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.

I thought it was time to move off the China subject and go to something else, but there have been a rash of comments on this site and on my printing groups on LinkedIn that I’m going to post another China related blog in an attempt to address those other concerns.

Are American families, homes, and jobs worth defending?

Sometimes I can’t believe my ears. What has happened to America? Americans used to fight for their rights, but now our fight begins by laying down our guns. Our motto seems to be “why try; it won’t do any good anyway.”

Chinese printers market their low ball prices in the United States aided by two main things:

• Their costs are one-tenth of ours. How did I arrive at that figure? It was easy; I know how much minimum wage is in the US. Remember this wage is mandated by the government. Employers have to pay it. They also have to pay matching Social Security, so the real figure is much higher. I also read an article in Reuters that discussed how much the average factory worker earns in China. Without matching Social Security, they earn 1/10th.  Suppose you are a Chinese printer marketing to the US, how difficult would it be to come in at half the price when your labor costs are less than 1/10th? Who is making the real money here? The Chinese workers? Ha!

• China plays hardball when it comes to International Trade. They are members of the WTO, but you don’t have to look far to see filing, after filing, after filings of Chinese trade violations for anti-dumping and anti-subsidies. Some states have a three times you are out law to penalize career criminals. If we held China up to this same standard they would right now be serving several consecutive lifetime sentences. They can import some products to the US for 2-5% duties. We, on the other hand, have to pay some 24% to sell there. It is wrong, it isn’t fair, and it is killing the US economy.

Since our government won’t help, and the business elite are benefiting from cozy relationships with foreign countries, there is only one thing left to “we the people,” and that is our collective buying power. If enough of us refuse to buy Chinese, Pakistani, Indian, Mexican, or any other products made from cheap labor we can turn the tide.

Some say that it is unfair to blame these countries because it is the American consumer who really controls the prices. Of course I want low prices, but not at the expense of putting myself or my neighbors out of work. I don’t know about everyone else, but if presented with two identical items and one is made in the US and the other in China I would rather buy American, even if it was a little more. I would not choose Chinese industry over American.

What about the automobile business, didn’t the Japanese do the same thing? No — they didn’t. They didn’t compete solely on price, although they used price at first to get our attention. What they did is build a better vehicle than the crap being pumped out by Detroit. I hate it that we lost this giant industry to foreign competition, but we deserved to lose it. Not because of the workers but because of the fat cats at the top who left the office every day counting their lavish bonuses while steadily guiding their companies into bankruptcy. Bonuses for bad leadership — whoever thought that was a good idea?

We are experiencing a 10% unemployment rate in the United States right now, primarily because of a few bankers who used vast lobbying power to influence congress. Our government systematically deregulated the banking and financial institutions until we got chaos. Those who believe in free markets, take note, without some control everything goes to hell, quickly.

There is an axis of evil to coin a phrase from George W. Bush. Americans are being crushed economically by Wall Street Bankers, the US Congress, the Insurance industry, and unfair foreign competition. Until these four entities are brought to task it is going to do nothing but get worse. Do you hate 10% unemployment, reduced wages, and increased working hours? That is just a start. Over the next few decades we will see 25% unemployment, salaries cut to the bone, and typical working days of 16 hours. Once Wall Street has us where they want us, poor, starving, and desperate we will be competitive with China, because we will be reduced to their level. Welcome to the new America, the one world government, the one fashioned by the true axis of evil.

Where's YOUR money going? To China, my friend. To China.

If you thought my recent China post was more of a rant than an article, you are right. Offshore printing is an issue that gets me boiling.  I hope that I wasn’t misunderstood. I am not anti-China, nor am I anti-Chinese. What I am is anti-slave-like labor, anti-poor-working-conditions, and anti-business-profiteers using low prices to destroy the competition. In 1890 The Sherman Antitrust Act recognized the illegality of using low prices as a means to force out competition. If Sherman could be used against companies like AT&T, Microsoft, American Steel, etc. why can’t it be used against Chinese printers to prevent their unfair competition?

Someone wrote that I am just upset because China is doing to us what America did to Europe. It is not the same. America became a strong manufacturing and trading country because of innovation. We invented the assembly line, the steamboat, and the cotton gin. These innovations made products cheaper because they could be manufactured faster and get to market quicker. Other than in Taiwan, what has China invented in the last century to change the world? And I’m not too sure of Taiwan.  Oh sure, they may have come up with a product improvement here or there, but I’m racking my brains to think of anything new. So, they compete solely on being cheaper, and they accomplish that by underpaying workers, disregarding environmental impacts of their products, and keeping workers working in sweatshop conditions. Maybe that is China’s contribution, the sweatshop. Way to go China, you get to take credit for the sweatshop. Now there’s something to be proud about.

I have a business associate who is familiar with the situation of workers in Chinese print shops. He tells me that they stay in dorms during the working week because they put in 14 to 16 hours a day on the job. They also stay in dorms because it takes a half-day to travel to their homes. So a typical work week is 84 to 96 hours with one day off, and that day is spent largely in travel.

Those living high-on-the-hog business people in China, and anywhere really, who get away with being able to offer ridiculously low prices by taking advantage of poverty conditions in their countries should be brought to task. By engaging in this behavior they hurt their workers, and lead the world economy in a downward spiral. If the only way to compete is to duplicate their working conditions and wages, we can look forward to a very bleak existence. If you want to know what the future holds for America in 50 years, just look at where China is now. Do you like what you see?

It is true that American business people were once allowed to be as ruthless as the Chinese are now. It took many bloody union wars to force better working conditions and wages. There was a time when they were desperately needed and were run by dedicated men who truly were on the side of the workers. Will the unions be able to prevent the coming collapse of the middle class? It’s doubtful. Unions steadily lost ground through corruption and vilification by the ruling class. The upper 2% has almost total control over Washington, the Unions, and apparently the Supreme Court based on their recent rulings giving corporations and foreign entities unlimited rights to promote their political agendas. Look out China, your unfair competitive edge will dissipate when American’s standard of living drops to your level. Trading will then be equal, but sad, very sad indeed.