Articles

What’s Special about Specialty Folding?

by: Kevin Rickard, Rickard Bindery

In our industry, the mention of specialty folding often leads to discussions about intricate folding projects, such as the iron cross or some roll, gate, or accordion folds. But sometimes specialty folding simply refers to the ability to work with thick, thin or unusual paper stocks.

For specialty folding projects to be successful, bindery experts need to participate during the project design stage so they can help choose the right processes and equipment for each job. The best of these specialty folding experts can handle large volume projects and offer creative solutions to formidable challenges.

Specialty folding is, well, special, because an expert knowledge base is required to produce complicated folds, sometimes with glue, in high volumes with little or no error. Specialty folding experts know what equipment is suitable for which jobs. For example, buckle folders are less efficient with stock 12pts or thicker, and plow and knife folders should be used for such jobs. Knowing which resources to use prevents a lot of potential snags from becoming full-blown production problems. Some types of unusual miniature (at least one panel shorter than two inches) and oversized (large format) work qualify as specialty folding, too. Then there are the inline applications of EZ-release, permanent, or removable glue.

Machines and Paper Stress

Understanding specialty folding requires a grasp of science, or physics, to be exact. As sheets travel through the fold rollers and into fold plates, buckle folding machines apply different amounts of stress to the front and back ends of the sheets. Every fold has two sides: one heading into the plate, and the other being pushed from the back by fold rollers. The side of the fold that’s being pushed forms a “buckle” when the front end of the sheet hits the stop at the backend of the plate. As the sheet buckles, tremendous stress occurs in the paper on one side of the fold, but not the other. The side being pushed by the fold rollers gets a severe bend. If the stock is over 10 pts, fracturing of the paper surface or fibers can occur.

Folding speed stresses paper at a geometric rate of progression. For example, if the stress on a sheet is “5” when the speed is “5” (these numbers are only meant to be relative), doubling the speed to “10” means the stress jumps from “5” to “25” (instead of the linear “10”). In this case, doubling production speed translates to a five-fold increase in stress, perhaps enough to ruin a project. Therefore, many jobs that appear to be improperly setup are simply being run too fast.

Without proper planning, paper stress created during right angle folding can become a problem. The structure of paper is such that it is stronger under tension than under compression. When poorly designed folding sequences cause two panels to “fight,” the top one under tension always wins and the bottom one under compression always wrinkles. If a panel is trapped during right angle folding, wrinkling results.

In general, cracking usually occurs on the first fold. Why? As the buckle starts in the right angle section, the first fold bends around a very tight corner, greatly stressing the first fold. Unless preventative measures are undertaken, the result is poor quality.

Miniature Folds

Compliance demands led the pharmaceutical industry to find a way to include dosage instructions, risks, and even usage diagrams in all packaging – boxes, bottles, and other containers. That shift to miniature folding has caught fire in other consumer industries, such as personal electronics and cosmetics.

Now, companies seek to place even more information on larger sheets of paper. Folding those sheets down small enough to fit in the product package truly is specialty folding. When possible, get creative by using gate folds, onion skin stock, or maybe a miniature iron cross fold. The small size isn’t a limitation, but rather an opportunity for specialty folders to show off their creativity.

The applications for miniature folds in product placements continue to grow. For instance, companies that ship products to multiple countries must provide the same folded instructions to all markets, but in different languages. A specialty folder gives clients the option of including instructions in 10 or more languages on one sheet of paper, resulting in significant packaging and inventory savings.

Danger: Gatefolds

Running gatefolds multiple-up is fraught with danger. To avoid gatefold “pullout” (an unintended fold located approximately 1/8″ away from the intended fold), fold rollers should be loosely set. Although one-up work isn’t affected by running gatefold projects with loose fold rollers, multiple-up work certainly is. Since operators can’t get solid grips on gatefolds as they travel though the slitter shaft, slits are usually crooked, ragged, or both. Since two-up formats don’t yield much more product than one-up production, designing multiple-up gatefolds projects rarely makes sense.

Gatefolds may have short gaps (less than ¼” total gap), no gaps, and wide gaps (more than 2″ gap). Since most commercial gate folding plates don’t handle these types of projects well, make sure your bindery has the necessary specialty machinery for your job.

