Another consolidation? Quad to Buy World Color. RRD gets a run for the money.

Printer Quad Graphics Expected to Buy World Color Press - WSJ.com:

"Privately held Quad/Graphics Inc. of the U.S. is expected to acquire Canadian rival World Color Press Inc. for roughly $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion, said people familiar with the matter, in a deal that would create North America's second-largest commercial printer by sales, behind industry giant R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co.

Under the plan, these people said, shareholders of Toronto-listed World Color, which prints such magazines as Sports Illustrated and Rolling Stone, as well as the Crate & Barrel catalog and Yellow Book directory, would get a 40% stake in the newly combined company. The new company would then list on a U.S. stock exchange, they said, in effect bringing Quad/Graphics, whose clients include Newsweek, GQ and the L.L. Bean catalog, to the public market for the first time since its founding in 1971."

Now that we know where Print fits, what's next?

It's become pretty clear that Print fits into the emerging communication ecology as being the on and off ramp to Web Squared. As the web becomes the internet of things, Print is the table of contents.

Now it's just a matter of following who is going to get what in the ensuing land grab. But that's for a different post.

Today, visual search got back on my radar. My bet is that is the end of game of the next 10 or 15 years. It will be fascinating to see how that plays out. Imagine what that could mean for education, health and government. It will probably also be pretty neat for marketing.

It started yesterday with a couple of tweets between me and Ricoh Innovations Labs.

jamois RT @jasonpinto: Excellent application of QR Codes described by @ToughLoveForX: http://ilnk.me/1698

@jamois http://aha.sh/U - scan, author qr codes. Plus analytics. Social networking. iPhone, Mac, Windows. oh & FREE || pretty cool.

jamois @ToughLoveforX "http://aha.sh/U -...qr codes....FREE || pretty cool." - thx but check out what comes next: "visual search" http://aha.sh/VS

Me:
@jamois brilliant! --->http://aha.sh/VS | Until it's ready for prime time QR? BTW "clickable paper" check @clickableprint Great minds:-)

Me:
Ricoh Rocks! Check out visual search post..vids and links. http://ilnk.me/16a1 The next step to @clickableprint

RicohInnovation RT @ToughLoveforX: Ricoh Rocks! Check out visual search post..vids and links. http://ilnk.me/16a1 The next step to @clickableprint

Moodstocks RT @ToughLoveforX: Spend 4:57 min with @RicohInnovation video on QR, Visual Search and Social Networking Mind blowing ! http://ilnk.me/16a3

Did you know that @Moodstocks "specializes in visual search on the Internet"

Me RT
Moodstocks RT @delunna: A must read! Visual Search, #AugmentedReality and a Social Commons for the Physical World Platform http://bit.ly/7pRP9r

The Money Tweet:
#QR ers MUST read for state of the art on where it's all going. AR and the "no click interface" http://ilnk.me/16aa Smart & Lots of links.

http://ilnk.me/16aa will take you to:
Visual Search, Augmented Reality and a Social Commons for the Physical World Platform: Interview with Anselm Hook

A response to Jim Lyons post on QR. It's about compliance, not marketing.

I tried to post this at Jim's post, but it got complicated. As readers of this blog have probably figured out I don't like complicated.

The original post, most definitely worth the click is at Jim's blog. The post is January Observations -- From the QR Code sandbox — will It help printing?

My comment

Jim,
Thanks for the kind words. Just wanted to share a thought about
"the question remains whether this technology is good for printing."

I have commercial print experience and dna. But I have been following the conversation about MPS and MFP every since Greg Walters, Art Post and You got on my RSS and email notification.

Another under appreciated fact of QR is that it is possible to encode a Purl - a personalized url. This might turn out to be a big deal for MPS because it allows the capture of when a particular person either clicked on the code, or when to the human readable URL.

The issue is not advertising, it is compliance. Just one use case to give you an idea of what I mean:

A large organization is required by law to inform their employees of X. And they are required to be able to produce proof that the employee was appropriately notified.

By using a Personalized Url, changing into a human readable URL - through link shortening - and also embedding that Url inot a 2d Code, one could print out a notification at the MFP.

