Newborn Print Owners (March 2013)

Canada’s LargestGraphics & Printing Show

graphicscanada.comToronto, Nov 21-23

KNOCKING OUTTHE COMPETITION25% OFF! www.shop.heidelberg.com

1 800 363 4800

The New Peace of Mind:Saphira Consumables

.com

MaximizeMaximize Your

PrintingPrinting Profits

Maximize Your

Printing Profits

PROVEN PLATE PERFORMANCE.

PM40010868 R10907 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to 610 Alden Rd., Suite 100, Markham ON L3R 9Z1

VICTORIA GAITSKELL

On January 2, 2013, over 30,000 owners of small in-dependent commercial printing companies, mostlyin the United States, received an e-mail inviting

them to join a brand new trade association, the National Print Owners Association (NPOA) Inc. Thee-mail explained that over the preceding four months,19 printers like themselves had founded NPOA to meettheir own business needs, after many of them had be-come frustrated by the failure of existing associationsto understand and serve their sector of the industry.Often referred to as quick printers in the past, this largesubgroup consists of companies with annual salesroughly in the range of $500,000 to $3 million.

The e-mail added that not only had NPOA alreadyset up a Website that was growing its content almostdaily and already acquired numerous members since itsoffcial introduction on December 21, 2012 on the pop-ular PrintOwners list server. The new association hasalso already scheduled its first Owner’s Conference inNew Orleans from April 19 to 21, 2013.

Besides being impressed by such quick work in set-ting up the NPOA, I was curious to know more for sev-eral reasons. One primary reason is that, from 1999 to2004, I managed the Ontario Association of QuickPrinters (OAQP), the Canadian chapter of the U.S.-based National Association of Quick Printers (NAQP,founded 1975).

The OAQP seems to have lapsed into complete inac-tivity since my departure and the NAQP responded tothe general decline in association memberships over thepast two decades by merging in 2005 with the NationalAssociation for Printing Leadership (NAPL), a largerU.S. trade association for management education andresearch.

This history reinforces a second reason for my cu-riosity: NPOA was founded at a stage when the goal ofmost trade associations is not independent growth butconsolidation. Two further cases in point are the 2012merger of the Canadian Printing Industries SectorCouncil (CPISC) with the Canadian Printing Indus-tries Association (CPIA), and the recently discontinuedmerger talks between NAPL and Printing Industries ofAmerica (PIA). Of course the current size and struc-ture of the PIA is the result of an earlier merger with

the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation in 1999.A third reason for my curiosity is that, although the

founding of NPOA raised considerable controversy inthe United States’ trade press, thus far media interviewswith the founders about their motives seem to be inshort supply. So with many questions begging to be an-swered, I spoke separately to three of NPOA’s most-ac-tive founders to uncover the reasons and events behindNPOA’s sudden rise. They are: Jace Prejean, Owner ofBayou Printing & Graphics in Houma, Louisiana, whois the new association’s President; John Henry, Ownerof Mitchell Printing & Mailing in Oswego, New York,NPOA’s Treasurer; and Scott Cappel, Owner of Sor-rento Mesa Printing in San Diego, California, one ofNPOA’s three Conference Co-chairs, who also managesone of NPOA’s communications forums, an openLinkedIn discussion group that attracted 320 membersin its first six weeks of operation.

Successful printersAt age 12, Prejean started sweeping floors at a printingcompany and has never left the business. Straight outof high school, he went to work for a printing companyfor nine years, then in 1983 he opened Bayou Printing& Graphics Inc. with one small offset Chief 17 press ina 24 x 30-foot building in his backyard. From there hisbusiness has gradually expanded into a little bit ofeverything, including direct mail and wide format. (Healso currently owns Dooley’s Neighborhood Bar inHouma, an hour outside New Orleans.)

