The following insert was part of an article written about family owned companies that made their pets more than their companions... they made them work partners! The full article was written by Vince DiCecco

Today, dogs have been elevated to the status of pampered pets. And we, as a society, will do anything for our furry friends. Even at the depth of the ongoing tough economic times, the pet-supply and pet-care industries are still being touted as “recession-proof.” It seems that caring for a canine companion has become as emotional and as much a civic responsibility as raising a child or tending to the needs of the elderly.

Canine Inspiration

MN Designs of Lexington, S.C., is a wholesale sign, digital graphics and screen-printing supply company that sells inks, blank media, and other supplies to qualified resellers, along with sign and screen-print shops. Like many other supply houses, MN strives to offer the best selection of products and friendly, prompt service. But its unique marketing and management weapon is Hollister, a six-year old chocolate Lab, who has his own blog - blog.mndesignsinc.com - on the company website—www.mndesignsinc.com.

According to MN Designs owner, Marsha Newman: “Hollister looks forward to going to work every day. He greets the customers, both young and old. He loves all of our employees and they love him. Whenever he is really fond of someone, he sounds like he’s crying. As a retriever, he always has something in his mouth, even if it is just a piece of banner material. This makes everyone laugh because he is such a goof ball. Employee morale is pretty high because he is really everyone's dog!”

Hollister’s official caretaker is Kelly, Newman’s daughter. When opportunity arose to produce some marketing photos for the catalog and website, Kelly suggested Hollister be the spokes-model, and he came through in a big way, posing by the printers, by banner material, by a vinyl rack but, when asked to don a promotional T-shirt, clearly told the photographer he had gone too far, by pouting in every shot.

Hollister has a special relationship with the UPS driver. Precisely at 3:30 p.m., he is poised at the dock doors to jump into the brown delivery truck, and won’t return to work until he gets his treat. Says Newman, “This is a daily occurrence we think our UPS driver looks forward to.”

Hollister has also inspired a new product line for MN Designs. The company manufactures canvas prints of dogs—both traditional and pop art—and a percentage of the proceeds go to the Wescott Pet Rescue. “This is another morale boost for everyone in the company because we have a corporate purpose: to help homeless pets get the help they need. There is no measure of how much Hollister has given to our company. It would be a completely different business if we didn't have him as our mascot. He shows love to everyone and the return has been immeasurable.”

No matter what industry you were in, 2009 was one of the most difficult years in recent history. We saw record number of unemployment, the bottoming out of customer confidence, and cost-cutting measures within both businesses and families. But, despite the difficulties, some businesses survived and even thrived.

In the print and signage industry, much like last year, banners and signs make up the largest selling products. Retail and POP displays pulled in a very close second. The chart below shows what else made up a majority of the sells for the past year.

This blog post is the third of a series of three relating to successful color matching for screen printing. The author of this very informative article is Mike Ukena, and he is a part of the Union Ink Company.

COLOR MATCHING AS A PRODUCTIVITY TOOL

Color matching systems have become sophisticated enough to minimize the time necessary to simulate a specific Pantone color. Most systems include computer software or even proprietary computer scales that allow for precise control. The software stores all of the Pantone matches plus any customer matches used by the printer.

The time necessary to do most color matches utilizing matching systems is low enough that it usually increases productivity because it is much quicker than mixing from scratch. In practice, quart and gallon quantities of most colors can be formulated and mixed in as little as five minutes.

Larger matching systems, those utilized by large plants, are sophisticated enough to actually measure and meter out precise quantities of ink into the container without the operator having to touch a container. All that is required after that is mixing. But, even the smallest hand systems are relatively quick up to the gallon level.

COLOR MATCHING AS A PROFIT CENTER

While many printers may scoff at the idea of charging customers for color matching, many printers do just that. The most common method I have seen is to offer a standard color pallete and then charge anywhere from $5.00 to $20.00 per color to do custom matches. Even if you do not charge, the ability to exactly match customer colors provides an even more valuable tool for profitability. That is, the ability to reach more customers.

