Vaughn Gordon

State of the Industry - 1986 1986, Ronald Reagan was in his second term as president... ...the economy was growing and inflation was low. "Platoon" won the best film category at the Academy Awards and vinyl records were still a staple in everyone's music collection. BFL&S was Business Forms & Systems, and 50 percent of industry distributors had just one single computer in their facilities. Daisey printers used ribbon cartridges and business forms ruled supreme. In fact, for many manufacturers and distributors, business forms were the only necessary game in town. The competition was clear, everyone provided similar services to clients and location

Manufacturers discuss emerging markets and value-added applications. Spurred by the introduction of laser printers in the 1980s, laser labels continue to be a profitable product for distributors, with new applications and processes spawned regularly to meet end-users' demands. "Lasers are pretty hot right now," noted Melinda Fulton, marketing manager at Continental Datalabel, Elgin, Ill. As pin-fed labels have faded from their former preeminence, laser and thermal labels have taken over. Mike Evans, marketing service manager for Lancer Label, Omaha, Neb., a PrintXcel company, said that he has seen steady growth in stock laser label sales over the past three years. John Strecker, vice