Tricky Folds

There are few universal rules about what’s possible in the world of tricky folds. Some projects are possible and some are not. This is true most commonly with folds with lots of panels, folds at unusual angles, diagonal folds, and unusual die cut shapes.

Naturally, some printing sales representatives try to avoid bidding on work involving tricky folds. But with a strong specialty folding partner, these types of projects become fertile sales areas. Printing sales representatives who figure out how to produce unusual projects are more valuable to clients than the ones who prematurely pass on tough requests. Here is a short list of some folds that are realistic and image enhancing:

Iron cross folding
Pop-up folding
Multi-directional die cut folding
Paper-doll style folding
“Staggered accordion” folding
“Swinger” folding
Narrow gap, no gap, and wide gap gate folding
No apparent side guide folding (ovals, circles, etc.)
Miniature folding with panels as short as 7/16″
“Layflat” miniature folding (with or without using glue)
Folding sheets as large as 80″ long

Expert specialty folding companies provide troubleshooting and design advice services to printers and their clients. Some of these companies have even invested in staff machinists and engineers that design and customize bindery equipment. When faced with a tough folding project, turn to a trade partner with expertise in folding. Specialty folding can be a profitable revenue stream with the right specialty folding company as a resource.

Kevin Rickard is vice president of Rickard Bindery and current president of the Binding Industries Association International. He can be reached at (800) 747-1389 or [email protected]. Rickard Bindery serves printers coast to coast and specializes in discovering solutions to challenging bindery jobs.

Maximizing Yields in the Bindery

by Kevin Rickard

In our highly competitive graphic arts industry, labor costs, raw material costs, the bottom line and most importantly, client goodwill are on the firing line every time a job is produced. An effective quality assurance program and reducing spoilage are vital in maximizing yields.

Let’s first look at quality assurance from a bindery’s perspective. Suppose a printing company sends a $10,000 print job to a bindery for $1,000 of bindery services. If the bindery expects to net a 10 percent profit, it is accepting $10,000 of risk for only $100 potential profit. Since printers hold binderies accountable for their performance, the reality of the bindery business is that only a few bad jobs will destroy the financial performance of the company. In short, binderies, as well as printers, must do their work right the first time, every time.

Get Correct Information

Quality assurance begins by obtaining the right information about what needs to be done, how it should be done, and what acceptable quality standards are. All the parameters of the job should be precisely and completely defined. Binderies use the term “preflighting” to mean the process of obtaining and reviewing reliable and detailed information about every aspect of a job before setting up any manufacturing operations. Without proper information, the scheduler can’t plan the job and department leaders won’t know what is required.

Every bindery has produced jobs that it is embarrassed to admit came in its front door, let alone went out the back – yet the customer was delighted. Similarly, every bindery has produced what it thought would be award-winning work – but for some reason, the customer was disappointed. What can we conclude from this? Quality is whatever the customer needs it to be. On a job-by-job basis, binderies should make every effort to discover how customers define quality and adapt their internal standards to meet customer expectations. To accomplish this, at the very least, binderies need detailed purchase orders with written instructions and pre-production samples, bluelines or samples of prior jobs.

Setup

When a bindery has compiled all the information necessary to begin a job, the internal job order must be clearly written up in straightforward language so that every operator and supervisor understands what is required. After the job order is approved, but before production begins, a progressive series of approvals and signoffs should be collected. The operator who sets up a machine must be satisfied that it will produce what the customer wants, according to the job order and provided samples. Good standard practice is to have the operator run a small quantity of material, take it to a supervisor and ask for written approval. This supervisor should measures the pieces, examines them for imperfections such as blemishes, smudged ink, scratching and folding sequencing problems, and then verifies that all parts of the machine are functioning correctly. If applicable, bundle counts should be checked as well. When the supervisor is satisfied that everything is correct, this information should be sent to others involved with the job, including the customer service representative and quality assurance manager (if one exists) for final signoffs.

