Let's Talk Turkey: Pick The Real One!

One of our members had a little idle time on his hands recently and he decided to see if he could come up with a decoy to beguile a nosy flock of turkeys hanging around his shop.

He snapped a picture, ran it out on gatorboard and staked it out to see if it drew any interest from the feathered set.

It did. In about ten minutes, apparently.

You tell us which one is the real thing...

Chalk Up Another Win For ishipdocs - Are You Using It?

Need an example of how ishipdocs can pull off a minor miracle for you and your team? Well, there's a reprographer in Houston who found the power in the offering recently - and is glad he did.

“A very good client of ours was in a rush to get a Duratrans printed and shipped to San Francisco overnight," says our hero. "At first, I thought about the traditional methods, but then I thought about using ishipdocs."

The reprographer went to the ishipdocs site, typed in the address and found the closest location of a partnering shop which, as it happens, was less than a mile from where his client was staying. That's when the light bulb went off in his head.

“I called and asked if they could print Duratrans and when they said they could, I sent them the file and they had it done and delivered within two hours,” he says. “I cannot see how anyone else could have done this and it was an added surprise to my client when it was delivered that soon.”

Steady revenue, higher customer satisfaction... miracle wins for your firm. If you're using ishipdocs, you're one of the smart ones. If you're not, why not?

How To Show Your Customer What You're Going To Do For Them BEFORE You Do It

It was a big request for a big job - a 5'x40' site banner to be precise. The client was worried about its positioning, and whether it would be exposed to vandals.

That's when a production technician took the bull by the horns and worked a little magic with Photoshop, showing them in "virtual" terms how it would look in place. The upshot? Done deal...

Once the client saw them, “they couldn’t place the order fast enough,” the shop reported. “It couldn’t have worked out better."

Next time you're wondering how to make technology work for you, remember this little application. The ability to demonstrate your shop's capability before you do it is a powerful benefit.

Reprographers Turn To ishipdocs To "Ship Digitally," Business Remains Brisk

Point of View has talked about ishipdocs and what it can mean to firms who need to ship their documents digitally to far off locales. Those who use it call the application a "win win," with the client saving money and the reprographer capturing revenue from the job - as well as repeat business once clients realize how effective a service ishipdocs really is.

Rationale for using the model ranges from its speed to a desire to get around long customs lines, airports and the shipping chokepoints most commonly associated with traditional shipping methods.

In several cases, reprographers who signed up for the application have had jobs waiting for them upon their return to the office - and a whole new revenue stream open to their shops.

Who's using it? Check the list below, you may recognize some of the names:

Company,Country and No. of Jobs to Date
Air Graphics 1
Demaille France 3
FIS Japan Japan 1
Group Momentum Australia 1
Les Poly Quebec 5
Maxicopias Mexico 2
MS Dallas 3
Perkinson 1
Precision Blue 2
Profiman Dubai 3
Reprographic Technologies 1
Rotolite Elliot 1

Bertl's Names the Best of 2009: Canon's imagePROGRAF Shines

Bertl's has chosen Canon's imagePROGRAF iPF820 as the "Best Value for 44" Technical Document Printer for the 14th annual selection of top imaging equipment.

Bertl's called the imagePROGRAF iPF820 as "best value" overall and cited the rationale for its decision:
• Price point for a 5 color ink-jet two roll printer
• Two roll system with semi automated load of a roll
• DoD 52220.22M security compliant
• Top speed of 688 sq ft/hr
• Economy printing mode that reduces ink consumption
by almost half (40%)
• CAD/STATION PS+ color RIP for added color
matching and postscript support with the iPF820 Pro

Something to consider...

Attention All BidCaster Users...

The PEiR Group is hosting an educational webinar on how end users can put the power of BidCaster to best use.

Please feel free to invite all your customers to sign-up, they'll be grateful to you.

The Webinar will be held on September 30th, 2009 10am pacific time.

Please click here to sign-up.