Then one can capture in a colud based data base whether that person went to the URL to read the document. Even more important, it will give management timely information about who didn't yet click on the document.

Once the manager has that info, she can send an email the next day, "Dear X, I asked you to look at the document yesterday. Please do so today."

My own interest is in high school education. The same process could be very useful in that context, especially in addressing the problem of students who get lost.

At any rate, if this process proves out, it's a very low cost - high value addition to any MPS contract. As the margin on boxes keeps getting slimmer and slimmer, I would think it would be an interesting proposition for Independent MPS.

What if an MFP were a news output device?

In the States, a new form of journalism is emerging. As of today, it's gotten on my radar in Texas, California and Connecticut.

CT Mirror is nnother new business model for Journalism at the State level http://ilnk.me/166e It seems similar to @texastribune

California Watch: The latest entrant in the dot-org journalism boom http://ilnk.me/166f

There are different business models for each outfit. But each a web only. Web only is a niche market. Only print and TV are mass market medium.

Consider and A4 or A3 with human readable URL's and QR codes, that takes the headline and the lede from the XML on the newspaper site. Or takes a twitter stream with HR URLs and QR code.

Or if not an MFP, then a PDF as a newspaper insert or supplied to print with the run. Or if not a PDF, then a 24 page newspaper.

Then earn some revenue with ads from NGO's and Government Social Service.

Just when the smoke was clearing, a new player cames to the States. MGI and they speak Twitter!

If all the globals could learn to speak twitter it would be so much easier for everyone to figure out how to get from here to there.

It started about 15 hours ago. I came across an interesting post at @mbossed.

I'm @ToughLoveforX . He is @MGI_USA .

I said:
Did you know that @socialprintexp is built on the MGI press. Convo going on now at @mbossed http://ilnk.me/1637 || Ain't Fridays grand?

@Socialprintexpo Any thoughts/ links? to why did 15 customers buy an MGI press over an #HP Indigo?" Digital Print 360 http://ilnk.me/ed0

Then I got an email notification that @MGI_USA was "following".

I said:
@MGI_USA Thanks for the follow and welcome to the States:-) Maybe you can explain why what's so cool about MGI? http://ilnk.me/ed0

He said:
@ToughLoveforX Sure! 1.Substrates (paper, plastics, ENVELOPES) 2. Up to 13 x 47" size 3. Laser-safe 4. No click charge 5. Outstanding color

I said:
@MGI_USA " 4. No click charge" 13 x 47 ? very, very cool. Got anything EZ on TCO? inkjet not toner? Needs conditioned air space?

He said:
@ToughLoveforX presses are dry toner, although an inkjet press for card apps is out late 2010 - std climate & hum. control, no chiller req.

@ToughLoveforX that's just our Meteor DP60 Pro digital press - we also have the JETvarnish digital inkjet spot UV coater + other finishing

I said:
@MGI_USA got a vid anywhere?

He said:
@ToughLoveforX check out our Web site for vids: http://tinyurl.com/yem49a2

I said:
@MGI_USA thanks for link I really like "MGI’s My PhotoBook Shop" http://ilnk.me/1639

Then I RT'ed.

The City of Cincinnati talks about their MGI Meteor DP60 Pro in the Nov issue of In-Plant Graphics: http://tinyurl.com/yh586bz

MGI USA adds 3 more dealers to US network: http://bit.ly/4iREF2

Custom Textbooks Created on HP Equipment

By now it's no longer a new story. But here's another data point on the opportunity for versioned print in education. Soon someone will scale personalized (in addition to the versioned) Then someone will add QR or other 2d codes.

Then some high school admin somewhere is going to see the value of personalized print + QR to increase attendance and behavior compliance with a minimally invasive intervention.

Then we can all move on to even more interesting problems.

The full story is at Global Print Monitor

"Making the grade in educational publishing

As public schools across the US strive to improve education for all students, the needs of individual states, districts and schools become apparent. Mercury Print Productions found a way to address these needs by creating customised textbooks with the new HP Indigo W7200 Digital Press.

