2010 Winter

Disaster Recovery Solutions for Business Continuity

February 1, 2010

by Dawn Warner

The first step to understanding disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity (BC) solutions is to understand the scope and definition of the word “disaster.” When defining the word disaster, people inevitably take into account only natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, or tornadoes. However, the term disaster, in regards to business continuity, is defined on a much grander scale and can involve a variety of different occurrences, natural or unnatural, internal or external, and commonly not thought of or considered as devastating to a business.

According to recent statistics, the number one source of disruption to a business, causing significant downtime and revenue loss, is a power outage. Second is a problem with computer hardware, with third and fourth listed as telecommunications and software problems, respectively.

Figure 1 shows the major causes for disaster recovery services. (1)

Disaster may be caused by carelessness, negligence, bad judgment, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, or tornadoes. As seen in Figure 1, 72 percent of U.S. organizations have experienced significant interruption and loss of revenue caused by power outages, with 52 percent experiencing computer hardware problems. The size and scope of these events have caused business executives to rethink their business continuance strategies and consider increases in capital expenditures for disaster recovery services. If any of these events occurred and business was affected, how long would the business be able to remain out of production without suffering damaging revenue loss or causing the business to close down permanently?

Disaster planning is imperative precisely because a business likely will die if a workable disaster plan is not in place when a disaster strikes. A study of companies that suffered a catastrophic data loss found that 43 percent never reopened, 51 percent closed within two years, and only 6 percent survived. In the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, 50 percent of the businesses without a disaster recovery plan were out of business within two years. (2)

In any disaster, there are various losses to consider:

Physical facilities (destroyed buildings, work spaces, machinery, computers, inventory)
Access to facilities (condemned buildings)
Information (corrupt disk drives, damaged computers)
Access to information (no remote database access)
People (production, support, managers)

There should be two major segments to a DR plan, with one segment covering the daily “back office” business operations and the other being the “supply chain” facility operations. The plan overall should address all components needed to support the business when a disaster occurs. All areas need to be analyzed. Every physical, software, hardware, and human resource element, as well as every business process must be studied and addressed to ensure continuation in an event of a disaster.

A “supply chain” analysis is the second segment, which assists in addressing the recovery of the actual physical assets of the company. This part of the plan addresses issues such as how to handle unavailable manufacturing and storage facilities, order entry systems, shipping, and accounts payable/receivable. Businesses also must look at manufacturing operations and informational databases. The informational database should house all pertinent information relating to every aspect of business, from updated employee, customer, and supplier lists to detailed equipment and product specifications. It should cover anything and everything that pertains to the continuity of the business in case the facility is unable to be occupied.

Once the DR plan has been developed, it is extremely important to continuously review and evaluate the plan. An out-of-date plan is almost as dangerous as not having a plan at all. Today, many customers demand that their business partners have a continuity plan as part of the contract between them and that it be reviewed continuously. Any major changes, such as large employee shifts, increases in network infrastructure, or the addition of sub-units/departments, should trigger a plan review.

A DR/BC plan should encompass all aspects of a business, including supplier and customer networks. It should provide a solution that will account for and ensure the recovery of all business processes, provide an alternate workspace environment for employees, and facilitate ongoing operations within a timeframe that is consistent with the needs of the business. The monies invested now in a DR/BC plan could literally be the difference between sinking or swimming in the days and weeks after a disaster.

Footnotes
1 Rough Notes, July 2005 – Business Interruption Insurance – Death Protection for a Business.

2 Business Continuity Planning for IT Systems, University of Texas.

Disaster Recovery Checklist

Select a coordinator to develop plan objectives, a methodology and an overview.
Identify critical business processes and systems.
Formulate hardware system and end-user recovery objectives and identify critical network operations.
Assess threats such as fire, environmental contamination, physical security and software security.
Create a records-retention procedure.
Implement a back-up and storage strategy.
Define and test storage, back-up, and application systems.
Identify an alternate site for end users to work out of and contract with provisioning vendors.
Develop network recovery and relocation strategies, as well as replacement options for hardware and service.
Implement an alternate site that is engineered to deliver the recovery time and recovery point objectives.
Define recovery teams and develop a communication plan.
Publish the disaster recovery plan to include the recovery procedures.
Annually test the disaster recovery plan.