If you have any questions, please contact the PEiR Group at 925-658-0215

Learning From The Best: Get Back To Basics

By Shaun Meany
The PEiR Group




Last Sunday I had a chance to watch the U.S. national soccer team play Brazil in the Confederation Cup finals in Johannesburg South Africa. I normally don’t watch much soccer, but after the U.S. team surprised Spain (another world class powerhouse) with a score of 2-0 earlier in the week; I just had to watch the U.S. play Brazil.

It was a great game, and it wasn't long into it that I begin to see parallels between the match and our industry today. Like the U.S. and Brazilian players, we're playing to win in an environment full of challenges. Your business, of course, is not a game, your livelihood and those of your employees are at stake - not a silver cup and bragging rights. But if you look at your business and prepare yourselves like the Americans did before their games with Spain and Brazil there are lessons to be found as we enter the second half this challenging year.

Preparing for Sunday's match, the U.S. team was keenly focused on soccer basics: maintain ball possession, keep up a good defense and capitalize on scoring opportunities. This was clearly demonstrated as the U.S. built a 2-0 lead going into the second half.

But when play resumed the Americans were noticeably exhausted. They started to make critical mistakes. The rest was soccer history: the Brazilian’s closed the gap 2-1 then 2-2 and finally toward the end of the half they took the lead and the final with a last minute surge that put them on top at 3-2.

So, what are the lessons that you can learn from this?

The business challenges you are facing require that you have your best team available and ready to play.

This economic cycle we are currently facing is just finishing the first half. You need to pace yourself and your employees to maintain good practices, keep your business fit and lean so it can meet the second half with enthusiasm and creativity.

Remember the basics. Treat each customer and job as if it is the only one. Study your competition. What are they doing that you're not? Are you focusing on just AEC or looking for revenues in quick printing and copying, large and small format color, archiving, FM’s and growing digital services?

Here's my locker room sales talk: Don’t be like the US soccer team. Keep focused on the goal, remember the basics and keep pace with your competition - and save a little extra for when you'll need it!

Social Media and Reprographics: What It All Means To You

"Shaun's Corner"
by Shaun Meany

YouTube, BlogSpot, Twitter, Yammer, Facebook, LinkedIn and a host of other online social networking sites, frequently used by the “Y Generation," are quickly becoming popular hangouts for businesses and business owners, as well.

But how do you use these online social networking sites to share your expertise, gain a following, and increase your income potential for your reprographics business?

I thought it would be helpful to share some of my research about online social networking and how social media can be put to good use for growing your business.

If you think online social networking is something you want to do, you ought to create a social media marketing plan (this could be included in your annual marketing plan as well). The plan should be in writing and should quantify your goals and identify the primary social networks you are interested in targeting. Be sure that you target networks that fit your needs and desires. For example, I am a member of LinkedIn Network and I have joined several special interest groups within LinkedIn such as: reprographics group, info trends, sales and marketing, wide format imaging, salesforce.com and a few others. By being a member of these groups I have the opportunity to monitor what others are thinking and talking about. This information is invaluable as it helps a business owner know what is on peoples minds and where the future of his or her respective industry may be heading.

Keep in mind that your access to and control of what is said on social networks is often very limited. Social networks turn individuals into marketers for your company, but it can be very difficult to control the messages they send.

Also, remember when posting a message on a social network site that it’s important to add value to your content, not just pitch your products.

The idea is to monitor people talking about the things your company does, and then join in with useful information and expertise that can help answer their questions and solve their problems. When you do decide to make your contribution to the social network be sure to refer to your blog or twitter account so people can check you out for the link.

New social networking sites are popping up all the time. Take Twitter. This micro-blog site allows people to follow a topic or a person and post daily, hourly and sometimes minute by minute tweets (updates). I am just starting to get into twitter and still am navigating through all the different subjects and looking for a way to apply to my business needs. If you want you can tweet me at http://twitter.com/shaunmeany.

The rise of instant communication technologies has created a whole new environment for doing our business. If we are to survive in the future we must learn to adapt and apply the new marketing paradigms of the Generation Y's.

There are some interesting tools available to us today. Instead of turning our nose up at them, we may be well advised to learn how to use them effectively.

Tweet me sometime... or even just pick up the old fashioned phone! Communication, in any form, is a good thing.


Regards,

Shaun