Print Solutions Magazine November, 2001 433

If you're like many distributors, all the talk about e-commerce during the last few years has left your head spinning. During the past year, we've seen e-commerce shake-ups, plummeting stocks and vanishing venture capital. When e-commerce suppliers such as Collabria, Fobpaper.com and Goprinter.com shut their doors, some distributors were left in a daze. Others were surprised those collapses didn't happen sooner.

No wonder some distributors are reluctant to commit to e-commerce and other web-based ventures. They often have concerns about high startup costs, lack of internet security and loss of account control. But e-commerce is a tool that can lead to lucrative results for distributors and manufacturers who learn the options and dare to take their companies to new heights.

This month, Print Solutions dispels five common e-commerce myths and tells the stories of printing pros who have put the internet to work for their businesses. Check out "Inside 5 E-Commerce Myths" beginning on page 58 and our monthly E-Files department beginning on page 51.

We always want to report what your industry peers are up to, so this month's issue also includes a story about Don Calman, CDC, chairman emeritus at New York distributorship Source4 and DMIA's 1978-79 president. For 25 days last spring, Calman helped a distributorship in Armenia adapt to a capitalist economy. His email letters home from the former Soviet republic (beginning on page 44) show that hope and goodwill can exist in even the dreariest economic conditions.

This issue also includes articles to help you sell commercial printing and promotional products and to penetrate the challenging medical market.

Our No. 1 goal at Print Solutions is to help you improve your business. We encourage you to be an active part of our new magazine, so consider it your new magazine. We welcome your insights and ideas. Feel free to call us any time at (800) 336-4641.

Next month in Print Solutions...

Ideas on Saving Money

Selling to Financial Accounts

Presentation Folders and Binders

Security Documents

Profile: Allied Office Products' Printing Division

Kara S. Carpenter

Assistant Editor

kcarpenter@PSDA.org

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Table of Contents

Editor in Chief

Peter L. Colaianni, CAE

Vice President,
Publications & New Media

Brad Holt

Managing Editor

Darin Painter

Assistant Editors

Kara S. Carpenter

Kara Gebhart

Rita Tiefert

Circulation Manager

Diane Saunders

Art Director/
Production Manager

Roxanne Rash

Contributing Editors

Mark J. Trumper

J. Buster Weinzierl, CDC

Publications Committee

Gary W. Nelson, Chairperson

Allen Conway

Ric Fisher

Ginger Garrett

Dennis King

Kevin Lombardo

Marvin A. Makofsky, CFC

Markus Marfurt

Dominic Mencarini

Donald D. Patteson, Jr.

Nick Nesci, CFC

Jeffrey P. Townsend, CFC

Mark Trumper

Advertising Sales

Jack Burris

The Townsend Group Inc.

4920 Elm St., Ste. 325

Bethesda, MD 20814

Phone: (301) 215-6710

Fax: (301) 215-7704

jburris@townsend-group.com

Print Solutions Online

Print Solutions, the only industry magazine to win awards for writing and design excellence, is available online at www.printsolutionsmag.com. The site includes daily news, a comprehensive archive of Print Solutions articles, a complete media kit, links to industry companies and other features not included in the magazine.

Print Solutions is the official publication of the Print Services & Distribution Association (PSDA), the Association for Business Printing Independents. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome. Please address all submissions to: The Editor, Print Solutions Magazine, 433 E. Monroe Ave., Alexandria, VA 22301-1693. Phone (703) 836-6232, fax (703) 549-4966. You can reach us via email at bholt@printsolutionsmag.com. Visit our World Wide Web site at www.printsolutionsmag.com.

Volume 39, Number 11, November 2001. Print Solutions (USPS 205-400, ISSN 1535-9727) is published monthly by DMIA, 433 E. Monroe Ave., Alexandria, VA 22301-1693, (703) 836-6232. Subscriptions: $29 per year for DMIA members included in dues, $49 for non-members (plus postage for Canada and foreign). Periodicals postage paid at Alexandria, VA, and additional mailing offices.

Postmaster: Send address changes to Print Solutions, 433 E. Monroe Ave., Alexandria, VA 22301-1693.

Statements of fact and opinion are the responsibility of the authors alone and do not imply approval on the part of the Publications Committee, Officers or Membership of DMIA.

Printed in the USA.