Blog - Technical Printing Solutions Group, Inc.

Talk about Form Design by Keith Sanders

Keith is President of TPS Group, Inc. and has over 20 years of experience in the industry in both a technicial and management capacity.

Working with Service Bureaus for the better part of my life it is refreshing to see how many people are reaching out to us for information on designing better forms. That is not to say that any of the designs are getting easier, quite the contrary. But at least we have the opportunity to present our ideas before being asked to help with the imaging process. As you discuss options with your print buyers, keep in mind that Océ Pagestream printers and IBM / Infoprint 4100 printers are rated to 160 gsm/2 which is 60 lb. cover or 7.4 points. Even though 7.4 point stock is the max, we have several customers running the 9 point USPS postcard stock through the Pagestreams in Duplex. I am not suggesting that everyone run right out and print postcards just saying that if you are patient and work with your service provider you can be successful with high volume personalized card stock. Remember the equipment needs the margins to be clear (no preprint) for ½” from each edge to mark your forms in duplex. And finally if you attach anything to the face of your forms like cards, stickers, post-its, etc. do not try to image around it. Imaging is spotty and fusing is hit or miss, don’t risk it, redesign it.

2011-10-12 | 0 Comments

Decision Making During Financial Uncertainty by Eran Orgad

Eran is Vice President of TPS Group, Inc., and has 15 years of finance and management experience in the printing industry.

The most difficult decision for a company to make during financial instability is if it should cut cost, invest in innovative technologies, or just sit on the fence in a “sit and wait” mode. And if you cut cost what should be cut? Customer service? Marketing? Research and development?

Don’t forget that we are all working in a marketplace where you might be thinking and contemplating where you want to take your company, and the market is constantly changing. Instead of waiting until the economy finally improves, a company should be proactive and invest in marketing opportunities and methods, such as websites and social media as a first step in an integrated marketing communication program. This will allow the company to communicate and introduce its current and new products, services, events, and most of all improve its brand recognition.

In a time when it is not easy to find financing resources to update your current equipment, and companies are looking to maximize their current capabilities, marketing yourself to new customer base, selling to new verticals via an integrated marketing program is a great way to improve a company’s bottom line, while controlling a manageable budget without increasing its long-term liabilities.

2011-09-23 | 14 Comments

Can't Live Without Labels! by Keith Sanders

Keith is President of TPS Group, Inc. and has over 20 years of experience in the industry in both a technicial and management capacity.

This past year we signed a reseller agreement with Sato Labeling. Most of their printers are smaller than what we are used to and have a table top feel for industrial applications like dock to dock shipping, etc. They replace Zebra style printers. All of them accept the LP100R, it is more like what we are used to in production environments. Great machine if I do say so myself. From a technical perspective we like any printer that you can take all the parts out of in 5 minutes and stick your entire head into. No tools are required which let print operators change expired supplies very quickly this is a no bones machine. I like the IPDS over TCP/IP very much. So we ran the printer and it handles everything! From Gideon’s Bible paper to price tags, to name tags, to RFID, I was amazed. On top of that because of the 2-up paper path, 600 dpi, toner, IPDS over tcp/ip this machine can be a sign off machine in a production environment. Give me a call to take a look at this printer I think you will like what you see.

2011-09-11 | 1 Comments