The team of Signature Offset including Erik Hall, Cary Juvonen, Ryan Barber and Cindy Lenhart.

Mr. Makin encouraged all of the companies he visited to participate in this year's Print Excellence Awards which will be presented in two ceremonies next April (see below).

He also emphasized significant savings through WSPA's group purchasing power with IPA (for UPS), Apple and Card Connect for discounts on credit card merchant fees.
For a complete list of discounts, CLICK HERE.

One of the best ways to tell if applicants have the skills to perform specific tasks is to directly ask how they've used those skills in the past. These sample questions can help hiring managers spot 11 important "soft" skills:

1. Initiative. "Tell me about a time you did more than was required in your job."

2. Decisions-making. "Describe a work-related problem you had to face recently. What procedures did you use to deal with it?"

3. Communication. "Describe when you had to pitch a proposal. How did you do? Why do you think it went that way?"

4. Humility. "Tell us about a time you made a whopper of a work blunder, and had a good laugh about it afterward."

5.Integrity.  "Should some rules be obeyed more than others?"

6. Leadership. "Describe how you solved someone else's problem."

7. Persuasiveness. "What was the best idea you've ever sold to a superior? How did you do it?"

8. Planning. "How do you determine your top priorities?"

9. Sales. "What's the best way to find new prospects?"

10. Supervision. "What is the No. 1 thing that distinguishes a superior employee from a typical one?"

11. Technical skills. "What is the most important development in your field today? What impact do you think it will have?"

Source: Communication Briefings

    
Every firm has an estimating system - from a sophisticated software package to scratches on the back of an envelope or napkin.

Ostensibly, the purpose of the estimate is to identify the "cost" of producing a job but in reality, it's the pricing tool.  As such, the number hopefully represents all of the elements in the business from the paper through to the owner's new car.

Under the hood, the reality is that when a job is produced, the paper, any buy-outs, sales commission (if any) and perhaps the wages of the production people (if they had to work overtime) must be paid.  In a commercial printing plant this amounts to about 60 percent of the average sales dollar.  Thus, around $600 is spent to produce a job that bills for $1,000.

If this sounds like what's going on in your company (you can check a range of jobs to see) then it has important implications for your thinking.  For example, there are times when you can get $1,100 for that normal $1,0000 job.  This is usually a cause for celebration and perhaps, a reward for the sales rep.  There are other times when competition offers to do it for $900 and you pass it up because you don't want to lose money.

The reality is that in the first case you were $100 better off than expected, but in the second, you passed up $300 ($900 less the $600 to produce the job).  If you think about this, there's more power in getting the dollars you're passing up than pressing for more margin.

Bob Lindgren is the President and CEO of Printing Industries Association of Southern California, the largest affiliate of PIA. Mr. Lindgren has more than 40 years of experience in the industry and is an expert in the area of print finance.

To see the Color 2015 Program CLICK HERE.

Each week, E-Connects shares incredible photos on just how lax individuals can be when it comes to safety. 

The goal - to keep a safe work environment front and center on the minds of all of your employees.

Pictured: Not your mother's tupper wear party!

If you come across a funny safety pic you think should be featured, email Michael Makin at mmakin@wsprint.org.