Production

It must be the primary responsibility of the machine operator to maintain quality control. Managers approve setups, but once jobs are running, operators are the ones with their hands on the throttle. The operator must carefully read job orders and understand all instructions pertaining to their particular function before loading the machine, producing product and packing pallets. Operators should constantly monitor their jobs and check their output lift-by-lift and bundle-by-bundle. In the unlikely event of post-production issues surfacing, a time-stamping process is recommended to create a relevant production history and allows any problems to be isolated.

It also is recommended to provide employees full authority and responsibility to stop production if they have any doubts about quality. Operators should have a comfort level to go to their supervisor at any time to request a second opinion. If a supervisor instructs an operator to proceed with the job, the supervisor should then assume responsibility by signing and time-stamping a sample. Operators then keep at least one signed sample as proof that they have been instructed to proceed. Then, production continues as long as quality doesn’t further deteriorate.

Reducing Spoilage

Good spoilage planning is the second thing we are going to look at to maximize yields. Every significant printing job will incur some spoilage. Since spoilage rates aren’t consistent, it’s impossible to predict exactly how many sheets will be wasted during any given production run.

Many things cause bindery spoilage. Paper characteristics such as thickness, curl, brittleness, grade and coatings are very important. In general, thin sheets are more easily damaged than thicker ones. For example, when planning saddle stitched jobs, 4-page signatures should be given twice the spoilage allowance of 16-pagers, if the paper is the same weight. Exposure to too much heat can make paper and ink brittle, resulting in excessive cracking and increased spoilage. As the job runs, accumulating press powder and varnish buildup will gradually change the grip of the fold rollers, changing the fold position. Humidity will make paper limp, but excessive dryness can cause static. Either condition might hinder sheets from moving squarely into plate sections – again increasing spoilage.

Common Causes of Bindery Spoilage

Varnish. Varnish is one of the bindery’s worst enemies and best friends. On the one hand, it generally doubles the amount of spoilage during folding, but on the other, it certainly reduces marking problems. Varnish buildup changes the coefficient of friction of the fold rollers. Inexperienced operators tend to change fold settings instead of cleaning the rollers. In most cases, cleaning will cause the fold position to return to its original setting.

Shipping. A lot of “bindery” spoilage occurs during transportation from the pressroom to the bindery. When shipping printed material between facilities, some damage is inevitable. Not surprisingly, the amount of damage is directly proportionate to the care given during shipping preparation and the skill levels of those involved. Sometimes packing choices comes down to the lesser of two evils. Applied improperly, banding wire can cut into and damage sheets. Stretch wrapping without corner boards will bend corners of the sheets, causing downstream machine-feeding problems. The key to minimizing transit damage is carefully and tightly containing product so it won’t vibrate during transit or slip off the pallet.

Wood pallets and tops. Many wood pallets and tops are made from new, or “green,” wood with very high moisture content. Without a barrier, moisture will migrate from the wood to the paper. This moisture migration can destroy up to ½-inch of otherwise perfectly good printed material.

Mixing paper stock: Mixing brands, grades or even different lots of the same paper will increase spoilage. If a pressman runs out of stock and substitutes a similar sheet, expect different performance levels in the bindery. Paper lot changes should be clearly marked on skids and kept separate as the job transfers between departments. For example, if a cutting operator finishes cutting a job and mixes different papers without identifying which is which, a folding operator will have no idea why a fold position suddenly moved and why the crossover, which was perfect ten sheets ago, is now 1/8″ out of alignment. If the operator doesn’t waste a lot a sheets making the necessary adjustments, a lot of time will be wasted – or very likely both. Even worse, if an unmarked skid from the first lot remains, the machine will have to be adjusted back to the original settings. In general, whenever different stock is used on a job, plan for 1½-percent additional spoilage allowance.

Quality assurance is an excellent way to maximize yields in a bindery, however, you have to reduce your spoilage in order to reduce waste and save money. These two things are very important items to consider for every job. Don’t waste more than you need to and provide customers with a job that is of great quality and done right the first time. Your company will stand out and it will show in your bottom line.

