In an emergency, be prepared to communicate and train quickly

When an emergency hits - Ebola, enterovirus D68 or a natural disaster, industrial accident, devastating fire, white-collar crime or workplace violence, the need to communicate about the situation is immediate.

At such a time, failure to take the initiative can present dire health consequences if not damage to employee morale, undermining of management credibility, good will among customers, suppliers and vendors and confidence among stockholders.

Today, with the need to immediately communicate information and implement training manuals for Ebola and enterovirus D68, a short run printer can quickly print and distribute training manuals and procedures to medical personnel and hospital staff as well as these other important constituencies.

When printing is completed it is necessary to disseminate this information; some short run printers can package, ship and distribute training materials and manuals from a single location, quickly and cost effectively.

To be able to react to a crisis in a timely manner, a crisis response template should be part of an organization's overall communications' plan. In advance of any potential crisis, this template should be sent to all locations and available to all employees. Packaged binders or manuals containing "pre-planned" responses, the template should include various crisis situations and response scenarios to be accessed should an emergency situation arise.

Help prepare your organization for crisis situations that strike unannounced but must be handled quickly and effectively. Make sure they receive the "right" information by having the appropriate materials at the right locations, at the right times, for all employees.

Print on Demand - What Is Means for Your Print Job

The basic concept of  print-on-demand or POD is that material is printed when there is a need for the material, thus eliminating inventory.  For the most part, POD is a very good system; it allows publishers to reduce the amount of money they have in inventory for items that are not being used.  Print-on-Demand also offers the flexibility of customization.  More generic materials can be easily adapted for a sales rep, region, or industry. In certain parts of the country, the term PQN (print quantity needed) is sometimes used to describe the same system.

Some businesses utilize print-on-demand  in conjunction with "micro-warehousing"  where quantities of materials are stored for immediate shipment and then monitored through computer software programs that keep inventory levels at a set point.  This ensures that there is sufficient quantities available to fulfill orders as they are placed.

Jobs that are produced in the POD process are not effected by quality; POD is more a business model for how that print job is managed. In most cases, due to the smaller quantities involved, digital printing technology is commonly used for print-on-demand, but there are some products and quantities that lend themselves to other types of printing processes.