User:Kslimp

Kevin Slimp is publisher at Market Square Books, Knoxville, Tennessee, as well as popular speaker and consultant in the publishing, newspaper, and communications industries. He is author of several books including:


 * The Good Folks of Lennox Valley
 * Who Killed A.J. Fryerson
 * Where Do We Go From Here?
 * What's Next
 * Ghostly Places Across Tennessee

Adobe PDF Printing Method
Slimp first rose to fame after developing what become known as the PDF Remote Printing Method, which allowed users to create PDF files from various applications in such a way that they could be opened and printed at a remote location. Used initially by Slimp's ad agency in 1994 (AdTech Design, Knoxville), Slimp was soon contracted by Tennessee Press Service to develop the technology for use by newspapers. By 1994, newspaper groups throughout North America were acquiring Slimp's services to create websites and begin transferring PDF ads to member newspapers. One of the of the first areas to take advantage of the technology was Alberta, Canada and the Northwest Territories, where traveling distance made the move to digital pages more economical for newspapers and printers.

Color PDF Files
Kevin Slimp created the first color-separated PDF files at the request of Cathy and Bob Thaves, creators of Frank & Ernest comic strip for their Sunday comics, carried in full color by newspapers. Soon a new newspaper in Cookeville, Tennessee – The Putnam Morning Sun – requested Slimp's assistance in publishing the first printed newspaper, one of the only full-color newspapers at the time, using the PDF Remote Printing Method. In 1995, the first issue was printed by Scott Whaley at his printing plant in Henderson, Tennessee. Soon after, newspapers internationally were contacting Slimp to help set up similar operations.

By 1996, newspapers throughout the world began using the PDF remote printing method developed by Slimp to create and transmit their files for printing. Beginning first in Tennessee, then spreading to Northwest Canada and Europe, PDFs became the default file format for newspaper, then other types of printed publications.

Speaking and Consulting
Due to the popularity of the PDF printing, Slimp soon became a much sought-after keynote speaker, speaking internationally at conventions in the newspaper, advertising and education fields. Some years, Slimp would appear in more than 100 cities. He still speaks at several conventions each year.

Book Publisher
In 2017, Kevin created Market Square Publishing LLC, based in Knoxville, Tennessee. By 2022, Market Square had publishing 80 books, including many best-sellers.

Insight Publishing Company
Kevin and his business partner, Ron Schmidt, opened Insight Publishing Company in 1989 in Orlando Florida. Insight created publications for the youth market and remained in business for more than 20 years. Eventually the business was sold to Ron Schmidt and offices were moved to Yucaipa, California.

Current Websites
Kevin oversees several websites including kevinslimp.com, newspaperacademy.com, marketsquarebooks.com, cityroadbooks.com, and clergyeducation.com.

Newspaper Redesigns
Kevin has redesigned newspapers all over the United States. Recent papers include The Clinton-Courier News (Tenn.), The Ogemaw Herald (Mich.), The Marysville (Kan.) Advocate and The Jefferson City (Tenn.) Standard-Banner.

See story about Kevin's redesign of Clinton Courier-News.

Story in Our Hometown about Kevin Slimp redesigns

Webinars
Kevin created NewspaperAcademy.com in 2013 to offer online training to journalists, designers and editors. Thousands of journalists complete classes at NewspaperAcademy.com each year.

Kevin created ClergyEducation.com as a provider of CEU training for clergy in 2017. More than 5,000 clergypersons have attended training events at ClergyEducation.com. Courses are offered several times each month.

The Good Folks of Lennox Valley
From 2015-2018, Slimp authored a syndicated newspaper column titled, "The Good Folks of Lennox Valley," about the cast of characters who lived in his imaginary hometown. The column ran in more than 300 newspapers throughout the U.S. and Canada and was the premise for later books by Slimp titled, "The Good Folks of Lennox Valley" and "Who Killed A.J. Fryerson?"

Interestingly, readers often thought the column was a political parody based on President Donald Trump and politics in the United States. However, Slimp was quick to point out the first year of the column, when the characters were initially developed – and the premise of a candidate for mayor basing his campaign on "make believe" hot topics (the rise in the price of eggs is the fault of the Federal Reserve System" – was written beginning in 2012, long before the Trump administration was in office.

For an example of The Good Folks of Lennox Valley, see https://www.bigrapidsnews.com/columns/article/Kevin-Slimp-Lennox-Valley-Battle-of-the-14185652.php.