Would you like fries with that?
By Steve Johnson
Tony Wochnik is a skilled and professional salesman of digital graphic arts equipment. Originally with Xerox, Tony has represented Ikon for many years....
Drawing conclusions
By Steve Johnson
Barbara Carlson and her husband, Bob, sit in near me on Sunday at Southminster Presbyterian Church. Sometimes Barb hits me with her cane to get my attention....
May I have your attention?
By Steve Johnson
The kind folks here at AMERICAN PRINTER recently shared with me comments from a readership survey. Good news for me: Lots of people said they read the...
One for the money, two for the show
By Steve Johnson
Many of AMERICAN PRINTER's recent articles have been about Drupa. To read this magazine and the other trade magazines, you would think that everyone is...
Johnson's World: Whither Pluto?
By Steve Johnson
At the old entrance to the Adler Planetarium on Chicago's Northerly Island sits a plaque with symbols representing the eight planets. Eight, because the...
All is fair in love, war and printing
By Steve Johnson
Amazon.com has announced that any books printed on demand must be printed by Amazon itself if the book is to be made available via the Amazon Web site....
Food for thought
By Steve Johnson
For a while, the was popular in hotel rooms. You are all set, sir. Here is your room key, and the key to the minibar. I always gave the key right back...
More PURLs before swine
By Steve Johnson
I began last month with a glossary of terms. Permit me, of necessity, to open this month with one more definition. Blog is slang for Web log. It is the...
PURLs of wisdom
By Steve Johnson
To read this story, you must understand a few terms. If you are hip, high-tech or both, you may skip the over the glossary and dive right into the exciting...
Don't stop believing
By Steve Johnson
Did you ever notice that if Ben Franklin, the patron saint of printing, wasn't bald and had sported a long beard in his old age, he would have been a...
Johnson & Johnson: an identity crisis
By Steve Johnson
Remember the brouhaha over the unholy alliance between corporate behemoths Adobe and FedEx? Two companies, both with a culture of ignoring client complaints,...
School days
By Steve Johnson
Kennedy-King College is a community college serving Chicago's South Side with a strong vocational program. Andrew Lanum, tech prep coordinator for visual...
Picture-perfect profits
By Steve Johnson
Ask any consultant, academic or equipment vendor about digital opportunities, and they'll give you a knowing look and say, Color picture books are hot!...
Paper dolls
By Steve Johnson
Every month we find our intrepid Johnson's World correspondent staring blankly at his computer monitor. Daddy, are you writing a column? asks my daughter...
You might already be a winner
By Steve Johnson
Certain ideas about succeeding in digital printing have been bandied about for so long that some take them as gospel. And I'm tired of it. ...
Where have all the printers gone?
By Steve Johnson
In the 1970s, a new type of print shop appeared on the American scene. Dubbed "quick printers," they were popularized by franchise operations....
Letters, we get letters
By Steve Johnson
If you screw up the variable data in your own database, you don't have a snowball's chance of selling variable. If you get the information perfect but screw up the color, you've still shot yourself in the foot....
Hey, hey, holy mackerel
By Steve Johnson
The Chicago Cubs were consistently among the most profitable teams in major-league ball. How about your business? What is your objective? What about profitability? What happens to profits as a measure of success?...
All the news that's fit to print
By Steve Johnson
As you read your issue of AMERICAN PRINTER, ask yourself, "What does this really mean to me?"...
The cookie monster
By Steve Johnson
Old-fashioned human interaction still has a place and is, in fact, desirable. Virtual storefronts can’t replace the face-to-face interaction of humans....
Welcome to my (monthly) world
By Steve Johnson
In previous issues of AMERICAN PRINTER, you might have noticed me on the back page, every other month. Beginning this issue, “Johnson’s World” will be here every month. Why? Does the printing industry need another commentator? What can you expect from me that you can’t get anywhere else? Glad you asked....
Give the gift of the printed word
By Steve Johnson
Think the gift of print is just too old fashioned? Here are some hints for maximizing the delight of the youngest generation....
I'm just wild about Harry
By Steve Johnson
If you still think the Harry phenomenon doesn’t apply to your printing business, I must ask, why not?...
The green, green pastures of home
By Steve Johnson
A great misconception haunts the printing industry. Call it “Green Grass Syndrome.” Its basic premise is that you just can’t make money in printing, so you must make it doing other things. This belief currently masquerades under the guise of “ancillary services.”...
Victoria’s real secret
By Steve Johnson
I want to share an example of a strategic catalog mailing program that seems to use what I call alchemy: increasing print and mail volumes while increasing print value....