Adhesives in the Bindery: An Overview

February 1, 2010

by: Ken Kroeger, Ph.D.

Adhesives are used in many different operations in the bindery. In a pejorative sense, adhesives are the Rodney Dangerfield of the bindery (they get no respect) because while adhesive performance is very critical to finished product quality, adhesives are almost always a very low cost component. For example, in the production of an 800-page college textbook, the total cost of adhesives is approximately $0.06:

$0.0134 for animal-glue casemaking adhesive to wrap and bond the cover to the chip board
$0.0025 for hot melt for back lining to reinforce the spine
$0.0082 for hot melt for gluing off to flexibly reinforce the book block after sewing
$0.0092 for a liquid resin adhesive for end-sheet tipping
$0.0264 for a liquid resin adhesive for casing-in, in which the book block and end sheets are bonded to the cover

This six cents is just a fraction of the total material cost (including the paper, printing inks, cover wrap, chip board, etc.), but the performance of the adhesives is as important as any of the components to the quality of the finished textbook.

In this first part of a two-part series about adhesives in the bindery, an overview is presented of the three major categories of adhesives used: animal glues, resin emulsions and hot melts.

Animal Glues

Animal glues are the adhesives with the oldest historical record of use. Evidence of their use is dated at least to 1350 B.C. and, indeed, animal glue was used to bond wooden decorations on the tomb of King Tutankhamun! Animal glues (an unfortunate moniker) also are commonly called hide glues in the dehydrated form, gelatin-based adhesives, and cake glues since they are usually produced in a gelled cake form (see Figure 1). Animal glues are water-based adhesives using gelatin protein as their adhesive polymer. Gelatin is the same material used to make Jell-O™, marshmallows, and pharmaceutical capsules. It is produced industrially by the chemical treatment (hydrolysis) of collagen protein contained in the hides and bones of cattle and pigs.

Simple mixtures of gelatin (hide glue) and water have been used in woodworking for thousands of years and in book binding for at least 200 years. Modern animal glues contain not only gelatin and water but also performance modifiers such as plasticizers, sugars, salts, surfactants, defoamers, and biocides. These glues are sold in gelled cake form and are liquefied for use by heating to 150°F. The performance of modern animal glue formulations is much improved over the simple gelatin/water mixtures of the past. The formulations are tailored for each application by modifying parameters such as the level of tack, open time (speed of set), and viscosity. For example, L.D. Davis Industries produces over 100 different animal-glue formulations with open times ranging from two seconds to three minutes.

In the bindery, animal glues are used in hardcover case making, perfect binding, and back lining. The major advantage of animal glues, and the reason they’re still being used 60 years after the advent of synthetic adhesives, is that they possess excellent initial wet tack. In other words, when an animal-glue adhesive film is applied, it is immediately very tacky. This property allows the use of animal glues when a glued turned edge is needed. The major limitation of animal glues is their lack of specific adhesion. Animal glues form only mechanical bonds. This means that they adhere well to porous surfaces but poorly to some coatings and all nonporous substrates such as metals and plastics. Animal glues are outperformed in some ways by synthetic adhesives but persist because of their unique property of excellent wet tack, which remains unmatched by any synthetic aqueous adhesive.

Resin Emulsions

Adhesives based on resin emulsions have a very brief history compared to that of animal glues. Up until the 1940s, the major adhesives in use were natural polymers dispersed in water such as starches, dextrins, and animal glues. After World War II, scientists extended the technology for the emulsion polymerization of synthetic rubber (developed for the war effort) to the production of plastics. This gave birth to adhesives based on resin emulsions. These adhesives are commonly called liquid glues, white glues, or cold glues because of their appearance (see Figure 1) and use at ambient temperature. Resin emulsions are stable dispersions of polymer microparticles (0.1-1.0 micrometer in size) in water. In other words, they are mixtures of tiny plastic particles in water. The polymer microparticles can be composed of “homopolymer,” which is usually polyvinyl acetate produced by the polymerization of vinyl acetate. Alternatively, the polymer microparticles can be composed of “copolymer,” which is formed when vinyl acetate is copolymerized with ethylene (vinyl acetate ethylene) or an acrylate (vinyl acetate acrylate). The copolymers possess better adhesive properties and are more flexible than the homopolymer, but they are more expensive to produce. In addition, rubber-based polymer emulsions can be used to formulate pressure-sensitive adhesives.