If you just tell potential customers that they can have any color in a particular set and that is it, you will not get all the business that is possible. Those that need custom matches will go elsewhere. By offering custom colors, you increase the pool of potential customers and therefore, the potential profit from having a larger customer base.

You can also use color-matching services as a marketing tool by setting a price on your price list but then waiving it for customers that you really want or need. It is always there if you need it but by showing flexibility, you might just pull in the customer you really want.

INK MATCHING AS A CONVERSATION TOOL

Most ink matching software will also help to calculate the amount of ink required. By entering the screen mesh, coverage area, and the number of prints the software can calculate the amount of ink required with enough margin to cover the mesh. In practice, these systems are quite accurate and do a great job of minimizing ink waste.

Another way to control waste with a matching system is to minimize batch sizes and mix additional ink only if needed. This approach does increase the time required, but with such a small amount of time needed combined with the accuracy of most systems, the tradeoff can be extremely small amounts of waste ink.

RECYCLING OR "WORK OFF"

Many companies now offer systems that can reuse the ink left over after a job. By creating a more sophisticated software database, the printer is able to enter the number of the color of ink mixed previously. The system will then be able to calculate the colors that are possible to mix with that remaining amount and the minimum amount that can be matched.

For example, if the printer completes a job and has 300 grams of Pantone #324 left over, he/she would be able to enter that data into the computer and be given a list of colors that can be mixed by incorporating the remaining #324. This one improvement in software had had a greater impact on reducing ink waste than the introduction of matching systems themselves.

MATCHING SYSTEMS ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE

The printer who is able to run his business by using the stock colors prepared by the ink companies has little use or need for an ink matching system. However, the number of printers who fir this situation is a small percentage of the total. Any printer who does work for outside design people or companies cannot get by without matching ink. If you do color matching, a matching system can pay for itself very quickly.

The initial reason to purchase is usually the time it saves. The added benefits are the reduction in the amount of waste ink that is generated, the increase in potential customers and the added profit potential that the additional customers create.

This blog post is the second of a series of three relating to successful color matching for screen printing. The author of this very informative article is Mike Ukena, and he is a part of the Union Ink Company.

COLOR

Color is the most subjective criteria we have to deal with as screen printers. Everyone seems to be an expert. Everyone sees things a little differently, and color varies depending on the light you are viewing it in. There are expensive machines available that will analyze a color sample and tell you exactly what it is so you can match it... the key word here being expensive.

Most people go by eye, and that is most likely what the customer is going to use to approve a sample, so it is still the overriding criteria in any matching system. Plus, some of the man made colors that we use in screen printing throw off the expensive measuring equipment. Fluorescent/neon colors are very difficult for most of the devices to measure, especially when they are a part of an ink mix.

The key in any shop is a system that works and meets your customer's needs. Whether it is an expensive measuring device or a good eye is not as important as being able to hit a color. And, once you have matched a color, can you do it again and again?

MATCHING SYSTEMS

Most of the major manufacturers have at least one Pantone ink matching system. The advantage to these systems is that they allow you to make exactly what you need for an order. With a little practice, most ink departments can cut their waste by over 50% by using a matching system.

Matching systems are not expensive for the printer to use. The base inks are about the same price and pre-mixed inks and the only extra equipment that is required is an accurate weighing scale and a mixer. A smaller printer can be up and running with a matching system starter kit, a scale, and a small mixer for under $1,000. Larger printers can expand upon the base concept by adding dispensing equipment to speed up the process and to allow for larger batches. These systems run as much as $50,000 but are often subsidized by the ink manufacturer in return for a commitment to their ink.

The disadvantage to these systems is they are either opaque or general purpose, but not both. A small shop can do just fine with an opaque system and the use of a soft hand extender base (a product which reduces the opacity of the ink and makes it more economical to use on lighter fabrics) when printing on light garments. A large shop can justify two systems.

