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A "trend," according to Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, is "a line of general direction or movement; the general movement in the course of time of a statistically detectable change." In the graphic arts industry, trends are measured annually. Organizations such as InfoTrends, Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation, PODi, and the Electronic Document Systems Foundation publish annual reports to inform the community what to look and prepare for in the upcoming year. One of the more informative reports comes from NAPL, the trade association for excellence in graphic communications management.
Many times, graphic arts establishments build business plans based on published trends. You do not need to turn your business upside down, but you should take note and compare the content to your own model. The print-on-demand digital market has seen more frequent changes in trends during the past 15 years than any other industry, except the computer industry. This is understandable since the computer industry is the basis of digital print on demand.
Computers at the Helm
The 1970s and 80s brought us computers. It began in the prepress department. The introduction of computer-to-plate (CTP) and desktop publishing affected our conventional workflow. Apple Computer launched the Lisa, pre-Macintosh era. The Lisa was the first desktop publishing workstation, which opened the door to the trend of desktop publishing and open architecture workflow. Adobe was the trendsetter with the development of Postscript.
The 1990s brought more movement in the CTP area. High-speed black-and-white digital reprographic copying devices hit the market. These were short lived, because of the introduction of networked black-and-white digital printing presses. A new type of press, the Heidelberg QuickMaster DI, was marketed with on-board digital imaging. Production color digital presses came to market with Indigo and Xeikon presses. With the introduction of all these technological innovations, the market changed, and digital printing was born.
The Internet Makes its Debut
This decade has already brought faster and wider print engines, open architecture workflow, and a new market. Print is taking on a new image and position in how you produce and distribute. The Internet is also playing a huge role in digital printing.
The 2000s have provided Web-to-print solutions, and five- to seven-color digital presses, while enhancing open workflows. There are other trends, which are taking place outside of the technology, that will affect the print provider even more.
Print buyers are becoming a different breed. There will always be purchasing agents, but a new print buyer has emerged. Marketing managers are taking a more active role in print specifications. They are the new print buyer with accountability. Print sales representatives should be targeting this person as their A contact.
The marketing manager is interested in new methods of marketing their products and services. They are looking for differentiating points to drive revenue. Digital printing is a solution that has proven itself to do just that—increase revenue. The marketing manager is a creative individual looking for new ideas. Variable-data printing satisfies this need.
Shopping Online
Another trend emerging is electronic storefronts. Print providers who have implemented an e-commerce capability within their Web sites have experienced increases in revenue and a whole new customer base.
This solution has given printers a global scope with deeper breath. More than 43 percent of households in the United States are connected to the Internet; by 2010, you will see approximately 80 percent on broadband, according to Juniper Research. This column will discuss Web-to-print solutions in depth in upcoming months.
Variable-data printing (VDP) is continuing to capture more of the market share of print applications than in years past. VDP accounts for 23 percent of digital jobs printed, and it is growing year over year.
According to the Winterberry Group, changing consumer demographics decreases the influence of traditional mass media marketing messages. Growing consumer sophistication heightens the demand for channel-agnostic communications. Widespread marketing clutter diminishes the impact of commercial messages that do not address specific and individually relevant consumer needs.
Enhanced information availability empowers both the marketer and consumer with insight that allows for precise customer targeting and intelligent purchasing decisions.
Meanwhile, heightened client pressure to deliver quantifiable value forces marketing service providers—especially agencies—to reevaluate services platforms.
There is a growing trend toward the effectiveness of multichannel campaigns. This reinforces the one-to-one market. Mass marketing is declining giving way to utilizing a CRM strategy. The benefits achieved are better target marketing, increased response rates, and improved ROI. All of these drive revenue to a higher direction.
Print run lengths will continue to get shorter and turnaround times will continue to be tighter. Customer databases will play an increasingly important role in CRM strategies and VDP.
These are a few of the vital trends affecting the printing industry. I urge print providers to take a good look at these trends and begin to set up infrastructures to implement new business strategies. Your value-add differentiation will become a major factor in sustaining and improving your business.
Your vendors' business development consultants can help provide these trend analysis reports. They can also help guide you in the right direction based on your business goals.
Trends are a measured and directional movement in the market that will affect the way you do business. Trends will affect your growth and your future, and shops that plan for them will find themselves in far better shape than those that do not.
Ed Bokuniewicz has 27 years in the graphic arts industry. Currently, Ed is a business development specialist for Eastman Kodak Co.
author: By Ed Bokuniewicz