Postpress Integration: CIM-plicity Itself

by: Larry Tanowitz

Postpress No Longer an “Also-Ran”

Until relatively recently, the graphic arts industry has compartmentalized its thinking about process management. For years, talk of “seamless” integration stopped at the delivery end of the press, just short of the bindery. That thinking has been replaced by the understanding that printed products are only as good as the processes that tie up their loose ends efficiently. Driving developments beyond automation and toward postpress process integration is the need to get reliable information to the bindery in a useable format. In fact, much bindery equipment already can gather, report and store job-specific data. The key elements of an integrated postpress workflow include the following:

Improved interface between prepress, press, and finishing equipment
Centralized control of bindery components
Automated setup
Storage of previous job parameters
Faster makeready to increase net output per shift
Quick turnaround
Faster job changeover
Ability to monitor operational and materials costs via data collection and analysis
Minimal operator intervention
Process reliability and consistency
Higher efficiency
Productivity gains
Enhanced flexibility
Reduced material costs
Reduced labor
Reduced waste and spoilage
Reduced downtime
Improved load balancing with fewer scheduling conflicts
Streamlined material handling

Printing Begins with Postpress

The logic behind the renewed attention to postpress processes is irresistible: All printed products must be finished. As a critical determinant of the materials and processes selected for production, finishing is a key differentiator of quality after the press. Poor choices made in the product planning stages have the potential to compromise the quality of the bound and finished job, especially if it contains complex cuts or folds, or uses inks or coatings that are difficult to handle.

Despite the need for an unrestricted flow of data between a plant’s business and production functions, many printers still conceive of the bindery as discrete from the rest of the shop. Even in plants where MIS, prepress, and press processes are networked, the bindery too often is perceived as an island unto itself.

While it is true that computer-integrated manufacturing has eliminated many traditional bottlenecks in prepress and press production, the ability to tie postpress functionality into the system as a whole has been elusive. Despite much lip service paid to the need for so-called “end-to-end” integration, however, the discussion – until recently – has largely excluded the bindery. There are a number of reasons for this:

Postpress processes tend to resist computer-enabled efficiency. Finishing often requires manual labor and generates waste.
Finishing must resolve an accumulation of variables including paper weight, bulk, moisture and so on, whose effect on the final product can be hard to predict and often require manual correction.
The time unbound sheets spend in the bindery prior to finishing, and the need for fine handwork on some projects can slow production to a crawl.
Lack of skilled personnel in the bindery sector is acute.

Many companies hire unskilled temporary workers to fill vacancies there. At the same time, there are no real trade school or journeyman programs geared specifically for bindery employees. Integrated solutions must be sophisticated and capable, yet simple and accessible.

The sheer durability of postpress equipment functions as a disincentive to capital investment for many printers, who treat the bindery as an afterthought last in their capital investment plans.

According to NAPL, for example, just 16.2 percent of print businesses surveyed for its most recent “State of the Industry” report said they expected the demand for finishing/bindery services to be the fastest growing, compared with a host of other products and service specialties.

TrendWatch Graphic Arts reported earlier this year that 10 percent of digital printers plan to invest in bindery/finishing equipment, compared with just 3 percent of print and prepress firms overall.

In fact, computer-enabled automation is a prerequisite for an integrated bindery – so much so, that the longevity of heavy-duty bindery equipment may no longer be an asset if it deters a printer from pursuing a much-needed upgrade. The reality is that the older the equipment is, the harder it will be to integrate. If it is automated, older bindery equipment is already CIP 3/4-PPF-compatible, meaning that machines can receive and collect prepress data without also having the ability to transmit setup and production data back upstream. Whether legacy equipment can be modified to accept CIP3/4 presets, however, will depend on the type, age and degree of automation of the equipment in question. Consider the following:

Older machines may be only partly automated, or not at all
Many older machines cannot be retrofitted to take advantage of computerized presets
Older machines take longer to set up, run more slowly, and require more operator adjustment – all drains on time, manpower, and other resources or factors at odds with the shift in emphasis from price to cost and the pressure to provide short runs at high volumes.

Consequently, flexible equipment should be installed now as a hedge against being caught behind the rapidly escalating technological curve. If a postpress upgrade isn’t in the cards, even an old folder can be productive when paired with advanced press equipment. Another solution may be to semi-integrate older equipment with the aid of off-line, computer-aided programs.

