The Joss Group

Kodak Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection

From the Seybold Report Web site:

Kodak Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection

Kodak announced the company and its U.S. subsidiaries have filed voluntary petitions for chapter 11 business reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The company's news release says, "The business reorganization is intended to bolster liquidity in the U.S. and abroad, monetize non-strategic intellectual property, fairly resolve legacy liabilities, and enable the Company to focus on its most valuable business lines." Kodak subsidiaries outside the United States are not affected. The company says it has lined up sufficient working capital and intends to conduct business as close to normally as possible. more

From me:

Such a shame. I wish the company is able to accomplish its stated goals.

Goodbye American Printer

American Printer magazine, published by Penton Media, will close up shop with the August issue, ending 128 years of publication. Editor Katherine O'Brien posted a goodbye note on the publication's Web site last Friday after the August issue published.

I am always sad to hear about an industry publication closing up shop, but this one has been around a long time. Wish I had to money to buy it and see what the Joss Group could do with it.

 

Barnes & Noble--Sells More, But Profits Down

Barnes & Noble Inc. has reported a record $7 billion in gross sales in FY2011, a 20% increase from FY 2010. The increase was driven by inclusion of a full year of sales from Barnes & Noble College Booksellers and a 50% sales increase at BN.com. The company reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of $163 million and a consolidated full-year net loss of $74 million, or $1.31 per share. The company did not issue projections for sales or earnings for FY 2012 pending a decision on the acquisition proposal from Liberty Media.

 

 

How the Tragedy in Japan is Affecting the Graphic Arts Industry

I know everyone is appalled at the extent of the tragedy unfolding in Japan in the wake (literally and figuratively) of the earthquake, tsunami, and now the frightening events in the nuclear plant destruction. It is simply unbelievable. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in the stricken nation and especially to those brave people working to contain the situation at the nuclear facilities.

If you would like to find out how the various major companies in the graphic arts industry with plants, offices, or many customers in Japan will be affected by this major catastrophe, here are links to some of the coverage I have seen:

Ed Lee of InfoTrends says there will be a major impact on the digital camera market.

Japan is Adobe's second largest market, accounting for 20% of the company's revenue.

Impact on Xerox and Kodak May be Minor

Barnes & Noble on the Ropes?

Down, but not out, at least not yet, Barnes & Noble needs to find an innovative group of angel investors and soon. The stock price keeps slipping, and I would not like to see B&N go the same way as Borders. Yet, what do with the brick and mortar stores B&N has everywhere? Can Chairman Leonard Riggio save the company? What do you think? What would you said to Riggio?

Google Buys an E-book Company

I do not like to post anything on the Seybold Report Web site as a news brief that we cannot back up with a link to the news release for the brief. So, I am putting this news here: Google has purchased the company eBook Technologies. I had read about this in a couple of places and there is a brief statement confirming it on the ET site. I was also able to get a Google spokesperson to confirm the news:“We are happy to welcome eBook Technologies' team to Google. Together, we hope to deliver richer reading experiences on tablets, electronic readers and other portable devices.”

If you never heard of eBook Technologies, you are probably not alone. But, if you have published an e-book or want to, you have probably heard about the EPUB book format. Well, the guys who ran ET helped create that standard.

So, is Google thinking of creating its own e-reader? Or its own e-b00k format? I do not claim to have any special knowledge of what the behemouth company plans to do, but I would say it would not be a big stretch of imagination to think the company has a vested interest in trying to develop a proprietary delivery mechanism for all the content it has sucked through various ways.

You see, whoever who controls the delivery mechanism controls access and pricing. Which is another reason I still love print. Anybody with a printing press can create print. A dominant proprietary reading format or delivery system will, IMHO, never be a good idea for a person who, or a society that, believes in the virtues of a free press. I like free, public libraries for the same reason, but that is a post for another day.

 

What's Going on With Borders?

The New York Times and several other media outlets are reporting Borders is seeking to delay payments or rework payment schedules with several major publishers. I read that and thought, "Uh-oh!" Borders, like Barnes & Noble, has a lot of bookstores and not as many paying customers as the two chains need to do well financially. There has been talk of B&N buying Borders, but that would just B&N more bookstores and still not enough customers. I hope Borders can work out a deal it can live with or figure out a way to reinvent itself.

Check out the latest: the Graphic Arts Industry News Digest

Or, as I like to call it: GAIND

Click here to read the product information.

This is our newest newsletter, and I decided to start it because I spend hours a week reading graphic arts industry news releases, reading major newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, and reading blogs. I am looking for news and information about the graphic arts industry, of course. I am also looking for article ideas. Some of what I turn up, we turn into news briefs for the Seybold Report Web site. However, if we posted everything I find interesting on the site, the amount of text would quickly defeat the purpose of the home page, which is to be a quick read of major news.

Just because a news item is not major, breaking news does not mean it is not important to people who read the Seybold Report. That's my thinking. For example, many industry sales people want any and all news of equipment installations they can find so they can line up new prospects. Or, maybe the news about the latest special purpose software package is just what someone has been looking for to round out their production software collection.

GAIND is a monthly e-newsletter and cost $199 for 12 issues. However, Seybold Report subscribers will receive GAIND at no additional charge. That's a good deal.

To subscribe to GAIND, click here.

To subscribe to the Seybold Report, click here.

To ask for a free sample copy of GAIND, send an e-mail to gaind@thejossgroup.com.

The Joss Group Acquires the Seybold Report

The Joss Group, LLC, a publishing and consulting firm headquartered near Philadelphia, PA announced it has acquired the Seybold Report, Seybold Publishing and related sites from the Beard Group, effective June 1, 2010.

Molly Joss, owner and President of the Joss Group, has been the Editor and Publisher of the Seybold Report for more than a year and will continue to serve in these roles. Joss says, "I am excited about the acquisition and have lots of plans including a new monthly newsletter Seybold Report subscribers will receive at no additional charge."

She promises subscribers and readers would hear more about the new newsletter and other plans soon. She also thanks Christopher Beard and the Beard Group for making the transition a smooth one.