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Date: Tue, 17 Dec 1996 06:00:01 -0600
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From: Cy Stapleton hotlinecy@inu.net
Subject: December Hotline Newsletter
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    Hotline Newsletter
    December 1996
    by Cy Stapleton

    To the best of my knowledge, this mailing list has been
    cleaned up and is only being sent to those who
    requested it, however in case this newsletter was sent
    to you in error, simply reply with the word REMOVE in
    either the Subject or Message field. Feel free to forward this
    newsletter to any friends you feel may be interested.

    =====

    The Hotline Newsletter is a free e-mail newsletter
    provided to members of the printing and graphic arts
    industry by Cy Stapleton of Helene's Hotline and PTN
    Publishing's Graphic Arts Group (Quick Printing,
    Southern Graphics, Printing News East, Printing News
    Midwest, and Print Business Register.) Back issues of
    the newsletter as well as a number of other documents
    are available through my listserver. To get an index of
    the available documents, send an e-mail message to:
    hotinfo@printer-net.com. In the Subject or Topic field
    type the word INDEX and send the message. Shortly an
    index of available documents and their keywords will
    appear in your mailbox.

    =====

    One question that comes up on a regular basis relates to
    copyright laws. A free booklet is available from the
    Copyright Office. To obtain a copy, call (202)
    707-3000. The voice mail will direct you to the proper
    source.

    =====

    Ever wished you could use your favorite graphic as an
    icon in Win95. It's easy. Save the graphic as a .BMP
    file and remember the filename and folder it's in. Let's
    say you want to change the icon for PageMaker. Go to My
    Computer and to the PageMaker folder. Open that folder
    and locate the executable command (i.e. PM.EXE or
    whatever). Click on that icon one time with your right
    mouse button. When the box drops down click on
    Properties. At Properties click on the Program tab. When
    the Program screen opens, click on Change Icon. A group
    of available icons will appear. Note the box (File
    Name) that has the path and filename (i.e.
    C:\windows\system\???). Change that to the path and
    filename to your .BMP and click OK until you are out of
    the Properties. Win95 will create an icon and replace
    the existing icon with your new one. Nifty..

    =====

    It is becoming rather common for large companies who
    previously had in-plant or captive print shops to
    outsource those services to larger printing firms.
    However, in the last couple of months two very small
    printers shared their experiences with me concerning
    their success in using this philosophy to substantially
    increase their business. Since both situations were
    similar, I'm going to combine the most creative
    portions of both, cover the high points and let those
    who are interested develop their own game plan.

    Here is the scenario. A medium size manufacturing
    company has their own printing operation. The
    pressperson either left the company for another job or
    retired. In both of these cases, the pressperson had
    given substantial notice to the company. The printer was
    doing a little overload work for the company and when
    asked if he knew of a pressperson who might be looking
    for a job, the printer saw a potential opportunity.

    He made an appointment with management to cover the most
    important question first - getting their day-to-day
    printing out in the same time frame their own print
    shop was able to do. The next part of the proposal was
    to allow him to do a detailed cost analysis of their
    print shop operation.

    Management liked the idea and the printer worked with
    the pressperson for several days going over in detail
    his job tickets. He then inventoried all equipment and
    stock, determined the value of the print shop employees
    salary and benefits, cost of utilities and floor space,
    etc. He got an appraisal for the fair market value of
    the equipment and put his figures together.

    The printer found that by having the company outsource
    their printing requirements to him, they could realize
    a bottom line savings in excess of $125,000 annually
    while increasing the printer's profitable billing by
    some $180,000 annually.

    The printer's proposal was that he would produce the
    company's requirements in the same turn-around that
    they had become accustomed to by having their own
    in-plant shop; he would purchase the equipment at fair
    market value; and all printing would be billed on a
    mutually agreeable cost plus basis.

    Since the printer did not have the liquid assets to
    purchase the equipment outright, an agreement was made
    to apply 10% of the gross monthly billing until the
    equipment was paid in full and that the printer would
    receive title to that equipment immediately.

    The printer kept the equipment and supplies he could
    use and sold the remainder - giving him additional
    working capital.

    Great idea and very creative selling.

    =====

    For the last couple of weeks there has been an
    interesting question being addressed on HotTalk. One
    subscriber got it started by announcing his frustration
    concerning vendors who consistently ship and bill 10%
    overs. My response was that when I entered this industry
    as a sales rep for a major bindery I questioned the fact
    that my company consistently shipped and billed for
    overs. It was seldom that an order was shipped with the
    exact quantity ordered. It didn't take me long to
    realize that those overs contributed to increased
    commissions.

    As I learned more about the business I was introduced
    to our industry's trade customs and discovered that the
    +/- 10% has been a part of those accepted trade customs
    for almost a century.

    The bottom line, as far as I was concerned, was that a
    problem never arose when the customer was made aware of
    this policy and all quotes were based upon either unit
    cost or cost per 1,000. In my small operation this
    amounted to about $25,000 in additional sales each year
    and that $25,000 was the most profitable sale I had.

    While a number of subscribers agreed, I was astounded
    that there were a number of subscribers who felt this
    was unethical.

    It would be interested to get the input from Hotline
    newsletter readers on your philosophy on overs. Do you
    charge your customers for overs (or unders) or do you
    bill for the quantity ordered? Do you estimate jobs by
    the job or by a price per M? Do you include a copy of
    our trade customs with each estimate and print them on
    the back of your invoice? Do you ship overs without
    charging for them or do you put them on the shelf or
    dump them?

    I will report on the responses in a future Hotline
    newsletter.

    =====

    Advertise that excess equipment or stock free through
    FleaMarket. Dr. Terry Montgomery has set up another
    listserver on PrinterNet. Like all listservers, you must
    first subscribe (subscriptions are free). Send an e-mail
    message to: fleamarket@printer-net.com and in the
    Subject or Topic field type the word SUBSCRIBE. Nothing
    is required in the message area unless your software
    requires it. If so, type a couple of junk letters and
    send the message. Shortly you will receive a welcome
    message. Once you have received that welcome message you
    can send an e-mail message that contains what you have
    for sale or what you are looking for. All you do is to
    type the item(s) in the Subject or Topic field (i.e.
    1250Multi; Carbonless Paper; Collator; etc.) and in the
    message area describe what you have for sale or what you
    are looking for. Send the message to:
    fleamarket@printer-net.com and that message will go to
    all subscribers. Interested subscribers can respond to
    your personal e-mail address or to fleamarket. You will
    want to put the address: fleamarket@printer-net.com in
    your address book.

    Keep in mind this is a new listserver and doesn't have
    a lot of subscribers yet. The more subscribers the
    listserver gets, the more items and prospective buyers
    we will have.

    =====

    Outstanding e-mail software...

    Qualcomm has recently introduced their new version of
    Eudora Mail Pro Version 3.0. This should be available
    through your local computer store or through any
    computer mail order house. Dealer cost is about $52.75
    and the retail is $89.00. You should be able to get a
    copy for somewhere between those two prices. Eudora is
    an incredibly powerful and easy-to-use e-mail
    application. It allows for the attachment of multiple
    documents to a message; gives you the ability to format
    your messages (i.e. bold or colored text, etc.); and
    allows you to manage multiple e-mail accounts. There are
    powerful filters that allow you to automatically sort
    mail and set up automated responses to common requests.
    There is a built-in spell checker and a button bar that
    allows even novices to get started fast. You can create
    templates for outgoing messages, signatures, and much
    more. For additional information, visit their web site
    at: http://www.eudora.com.

    =====

    Printing's Past - by Frank Granger

    Frank Granger is a printing technology teacher who uses
    the history of our industry as a teaching tool. This
    piece on Erasmus - the first of the Tramp Printers - is
    his latest piece.

    Here lies an old book, its cover gone,
    its leaves torn, the worms at work on its vitals.

    (epitaph of Desiderius Erasmus - 1466-1536 - and the
    inspiration for Benjamin Franklin's epitaph.)

    To call Erasmus, the greatest classical scholar of the
    Renaissance, a tramp of any sort seems at first
    disrespectful. It is said he was the most brilliant and
    wisest man of his day. He was at home in over 18
    languages. He could do the work of ten scholars. The
    leaders of Germany, England and Rome offered him high
    positions in authority. But, Erasmus would have liked
    the title tramp printer because that is what he was.

    Tramp printers were skilled printers, journeymen
    blessed with the wanderlust, who traveled the country,
    from shop to shop. In the early days of printing, they
    gleaned and sowed the best of the technical knowledge.
    Printers needed their labor and gained the benefit of
    trade secrets borrowed from other printers.

    Erasmus was born to wealth in Holland, the son of
    Gerhard von Praet and a mother of unannounced social
    status. When his father died, the trustees snatched the
    wealth and had the courts send Erasmus to a monastery as
    a penniless waif. His education dictated that he become
    a priest, and his skill as a scribe allowed him to enter
    the service of the Bishop of Cambray. As part of his
    religious duties he traveled throughout Europe before
    leaving the priesthood.

    He continued to travel as a printer. He designed the
    books that he wrote. He helped spread the ideas of the
    Renaissance and cool the intolerant emotions on both
    sides of the Reformation. It was a time when the
    followers of Luther wanted to split the church and the
    anti-Reformationists wanted to destroy the reformers.
    Erasmus sought to reform without division and tried to
    teach the ideal of harmony among professing Christians.
    His moderation and attempts at reconciliation allowed
    him access to both sides in the Reformation, but he did
    not totally please either side.

    He worked for a while with the publisher, John Froben,
    in Basil, Switzerland. He was not merely a scholar, but
    an authority on books and printing. He established the
    classic page margin: Twice as wide on the top as the
    inside; twice as wide at the outside as the top and
    twice as wide on the bottom as on the side. He
    established a superior level of quality for Froben's
    books. Erasmus said, To use poor paper marks the
    decline of taste, both in printer and in patron.

    He had his critics. One who took strong exception to his
    theological ideas was a printer and possibly not a very
    good one. Erasmus called him a schamp because he used
    cheap paper and ink and tight margins. The word evolved
    into scamp, which is a printer who cheats on paper
    weight, size, count or quality.

    From Froben, in Switzerland, he moved on to work in the
    household of Aldus Manutius in Italy. The Aldine Press
    became the most important publisher of inexpensive books
    in Europe. Erasmus was important in the design as well
    as the research and writing at the Aldine Press. His
    books best sellers and widely distributed.

    His lifelong work included 1,500 letters with over 500
    persons. This correspondence gives illumination to the
    development of ideas during the Reformation and
    Renaissance. His chief work was a New Testament in Greek
    with a Latin translation. His Manual or Dagger of the
    Christian Soldier emphasized the uselessness of show in
    religion as contrasted to the spirit of sincere
    apostolic piety. His most famous work was The Praise of
    Folly, a satire.

    He sought reform in the Church, but without splitting
    it. He gained both the respect and vindictive anger of
    both the reformers and the conservatives. As a printer
    he was more successful. He established standards of
    quality and design that were benchmarks for centuries.

    Towards the end he removed himself almost entirely from
    religious life and the Church removed itself from him.
    He attended no confessions or services and his illness
    and death were not attended by a priest. At the end of
    his life he said I am much more proud of being a
    printer than a priest.

    Copyright 1996 by Frank Granger
    549 Harper Davis Road
    Lake Wylie, SC 29710
    E-mail: printpast@aol.com
    Reprinted with permission.

    =====

    Book Reviews...

    The PTN Graphic Arts Bookshelf has many outstanding
    valuable tools for the small to medium size printer.
    Let's take a look at a couple of the best sellers.

    This month we will cover a video seminar by one of the
    industry's most respected consultants and Business Forms
    templates.

    =====

    Seminar on Video...

    Jeff Hazlett doesn't need an introduction in our
    industry. He consistently fills his seminars and those
    attending leave with more than enough information to
    smoke the competition.

    Jeff's How to rip the head off your competition is a
    set of audio tapes that shows business owners the basic
    techniques needed to survive and grow during these
    turbulent economic times. It includes the fundamentals
    of doing business and management motivating and
    marketing. You will learn proven techniques that will
    enable you to smoke the competition. Jeff helps you
    identify key problems and opportunities, priortize their
    importance, create strategies to solve and take
    advantage of them, and create an action plan. Areas
    covered are: Bullet-proof your business against
    aggressive competition; Develop new profit centers;
    Attracting and keeping a winning team; The business of
    new business; Mapping a sales strategy for a turbulent
    economy; and How to turn a competitor's account.

    How to rip the head off your competition is available
    from the PTN Graphic Arts Bookshelf for $105 including
    shipping. Fax (409) 637-1480 or call (409) 637-7475 for
    more details.

    =====

    Business Forms Templates...

    Many small printers have profitably used the best
    selling book, The Business Forms Encyclopedia for
    many years. The book contained some 250 camera ready
    forms where all you had to do is let your customer pick
    out the form he required, and you simply set his name
    and address, pasted it on the camera ready copy, shoot
    and run.

    Today it's much easier and more profitable. The
    Business Forms on CD has updated versions of all of the
    forms that were in the Business Forms Encyclopedia, plus
    many more - a total of over 600 camera ready templates
    in Mac or PC format. The forms were created in PageMaker
    and the CD has the documents in PageMaker, .EPS, and
    Acrobat format, which will allow you to import and
    modify them in virtually any page makeup software. Now
    there is no problem if a customer wants a column head
    changed; a rule moved, etc.

    Business Forms on CD comes with a printed reference
    book for easy counter display or for field sales. Your
    customer simply picks out the form he is interested in,
    marks the changes he would like made, and in a couple of
    minutes you can have his custom form.

    All forms are indexed to the reference book for easy
    reference and cross referenced with a simple-to-follow
    numbering system. Business Forms CD is available from
    the PTN Graphic Arts Bookshelf for $94.99 including
    shipping and handling. To order or for further
    information, fax (409) 637-1480 or call (409) 637- 7475.

    =====

    Commercial...

    If you would like the Hotline database or the Hotline Ad
    Specialty database on your own computer, please request
    a copy of our brochure and give us your fax number. You
    may e-mail that request to hotlinecy@aol.com or fax your
    request to (409) 637-1480. These are the industry's
    premier source databases. The Hotline database contains
    over 9,000 vendors and over 18,000 products and the Ad
    Specialty database contains over 3,000 direct
    manufacturers of ad specialty products and over 33,000
    products. The stand-alone databases are $104 each
    (including shipping) or $195 if both are ordered at the
    same time. Many users claim that the databases more than
    paid for themselves in additional profits the first time
    they used them. This is not something like Helene's
    Hotline, it is the identical database that is on the
    Hotline computer and is used to respond to some 125
    daily source inquiries from printers across the country.

    
    Til next time, God bless you and yours...
         cy




The House of Gutenberg

Cy Stapleton

Box 151107

Lufkin, TX 75915-1107

(409) 637-7475

Fax (409) 637-1480

Email - hotlinecy@aol.com



Tuesday, January 14, 1997 2:10:30 PM