Henry’s grandfather, Wier (W.P.) Mitchell, startedMitchell Printing as a letterpress operation in 1930.Henry has worked there since his student days atRochester Institute of Technology. The business nowemploys nine people, including Henry and his wife,doing general commercial printing and mailing, withemphasis on certain niches, including health care, hos-pitals, and colleges. Five years ago, Henry mergedMitchell’s Speedway Press into his company after pur-chasing it from the Caruso brothers, who besides beingprinters were owners of Oswego’s automobile racetrackand printed for racetracks around the country. Speed-way now generates about a third of Henry’s profits, andhe travels the racing circuit with his son and staff mem-

bers on weekends between March and October.During university, Cappel ran presses and sold print-

ing until he graduated with a Bachelors degree in chem-istry. He worked in the science field for three years, thenstarted Sorrento Mesa Printing in partnership with aprinting colleague, whom he bought out six monthslater. His company now consists of five highly seasonedstaff, an advanced workflow-management-integrationsystem, and colour-managed toner and offset produc-tion. They do B2B work for a carefully selected clienteleof corporations based mostly in the San Diego area,with a number of these accounts served nationally,many in biotechnology and biomedical fields. “Nichebusiness is where the opportunities for printing com-panies are these days, and the Internet has enabled usto develop corporate-branded portals that transformedus from a vendor into a strategic extension of ourclients’ operation,” says Cappel.

From at least the 1990s until the NAPL/NAQPmerger, Prejean, Henry, and Cappel were all activemembers and committee and/or board members ofNAQP. Additionally, through NAQP’s annual owners’conferences and various dedicated list servers they metand forged close-knit friendships with many othersmall business owners from whose number NPOA’s 19founders emerged. Regardless of whether or not theyhave maintained their memberships in NAPL/NAQP,all 19 founders maintain frequent contact and mutualsupport for each other via phone, e-mail, list servers,and social media.

“Almost to a person, NPOA’s founders all very suc-cessful printers, tested by time, with many years andchanges under our belt. It’s a savvy bunch,” says Cappel.“Nineteen busy people wouldn’t be wasting time onNPOA if we didn’t think there was value in it.”

A small get-togetherPrejean describes how NPOA started with his originalsuggestion to hold a small, casual gathering: “Aroundlast September I called John Henry and said, ‘Why don’twe get together in the spring in New Orleans withmaybe half a dozen of our other good friends with suc-cessful shops to exchange ideas and share some social

12 • PRINTACTION • MARCH 2013

Newborn Print OwnersThree-month-old National Print Owners Association holds sold-outconference in April

Jace Prejean John Henry Scott Cappel

Continued on page 36

Presentation Foldersfrom File to Finish

Free

Aqueous

Coating

on 4-Colour

Process

$77500

12 1 or 2 Sides

PRINTING & DIE CUTTINGUP TO 40” - 6 COLOUR + AQ

Tel: 416-231-1475 or Toll Free 1-866-292-1475Fax:416-740-3054

www.tradepocketfolders.com

NEWEnvelopes

Trade Prices

POCKET FOLDERS

NUMBERING MACHINES

6 & 7-1440 Graham’s LaneBurlington, ON L7S 1W3

Phone: (800) 547-8848Fax: (800) 705-9881

Superior ServiceProgressive Technology

FREE Daily pick up & delivery in the Western G.T.A.Visit www.petersdies.com to learn more!

STEEL RULE DIES

Tel: 416.740.3388Toll-Free: 1.888.388.5538

CANADIANPRINTINGRESOURCESINC.



See our ad on page 37

[email protected]

TRADE PRINTING

TRADE PRINTING


networking time?’ One guy called an-other guy and before we knew it, over 20owners said they wanted to come.”

Participants then suggested the possi-bilities of guest speakers or even creatinga new, legally constituted trade associa-tion. To resolve their different ideas intoa mutually agreeable action plan, theyshared a 2-hour conference call in lateOctober, using an objective volunteer fa-cilitator to help them reach consensus. ByDecember the group had enlisted JohnStewart of QP Consulting Inc. (WestMelbourne, Florida) to serve as tempo-rary Acting Executive Director of thefledgling association. Stewart is a found-ing NAQP member, known for his bluntspeaking style and the training sessionsand statisti-cal reports heprovided fordecades forNAQP.

Henry ex-plains that,although asmany as 30p r i n t e r shelped origi-nate NPOA,some wereunwilling tocontribute start-up funds. The 19 who,along with Stewart, gave equal amounts towards the $5,000 or $6,000 needed tolegalize the association became its officialfounders. “Everyone sent in their credit-card information and Pay-Tel cheques,but we couldn’t cash them until an attor-ney incorporated the association, so[Stewart] self-funded the operation untilthen.”

Filling a vacuumI questioned all three founders about theintroduction to NPOA’s home page thatreads: “NPOA offers a viable alternativeto printers (both independents and fran-chisees) who are currently members ofother trade associations, but are dissatis-fied with the return on their investment.This new association also seeks to attractmany other printers who have chosen notto join any association because none haveappeared, so far, to satisfy their needs.”

