Tech Talks

Jim Raffel is a color management consultant who also serves as CEO of ColorCasters, LLC and ColorMetrix Technologies LLC. As a veteran of the printing industry and a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology’s acclaimed printing management program, in 1995 he formed ColorMetrix to bring an idea he had to make color measurement and evaluation easier by creating easy-to-use software solutions. Today as a certified G7 expert and color management professional, his consulting practice focuses on dye sublimation and flat-bed UV inkjet printing. This work keeps him on the road many weeks each year working with end users and manufacturers to improve their color management processes. He has also been authorized by SGIA to conduct their color management boot camps; in both open venues for anyone to attend and in closed venues for clients and their staff.

Shelby Sapusek is a color management consultant who also serves as CMO of ColorCasters LLC. She grew up in the newspaper industry; working primarily in graphic design and prepress. In her editor capacity, she was responsible for the print and color quality of several newspapers around the country. In 2011, after 17 years in the newspaper industry, she joined fellow instructor Jim Raffel in his company ColorMetrix, and later co-founded ColorCasters. Today, she works with graphic designers, end users, and manufacturers in the print industry to improve their color management skills.

Mike Ruff has more than 40 years of experience in the graphic arts industry and is currently the owner of Mike Ruff Consulting. He is a certified G7 expert instructor and a certified G7 process control and conformance expert. Contact him at mruff@mikeruffconsulting.com

Linda Bishop is the founder and president of Thought Transformation, a national sales and marketing consulting group helping printers and other companies achieve top-line growth through a combination of strategies, tools, training and tactics.

Her expertise includes all aspects of outbound selling and account acquisition, account retention and development, solution selling, marketing, and aligning sales processes with marketing strategies. Most recently, she published The ChatGPT Sales Playbook: Revolutionizing Sales with AI and believes AI will offer sales pros new tools for achieving revenue goals.

Before starting Thought Transformation in 2004, Linda sold commercial printing for seventeen years, working as a commission salesperson for the Atlanta division of RR Donnelley Company. She was one of the top performers in the Atlanta marketplace and had annual sales exceeding $9 million.

Linda has a BS degree in accounting from Purdue University and an MBA in marketing from Georgia State. She has written several books on sales topics, speaks nationally on sales and marketing, and has published many articles.