All of the Above

Failure to view the components of a print manufacturing workflow as a single, interdependent system that encompasses the bindery reflects the industry’s painfully slow adoption of CIM. According to a recent report by TrendWatch Graphic Arts, between fall 2003 and spring 2004, the percentage of printing firms who are challenged by “implementing the SmartFactory, CIM concept” slipped from 3 percent to 2 percent, even as “understanding the SmartFactory, CIM concept” remained steady at 5 percent. Furthermore, while 32 percent of print businesses acknowledged “reading about/studying CIM,” the same percentage also indicated that “CIM is not relevant to our business.”

Much of the resistance is economic: CIM can involve new equipment, new employees, and a potentially expensive learning curve. Some is psychological: many printers, already slow to evolve, are overwhelmed by the concept, and this has tended to blunt, not whet, their motivation to embrace change. This is especially true of the bindery, which still functions as a loss leader in many shops, yet upon whose shoulders the burden of productivity ultimately rests.

However, for printers who educate themselves about the potential benefits of integration, who are willing and able to make the necessary capital investment, and who are prepared to work closely with suppliers to maximize the return on their investment, connectivity is possible now. The tools needed to construct a postpress workflow that can participate in the growth of productivity plant-wide already are available.

Implementing an Integrated Postpress Workflow

In an ideal world, all bindery equipment would be perfectly matched in terms of speed, flexibility and control with every printing press. Machines designed to handle the output from traditional offset presses would function equally well in digital and direct imaging environments, unaffected by format, substrate or volume limitations. Bindery setup and makeready would accurately mirror the speed of the press and the size of the print run. To say that these efficiencies are not universally available or are not being taken advantage of fully, is not to denigrate the advances that have been made, nor to minimize the importance of investing in postpress technologies that can adapt to changing requirements. Instead, the opposite is true: the newest postpress innovations present more opportunities than ever for print shops to specialize and stand out from the competition.

Smart Packaging: Turned-Edge Loose Leaf Binders

by: Joe Anderson

The information packaging solutions available today are more creative and attractive than ever. New trends in packaging and decoration accommodate loose leaf and information materials like never before, yet incorporate the sturdy construction that has been used for centuries to manufacture books that last. Ring binders in particular often can combine colorful decoration and durable materials to create versatile products that meet your specific project demands.

There are many applications for durable turned-edge ring binders, which perhaps explains why they are so widely used for sales kits, conferences, academic materials, and many other products. Ring binders are an easy solution for combining literature with multi-media, or pocket folders, or product samples, or well, you get the idea. Not only are binders versatile, the decorative options are virtually unlimited. Let’s take a look at the construction and usage options.

The Process

For most turned-edge products, glue is applied to the back of the cover material, which is then wrapped to a board, thus giving this process its name. Like most products, a good foundation is essential for building your binder, making the board one of the binder’s most important components.

Board is available in a range of strengths and thicknesses. Commonly used grades include pasted-chip (chipboard), Graphic board (fordiner board-100% news-short fiber), SBS (paperboard), wet-lap board (spec board), Maxite (micro-flute) and foam padded board.

Different uses require different calipers and construction techniques to ensure the best results. The board type is generally determined by the binder contents, intended usage and environment of the end user. Binders destined for a single-use seminar, for example, will require materials far different than instruction manuals for industrial settings.

Cover Material and Decoration

Not all cover materials are created equally. They vary widely in look, feel, durability and production parameters. Selection often hinges on decorative options, final use, turnaround, and of course, cost. Your finisher can often provide guidance for balancing these requirements and suggest products and options that best suit your needs.

One of the big advantages of turned-edge manufacturing is that almost any material can be used for the wrap. Offset-printed and film-laminated paper is a common choice because it allows for vivid, four-color graphics. For total personalization, paper covers can be digitally printed prior to lamination.

In recent years, stock options have expanded beyond traditional papers. Saturated, unsaturated, craft-based and some fiber reinforced papers are commonly available. Companies such as Fibermark and Ecological Fibers provide earth-friendly paper alternatives, which can be crafted to mimic common stocks while adding a unique dimension to your products.

