One of the best reasons to attend industry events is that you never know who you will run into, or in this case, who will drop into your booth like a ninja, sit quietly and listen to an educational session until their cover is blown by a shout-out from the session presenter! When I realized Paul Gardner was sitting 20 feet from me at GRAPH EXPO, I was really psyched to meet him in the real world. However, after he handed me his LENTICULAR business card, all of my attention turned to that, and pretty much never left. His card became the topic of our conversation, and after some rapid fire questions I knew it was info that needed to be shared, and that Paul should be shared too!
Consider this interview an early Thanksgiving gift… and give thanks to the Digital Print Prophets at HP Indigo and funky substrate providers like GPA and Masterpiece Graphix who help print stay COOL!
DC: Who is Paul Gardner and what does he do?
PG: As the Director of Growth & Innovation for Hudson Printing, my job is to Reinvent Print! To help our clients learn to use print – in ways they may never have imagined – to grow their organizations and grow their careers! It’s also my job to grow Hudson Printing by helping and teaching our sales team, growing the sales team, and helping new customers to find Hudson Printing.
As the 2nd Most Disruptive Person in Print my aim is to change the perception of what it means to be a Printer! Two hundred and fifty years ago, Ben Franklin was so proud of his roots as a Printer, that he once asked for that to be the only inscription on his tombstone.* >>see note below<<
Today, many printers are so ashamed of their occupation that they hide their true identity behind acronyms like PSP and MSP, hoping their future mother-in-law won’t know her daughter is dating a printer.
In both roles, I’m out to help the world see that Print has never been more powerful, more relevant. That there’s never been a better time to be a Printer.
DC: Happy Veteran’s Day and thank you for your service! How did 4 years in the Coast Guard prepare you for the sales world?
PG: Not just the world of sales, but the world of Print. As a very young man I had the pleasure of serving as a Photojournalist in the US Coast Guard. A small team of us published a quarterly magazine featuring coverage of Coast Guard activities including dramatic search & rescue efforts and environmental protection work. Five of us were responsible not just for gathering news and reporting on it, but for shooting and processing our own photos, pulling the whole thing together and getting it printed and distributed. We were also the face and voice of the Coast Guard to the local news outlets and to the community. It was full-immersion, on-the-job training in the worlds of news and media.
DC: Ok, let’s get to it… at GRAPH EXPO 14 you handed me your business card and my life was forever changed… HP INDIGO + LENTICULAR SUBSTRATES … discuss!
One of the coolest things about an Indigo press it the amazing variety of substrates that it can print. We run a lot of crazy things, primarily from two companies; GPA Speciality Substrate Solutions and Masterpiece Graphix. Those crazy cards are printed on a lenticular embossed polypropylene, called Azuna 3D Bubble, that we get from MGX. It’s optimized for HP Indigo presses, and it prints beautifully. Beautifully that is, unless you put a loupe to it – then you can see some weird things going on. It’s really rough and lumpy, and getting an even ink film down into those crevices can be a real challenge.
So back to the bubbles… Just the substrate alone is magic… it gives the appearance of looking into a block of plastic that’s a couple of inches thick and full of big bubbles. It’s a wonderful conversation-starter! Now, this isn’t the same effect you get from printing a lenticular IMAGE onto a lenticular-lens substrate, where the picture changes or moves. But the image of bubbles in the plastic is compelling. And you don’t need any special software to have a lot of fun with this stuff.
DC: You founded the Disruptive Print LinkedIn group, and you bill yourself as “the second most disruptive person in print” … who are some of the other disrupters to watch in this space? How are you defining disruptive as it relates to print?
PG: The Disruptive Print group grew out of my connection with – and dissatisfaction with – the Digital Printing group founded by Eric Bandholz. I found myself spending hours every week on the Digital group… reading and learning, and working to help people. That group was, and remains, a key way that I connect with the wonderful world of Print. But although there are amazing things happening in the world of Digital Print – not every amazing thing that happens with Print is digital. Analog print technologies of all kinds still play a vital role – and will for many more decades, perhaps centuries.
As I puzzled through my fascination with Print, I discovered that what really grabs my attention – stirs my passion – is the ability of Print to Disrupt the World. So the Disruptive Print group was founded to encourage and support those who use print in disruptive ways. And those who are creating disruptive new print technologies, processes, materials & applications. Of all the inventions of mankind, perhaps only the Wheel has had a more positively disruptive impact than the Printing Press.
Print is the only conduit that enables Digital stuff to get out and loose into the Physical world. The Disruptive Print group aims to help people figure out how to make that happen more often, and in ever more amazing and more valuable ways.