Color matching systems are design to allow a printer to mix specific color shades from a group of basic colors. They are most commonly used to simulate specific Pantone Matching System (PMS) colors. The Pantone colors are the most common system used by advertising agencies, corporations, advertising specialty companies and clothing designers to designate the colors that they want to use on a screen printed product.

TWO DISTINCT MATCHING SYSTEM TYPES

There are two types of systems in use. The differ greatly in philosophy. The two types are generally referred to as "finished ink" systems and "base and pigment" systems.

A finished ink system relies on base inks that are in an RFU (ready to use) formulation. These inks can actually be used right out of the bucket as is. If you like the color, it is printable without mixing.

Base/pigment systems rely on ink bases into which the printer adds a series of pigment concentrates to achieve a color. These systems cannot be used right out of the bucket.

WHICH TYPE IS BETTER?

The usual "it depends" fits real nice right here. Both types have their advantages and disadvantages. Finished ink systems are much easier to use and in general, they are a little less expensive overall. They are easier because it is much more difficult to make a big mixing mistake. If you add too much of a specific color, it is not a huge deal to adjust the other colors to the corrected formula. On the other hand, a finished ink system is less flexible in terms of base formulation. You get the base that the ink is made in and that's it. You can adjust opacity downward, you can put in additives to make it into one of several specialty formulations, but overall, it is more restrictive in terms of different specialty inks that can be made from it.

Stay tuned for part three!

This blog post starts the first of a series of three relating to successful color matching for screen printing. The author of this very informative article is Mike Ukena, and he is a part of the Union Ink Company.

The various ink companies generally formulate screen printing inks in a series of standard colors. There is no effort by the ink companies to match their colors to each other. In fact, most colors are intentionally slightly different from company to company and any match is purely coincidental.

This lack of consistency from ink line to ink line does not help the printer to meet the demands of their customer. The customers, for the most part, do not care what the standard colors are. They know what they want and they specify it on every order.

Traditionally, screen printers have had to take standard colors and blend them together by eye, to try and match specific Pantone colors. The process can be very frustrating and the results disappointing.

Most finished screen inks contain several different pigment colors. These different pigments are necessary to manage the color and make sure it is the same from batch to batch. The ink company is, however, always trying to minimize the number of pigments in a particular color for several reasons. First, the more pigments required, the more time necessary to weigh them out each time a batch is made. Second, the more pigments that are present, the more difficult it is to minutely adjust one pigment and get the desired color.

For instance, the easiest way to make a bright red ink would be to use a single pigment that is that color. However, in practice that is not practical. Either the pigment does not exist in that shade or there is enough variation from batch to batch of the pigment that at least one other complimentary color is necessary to match the shade to the standard. The more various the pigments that are required, the more difficult the practice of matching becomes. When the printer then tries to make an ink color from several different colors of finished ink, the problem is compounded by the many pigment colors in the various inks they are blending.

The problem is even more acute when mixing opaque inks together. Opaque inks contain additional ingredients called opacifiers. These opacifiers help to make ink opaque while decreasing the amount of pigment that is required. The ink companies use these opacifiers to decrease their cost and be more competitive. The opacifiers can play havoc when attempting to match colors. Different inks contain different amounts of opacifiers, and combined with the multitude of pigments it can make matching almost impossible.

The results of many efforts to match colors with standard inks are that the printer ends up with more ink than he/she planned on. In practice, it is not unusual to begin mixing for a quart of a product and end up closer to a gallon before hitting the shade.

Another problem with using standard inks for color matching is the great deal of variation in white inks. White is a major part of many color matches and most white inks are intended to be printed alone and may have brighteners and other ingredients to enhance their coverage. These extra ingredients can play havoc in a color match, throwing it off completely.

The white inks that are a part of ink matching systems are formulated without extra brighteners and are generally referred to as "mixing whites". They have the advantage of not unduly shifting a color match and negatively affecting the other pigments.

Stay tuned for part two!