Date: Tue, 9 Jul 1996 20:02:20 -0500 
Subject: Small Talk
To: martin@printusa.com
Content-Length: 7009
X-UIDL: 837010283.004


Hotline Newsletter #22

Date: June 29, 1996
============================================================
For many years I have had a popular column, Small Talk. This column
first appeared in 1972 in my publication, Printer's News. When Coast
publishing purchased my publication, in a weak moment Rob Schweiger
asked me to continue writing the column.

Small Talk was a combination of an industry gossip column, editorial,
reader input, etc. When I asked Rob about what my guidelines were, he
said, No pornography! The column has been one of the most fun things
I have ever done. It still appears in Southern Graphics.

I would like to expand the Hotline Newsletter to be an international
Small Talk where printers can talk about anything they wish. It
could be about that 15 pound bass you caught last weekend, a great
vacation you had, a job you are proud of, pat an employee on the back,
a public service project you are interested in, your political
philosophy, soliciting help on a particularly difficult job, a joke,
etc. I will also do book reviews of interest.

My conception is that it would be almost like a forum, except in a
newsletter format. I will include all responses in the newsletter and
will probably make a comment of my own on most.

This is perceived to be an easy reading, fun thing. In no way do I
perceive it as a technical publication that assists you in running your
business. Hopefully there will be some valuable information that comes
out of this social intercourse, but that is not the prime purpose.

I will continue to expand on my ideas; interesting Hotline inquiries
that I could not include in my column; a commercial here and there,
etc., but I want to do something different and fun. Something that you
can relax and enjoy. The kind of newsletter you want to print and put
in your john for your employees or co-workers to read.

Previous issues will be (and are now) available on my Infoserver. For
an index of back issues and other drivel, send an e-mail message to:

               hotinfo@printer-net.com

In the Subject or Topic field of your e-mail software, type the word
INDEX. Nothing is required in the message area unless your software
requires it. Infoserver will ignore anything other than what is in the
Subject or Topic field. You can order the back issues by typing the
keyword for the document in the Subject or Topic field. Send the message
and shortly you will have an e-mail message that contains that document.
It's free and it's fun.

One of my favorite industry stories happened some 25 years ago at Tenneco
in Houston. A dear friend and supplier of mine, George Jungels of Jungels,
Inc, had a major problem with defective film at Tenneco. When Tenneco's
printing plant tried to shoot negatives using George's film, each negative
was seriously fogged. George spent weeks trying to trouble shoot the
problem. He got the manufacturer involved and they still couldn't solve
the problem. Finally they decided to track a box of film from the
manufacturer to the print shop. The culprit was Tenneco's receiving
department. This was expensive film packaged 100 sheets per box. When the
film was received, the receiving clerk opened the box, counted each piece
of film, re-sealed the box and sent it to the print shop. The problem
arose when the receiving clerk counted the film in daylight.

On a totally different subject, my 16-year-old daughter, Jennifer, is my
pride and joy. Jennifer is squeaky clean. She is an excellent student,
is a role model in the local drug awareness program, and spends most of
her spare time working on various community service projects. She was
invited to go to one of our wonderful East Texas lakes for a week with
our family doctor and a couple of other family friends. When she returned
crying on Sunday evening it took a couple of days to get out of her what
had happened. Turns out she got a citation from the Texas Acholic and
Beverage Commission for possession of an Acholic beverage. Turns out that
one of the hosts had asked her to bring him a beer from his nearby condo.
Jennifer didn't question that and went to get the beer. As she was walking
back to the other condo she was stopped by a TACB agent and cited for a
minor in possession of an Acholic beverage - a $150 fine that would
normally go on her permanent record. In Texas, this is a major offense.
There is no grey area. If you are under 21-years old, if you are not
accompanied by a parent, and if you have any Acholic beverage - open or
sealed - you are guilty. There are no extenuating circumstances. She was
guilty. But, sometimes the system works. The judge listened to what
happened, sentenced her to teen court. In Texas, an offense turned over
to teen court (a jury of teen agers) appears on no record. Teen court
sentenced Jennifer to 30 hours of community service to be performed within
6 months, waived all $$$ fines, and the case was closed. She performs
almost that much community service each month. Occasionally the system
works.

Commercial...

Many years ago I purchased an encyclopedia of business forms that had
some 400 camera-ready business forms covering virtually every small
business requirement. I had this encyclopedia in my customer service
area for customers to browse through. This was a real time saver and
money maker. If my customer required an invoice, he or she could look
through the encyclopedia and find one that met their needs. If they
found one they could use, I charged them $15 to typeset their name and
address on the form. If they needed a modification of the form itself,
I would charge $45 per hour to modify the form.

Today it's much easier. The PTN Graphic Arts Bookshelf is introducing
this new Business Forms Encyclopedia with over 600 camera ready forms
on CDrom for less than $90. The beautiful thing about it is that you can
now more easily modify the form. You can easily edit each form without
having to re-set it.

I would sell 3-4 forms each week out of my Business Forms Encyclopedia.
That would give me $45 to $60 per week return on my investment or between
$2,300 and $3,100 per year profit on a less than $100 investment.
For me, the Business Forms Encyclopedia on CDrom would pay for itself
every two weeks or so. The cost is $89.95 plus $5 shipping and handling
for a total of $94.95. That's a slam dunk deal.

To order, MasterCard, VISA, Discover, American Express, or company check
is accepted. Send your order to:

The House of Gutenberg
Box 151107
Lufkin, TX 75915-1107
Fax - 409-627-1480
e-mail: hotlinecy@aol.com
Til next time, God bless you and yours...
cy


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