Henry attests that the rising costs ofparticipating in other associations moti-vated NPOA to keep its dues and otherpricing modest enough that owners ofeven the smallest companies can affordthem. He recalls: “As NAPL/NAQP’sprices, conference fees, and membershipdues went up, a few members of NAQP’sAdvisory Board requested informationon the association’s pay levels of its topstaff. They were told they had no right tothat information and only the executiveboard was entitled to know the details.

“But publicly available copies of theInternal Revenue Service’s form 990showed that NAPL/NAQP was paying ex-ecutive salaries to their five Vice Presi-dents and President/CEO of betweenabout $180,000 to $350,000, and thattheir compensation had risen as mem-bership had dwindled. About two-and-a-half years ago, I discontinued mymembership because I decided I didn’twant to be supporting them.”

GaitskellContinued from page 12

John C. Stewart

THERMOGRAPHY

!"#"$%$&'()*(&+,&&&-./00&1'(&2(".*34

!! "" ### $$ ### %% && '' (( )) ** ++ ### ,, )) ** -- && .. )) //TT 9 0 5 . 3 7 0 . 1 8 7 5 FF 9 0 5 . 4 8 2 . 9 4 2 8 EE U V _ U B S @ y a h o o . c a

9 5 E a s t B e a v e r C r e e k R d . U n i t 6 R i c h m o n d H i l l O N L 4 B 1 L 4

Quality ! " # " $ %

DD ii gg ii tt aa ll && OO ff ff ss ee tt

!"#"$%"&'

00111111 ### #### 22 334400$("#"$)"&'

00111111 ####### 22 335500

!"#$%&'(%&)#*+&,$-.#*&/

*+,-.'/"01234"&-1556,&7*8%0/(&&9&6,,,&9&6 7 856,&:"#)';&&9&6,,,&9&6 7 9<!=&.'0'%(3>&$*?/00".&8'0)&@&3"0A*(&/#)&10/2&2("#?"#8&/03'&/A/"0/B0*C

!"#$%&'()&%"*"'+",+)-."++%/01%2'//)1)#3%

&'()&%"#2%45"#3'3$-

::;;<<=="""//;;>>"""??@@"""%%AA"""BB@@CCDD"""""""

! " # " $ %

& ' ( & # " ) & *& ' ( & # " ) & *

555511111111 #### #### ## ## 2222 6666 77770000111111111111 #### #### 2222000000007777

551111 ### #### ## ## 22 88 55 00111111 ### #### 22004400

!"#$%

&"#'()*+

DD&!';/??&E(?C>&

FG'(#G"00>&&HI&&JKF&DLM

E$("+=FGH;@

E$("IJKL?ME$("IJKL?M

Now!

ENVELOPES

Tel: 416.740.3388Fax: 416.740.3054

Toll-Free: 1.888.388.5538sales@canadianprintingresources.comwww.canadianprintingresources.com

Our Specialties: Envelopes, Laser Sheets,Pads, Flyers, Brochures, and more!



CANADIANPRINTINGRESOURCESINC.• Cold-set Webs• Heat-set Web• 6-colour, 28” Mitsubishi• 5-colour, 40” Komori• Two Jet Envelope Presses• Diecutting• Colour Copies• Bindery• Pre-Press• Direct-to-Plate

Trade Printers...and more

forinstallations, maintenance& repairs on all equipment

Graphic Arts Specialists

X-PRESS416-410-9006

ELECTRIC SERVICES LTD.

EQUIPMENT SERVICES & REPAIR

Leslie Electric Ltd.Servicing the printing industry since 1914

• SHEET FED PRESSES • WEB PRESSES • BINDERY EQUIPMENT

• SPRAYER SYSTEMS • ELECTRONICS • ELECTRIC MOTOR REPAIR

24 Hour Emergency Service

(416) 259-6385Fax. (416) 259-6387

TRADE PRINTING

8-Colour Mitsubishi 40” w/ Perfector6-Colour Mitsubishi 40” w/AQ5-Colour Mitsubishi 40” 4-Colour Heidelberg 25” w/AQState of the art CTP & Film Output

Best deal on time on budgetBest deal on time on budget

T: 416-299-8568 F: 416-299-3977Prompt estimates

When you have deadlines to meet…

Trade PrintingFast turnaround & competitive trade pricing

E: [email protected]

BROKER / ACCOUNT PROTECTED

www.bestdealgraphicsprinting.com30 Production Dr., Scarborough, Ontario M1H 2X8

NEW NEW Over 50,000 sq. ft. Facility 24/7 ProductionFull In-house Bindery and FinishingFully Automated ProcessBooks, Magazines, Catalogues, Posters, Brochures, Flyers, etc.

