Printing in Harmony

Print Action, Apr 2003 by Avery, Jodi

Don Gain, president of Harmony Printing, speaks about strategy and the business of print.

PrintAction: Why is Harmony is still working with film?

Don Gain: It's one thing to make decisions but we must execute them in our own time. I learned that from a mentor many years ago. CTP is good, smooth and efficient. But companies and customers have to be ready. Point of purchase and cost is a factor. We decided it was critical to get experience with preflighting, imposition and digital proofing before moving to CTP. And we wanted our customers to be comfortable with digital proofing as well. To do all those things and implement CTP all at one time is tough. Honestly, I am hoping the price will come down because it's inhibitive for small to mid sized printers.

PA: How do you know when to invest in new technology and what to invest in?

DG: There are a couple of ways to approach it. You can have great beliefs in the technology and jump in with both feet and become determined and committed to making it work. The other way is the conservative way. This is when you look at the technology to mature and you examine it and analyze if it is right for you. I have been on the bleeding edge of technology in my career before and it's not fun. You have to make sure you are in the right market for the technology. And you should never do it just because a competitor is successful, because of the simple fact that you might not be. There have been times that I've waited too long in the past. You will make mistakes but the more prepared you are the less harm those mistakes will cause.

PA: What is the business strategy of Harmony?

DG: I am not sure I want to share that totally with the marketplace. I don't intend to stand shoulder to shoulder with big corporations. It's about niche markets and strong relationships with customers and finding new markets to diversify.

PA: How do you build customer loyalty?

DG: The most important thing is mutual respect. Being honest and open with customers is a key part of any organization. You have to understand their businesses as well as they do. If you don't have respect for them and from them ypu have nothing in business. People recognize that printing companies are more than just producing printed pages from a press.

PA: How do you increase your sales?

DG: Acquisitions are a way but they are tough. People become very attached to their businesses. Another way is to analyze different markets and find a fit where you are compatible. And if you are not compatible, you invest to build your facilities and create an ability to be compatible with a market you want. Then you put a plan in place and execute it with all your might. I like to say that you ask someone for an order five times when the others only ask three times.

PA: How do you attract good sales people?

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DG: That is the toughest challenge in this business. And there I have no simple answer, even after being in the industry for 30 years. You have to look for people who are not happy in other places. Or you can move people from within your company to the top. I think we have a good reputation as a quality workplace. The challenge is that people in this industry are loyal. Good ones don't move around a lot. But if you catch them at the right point then you try to keep them.

PA: How do you keep your key people happy and loyal?

DG: People here are treated with respect. I believe you treat people the way you want to be treated. Respect means listening. Confirm that they are part of the decision making process. I don't profess to know a whole lot, and my people contribute a lot to the decisions made around here. Everyone is human. Everyone faces bumps on the road and challenges and we are here to help our team when those things happen. We have a strict no screaming and yelling policy around here.

PA: What does the future hold for Harmony and how will you get there?

DG: Who really knows what the future holds? We are in an ever-changing environment. I wish I could predict. The best you can do is understand the market influences. Some markets will disappear but others will come. You have to be continually examining expanding and be diversifying your markets.

PA: Why do people, including printers themselves, call this a commodity market? Is it really one?

DG: That idea comes from brainwashing by digital product manufacturers who don't know the print market. They started the term and printers have begun to accept it. To them we only sell on price. But it is obviously more than that. Print is not all manufactured in the same store, the way brands of TVs are. If our industry was like that you might as well fire all the sales people and just price all jobs on the internet for the lowest bid. Printers are just mimicking what they hear when they use the term commodity.

PA: Why are you in the printing business?

DG: By choice I left the industry. But I came back. It is because of the quality of people and the sense of community. I work with associations in the industry and I have met so many amazing people in my years in the industry.