By Kat McDaniel, Principal at MEDiAHEAD

Italian Driver in the Office?Most people know that I love Italians and Italy. Their driving? Not so much.

With your co-workers, it’s always best to communicate with confidence and be decisive about decision making.
With zero decision making, Italians propel themselves into traffic without making sure it’s safe.

In a meeting if you hesitate, people assume that you are thinking about the correct way to answer.
Italian drivers assume hesitation means you’re not going. They will go around you, which makes it even more difficult to eventually insert yourself into traffic.

When someone asks you to stop something you are doing, most people are courteous and listen to what their co-worker needs.
Italian drivers consider a stop sign a suggestion, stop signs in Italy mean the coast is clear. There may be no need to stop, or even slow down. And if you do stop when it’s not necessary, you may get rear-ended.

A well know Italian saying about driving is, “You watch your front, let everyone else watch your back.” Not true, if they feel that 100 miles per hour is not fast enough, they will get inches from your bumper and start flashing their lights incessantly. They also love to straddle the white line, while trying to intimidate you. This behavior would not last long in an office setting.

A turn signal means “HERE I GO!” not I want to go, or I’m waiting to see if you will let me go. Can you imagine the disruption in meetings?

Italians are passionate, using hand gestures, strong words, and aggressive driving and honking. It cracks me up when I drive there, but I would not under any circumstances allow this behavior in the office.

The moral of the story? Don’t behave like an Italian driver in an office setting. If you do, you may crash… hard.

What if all packaging was digitally printed?If all packaging was printed digitally, it would reduce package waste by 26% and save 50+ million tons from landfills.

Digital printing reduces environmental impact – print what you need, where and when you need it.

REDUCE UNNECESSARY PRINTING: digital gives you the freedom to print smaller amounts for market tests, versions on-demand and customization.

RESOURCE EFFICIENCY: with digital printing, you do not require plates and cylinders. The pre-press process is significantly shortened, and you also need to maintain lower levels of inventory and less paper used due to almost no makeready.

REDUCE TRANSPORTATION COSTS: by printing shorter runs locally, as opposed to printing on the East or West coast, and then shipping to Kansas City, you reduce your carbon footprint and non-renewable energy consumption caused by shipping.

AFFORDABILITY: A growing number of price-conscious businesses are giving digital printing a try because the cost per unit is significantly less than the cost of using offset printing for low and mid-volume orders. Money is saved on the front end because of reduced setup costs and tooling (print plates and dies). Additionally, there are no order minimums, allowing you to only pay for the printing that you need – even if your needs are modest. Companies also enjoy a healthier cash flow because the printing process is faster, and products can ship more quickly – thereby improving stream of revenue.

A prospect’s first impression of your brand is heavily influenced by the packaging you choose. Digitally printed packaging offers a host of benefits, including impressive accuracy, flexibility, and speed to market.

To learn more about digital printing options, please give us a call.