On Wednesday Tom touched on the magical new Rutland automatic ink color matching dispenser. I agree with Tom wholeheartedly that it is pretty rad. Other highlights of our “field trip” to the Rutland Group were meeting the new CEO Jeff Leone and checking out the color proofing area. Jeff is a very smart guy that for being there a short time seems to really get what is good about Rutland and what can be improved there.

There are a couple of Jeff’s first moves that were exactly what Tom and I would have hoped for:

1. To dramatically increase inventory, which only strengthens why Tom and I have always been big on Rutland, if you can’t get the ink consistently, then it doesn’t work.

2. The Rutland Group has brought on new brainpower and expertise that makes their commitment to quality control and consistency even stronger than it already is.

I think the company is in good hands and we’ll see them play to their traditional strengths of accurate information, consistent product and good people, and we’ll also see new developments as a company responding to what their customers are calling for.

We also spent some time with our buddies Max and Eileen and have a deeper understanding and appreciation for the efforts made for giving us accurate Pantone formulas. Some photos to that end follow: