Nobody told me this was a race!

I had the opportunity to ponder during a quiet car ride this weekend, so I pondered about the past, present, and future of the printing industry. Although I wasn’t around the commercial printing industry during the 20th century, I’ve heard enough stories to gain an appreciation for history. Nowadays, (unfortunately) commercial printing is considered a commodity product. Somewhere between the past and the present, the art and craft of FINE commercial printing became obsolete.

It seems that my generation, a generation dependent upon "all-in-one-mobile-devices" and "drive-thrus", has prioritized the needs of a purchase as: 1. Price, 2. Speed, 3. And that other stuff (e.g. quality, a trusting relationship, reputation, etc.). Don’t get me wrong, on any given day I can be seen pulling up to my local Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru, but where do we draw the line? Is"speed dentistry" a possibility? How about "Get your own new home built for three easy intsallments of $19,999!"? The thought makes me cringe.

My father is a sales rep for highly reputable design and construction firm. He and his company bring the elements of a quality and trustworthy reputation to new clients. But often their "no corner cutting" and "no surprise costs" attitude equates to a higher price than their competitors. Most of the time, price is the reason that they lose a project.

On the radio, I heard a story about Power Fasteners Inc., the company whose sub-par epoxy caused the fatal July 2006 Boston, MA accident. Now I know I’m stretching a bit here, but really, where do we draw the line?

Well, my point is that great commercial printing is a craft; a craft that we still take very seriously. It’s sad to see so many companies and commercial printers treat it as a commodity business. But on the other side, it’s optimistic to still meet so many clients that still have as strong of a passion for commercial printing as we do.

As always, I welcome plant tours to see fine commercial printing come to life. Please let me know if you’d be interested, and I’d be happy to give you the nickel tour.