#PrintChat Profile: Luis Duma
Q1: Who are you, and what do you do? LOL – for some reason I hear Arnold Schwarzenegger’s voice asking this “Who is your daddy and what does he do?”…anyhow, my name is Luis “Lu” Duma, better known on Twitter as the @PrintPotentate. I’ve been in printing for my entire adult career which now spans 17 years – started out working on a monster web press as a material handler and running roll-prep, transitioned out of production into customer service, then purchasing, then estimating. I ran the Estimating dept. for a book-printer in Massachusetts and a baseball-card and collectible card manufacturer in Dallas, TX. Then transitioned to a print-management firm out of Miami, FL and split time there and in Michigan. Am now a Michigan-based Account Executive with a company named Mossberg & Co. out of South Bend, IN where we are getting ready to turn the beverage packaging and marketing world upside down – particularly the Craft Beer segment. I also started a new side-venture late in 2014 which is a custom, 3D-printed sunglasses company named LuTints.com where every pair of sunglasses are made to order based on the customer’s demands and proceeds are donated from each sale to a charity of the buyer’s choosing. I like to keep busy.
Q2: When did you know you were hooked on print? My Dad is a printer as well – he’s always worked in PrePress. I remember as a kid occasionally getting the chance to go up to his shop in Detroit and the smell of the inks and solvents and also being fascinated by the dark-room environment that he had to work in (back in the days of film). I got started in the industry somewhat by chance and against my Dad’s better counsel, but have carved out a nice career path for myself and honestly love it.
Q3: What industry trends should we be watching this year? Well I already let the cat out of the bag in Q1 with my beverage marketing and packaging as far as I am concerned. But in the industry in general, it really looks like we are seeing the moment where digital is eclipsing offset. Look at what happened at Timson’s last year in the UK announcing that they will no longer manufacture offset presses after over 110 years of doing exactly that and now the announcement that Quad is buying multiple $million+ HP digital web-fed print engines as they try to re-establish their footing in the book-printing market. I think there are still some kinks to be worked out for digital to take over the glossy-pubs and magazine market, but I do think it’s only a matter of time. Look at what is happening with customization and the demand by the Millenials to have content delivered to them that is relevant to them as individuals. This screams digital and I think 2015 could be the year of the tipping point in which offset impressions really feel the chunks taken out by digital impressions.
Q4: What are three resources for awesome industry info – besides PrintMediaCentr of course! I enjoy reading “Printing Impressions” and “American Printer” (gotta support those guys still putting ink on paper) but I am thoroughly impressed by the talented bloggers who are also regular contributors to #PrintChat such as (and in no specific order): John Prothero / JakeTheJeep, Matthew Parker / Print and Procurement, Christine Alexander / DreamingInCMYK and Trish Witkowski / FoldingFanatic to name a few. I also write a blog that I try to make sure is updated weekly, but mine covers subject matters both in and out of print. I admire the dedication to print that the above-mentioned bloggers exhibit and think a collaboration of some kind could present an interesting platform.
Q5: Why do you #PrintChat? Why should others join in? I always learn something new in our #PrintChat discussions. It was where I really started to hear more about Augmented Reality, NFC Tags, the Internet of Things and other technologies that point to where our industry is heading. I enjoy the interactions that #PrintChat provides, particularly with those across the world – it’s pretty amazing when you stop and think about the fact that we’re talking to people in Australia, people in the UK, people all over the world and we’re all united by this bond of printing. That’s pretty powerful stuff and speaks to one of the great reasons why printers shouldn’t be afraid of technology: even though Social Media and the Internet have presented advertisers and marketers with new mediums to reach people that bite into what we do, they have also provided new ways for us to reach those that we never could or would before. If we tap into the technologies that are available to us and complement what we do and present them in a manner to these marketers and advertisers that shows the real power of cross-channel marketing, well I have no doubt that is what printing in the future looks like. And that is what #PrintChat is at the forefront of, in my opinion.
Q6: How can people connect with you? I’m pretty easy to find:
Twitter: @PrintPotentate | LinkedIn: Luis Duma
Blog: https://printpotentate.wordpress.com/
3D-Printed Sunglasses: http://lutints.com