Resin emulsions adhesives are formulated by blending one or more resin emulsions with modifiers such as plasticizers, surfactants, defoamers, polyvinyl alcohols, thickeners, fillers, adhesion promoters, and biocides. Various types of adhesives can be tailored in this way for properties such as speed of set, viscosity based on the application method (roller, extrusion nozzle, spray, silk screen, or brush), specific adhesion required, and level of lay-flat needed to avoid warping. The most common uses for these adhesives in the bindery are casing-in and end-sheet tipping. The major advantages of these liquid glues are their good specific adhesion to many surfaces and the ease of use due to their ambient application temperature. The major drawbacks are the lack of immediate wet tack and the need for at least one of the two bonding surfaces to be absorbent. When a bonding situation is encountered where excellent wet tack is not necessary and the surfaces are absorbent, liquid glues are usually the best choice.

Hot Melts

Hot melts also have a relatively brief history, with commercial use limited to the past 50-60 years. Hot melt adhesives are polymer-based and are 100 percent solids (contain no solvents or water). They are thermoplastic, which means they are solids at room temperature but liquefy upon heating and solidify again upon cooling. This property gives hot melts a fast setting speed if desired. The lack of water and solvents allows hot melts to attain peak bonding strength very quickly (as soon as they cool).

Hot melts are typically composed of four major components: polymer, tackifying resin, wax, and antioxidant. The polymers used for most hot melts utilized in the bindery are ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and styrene block copolymer (SBC, for pressure-sensitive hot melts). The polymer component of a hot melt determines its strength, toughness, and flexibility. Tackifying resins control the adhesion and hot tack properties of hot melts. They can be synthetic hydrocarbons or natural pine rosin or rosin derivatives. Waxes are selected for controlling the open time and set speed of the hot melt. Antioxidants are added to improve the pot life (preventing charring and other oxidation reactions). Plasticizers and/or diluents also are sometimes added to improve the flow characteristics and modify the viscosity and open time of the hot melt. Hot melts are normally applied at a temperature of 350°F, but lower temperature versions are available and can be applied as low as 250°F. Application methods include roller, extrusion nozzle, and spray. Hot melts bond mainly by mechanical means in that the polymeric components wet out and penetrate the bonding surfaces prior to solidifying as they cool. When adhering to thermoplastic surfaces (plastics, polyolefin laminates, and some coatings), bonding is very similar to welding due to the temperature of the hot melt when it’s applied.

PUR (reactive polyurethane) hot melts are a more recent development for perfect binding and are largely different from the EVA and SBC hot melts described above. They polymerize when applied so that they form much stronger bonds than traditional hot melts. They also possess superior flexibility and can withstand a larger range of temperatures. PUR is currently much more expensive than traditional EVA hot melts (2-4X), but application rates are much lower.

The most common uses for these adhesives in the bindery are perfect binding spine glue, side glue, gluing off/up, and back lining. The major advantages of hot melts are the excellent immediate (green) tack, the quick achievement of final bond strength, very good adhesion to many surfaces, and excellent shelf life. The major limitations for hot melts are the suspect nature of the hot melt bond at temperatures over 150°F due to its thermoplasticity and safety issues due to the use of high temperatures. Hot melt adhesives are an excellent choice when bonding difficult substrates where immediate tack is needed.

Conclusion

Since World War II there has been a great development of adhesive technology, providing the bindery with a large variety of adhesives – an embarrassment of riches. For every adhesive need in the bindery, an animal glue, resin emulsion, or hot melt can be selected to meet all desired criteria for tack level, open time, set speed, flexibility, bond strength, application method, and temperature stability.

In part two of this series, we’ll investigate the environmental impact of adhesive use in the bindery.

Acknowledgement

The author would like to thank Kevin Rodeck of IFS Industries for his assistance.

