Earlier this month, during the big FESPA show, there was also a little conference called Printeriors. Since I always enjoy conferences, I decided to check it out. Could this be the next big thing for printing companies looking for new opportunities? CONTENTS: Extremely important: all quality aspects | Also: knowledge and…
This morning I received an email from Editor & Publisher, one of the few hundred interesting industry magazines I’m following. They said they missed me. As a human being, it gives me a warm feeling when being missed. But as an analyst I could only conclude that they are completely…
What do you do with the pile of publicity folders that you get every week? Chances are that you will take a look at them. That’s at least the conclusion of a study in Belgium: 92% of the people receiving publicity folders in their mailbox will read them. A 92%…
About five months ago, I published a blog post titled “Your resolution for 2017: protecting your company against ransomware”. Unfortunately yesterday the nightmare came true: a massive cyberattack affecting over 100 000 computers, and counting, in at least 99 countries. And this within the first 24 hours. In the UK, at…
They were supposed to revolutionize the frozen food chain: time/temperature indicators. Every frozen pizza box would get one, according to many specialists and analysts. But it didn’t happen. Why? For an unforeseen factor that can restrict great ideas: the L-word that has the power to freeze innovation. CONTENTS: Time/temperature indicators?…
Earlier this year McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) published a ‘discussion paper’ on the economic impact of ‘short-termism’ and therefor also the difference between short-termism and long-termism. A study that provides some interesting insights… CONTENTS: ‘Corporate Horizon Index’ | The findings | The right metrics? | Why do we buy shares? A…
The one statistic I’m always looking forward to, is the overview of the financial ratios of companies, published by the National Bank of Belgium (NBB). This gives a really good insight in how an industry performs, how companies in a specific industry perform. And there are two key conclusions you…
About 6 months ago, I wrote an article on the massive cyberattack of 21/10/2016 and the involvement of printers in this cyberattack, via hijacked ‘internet connected devices’. I elaborated on the risk of internet connected devices in another article, on security and the Internet of Things (IoT). Today I have…
It might seem a trivial question: what happened with business cards in Germany in 2009? But there – probably – is a strong underlying truth, one that you should take into account in your business. CONTENTS: Love/hate | What happened between 2008 and 2009? | Think 2008, 2009 | Why…
A few weeks ago, I published a step-by-step tutorial how to connect print campaigns to digital, by using HTML redirects. But it seems there is a much faster and better way. And with a little extra effort, you can even get your print campaigns into Google Analytics! Yes, you read…
Last week, Adobe made some interesting announcements at the Adobe Summit. The Adobe Experience Cloud was presented, which combines the Adobe Marketing Cloud, Adobe Advertising Cloud and Adobe Analytics Cloud. The Adobe Experience Cloud should seamlessly integrate with the Adobe Creative Cloud. But there was also the availability of the first…
When you are hiring new people, you want to select the best available. There are all kinds of tests and services that can screen people. But if you want a really short IQ test, here is one. CONTENTS: The test | Why is this important? | PS Read the lines below…
When you hear ‘smart packaging’, what kind of technology comes to your mind? Probably you think about something high tech, with integrated (printed) electronics and wireless communications. And smart packaging can be like that. But it doesn’t have to be: it can also be very low tech… CONTENTS: The high tech…
With screens all around us, some people also use them for color evaluation. But that’s not always a good idea: there are multiple factors that can influence the color that is displayed. Let’s look at the three main reasons why it can go wrong: the screen as such, the operating…
Preparing an offer for a (potential) customer can be a hard job. Especially if it’s a complex print job. Calculating different possibilities is time consuming. So you might limit the offer to the one that best fits the question. But is that a good idea? Not according to ‘behavioral economics’:…