Evan Blackwell, Author at ɫ��̳

ɫ��̳ Hires Andy Billett as New Chief Operating Officer

Evan Blackwell — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 19:04:38 +0000

PRESS RELEASE

Marceline, Missouri; July 15, 2024 – ɫ��̳ announced it has hired printing industry veteran Andy Billett as the company’s new Chief Operating Officer (COO). Billett will be replacing �²��ɴǰ��ٳ�’s current COO Jim Mead, who is retiring from the company in November and will be based out of �²��ɴǰ��ٳ�’s corporate office in Marceline, Missouri.

Billett comes to ɫ��̳ with 25-plus years of printing and senior leadership experience at Taylor Corporation, Custom Ink and Jostens. Once he began to explore the opportunity to join ɫ��̳, he said it was a perfect match.

“Meeting Don Sr., Don, and the team at Marceline made me feel at home,” said Billett. “ɫ��̳ reminded me of my days at Taylor Corporation – genuine, honest and sincere. The values and culture at ɫ��̳ are very strong, and the ɫ��̳s have a compelling growth strategy for the future. Discussing this strategy and my potential role, and how I can help the team achieve it, drew me in.”

Billett will be responsible for developing and overseeing the strategy and execution of plans to help the company achieve its short- and long-term operational goals. He will help establish the company direction and be responsible for developing operating budgets and establishing operational policies and procedures.

“We’re thrilled to have Andy join the Leadership Team here at ɫ��̳,” said Don ɫ��̳, president. “Andy brings years of valuable experience in the printing industry, along with a wealth of knowledge. Plus, he understands people and is focused on building relationships.”

For the majority of his print career at Taylor and Jostens, Billett said he has been focused on the scholastic business, including yearbook. And he said �²��ɴǰ��ٳ�’s growth potential in both yearbook and commercial was one of the primary attractions that brought him aboard.

“ɫ��̳ is a successful company that has been around for a long time and should be very proud of where it’s at and what’s been built,” said Billett. “What excites me is there’s still opportunity for growth.”

Billett said he will spend his first month or two visiting all of �²��ɴǰ��ٳ�’s locations, getting to know the operations and the employees.

“I want to gain an understanding of what is being done. Why is it being done? What are the key projects,” said Billett. “My approach will be to learn, understand and just ask a lot of questions.”

Billett graduated from Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina, with a bachelor’s degree in horticulture, due to a love of botany and gardening growing up. He got his start in the printing world with Navitor, a commercial print division of Taylor, where he quickly became a plant general manager due to the process improvements he implemented.

About ɫ��̳

ɫ��̳ is a top-five book and magazine printer, a catalog printer, and the only family-owned printer of yearbooks. Started in 1937 by Don ɫ��̳, current leadership is under the second and third generations: Don O. ɫ��̳, CEO, and his son, Don ɫ��̳, president. Tripp ɫ��̳, the fourth generation, also recently joined the company. ɫ��̳ operates from administrative offices and book printing and binding facilities in Marceline, Missouri; a prepress facility in Brookfield, Missouri; a sales and marketing office in Overland Park, Kansas; and magazine and catalog printing facilities in Saint Joseph, Michigan; Ripon, Wisconsin; and Fulton, Missouri. Additionally, ɫ��̳ owns the Donning Company Publishers, a specialty book publisher.

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ɫ��̳ and its customers win big under the big top at PIA MidAmerica GraphEx Awards

Evan Blackwell — Thu, 23 May 2019 13:24:39 +0000

Late last month, held its annual GraphEx Awards ceremony at the Uptown Theater in Kansas City to celebrate outstanding achievement in printing.

PIA MidAmerica’s Graphic Excellence (GraphEx) competition has been in existence since 1989. This year’s awards show on April 25 featured a circus theme of “Big Top – The Greatest Print Show on Earth.”

The competition has more than 300 categories in three different divisions. Divisions are determined by size of company; Division I – Small Firm (1-20 employees); Division II – Medium Firm (21-100 employees); and Division III – Large Firm (101+ employees).

The WoW Diary

The WoW Diary – Deluxe Edition, written by ɫ��̳ customer John Staats, was a highlight among the ɫ��̳ entries by bringing home an overall Bronze in Division III, meaning it was selected third best out of all entries in that division.