Dr. Ken Kroeger has been the research and development manager for L.D. Davis Industries for the past thirteen years and is an adjunct professor of chemistry and physics at Wingate University. He has an undergraduate chemistry degree from the University of Dayton and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Colorado at Boulder. In addition to adhesives, Dr. Kroeger has experience working in the fields of macromolecular X-ray crystallography, atmospheric chemistry, isotope separation, and explosive and pyrotechnic chemistry. L.D. Davis Industries, Inc. is an 84 year-old family-owned company manufacturing both animal glues and resin emulsion adhesives, as well as distributing multiple lines of hot melts for the graphic arts, rigid box, packaging, and other industries. For more information, call (800)883-6199 or visit www.lddavis.com.

CPSIA and Its Implications for Binderies

February 1, 2010

by: Staff

Recently, a conversation on the BIA listserv revolved around the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), lead and phthalate testing, and its applicability to binders. The responses indicated that not all binderies are clear as to the testing requirements and the manner in which the requirements will affect their business. Lead and phthalate testing and certification requirements were due to become mandatory on Feb. 10, 2010; however, after a petition was submitted by Printing Industries of America, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) granted an additional one-year stay to Feb. 10, 2011. Even though the one-year stay was granted for testing and certification, the core requirements of not selling a product that exceeds the lead and/or phthalate limits remain in effect. In addition, the stay does not impact any painted product such as coil for a coil-bound book.

At this time, it would be wise for binderies to prepare to meet the testing and certification requirements of the act.

What is CPSIA?

In August 2008, the U.S. Congress established safety standards for children’s products under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. The act establishes several key requirements regarding the safety of children’s products, including limits for lead and phthalates, a requirement that manufacturers and importers test and certify that their products meet the limits using accredited third party labs, and imposes tracking labels for products.

The current lead limit for non-painted products is 300 parts per million (ppm). The limit for paint is 90 ppm. The phthalate limits are 0.1 percent di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), or benzyl buty phthalate (BBP) and an interim prohibition on children’s toys that can be placed in a child’s mouth or child care articles containing more than 0.1 percent diisononyl phthalate (DINP), diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP), or di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP).

As of August 14, 2009, tracking labels or “permanent markings” on children’s products are now required to facilitate recalls. The label or permanent mark must contain core information or at least provide enough information (such as company name and address) that would allow a consumer to “ascertain” the core information. The core information is the identification of the manufacturer, date of manufacturing, location of manufacturing, and cohort information such as batch or lot number.

As can be imagined, the publishing industry reacted strongly to the CPSIA and questions are still arising as to its implications for printers and binderies. The full text of the CPSIA can be found at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpsia.pdf.

Are Any Products Exempt from Testing?

As noted, the testing requirements were granted an additional one-year stay and are now taking effect in February 2011. Binders need to be aware of their responsibility in regard to compliance for the individual components that are used to make a children’s printed product (e.g., paper, inks, binding components).

On Aug. 26, 2009, the CPSC acted on a petition by the Printing Industries of America, granting a permanent exemption from testing and certification for the following items:

Paper
Any product printed with four-color process inks (CMYK)
Any product coated with varnish, water-based, or UV-cured coatings
Threads used for book binding
Animal-based glues
Adhesives that are not accessible
Binding materials that are not accessible

The items that have not received an exemption are as follows:

Spot or PMS inks
Saddlestitching wire
Non-animal-based glues that are accessible
Metal coils, both coated and uncoated, for coil bound materials
Plastic coils for coil bound materials
Foils used in foil stamping
Laminates

Since many of the materials that have not received an exemption are critical components of books and other printed matter, any product that contains a non-exempt component will have to be tested and a certificate issued for the product. Work continues with the CPSC to gain an exemption for the products that are not currently exempt.

How Does CPSIA Affect Children’s Books?

In the Frequently Asked Questions section of the CPSC website, the following question was posed:

Does the new requirement for total lead on children’s products apply to children’s books, cassettes and CD’s, printed game boards, posters, and other printed goods used for children’s education?