Toll Free: 1-866-719-3339




TRADE PRINTING

MARCH 2013 • PRINTACTION • 37

Henry also found “the costs of attend-ing NAPL/NAQP’s conferences got sohigh that the benefits of listening to thesame group of executives talking aboutthe same things didn’t justify the expenseof going. “Using the same in-house staffas speakers over and over may cut speakercosts, but it gets stale and locks out otherswith valuable insight. Also, what we needis to talk to each other about the businessproblems we’re facing and how we’re solv-ing them, but NAPL/NAQP’s program gotso regimented that it didn’t seem to behappening.”

Although Prejean and Cappel stillmaintain their NAPL/NAQP member-ships, Prejean has not attended one oftheir conferences since 2003. Cappel, whoboth helped organize and attendedNAPL/NAQP’s last Owner’s Conferencein October, estimates the total number ofprinters and their spouses in attendanceat no more than 85.

Moreover, in December Stewartblogged that membership numbers re-leased at NAPL/NAQP’s Decemberstrategic planning session were around480 for NAQP and 1,200 forNAPL/NAQP combined. Both counts areestimates, since evidently the post-merger associations’ records do not sep-arate NAPL’s members from NAQP’s; butcollectively their membership has clearlydeclined significantly from the 3,200count they reported in 2006 when theirmerger was finalized.

“It’s a shame we’re reluctant to partic-ipate now, but we tried very hard to workwithin NAPL after the merger,” recallsPrejean. He remembers occasions whenhe tried to pose legitimate questions orsuggestions on NAPL/NAQP’s list server,only to be told by an executive memberto quit rocking the boat. “Yet I don’t thinkyou’ll ever find a single e-mail where I at-tacked NAPL/NAQP,” he asserts. Henryreports that after the merger, severalowners left NAQP’s Advisory Board be-cause they felt the association did notvalue their opinions and would only con-sider suggestions they agreed with.

Henry explains the need to servesmall-business owners differently:“NAPL’s culture never worked for us.Steve Johnson [NAQP’s former Presi-dent/CEO who left in 2010] used to tellus: ‘Every one of you guys is used to mak-ing the final decision and having yourown way. Coming together and co-oper-ating to form a group decision is notwhat you’re used to doing.’ If we try to gettoo structured or try to force things downour members’ throats, they won’t receiveit well. NPOA’s sources of funds arestrictly membership dues and vendors, soeverything is membership-driven.

“By contrast, NAPL is used to beingcorporate partners. Membership dues aretheir lowest priority because they derivea lot more of their revenues from tradeshows, consulting, and corporate spon-sors.”

Some of the American trade press at-tribute NPOA’s start-up to 2012 events inwhich NAPL/NAQP replaced Stewartwith another author of statistical reportsand banned Stewart from participatingon NAPL/NAQP’s list server for his al-legedly inappropriate remarks. But Pre-jean, Henry, and Cappel all confirm thatStewart never participated in the initial

Continued on page 38

TRADE PRINTING


BUSINESS FORMS

teleconference or founding of NPOA.Rather, the founders enlisted Stewart’sparticipation later on because he knewhow to market the association effectivelyand contributed both helpful contentand his own database of over 30,000 in-dustry contacts, many of whom weremembership prospects. “We wouldn’t beanywhere near where we are today in thisshort of a time without John Stewart,”says Henry. Cappel adds: “It would be astrategic error to think that NPOA is theJohn Stewart Association, although a lotof detractors see it that way.

Cappel continues: “NPOA did notevolve in any crystallizing moment.Rather, it is an evolutionary product. Justas in nature, the marketplace abhors avacuum and will cause it to be filled.NPOA evolved because of the vacuumthat existed because in practice a partner-ship between NAPL and NAQP never re-ally happened or met NAQP members’expectations – a situation reflected inNAPL/NAQP’s declining membership. Ithink a lot of people who leftNAPL/NAQP have been looking forsomething like NPOA for a long time.”

