Frank Romano Joins InfoTrends/CAP Ventures as Consultant to the Commercial Printing Industry

By Cary Sherburne, Senior Editor

October 21, 2004 -- During Graph Expo 2004, Frank Romano, Professor Emeritus at the Rochester Institute of Technology and well known industry figure, and InfoTrends/CAP Ventures, an industry consulting firm, announced that Romano would be joining InfoTrends/CAP Ventures to manage a consulting service aimed at commercial printers. Romano retired from RIT in June of 2004. WhatTheyThink spoke with Romano and with InfoTrends/CAP Ventures Group Director Charlie Corr to get the scoop on the story behind this move and what we can expect to see from the arrangement.

WTT: Frank, we were interested to see the announcement from InfoTrends/CAP Ventures relative to your association with them. Before we dig into that, what is your current relationship with RIT and what does that exactly encompass?

FR: I retired from RIT in June, but really only from full-time teaching. I will be presenting adjunct and distance courses, participating in Sloan Printing Industry projects, and working with students. I prefer the title “Professor Emeritus” over all others. “Emeritus” is Latin for unemployed academic.

WTT: Can you tell us a little more about what you will be doing with InfoTrends/CAP Ventures?

FR: My goal is to sift through the unbelievable amount of data and research at InfoTrends/CAP Ventures and find material that will benefit the printing industry. We are beyond telling printers about declines and confidence levels. We are also beyond telling them that mailing and wide format are growth markets. Now we have to give them information and strategies that will allow them to prosper. InfoTrends/CAP Ventures has a wealth of information from its surveys, research, and analysis. I hope to find nuggets of information that will reveal market niches, technology directions, and other material that will give printers real, actionable counsel on future directions.

WTT: Charlie, obviously Frank is well known to the commercial print industry. Securing this alliance with him is quite a coup. Can you tell us a little about how this came about and what objectives InfoTrends/CAP Ventures has in mind for the relationship, short term and longer term?

CC: We are excited that Frank has decided to join us. When Frank told us he was retiring from RIT, we began exploring ways we might work together. In challenging times, you can't have too many industry luminaries. Frank adds insight, has extensive market knowledge and will help InfoTrends/CAP Ventures better support the industry.

We believe the industry is undergoing fundamental transformation. All segments of the industry need market information and insight on how to thrive in a dramatically different environment. Most of our work has been with suppliers to the industry and the very largest print providers. InfoTrends/CAP Ventures wanted to provide information and strategic advice to the broader print community and Frank has agreed to take this task on.

Frank has the industry knowledge and the desire to reach the broader print provider community. He certainly has the expertise and the ability to leverage our research for the benefit of these print providers. Frank will work with our existing team that has extensive experience in the printing industry and includes three RIT alumni in our production services (Jim Hamilton, Director of the On Demand Service; Andy Gordon, Senior Consultant, On Demand; Ralf Schlozer, Senior Consultant, On Demand Europe; and Alex Sumarta, Consultant with our Production Workflow Solutions Service).

WTT: Frank, you are involved in a number of other industry initiatives. Can you share with our readers what those are, and whether you will be continuing with all of them?

FR: I will continue my involvement with the PIA/GATF newsletters for digital printing, print e-business, and designing for digital. I still edit the EDSF newsletter and write monthly for Electronic Publishing--which is entering its 29th year since I founded the publication. I still serve on standards committees and industry boards. I think the value I bring to the industry is focus and scope. I concentrate on printing and I attend many meetings and listen to many people.

Information is power, and the more I learn the more I can disseminate. We live in a virtual world and I can work from anywhere. My role with InfoTrends/CAP Ventures is that of senior strategist and advisor, and I look forward to working with their very talented people. But you will still see me at most industry events.

WTT: I would appreciate hearing from both of you what you thought about Graph Expo--whether there was anything that surprised or disconcerted you and what you thought the most important outcomes were.

FR: Graph Expo 2004 was a breath of fresh air. Printers came; printers bought. I had 250 of them in one session and one can see that business is coming back—but not in the way it used to be. Printers are growing by increasing their ancillary services.

CC: Graph Expo is always an exciting event. It was the first time that most in the U.S. could see what was introduced at drupa. I also think we saw more new introductions this year. The consensus I heard was that while the print economy was "tepid," exhibitors and attendees were pleased with the show.

We believe printers have to continue to invest in new software, hardware and services to effectively compete. Business owners and managers must be able to effectively gain information and meet with industry peers at events like Graph Expo and AIIM/On Demand.

I am concerned about the arguments around JDF. We at InfoTrends/CAP Ventures have been convinced that print providers must pursue "super-efficiency" with the same passion with which they have embraced quality and customer service. The industry is focusing too much on the enablers and too little on the business requirements and the benefits of "super-efficiency."  The industry needs to adopt open standards that encourage innovation at lower cost points. We need to get on with it. We need to take action and define the transformed business of print—not continue to fight about the benefits of standards.

WTT: How is the planning for your trip to drupa 2008 shaping up?

FR: I am planning to take the Cunard around-the-world cruise in 2008 and get off in Europe for drupa. It will be my 9th drupa. I may have one more in me after that. At the last one, I expect a blazing funeral on one of those river boats with bad food.

WTT: Now that we are on the other side of Graph Expo, can you both share your thoughts about where you think we will be as an industry by drupa 2008? What do you think we can expect to see by that time in terms of change in the industry?

FR: drupa 2008 will be the real digital drupa—absolutely no film, minimal CTP, but lots of inkjet and toner printing and scads of workflow. There will be less monochrome and more color printing. Look for lots of surprises. The major change affecting the industry will be a melding of the printing and packaging worlds and very high levels of integration with the Internet.

CC: To add to that, we believe the industry will be fundamentally different by 2008. The transformation of the printing industry will be well under way. We will see fewer print providers, and fewer manufacturers and distributors. drupa 2008 will look very different with some new players and some stronger survivors. It will showcase high-speed, lower cost digital color solutions that will continue to revolutionize communications. You will begin to see the much anticipated impact of 1:1 personalized communications as technology continues to improve and large organizations move beyond ERP to CRM programs.

WTT: I want to thank you both for taking the time to share with our readers your insight and opinions, as well as the inside story on Frank’s new association with InfoTrends/CAP Ventures.

Please give Cary your feedback. She can be reached via email at cary@sherburneassociates.com, online at www.sherburneassociates.com and by telephone at 603-430-5463.