In general, yes. CPSIA defines children’s products as those products intended primarily for use by children 12 and under. Accordingly, these products would be subject to the lead limit for paint and surface coatings at 16 CFR part 1303 (and the 90 ppm lead paint limit effective Aug. 14, 2009) as well as the new lead limits for children’s products containing lead (600 ppm lead limit effective Feb. 10, 2009, and 300 ppm lead limit effective Aug. 14, 2009). If the children’s products use printing inks or materials which actually become a part of the substrate, such as the pigment in a plastic article, or those materials which are actually bonded to the substrate, such as by electroplating or ceramic glazing, they would be excluded from the lead paint limit. However, these products are still considered to be lead-containing products irrespective of whether such products are excluded from the lead paint limit and are subject to the lead limits for children’s products containing lead. For lead-containing children’s products, CPSIA specifically provides that paint, coatings, or electroplating may not be considered a barrier that would render lead in the substrate inaccessible to a child.

What are Coil Manufacturers Doing to Meet CPSIA Requirements?

Anna Massey, sales and marketing manager for Gateway Bookbinding Systems, Ltd., explained the process the company went through to confirm that its PLASTIKOIL binding is lead- and phthalate-free: “When the legislation was originally initiated, we immediately went to work with our base resin and colorant suppliers. We already knew that our PVC base compound was lead-free and phthalate-free, because it is actually a food-grade compound. However we still had our compound supplier confirm through accredited lab testing that the material was well within the To assist its binder partners, Gateway keeps all lab testing and accreditation on file and available upon request. All of its PLASTIKOIL coil and filament customers are provided Certificates of Conformity, offering assurance that Gateway’s products meet the CPSIA standards.”

Matt Roth, vice president for Spiral Binding Co./James Burn, explained that the certification process was relatively simple, albeit expensive. The company knew compliance would be critical to its customers since it was a wire-bound book that started the original lead scare in the United States. “Not only do we support the nation’s cause to make sure our children’s books are bound safely, we viewed this as an opportunity to distinguish ourselves and our bindery partners from those using low-priced imported wire that might not be CPSIA-compliant and lead- and phthalate-free,” he said. “With certification on file, our bindery partners can feel confident using our products in their operation and can prove to their customers that the binding elements they use in their books are safe.”

For links to additional CPSIA information, including The Printing Industries of America’s CPSIA Resource page, visit www.thebindingedge.com.

Additional Resources:
Due to the complexities and ever-changing interpretations of CPSIA, printers and binders should monitor the CPSC website for amendments to the Act at http://www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/cpsia/cpsia.HTML#whatsnew.

The Printing Industries of America also has created a CPSIA Resource Page, which can be found at http://www.printing.org/page/4344.

To access the CPSIA Frequently Asked Questions section, visit http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/101faq.html.

Additionally, the CPSC website contains a statement from the General Counsel Advisory regarding books and the CPSIA: http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/advisory/323.pdf

Thank you to Gary Jones, director of Environmental, Health & Safety Affairs, Printing Industries of America, for his valuable input.

New Year’s Revelations: Updating the Outlook for Print in 2010–2011

February 1, 2010

by: Dr. Ronnie H. Davis

Before presenting the outlook for print over the next 12-24 months, let’s review the key relationships between print and the economy. A perspective on print’s performance relative to the economy is provided by examining the relationship between the economy (inflation-adjusted or real gross domestic product) and our Print Market Index, which tracks the difference between printers experiencing increased sales with those experiencing decreased sales. Although the economy is recovering, the Print Market Index remains in extreme negative territory.

The official start of the recession was the fourth quarter of 2007, which was the first quarterly decline in real or inflation-adjusted gross domestic product since the end of the 2001 recession. While the economy recovered somewhat in the first and second quarters of 2008, it then went negative for four successive quarters – the first such prolonged decline since the Great Depression. The economy stabilized toward the end of 2009, and the recovery is on track, although it will most likely be very mild.

In this extreme economic climate, print markets hit the wall in mid-year 2008 and continued to fall throughout 2009. The Print Market Index fell throughout 2007, 2008, and the first quarter of 2009 before reaching an all-time low and recovering slightly in the second quarter.