Additional materials include imitation leather, book cloth and many others. Custom decorations such as diecuts, digital or screen printing, foil stamping, embossing or debossing can give binder products a truly unique look. Combining techniques and materials can often produce handsome products of lasting value, so discuss the possibilities and designs with your finisher.

Lining Material and Binder Interiors

Perhaps the most forgettable part of the binder, the binder interior can be a highly functional design element as well. Lining material is glued to the board on the inside of the binder. Typically, the lining is about 1/8″ short of the edge on all four sides, allowing the cover material to be seen around the edges, “framing” the interior lining.

Combining loose-leaf, wire bound or information brochures with multi-media pieces or collections can be frustrating, but liners can be designed to incorporate PVC trays for CDs or DVDs, customized pockets, cavities cut to suit and even boxes to house specialty items. Again, each finisher has different manufacturing techniques and processes to produce customized products, so consult with a design team early in the planning stages to determine what options are appropriate.

Ring Metals

Without ring metals, the binder does not exist. Nickel plated rings are used most often, but stock and custom painted metals are also available to match designs and color schemes. Several ring styles are available, and though each is meant to hold materials inside the binder, each option provides a different look and functionality. Each of the following are available with locking boosters that hold material securely:

Round rings – The most common ring binder metal, round rings can be mounted to the spine or the back cover with rivets, which can be exposed or concealed.

Straight D rings – This style is similar in operation to round ring metals, but the metal piece itself is shaped like a backwards D, opening where the straight back meets the top of the curve. Straight-D rings are mounted to the back cover of the binder and display loose leaf contents evenly along the index edge.

Angle D rings – This style is also mounted to the back cover, but the angled design allows the rings to hold up to 30 percent more loose leaf material than standard round ring metals of the same capacity. This additional capacity makes angle D-ring metals ideal for high-capacity applications. Another advantage: angle-D rings taper top-to-bottom along the index edge, allowing for easier viewing of contents.

Important note: never ship your literature on the ring itself. The stresses in transit can damage the tension bars and destroy ring functionality. Always package your materials inside the binder but off of the ring. This is the best way to ensure your product arrives undamaged.

Regardless of format, information packaging and display materials are designed to attract attention and withstand substantial use. Most finishers can help you design a completely customized turned-edge loose leaf binder that meets both aesthetic and budgetary needs. And remember, effectively planned production leads to high quality products, which is always eye-catching.

Joe Anderson heads the information packaging division of Eckhart & Company, an Indianapolis, Ind.-based bindery specializing in mechanical binding, loose leaf manufacturing, and information packaging. Anderson can be reached at (800) 443-3791 or [email protected].

Building Profit Through Accounts Receivable Practices

by: Andrea Schlack

All too often business people center their growth strategies upon “getting the sale” as opposed to what happens after the job is delivered and money has not been paid for the job. This is through no fault of their own. The goal of this and future articles is to help businesses determine those strategies for credit management that can help minimize bad debt losses.

Credit Applications vs. Credit Agreements

The first and most critical step to better receivable management is to “know your customer”. Name recognition or a prior business experience is not sufficient criteria for granting credit. All businesses fluctuate; what was good yesterday may not be true today. There are lessons to be learned from the numerous well-known companies that have seen their demise over the past several years.

The two variables to be defined in all credit transactions are “Who is this customer?” and “Will I get paid?”. These can be defined by the proper use of an established application and agreement. Those will help facilitate your ability to verify stability, viability, and predict potential risk of new customers.

There is a difference between an application and an agreement, so you need both. According to Webster’s Dictionary an application is “a form used in making a request”. Agreement is defined as “harmony of opinion, action, or character, an arrangement as to a course of action, or a contract duly executed and legally binding, the language or instrument embodying such a contact”.

Simply put, an application is your customer’s request for terms. It provides the grantor relevant, verifiable information by which informed decisions can be made while the agreement defines under what condition credit will be extended. A properly worded agreement protects a lender’s rights and remedies. It is very important that a completed agreement be required from all customers.