The WoW Diary is a hardcover, smyth-sewn book with cover lamination and hot foil. The book, a journal on computer game development and a look inside the gaming industry, includes a custom slip cover, spot UV treatment throughout and is accompanied by a die-cut bookmark and a perfect-bound, soft-cover supplement.

The judges were full of praise for The WoW Diary in their comments:

“The WoW Diary is an example of fabulous offset products that are quite alluring.”

“The number of special elements is sensational.”

Best of Category

The WoW Diary was one of several ɫ��̳-printed publications that earned Best of Category honors. The WoW Diary’s Best of Category prize came in the hardcover book category.

Also earning Best of Category in the Printer’s Self Promotion category was – the company’s very own idea and showcase book for its yearbook customers.

A Best of Category in Catalogs – sheetfed (over 32 pages) went to the L.A. Meeting & Travel Guide Catalog; and a Best of Category in Magazines went to the State of Oklahoma’s Oklahoma Travel Guide.

All Best of Category winners are now automatically entered into the , also known as The Benny’s, which will take place on Oct. 2 in Chicago.

Award of Recognition

Several ɫ��̳ customers were honored with Awards of Recognition in various categories.

Morris Communications won an Award of Recognition in the hardcover books category for a Tucson issue of its WhereTraveler.com series. Luxury Custom Publishing also won an Award of Recognition in hardcover books for its commemorative book on the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl victory in 2018.

In the sheetfed magazines category, Jet Linx Aviation won an Award of Recognition for its , as did Tail Fly Fishing for .

Each year, it’s an honor for ɫ��̳ to watch our customers get recognized by PIA MidAmerica at the GraphEx Awards and this year was no different. Congratulations to all for their creativity and amazing work! Our printing only gets a chance to shine by working with outstanding partners on top projects.

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How to Get the Most Value Out of Your Digital Edition Magazine

Evan Blackwell — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 10:07:31 +0000

Generating revenue through digital editions is no longer a rarity for publishers. In fact, from 2013-2018, .

However, many magazine publishers still aren’t leveraging their digital content to help increase revenue. So, how do publishers get their digital editions to reach its full potential?

We recently spoke with Paul DeHart, the CEO of digital publishing software provider BlueToad, on the importance of digital editions for magazine publishers and how those publishers can be maximizing the value.

“Some of their audience expects content in digital form,” said DeHart. “Some only consume digital. Some like a digital taster.”

BlueToad relies on studies that indicate 45 million (or 16%) of internet users were mobile-only in 2018. And active web users spend more than four hours a day on mobile devices. Digital content has never been more important than it is right now.

DeHart outlined digital value into five key areas:

1 – Tech Credibility – With more and more web users going mobile, there’s value in being able to deliver digital content to readers credibly. If you can’t, there’s a good chance they will find someone who can.

2 – Brand Strengthening – Digital is another distribution channel that will allow you to spread your brand. A digital edition of a publication should be branded to include your look and feel. Don’t use a digital solution that doesn’t allow you to represent your brand in a good light.

3 – Data – Valuable intelligence can be gained by reviewing digital engagement data. Analytics will show you what content is doing well, whether your readership numbers are growing or shrinking, where your readers are based, what device they are using.

4 – Gating – Publishers should consider subscriptions for their digital content. Or at the very least, use gating of digital content as a way to gain email subscribers.

5 – Monetization – Start with a sponsorship program because it’s easier to implement. Expand out to more aggressive ad packages.

“For any of the above to be successful, the publisher has to promote the edition and the experience to its readers,” said DeHart. “What is the value of the digital edition and why should their readers care?”

Different elements of digital content will appeal more to different consumers – mobile-friendly reading, archives, audio articles, exclusive content – these are all unique aspects of the digital experience that can be promoted.

The key is finding that value for your audience and making the most of it.

Contact ɫ��̳ to learn how we help our print customers ensure their digital presence and content strategy are maximizing reader engagement results.

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A Closer Look at Materials Costs and Price Increases

Evan Blackwell — Wed, 06 Feb 2019 14:51:20 +0000

Print customers probably recall 2018 as the year of price increase announcements. USPS announced postage rate increases. Transportation costs went up and became more challenging to procure. And prices increased for raw materials such as paper and aluminum.

There were several tangible reasons behind these printing industry price increases, and in this post, we’ll take a closer look at them.