Over the course of a typical business cycle, nominal printing shipments tend to lag economic recoveries and lead economic declines as demonstrated in the chart on this page, titled Print and the Economy. This pattern will most likely continue with the current recession and recovery.

Looking back a little further, print’s competitive landscape has changed significantly over the past five years. Printing plants, employment, and printing shipments adjusted for price have all fallen while employment per plant, nominal sales, and prices have increased although virtually all of the increases in prices and sales were from the first 2-3 years.

Mapping Print Markets in 2010 and 2011

The projected “eye of the hurricane” scenario of the next two years of economic recovery (as reported by PIA in its Flash Report), while relatively modest, will still provide some much-needed relief to stressed-out print markets in the near term. As stated earlier, print markets lead recessions and lag recoveries, so print will rebound slower than the projected modest economic recovery. However, on the plus side, the 2010 congressional and state elections are lining up to be particularly competitive and may boost print demand further. Additionally, it appears that advertising markets are beginning to rebound and, given the new-found thrift of consumers, retail print promotion may be fairly aggressive over the next couple of years.

Our bottom-line outlook is for total nominal printing shipments to stabilize in 2010 as they are aided by both the recovering economy and political printing. The outlook for 2011 is for total printing shipments to increase slightly as the economy picks up a little speed and inflationary pricing pressures return.

Conventional ink-on-paper print will most likely still decline in 2010 but stabilize in 2011. The good news is that digital print (toner-based and inkjet) and printers’ ancillary services should return to healthy growth next year. Digital (toner-based and inkjet) print is projected to increase by 4-5 percent over the next two years. Printers’ ancillary services are projected to grow by 2.7 percent in 2010 and by 4 percent in 2011.

Projected Declines in Printing Plants and Survivor Profile

Over the course of 2010 and 2011, many printing plants will go out of business for a number of reasons – liquidations, mergers, bankruptcies, and more. Perhaps around 2,000 printing plants will go out of business over the next two years – an approximate 6 percent reduction.

Based on this projected decline of printing plants and the previously stated outlook for printing shipments, we can compare the performance of those printing plants that survive through 2011 and the overall print markets. As demonstrated in the chart on this page, the typical survivor will perform much better than the market as its total printing shipments are projected to increase by over eight percent compared to less than one percent for the market. Total conventional printing shipments are projected to decline by 1.5 percent, but the average survivor will see an increase of almost 6 percent. Survivors sales percentage increase of digital (toner-based and inkjet) print and ancillary services will be approximately twice the pace of the overall market.

The typical printer that survives the next two years will have a significantly different profile from today’s printer in terms of sales and composition. In particular, digital print (toner-based and inkjet) and printers’ ancillary services will grow as a proportion of printers sales while conventional ink-on-paper declines.

For more insight into the strategies business models of these survivors, utilize the recent Printing Industries of America report Beyond the Horizon: Key Dynamics Shaping Print Markets Over the Next Decade.

As a member of your local Printing Industries affiliate and national association, Printing Industries of America, you have access to information, support, expertise, and assistance that your non-member competitors do not have. As a matter of fact, research indicates that Printing Industries of America members typically outperform non-members in sales and profitability.

Dr. Ronnie H. Davis is the vice president and chief economist at Printing Industries of America. The outlook scenarios for both the economy and print markets are based on an upcoming Printing Industries of America report, Mapping the Economy and Print Markets 20102011, which will be distributed to members in the near future. Members also may order the 20092010 Ratios report to identify possible areas to reduce cost and be profitable in these tough times, benchmarking operations against industry profit leaders. To order the volume that fits your firm profile, call (800) 910-4283 ext. 770.

Napco: Changing the Game of Loose Leaf

February 1, 2010

by: Dianna Brodine

Customers seeking loose leaf products have moved beyond the vinyl three ring binder to demand custom turned edge binders and other specialty paperboard products and packaging for more powerful marketing impact. Whether it is geared toward internal corporate communications or the end user, rigid paperboard products and packaging provide the opportunity for complete end-to-end customization. With products encompassing everything from CD and DVD collector’s edition boxed sets to coin and photo albums to elaborately decorated two-piece setup boxes, ambitious companies are pushing the envelope in terms of product and packaging design, production, and finishing effects. For NAPCO, Inc., a rigid paperboard products and packaging provider in Sparta, N.C., it’s just a part of the game.

