable liquid coaters.

INSTACure SuperFlex contains a proprietary blend of acrylate and non yellowing urethane UV curable polymers to give coated prints flexibility. The coating develops a tough exterior finish that is scratch and abrasion resistant and able to withstand the rigors of commercial truck washes using standard commercial cleaners.

“With coating costs as low as 6 cents per square foot and speeds of up to 60 linear feet per minute with our new roll to roll attachment, customers can now not only compete, but for the first time in a long time, make significant profits in this industry with this product application," says Jim Tatum, Drytac’s liquid finishing division manager.

Something to consider if you do auto wraps!


The PEiR Group

HP Says It's Time To Trade Up!

Take advantage of select HP Designjet printers and get cash back!

With the HP Designjet Cash In & Trade Up promotion, you can get up to $2,500 cash back* when you upgrade your eligible old product and purchase or lease an HP Designjet Z6100 or Z3200 series printer and submit the online claim form by October 23, 2009.

You have the option of keeping or trading in your eligible old HP or non-HP large-format product—you just need to show proof that you currently own one. The promotion runs August 1, 2009 through October 23, 2009.

Plus, you can save up to $200 when you add a qualifying HP Care Pack Service, which will help reduce unexpected repair costs and downtime.


*U.S. residents only. Cash back provided by mail-in rebate available for eligible purchases made August 1, 2009–October 23, 2009. Additional restrictions apply. Void where prohibited, taxed or restricted by law.
For qualifying product options, terms and conditions, and claim form, visit www.hp.com/go/cashin4.

Canon Offers Link For FREE Exhibits-Only Pass To Print '09

"Freebie" Notice!

Here's a link for all PEiR Group members interested in attending Print '09 in Chicago - and who would like FREE access to the exhibits during the show, courtesy of Canon.

Click HERE for your free Exhibits-Only pass to the show, Sept. 11-16.

All badges will be mailed directly to the customer if they register prior to August 14. Badges cannot be picked up on-site unless the actual person is present.

The cutoff for FREE registration is August 26.

HP Invites PEiR Members To See Their NEW Latex Printer At Print '09

Message from Shaun to all PEiR members:

Frank Marzigliano, our HP representative, has extended an invitation to all PEiR members interested in getting an early look at HP's new Latex printer at Print '09 in Chicago.

Frank has booked a special meeting room for the informal demo on September 14th from 3 to 4 p.m. CST.

This is cutting-edge stuff. Here's the agenda:

• Demo (40 minutes)
• Company overview & sign non-disclosure (5 minutes)
• Overview of HP Signage portfolio (5 minutes)
• Latex technology (5 minutes)
• Demonstration (15 minutes)
• Key applications & media portfolio (10 minutes)

The official public announcement of the Latex machine will be at SGIA in New Orleans in early October, according to Frank. Print 'O9 would be a great early opportunity for us all to watch them put the machine through its paces.

If you're interested drop me an email and I'll make it happen. Should be fun.


Regards,

Shaun

Signs Of Life And Recovery Around The Global Marketplace - How Are Things In Your Neck Of The Woods?

The PEiR Group

There may still be a long road ahead of us as some have said, but recent developments have given rise to hope that the nation is about to emerge from the worst recession since World War II.

“Recession is over, economy is recovering – let’s look forward and stop the backward-looking focus,” John E. Silvia, the Wells Fargo chief economist, wrote Tuesday.

“We’ve found the bottom,” says Mark Fleming, chief economist for First American CoreLogic, a data firm monitoring housing starts and sales.

Perhaps, we’re all watching and hoping, that’s for sure. But other indicators have arisen to indicate a return to more prosperous times for America and the world.

In China, that country’s largest state-owned construction company pocketed $7.3 billion from investors after an initial public offering of it shares attracted widespread attention. Although the slowdown in the country’s growth caused China State Construction Engineering Corp’s profits to fall last year, its IPO is by far the largest in China this year and the world’s biggest since Visa raised $19 billion in its IPO 16 months ago.

In Europe, nearly a quarter of wide-format printers in the industry today expect business to improve during the remainder of this year with 14 percent already reporting signs of recovery, a recent survey indicates.

In a survey of 400 European printers, 23 percent are pinning hopes on an upturn in the latter part of this year, 25.6 percent expect a change of fortunes to emerge in early 2010. A similar figure anticipates an upturn later, in the second half of the year and less than 12 percent expect conditions to last into 2011.

Fully 83 percent of the survey's respondents say their companies are well-positioned to “take advantage” of market conditions when it rebounds.

And there you have it. Hopefully, we’ll all be on our way soon.