'Because of the No Child Left Behind Act, a school's funding is somewhat dependent on students' test scores,' explains Christian Schamberger, vice president of operations, Mercury Print Productions. 'The ability to customise textbooks to ensure students learn what they need to can help improve test scores and secure the school's funding.'"

Screen to launch Indigo rival at Ipex

Just when I thought I had the players figured, here comes Screen with an inkjet to go against the Indigo. I keep looking for stories about the Screen Inkjet at AlphaGraphics printing American editions of the Daily Mail newspaper. None have gotten on my radar since the first stories many months.

If anyone has some info, please leave a comment.

Anyway's here's the snippet from Proprint. Details at the click:

ProPrint:
"Screen will use Ipex 2010 for the commercial launch of the Truepress JetSX – a B2 inkjet press that has already attracted 'a fair bit of interest' here in Australia."

It's time to Stop Evangelizing and Start Selling.

From the inside it seems that the job is to "convince" and "educate" end users about the value of print and 2d codes. As usual, if you take a glance outside it seems that "convincing and education" are no longer needed.

This morning I found this one. I don't want to turn this into a long post, so I won't belabor the the point. If you're interested follow me at twitter @toughloveforx . In between my relentless pursuit of those who are going to fix high school dropouts, I tweet examples of QR and other 2d codes being used in the real world.

It's the beginning of a land grab. No "education" or "evangelizing" needed in a land grab.

Mobile provides instant interaction with consumers - Mobile Marketer - Advertising:
"Bar code branding
Text-message opt-ins are far from the only way to engage consumers. Another option? Mobile bar codes.

Scanbuy Inc. has launched a number of products for brands such as American Airlines, Volkswagen and Sprint with the use of bar codes.

“Mobile barcodes are an extremely easy and trackable way to mobilize any traditional media from print to packaging,” said Jonathan Bulkeley, CEO of Scanbuy, New York. “In our experience, the keys to getting results are to give the consumer something of value and communicate clearly with a strong call-to-action."

Who would have thought that a Cable Channel would go into the textbook business. And the opportunity for Print.

About a half hour ago I found this in my twitter stream.

cmt1 DigitalContent vs textbooks http://bit.ly/7X2f8w

So then I said this:

Indianapolis Public Schools Replace Textbooks with Digital Content http://ilnk.me/1577 | Precisely the opprtnty for #Xerox+espresso & #MPS.

Looking a bit more, I got to this:

Did you know that Discovery Communications LLC. has replaced textbooks in Indianapolis http://ilnk.me/1577

and then this:

A cable channel replaces textbooks in Indianopolis http://ilnk.me/1578 Discovery Edu is a subsidiary of Discover Communications, LLC.

The point for print
If you ask any classroom teacher they will tell you that the idea of replacing print with online is a figment of some politician's imagination. Sounds good, but it will not scale at least for a long time

Discovery Communications LLC has taken their long tail of content, focused on making money from education, not donating to education.

Consider the long tail at PBS or NPR or Nat Geo or the Then consider the long tail at every serious newspaper in the States. Put that together with Xerox + Espresso or with any MFP that can seemlessly transfer XML to print streams.

Then think about what it would mean to add personalized QR and shortened URLs: Information exchange data from teaching with no teacher time needed.

I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

If I were HP, Oce, Ricoh, Riso and had to respond to Xerox + Espresso, what I would do ...

It's going to be an interesting week. The conversation at Print Ceo is starting for real.

The vulnerability of the Espresso is that, as I understand it, it is PDF based. The network agreements that Jason Epstein has put together with publishers is a very defensible value. But the amount of content in PDF is dwarfed many times over by the content in XML.

Wikipedia is in XML. PediaPress in Germany has been selling Wikipedia in Print for many years. Obviously they have a done a deal with wikipedia to share some of the value. From what I can see, the books ordered by Pedia Press customers is for a very narrow market. And the production model is print and distribute. I believe that Oce is the output device.

But, the Xerox + Espresso turns that paradigm on it's head. Any book, any where, any time has gone from a vision to one more way that digital print can change the world.

At any rate, here's my two cents:
Partner with the best XML to digital print stream people you can find. Get the engineers to add some binding to the MFP. If it were me, I would do it faster, rather than slower.