On the Playing Board

In 1977, after graduating from Appalachian State University, NAPCO Owner and President Rocky Proffit began manufacturing rigid boxes and point-of-purchase displays for Dr. Grabow smoking pipes. The company president, a friend of Proffit’s, was unsatisfied with the quality and delivery of products being produced by another supplier. Proffit, facing an out-of-state move with a job offer to work at Holly Farms, decided to set up shop in a 2,000-sq. ft. basement with his brother, Brady. The operation was bare bones – a guillotine knife, papersheeter, gluer, and cornering machine… and a determination to succeed in this new venture.

NAPCO (an abbreviation derived from National Advertising and Promotional Co.) soon expanded into making game boards. “In the early 1980s, when electronic games first came on the scene, a lot of them had game boards that were part of the package,” explained Proffit. “We started doing more game boards and then Trivial Pursuit came along in 1983. That made us and almost broke us in a short period of time.” NAPCO was one of the original producers of the Trivial Pursuit board game, which has sold more than 80 million copies worldwide and was named to the Games Hall of Fame in 1993. The intense popularity of the game pushed NAPCO to its production limits, but the company ultimately came out on top.

As a result of its success with Trivial Pursuit, NAPCO constructed a new building, bought additional equipment, and expanded into fresh markets. Over the years, NAPCO has grown to specialize in high-end rigid paperboard products and packaging, including complex projects and those with very high-quality specifications. The company moved into loose leaf packaging in the early 1990s, when it began producing custom ring binders, turned edge binders, slip cases, and packaging for software. NAPCO positioned itself as a provider of packaging for the music industry in the late 1990s, and then went after the entertainment packaging market in the early 2000s by pursuing direct relationships with the major home entertainment studios.

NAPCO also is the largest manufacturer of coin storage products, which it began manufacturing for Western Publishing (at that time, Western Publishing owned the Whitman Coin Line) at about the same time as Trivial Pursuit. Most recently, NAPCO has moved into cosmetics packaging. “We’ve just gotten into cosmetics and that’s where we’re seeing growth,” said Proffit, “but our older specialties are still important to us. We just signed a three-year contract with the U.S. Mint to create coin storage products. We feel like we’ve got some tremendous growth coming down in the next two or three years – good manageable growth.”

Vice President of Marketing and Business Development Shelli Kaiser added, “Of course, NAPCO produces a lot of binders for retail, B2B, promotional, and material sample applications.” With binder applications encompassing 40 percent of NAPCO’s overall product mix, the company takes the segment very seriously. NAPCO recently acquired one of the fastest web-fed casemaking lines in North America, capable of producing wrapped flat components like turned edge binder covers at ultra-fast speeds. NAPCO also received 28 awards for its work in 2009, including four from Binding Industries Association (BIA), two of which were Best of Category. These Product of Excellence awards were in the categories of Turned Edge Casebound for its Worship Tracks entry and Product Design for the Johnsonite 4 Drawer Cabinet.

Detailed Start-Up Changes the Game

A company doesn’t win more than two dozen awards in one year by compromising on quality. The key to NAPCO’s achievements is a comprehensive training program that orients workers with its procedures to ensure the company maintains its high-quality standards and customer requirements. “NAPCO has more than 100 full-time employees, with flex workers utilized during busy times,” stated Kaiser, “and we do a lot of business making highly complex products that involve many functions, including very precise diecutting, gluing, and assembly.”

Proffit continued, “We have extensive procedures, manuals, and set-ups that are examined before anyone is put on the production line.” At NAPCO, even the temporary employees are required to review all applicable safety and operational procedures. The next step in NAPCO’s quality control begins with new project development. Project managers meet with a cadre of internal NAPCO departments, including the design team, production, purchasing, and the production planning team. “They talk about materials, production issues, structural design, and budget, with the focus on getting the customer the most bang for the buck,” Proffit explained. “Then they come up with a physical structure – a white sample – that is sent to the customer.” That sample process typically goes through one or two additional prototypes before the structure is finalized. The customer then lays out the artwork to NAPCO-created templates before a final sample is made, complete with graphics, and that’s sent out for final signoff. Proffit emphasized the critical nature of NAPCO’s initial project development. “One thing we found is that the project is either made or lost at the front end. If you don’t build the quality in, then it won’t meet the expectations of the customer with the finished project.”