April conferenceThe program for NPOA’s April confer-ence focuses on members’ businessneeds, including the issues of running asmall printing company on a daily basisand growing new profit centres, includ-ing mailing services, sign making, largeformat, and marketing services in con-ventional and new media.

“We want actionable solutions: Threeto five things we can implement the daywe get back to the shop to improve oper-ations, sales, or employee management,”says Henry, who serves as liaison betweenNPOA’s Conference Committee and five-member Board of Officers. “We’re in-cluding networking time and bringing inpeople I don’t think I’ve heard speak atany conference I’ve ever attended before.

“At NAPL/NAQP conference, some ex-perts never get to be presenters becausethey are not in with the right people ofthe NAPL/NAQP network. Generally,smaller independents don’t have the dol-lars they need to pay to buy in per se.”

By January, Henry was shocked tolearn that NPOA’s conference was prov-ing so popular that they needed to bookaccommodation for at least 100 printers.The hotel space they were eventually ableto secure on short notice and limitedfunds holds a maximum of 110. “We’reusing a newly renovated 3-star hotel withgood reviews that costs $150 a night in-stead of more luxurious $300-a-night ac-commodation,” Henry clarifies. “We can’texpect everyone to pay that type ofmoney.” By February, the conference hadsold out and the NPOA had 254 regis-tered members in five countries.

The planners say they have more thanenough ideas for good content to fill a sec-ond conference next spring, which they areconsidering holding in New Orleans for asecond time before moving the event to adifferent part of the country. They alsoplan to create follow-up Webinars with themajor speakers for people who miss theconference and attendees who want to re-view the material in more depth.

NPOA’s futureTo date almost all NPOA’s developmenthas been accomplished by volunteerlabour. “No one has received a salary orpayment other than a Web designer, aprofessional writer who prepared somepress releases, and board members whowere [not paid for their services but] re-imbursed for direct out-of-pocket ex-penses,” reports Henry. “We have alsohired Becky Whatley, a former NAQPPrinter of the Year and NAQP boardmember, who does event and politicalconsulting, to help co-ordinate the con-ference.”

Henry fields between five and 50 e-mails a day on association business (forPrejean, it’s more like 50) and estimatesthat each founder has spent at least 100volunteer hours on start-up, and Stewartfive times as many. Over the long term,they anticipate that they will need to paypart-time or full-time staff or a manage-ment firm specializing in associations.

As for the board: “I became Presidentbecause the original get-together was myidea,” admits Prejean. “We tried to keepthings small and simple by appointingfive officers who will serve until our for-mal elections at the annual meeting at theconference. Then we’ll see what hap-pens.”

Regarding future external relations,Prejean says NAPL/NAQP invited him toa December strategy session at theirChicago headquarters with the ManagingDirector of NAQP, other members, offi-cers, and board. “I understood they werepicking out people like me to consult be-cause they had caught wind that we werespearheading a new association andwanted to head us off and discuss how todo damage control,” he continues.

“I couldn’t defend the business deci-sion to make the trip. But you knowwhat? I hope they do wake up and bene-fit from NPOA, so that one day we can allwork together.”

Henry says that, although the foundershave taken a lot of arrows for their deci-sion to form a new association, theythink it will be better for the industry.“Because NPOA developed as a grass-roots movement and is based on our de-mographic’s specific interests andculture, it will appeal to a wide range ofowners. And we are already working onadding benefits like vendor discounts,group insurance, and members-only Webcontent.

“Recently NAPL/NAQP has droppedits membership cost to under $500 –from $695 to $465, I think – and is low-ering the price of their fall conference.They also have started contacting mem-bers more often with more deals onbooks and Webinars. No matter whathappens going forward, these changeswould never have been made withoutNPOA coming about.”

Prejean concludes: “When people askme, ‘What happens if three years fromnow NPOA doesn’t make it?,’ I say, ‘Nobody lost anything. It’s a good thingwhile it lasts, and you’re going to get your money’s worth every year you’re involved.’

“But I think it will last for a very longtime.”

Victoria Gaitskell is keen to exchange ideaswith readers at [email protected]

GaitskellContinued from page 37

Newborn Print Owners (March 2013)

Small Business & Entrepreneurship

Transcript of Newborn Print Owners (March 2013)