Day 1, Bill Ruesch recession recovery diary

Dear Readers,

You may have noticed that I haven’t been posting for awhile. I have to confess that this recession has knocked the wind out of my sails. You know what happens to a sailing ship when there is no wind. It’s stuck. I’ve been stuck.

Sparked an idea in me.

Just recently I caught the movie Julie and Julia on cable TV. The only saving grace for enduring a “chick-flick” was that it centered around cooking and food–two of my favorite things.

I liked the fact that Julie blogged daily about her experiences while trying to accomplish the feat of cooking 524 Julia Child French cooking recipes in a year, all the while balancing a full-time job, husband, and mother. Her mother was one of those challenging people who was critical of everything Julie did. Talk about pressure.

What does this have to do with printing? Nothing, except it sparked an idea. Why don’t I write a brutally honest diary of my efforts to climb out of the deep cavern that the recession put me in? Before any of you worry too much about me, I do have to say that we are doing okay. We cut expenses wherever we could and we’ve (my wife and I) have been adding additional revenue streams. No, it is not like it used to be. For around twenty years I could count on an annual six-figure income. Not anymore. So I either have to make it somewhere else or find ways to turn print brokering back into a profitable enterprise.

What I will do is day-by-day write about my thoughts, plans, efforts, and results. If you get some ideas from my blog that helps you turn your own recession-depression around feel free to share  your comments so that others can be buoyed and energized.

Tally-ho! The future will be here tomorrow. If you don’t grab it somebody else will.

Nothing is easy in printing.

There are ALWAYS challenges in printing. The very premise of offset printing is based on the adage that oil (ink) and water don’t mix. So what do we do? We find a way to make that particular law of physics work for us. They don’t mix huh? Good, let’s find a way to lay water down on the areas of the plate that we don’t want to pickup ink,  and ink on the places we want to print. It sounds simple–right?

Ka-Boom!

It’s about as simple as finding a way to smoothly power an automobile based on tiny explosions in the motor. That sounds like an odd way to say internal combustion engine, but that is what it is, propulsion created by explosion. When put this way it sounds dangerous, doesn’t it?

It’s easier said than done.

Recently I was asked to find a source to print board books for children. Until I looked into it, I had no idea what a challenge I was undertaking. If you have been following my blogs it will come as no surprise to you that I am steadfast in my opposition to  overseas printing. The US printing industry is hurting and sending money out of the country during this recession (that we’ve been told is over–ha,ha) makes it more difficult for us to climb out of the hole. I’m not a China basher, but I feel strongly about supporting the American economy first.

Really, is China the only choice?

Herein was my problem. I was told that US printers don’t print board books. Board book printing is almost exclusively done in China.

Humidity is good for skin, but bad for books.

Given my predisposition toward printing in the US and the dearth of printers here I was about to resign myself to going overseas, BUT there was another rub. My customer had been printing in China and was experiencing problems with warped pages.

A Book With Warped Pages is Like a Birthday Cake Someone Sat On.

They were told that the warping was occurring because of humidity. Nothing is more humid than a ship at sea. The only thing more humid is actually being in the ocean. What do you do when the only place printing the product you need is overseas and the shipping back to our shores is creating warped pages? The answer seemed easy enough to them–find a mainland printer.

Where’s a miracle worker when you need one?

And, since I, Bill Ruesch Print Broker, have always been able to solve even their toughest production problems, they confidently turned to me.

It is flattering to think that my customers have so much faith in me–that’s the good news–the bad news is that it’s a compliment that carries a certain weight of responsibility. If I let them down, even once, will they choose to go elsewhere for future business? Yikes!

So, there I was stuck between what appeared to be an impossible production dilemma, and customers who expect me to solve it, impossible or not. Was I up to the task?

Ta-Da!

Do I dare alter the old cliche` and say, “where there’s a Bill there’s a way?” Okay the previous was a shameless, self-serving, pat on my own back, but by golly I found a printer that meets the criteria. There is only one, can you believe it, the only one in the country, but I located them.  I would tell you, dear reader, who the printer is, but I would rather keep that information confidential. I can say that should you need to get a board book printed, call me at (801) 474-1270 and I will gladly assist you. It’s my job.

Seeking Glimpses of the Future

I have my crystal ball out. It is sitting right in front of me on my desk. I’ve been searching its depths for some clue about the future of printing, publishing, and related industries. You know what I get? Nothing.

The only thing I know for sure is that things will change. This little prophesy doesn’t mean much, except to say that time is a river and we can either find a way to float with the current, or test our strength against it. (Pretty poetic wouldn’t you say?)

I’ve spent a lifetime, so far, learning all about offset printing. I now know quite a lot, but what is that worth? What is it worth really? When I think back, I can remember people who were expert typesetters and others who were great with scanning drums for four color separations. Their hard won knowledge became irrelevant almost instantly with the changes in technology.

I used to laughingly pontificate that someday Bill Ruesch Print Broker, would consist only of an equipment filled Winnebago. Customers would provide me with art files. I would drive over to the paper merchant’s warehouse, load-in the stock, and by the time I arrived at the customer’s dock the job would be completely printed, folded, and bound.

Book in a Box

That used to be my weird vision of the future. It made me and my customers chuckle at the absurdity. It isn’t so funny anymore now that the Espresso Book Machine exists. In one machine a whole book is created; from file to finished product in less than seven minutes.  Seven minutes–printed, bound, and ready to read. That is if you have hot pads. I understand that the books come out pretty warm and need to cool down a bit.

My vision of the future has come true. What do I see in the future now? I haven’t a clue. I think my predictor must be on the blink. I’d be willing to go out on a limb by stating, “It doesn’t matter what crazy, ridiculous, impossible notion we conceive, someone is probably already a step or two ahead of us, and are right this moment building something to make it happen.”

I’m prepared to be amazed. How about you?