Digital BW, The Print

Outsourcing things like production makes enormous economic sense but that's
not what I am talking about.  I am simply talking about re-branding and
repackaging someone else's product and calling it your own proprietary
product.  Take mobile telephony in the UK as an example.  If Virgin Mobile,
BT, Carphone Warehouse etc tried to sell you mobile telephony services by
simply saying they were network operators you'd have a bunch of questions
about their network - coverage, international roaming contracts etc etc.
Sensibly they don't and aren't silent as to the physical product they are
selling.  They state clearly that they are resellers AND provide information
about whose network they resell.  As a user you can then make sensible
decisions about the product you're likely to get when you sign up.  We
understand they are repackaging another company's raw product in their
customer service/pricing wrapper but are provided with enough information to
make a judgement re their customer service (and implicitly their brand),
pricing and the actual physical product behind it.


> From: Arthur Fink <af@...>
> Reply-To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> Date: Tue, 03 Jan 2006 11:26:31 -0500
> To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>,
> <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Glitter in some paper coatings (Innova, Eterna,
> Permajet)
> 
> At 10:50 AM 1/3/2006, Steve Kale wrote:
> 
>> My view is that paper marketers (seems there are few paper manufacturers who
>> market their own product to retail) simply need to be open as to their
>> products.  I don't mind if Brand A says "we outsource the mill component to
>> X according to our specs and coating to Y designed by us or Z."
> 
> In some ways I'd like that ... but I can also see the other
> side.  Many, if not most, of the products that we buy are not made by
> the company that's listed as the manufacturer.  Instead, they are
> subcontracted out -- often to fine firms that do an excellent job.  I
> can see why a company would want to say "This is our paper", rather
> than "This paper is made to our standards and with our methodology
> and formulation by XYZ company".
> 
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