One way to verify the information on an application is to consider these points:

Is the application filled out completely?
Did the customer provide you with a physical address as requested?
Is the provided address a commercial property, a “mail-drop” or a home-based business?
Did your customer provide you with ownership information including names and addresses as requested?
Are the phone numbers provided listed to the business that is requesting credit?
Did your customer disclose all their banking information as requested and did they include their account numbers?
Has the customer crossed out or altered any of your terms without your consent or approval?
Are the references verifiable and of value to meet your needs?
Did your customer sign and date the agreement?

Non-paying customer’s cost the company lost revenue, lost time that could have been better spent with productive accounts, and wasted resources.

Be cautious of the customer who rejects or refuses your reasonable request to fill out an application and agreement completely. Credit agreements are an accepted business practice in today’s credit heavy society; he who refuses to provide adequate verifiably information may have something to hide.

The Verification Processes

Extending credit terms simply because an agreement was completed can leave a vendor vulnerable to high risk, slow, or non-paying customers. In order to maintain a low percentage of bad debt, it is recommended that all applications be verified and periodically updated.

There are numerous “fee based” reports that provide easy to read, statistical data necessary when evaluating credit worthiness and are a cost-effective solution to making the “quick decision”. Dun & Bradstreet or Experian reports, for example, use public records and subscriber information as well as company provided details as the basis for their reports. The accuracy of any report will depend greatly upon how often report data is re-verified.

On-line public records are the fastest and easiest way to verify information. The majority of states, counties, and cities provide “real-time” data on the web that offer a wide range of detail such as verification of a corporation’s charter, identify shareholders, confirm current ownership, provide details of pending litigation, judgment awards, UCC searches, and other related business or trade names associated to your customer. Identify the type of business conducted, provide business license information, identify any name changes, and stock ownership transfers. In many cities you can even see driving tickets that have been issued to an individual.

The Internet provides additional resources for instantaneous verification. Those same tools utilized by credit reporting companies are available to the web-savvy businessperson at no or low-cost. However, the information obtained might not be the most current, so you need to be careful.

Search engines such as Lycos or Google provide sources to verify addresses and phone numbers. Outwardly this may seem to have little importance, after all what customer would intentionally provide a “bad address” or a “bad phone number”? How could they get their completed jobs if they did not provide a good address for delivery, and how can the customer confirm or proof the work processes requested if the phone number isn’t right? Remember the steps you take before granting credit to help you identify those customers who would do anything to get “free work”.

Addresses are something you really need to be aware of while verifying information. Over the past 10 years the business of providing “virtual” offices such as mailbox rentals or “common-space” office suites has grown to a multi-billion dollar industry. Mailboxes Etc and UPS have more than 5,000 franchises nationally while HQ Global has nearly a thousand locations in more than three hundred cities. Cellular phone usage is growing at a faster rate than land-based lines. There are thousands of companies that allow businesses to operate in disguise. While these operations may cater to small and/or home-based businesses that potentially could be very profitable and well run organizations, they also provide a safe haven for slow and non-paying customers. Credit grantors need to be wary.

Common web titles you need to be aware of and that may indicate a virtual office are:

Business Services
Conference Centers
Mail Services
Office Suites
Packaging and Shipping
Fax Service
Boxes and Bags
Copying and Duplicating

If during the verification process you suspect an address is a mail drop, call the listed company and simply ask if they rent mailboxes. If the answer is “yes” ask if your customer is renting from them. Also, if the phone number provided by the customer is not listed or appears to be a cell phone ask for the main number to the company and verify it. “No” is always the answer to a question not asked.

Following Practices

Remember the procedures established by your company are a means to protect your bottom line profitability. Your processes for extending credit should not be perceived as an impediment to any ongoing business relationship with customers who are genuinely looking to do business with you on an honest basis.

This article was an excerpt from an upcoming CD-ROM offered in cooperation with Printing Industries In/IN Association and its’ author. Future articles will provide other solutions to the most prevalent problems associated with managing and collecting accounts receivable. Your ideas and suggestions are welcome. For more information, contact Andrea Schlack at [email protected].

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