As for other Disruptors, Ben Franklin is my greatest inspiration. In Ben’s day, print had all the clout of Radio, TV, Newspapers, Facebook and Twitter rolled into one. Printers were proud of their trade, and knew full well it had the power to change the world – and quite possibly to get them hanged in the process. Today we seem to have forgotten that heritage, that power. And yeah, I’ve got some modern day Print hero’s too: Kevin Despain and Chris Petro. Marco Boer and Brian Owens. Thorsten Holtmeier and Cary Sherburne. Margie Dana and Carrington Herbert. But most of these folks are rather quiet and unassuming. With a couple of exceptions, they don’t write much, and publish even less. But each of these people have inspired me.
For inspiration around Disruptive Print I mostly look to people outside of the world of Print, among them Elon Musk, Peter Theil, Tom Peters, Tim O’Reilly, Jim Stogdill, Clay Shirkey and Dr. Seuss and Lewis Carroll and Mrs. Disney’s husband.
DC: At GRAPH EXPO you were presented an award by HP, and you mentioned – very nonchalantly I must add – that you were their invited guest to speak in… wait for it… BALI! What was that experience like, and what did you learn about the print markets on the other side of the world?
PG: Bali is incredible. Amazing! But it’s about as far away from my home in Salt Lake City as you can get – the trip was 36 hours airport to airport. We were gone from home for 10 days, but only spent 6 nights in a hotel.
It’s an amazing, beautiful island as you might imagine – but you’re sharing it with 6 million other people. Traffic in the cities is tightly congested, mostly by scooters Spacing between vehicles is measures in centimeters! But the Balinese people are wonderfully warm and kind. Which is a really good thing given how many live – and drive – so close to each other.
The occasion for my visit was the 5th annual Dscoop Asia conference. Having been part of the founding of Dscoop, it was a thrill for me to see that wonderful organization thriving half a world away. Digital print is an embedded part of life on Bali. It seems there are almost as many shops with a Digital Printing shingle hanging out front as there are scooter dealerships.
It was also intriguing to be the guy with the funny accent for a few days. With Australia a relatively short flight away, it turns out that Americans are a little bit of an oddity; the Aussie accent is commonplace, my bland Utah accent very unfamiliar.
DC: If you were to give the commencement speech to designers at the College of Alameda, your alma mater, what would your message be regarding the future of digital printing AND how to be disruptive using it?
PG: I’m not sure they would welcome me back – I never graduated from college. But given the opportunity, my message would be passionate and sincere…
Right now is the best time in history to be a Printer.
Print is the Original Mass Media. Five hundred years ago, Print changed the world. And it continues that proud tradition today. Print is the only mass media that’s still there when the power goes out, when your battery dies. When wi-fi fails and your browser crashes, Print is still there.
For me, Print is Magical. Amazing! I learn something new about Print every day – three or four things some days. I’ve made friends around the world – many of whom I will never meet face to face – because of a shared passion for Print.
But it’s possible that Print might not be for you…
Follow your curiosity and follow your passion. Love what you do for a living. To do any less is to sell yourself short.
If Print isn’t for you, if Print doesn’t get you excited – fired up with possibility – keep looking. Whether you’re role is as a press operator, a driver, a sales rep or a leader, if you can’t get excited about being a Printer, PLEASE find something else to do with your life.
Find something that you can be as proud of as I am, when I tell people, “I am a Printer”.
Oh, and one more thing… Stay thirsty my friends!
Connect with Paul: Website | Email | LinkedIn | Twitter @timestarvd
Disruptive Print group | Digital Printing group
*Ben’s wife actually died many years before he did. The tombstone change must have been at someone else’s hands. Still, the epitaph he composed for himself as a young man is touching! A Printer in his soul, a Printer to the end.
The Body of
B. Franklin
Printer;
Like the Cover of an old Book,
Its Contents torn out,
And stript of its Lettering and Gilding,
Lies here, Food for Worms.
But the Work shall not be whlly lost:
For it will, as he believ’d, appear once more,
In a new & more perfect Edition,
Corrected and Amended
By the Author.
He was born on January 6, 1706.
Died 1790
http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/philadelphia/grave.htm
2 Responses
Great article, Deb! And kudos to Paul for his contribution to the industry and doing his part keeping our industry relevant! As for a unique business card,mine was produced on a 28 point C2S Monadnock paper card stock with a touch of cold foil! A great conversation starter!! Print ON!
Great article! Love to see people still passionate about print. Having gone back on the buying side years ago, I still love to work with my printer partners. When deliveries of commercial print come in, I open a box and breathe in the aroma of fresh print. Its as invigorating as a fresh brewed cup of coffee. Digital print is amazing because of its speed and accuracy.
Funny thing is, even though I don’t work in printing plants anymore, my thinking is process oriented like that of a printer. The fun part is bringing my disruptive, print process oriented thinking to my work environment. Much of what I have learned over time in the print world is startlingly fresh to folks whose world is limited in scope to the device in the palm of their hand.
Thanks to both of you for sharing your conversation with the rest of us.
Diane