The dedication to quality continues when the project enters production. “Every job we do, since we’re a custom manufacturer, is different,” explained Proffit, “so we have a very detailed checklist that each employee must go through prior to start-up.” Once the employee has reviewed the checklist, a supervisor has to sign off. The written job orders are bar coded and any time spent on any job, whether machine time or hand work, is recorded in real-time. “We have quality audits based on quantity, quality, and the expectation of the customers,” stated Proffit. “The employees must do those audits, beginning with the incoming materials and every manufacturing operation until the project is complete.”

Proffit believes one of NAPCO’s greatest strengths is the length of service of its employees – dedication that translates into years of experience. “Expertise is dispersed throughout all levels in the plant and that’s what allows us to create the structural design and execute it effectively. Our employees have become experts in their respective fields.”

Strategizing for Sustainability

Printing Industries of America has recognized the impact of the sustainability movement on its members, supporting the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP). Sustainability, however, goes beyond printers to the binderies and packagers that transform the printed sheet into a final product. NAPCO identified the trend and quickly countered with sustainable packaging alternatives. “Creating eco-friendly products and packaging has been a key focus for many of our customers,” said Kaiser, “and we have responded with green options including being Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) chain-of-custody certified. We also are a Sony Green Partner.”

Rigid paperboard products and packaging are inherently eco-friendly since most start with a chip paperboard base that is made of 100 percent recycled paper, primarily from post-consumer sources. NAPCO then can provide printed components made with FSC-certified papers, papers with some recycled content, or even carbon-emission-neutral papers, all of which can be printed with soy-based inks and eco-friendly finishing options.

“Sustainability has certainly been gaining more traction in the news,” said Kaiser. “Consumers want to be more eco-friendly, and the customers that we work with are talking about it. The economy has been a little tough, so people haven’t been making big changes yet, but it’s important for us to be able to service those customers who want to use carbon-neutral papers or an FSC wrap.”

Made in the U.S.A.

NAPCO was founded in Sparta, and in Sparta it has stayed. Proffit is proud of running a company that keeps jobs in the U.S. and has seen one advantage of the recent poor economic conditions. “We see more packaging opportunities coming back from China due to less acceptance of long lead time, increasing quality demands and safety issues, and some neutralizing of price differences.”

Proffit further explained, saying, “In tough times, people start trying to predict sales volume, and they’re afraid to order too much too early. When your manufacturer requires a five-month lead time, a miscalculation on order quantity can really affect business.” He also pointed out that the price differential between product manufactured in the U.S. and that produced overseas isn’t as great as it once was. “People now realize there’s a lot more to consider than just unit cost. There’s also the lost opportunity cost, the obsolescence cost, problems with non-real-time communication, and the uncertainty of what you’re going to get.” Highly automated production lines also bring piece prices down, eliminating costly hand work.

“We put together a presentation about those costs,” said Kaiser, “and we included those things that may not be immediately obvious, including shipping, duties, damaged product from excessive handling and shipping requirements, container unpack and repack, expensive and lengthy travel requirements of executives, as well as many other associated costs.” In the end, said Proffit, it comes down to reliability. “If the product comes in after a long lead time and it’s not what you expect, what do you do?”

Playing to Win

With an unyielding attitude toward quality and an eye on the sustainability trend, NAPCO has maneuvered itself into a winning position and is ready to take on additional challenges. Currently occupying just under 80,000 square feet, the company plans to add 65,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space to accommodate its projected growth over the next two years. In addition, it will acquire four additional automated rigid box lines and upgrade its converting and die-cutting capabilities to allow for expansion into new markets.

“As we continue to diversify our business,” said Proffit, “we’ll still tackle the complex projects, getting them done efficiently and on time. When it comes to what we do, I think we’re one of the best.”