Paper market allocation

In a short amount of time in the first half of 2018, paper mills were on “allocation.” Allocation is a form of rationing that paper mills employ when their orders exceed their capacity over short periods of time. The idea is that they want to continue to serve long-term customers and reserve some capacity in order to gain new customers. Sounds logical, right?

So what caused the paper market to go on allocation? Let’s examine some of the fundamentals. Papermaking operations involve multiple significant cost determinants. First there is pulp, the basic ingredient of paper. Next, are supply and demand changes. Finally, let’s not forget about transportation. There’s no free shipping here (of course we all know it’s never really free for any of the goods we purchase, even if the seller says it is).

The cost of pulp is a significant factor of the final cost of paper paid by printers. Beginning in late 2017 and extending through late 2018, the price of pulp has steadily increased approximately 21%. The increased pricing is driven by several factors. First, and foremost is the increased demand from paper mills, next is the cost of transportation (more on this later), and finally, increased export demand.

Papermaking capacity

Total papermaking capacity in North America has steadily declined for the past 20 years as has total demand. Newspapers are nearing dinosaur status, as are some magazines. Emails, texts and social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram have replaced a large portion of the letters, cards, memos and notes that were commonly sent in years past.

In response to less demand, older, less efficient machines were shut down, and in some cases entire mills were closed due to lack of demand.

There were two mill closures announced that started the ball rolling on the allocated market of 2018. West Linn Papers in Oregon closed their mills in December 2017 and Appleton Papers closed late that year also.

The combined volume of these two mills was relatively small in relation to the total capacity of the paper market. However, the back-to-back announcements were enough to create a knee jerk reaction in the marketplace. Questions like, “What if I can’t get paper when I need it?” or “What if I can’t get paper at all?” caused a stir.

“Many buyers, with concern for their supply chain, panicked a little and pre-ordered paper, increased the size of their orders and were padding their positions,” said Gene Shuffler, �²��ɴǰ��ٳ�’s vice president of corporate services.

You can imagine that one printer doing this is of little consequence. However, thousands of printers padding their orders at the same time would tend to jam things up a little. And that is exactly what happened.

Mill schedules filled up quickly and lead times stretched out. Demand was high! Price increases soon followed as you might expect. Allocations were put in place to control how much paper each printer could order.

Transportation

The trucking industry has been hit hard by multiple factors. First and foremost is the decline of retail. “Free shipping” was mentioned earlier and noted that it really isn’t free.

The competitive landscape of the internet requires differentiating factors to attract and keep buyers. Rewards programs are popular, but nothing sells like free shipping. So instead of going into a store, picking up your favorite item and delivering it to your home in your own delivery vehicle, you click through the order process and a day or two later, merchandise is delivered to your home by… someone else’s delivery vehicle. Driven by a truck driver.

Many surveys are showing that the core interests of millennials include improved quality of life and convenience, among others. If true, then it helps explain why so many trucking companies are having difficulty finding replacement drivers for their aging workforce that is seeing retirements at all-time highs. Younger people don’t like the idea of long hours apart from their family and friends. Couple that with the surge in deliveries from internet providers and you have a perfect storm of increased demand and reduced capacity.

In addition, the Federal government implemented mandatory on-board tracking devices for all trucks to ensure that drivers were following the regulations regarding number of hours driving in one day, appropriate rest breaks, etc. It is estimated that this requirement reduced the overall capacity of the trucking industry by approximately 8%.

Fuel is also a key component of the cost of delivery. The price of diesel remains very high, even though gasoline grades reduced significantly this past year. All of these factors combine to create a very difficult market for trucking.

What’s next?

As with most booms, eventually there is a bust. The tightness of the allocated market of 2018 is beginning to lessen and availability continues to improve.

“There has been some reduction in uncoated offset capacity recently that we believe will result in that market segment remaining tight through the fall,” said Shuffler. “We also wouldn’t be surprised if mills operating in that space announced a price increase or two.”

Barring any unforeseen events (natural disasters, etc.), Shuffler said the market should return to equilibrium and pricing could ease slightly in the near term. In the long term, certain markets could see some sporadic tightening (think catalog season) with subsequent easing.

This is the more normal rhythm of the paper market. Occasionally, it is upset by unforeseen events and the kneejerk reactions that result.

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Evan Blackwell, Author at ɫ����̳

ɫ����̳ Hires Andy Billett as New Chief Operating Officer