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There is a lot of talk among printers about what they should do to survive the upcoming recession. Whether or not the country officially goes through a recessionary period, it is always good for a printing company to reevaluate itself and make sure it can survive hard times.
The prepress department continues to be a concern to many printing companies. Even with the additional services printers can sell, it is still often considered the "black hole." However, as tougher times arrive, it could become the savior of the company.
Tips for Success
Printers will be looking closely at cutting costs and increasing sales. The prepress department can be critical in both areas. Here are a few suggestions to weather the harsh economy.
Make prepress part of the organization. The prepress department shouldn't be off to one side, just creating digital originals for the company to print. Every company needs a production manager—a person in charge of all the production—and the prepress staff should report to that person. Treating prepress as a separate entity wastes time and money.
The production manager needs to be working with prepress to assure work is being produced economically and profitably. If the prepress staff is losing money, the production manager, as part of the management team, needs to use his authority to make changes. This means establishing standards for pricing and production and holding everyone in the organization accountable.
Raise prices. Some printers might be scared to raise prices in a recessionary period, but unless you can dramatically cut costs, it is going to be hard to make money without raising prices. Most printers are still using hourly rates that were developed 10 years ago, so prepress is an obvious place to begin.
Printers need to charge more than enough to cover the costs in the prepress department. They need to charge for the creative value their employees bring to a design. There is no need to cut the prices in prepress so much that the price charged for printing won't cover the prepress losses.
Use price to increase productivity. We all know there are easy ways to do things and hard ways to do things. In prepress, printers need to force their customers to follow productive workflow habits to make jobs flow through more easily and profitably. Printers need to reward customers who follow the prepress standards and procedures that allow the department to be more productive by charging them less. They also need to penalize customers who don't follow industry standards and increase the workload for the prepress staff.
You may find customers using the new technology and procedures for better workflows if they see a financial benefit.
Get automated. Most printers are receiving the majority of their work as customer created files. Today it is easy to preflight files if they have been constructed following standards imposed by the printer. The PDF workflow is allowing printers to automatically create a PDF file on the customer's computer and have the file transmitted, preflighted, corrected, and ready to print in minutes. Printers just need to invest in the software and commit to automating the process.
Automation doesn't work without management's commitment and the efforts of the company to train its customers. If standards are in place, automation can be achieved.
Accept change. How customers submit files to a printer is changing from a decade ago. There are now standards and procedures to use. Printers, employees, and customers will have to accept that the industry is changing and focus on adopting the best practices. If a printer's employees or customers refuse to accept the industry changes, the print owners have two choices: Raise prices to cover the additional costs or fire bad employees and customers and find new ones who will change.
Printing companies should be in business to make money. If employees are holding you back, get new employees. If customers are holding you back and refusing to pay for the additional costs they are forcing on you, get new customers. There are employees and customers who understand the value of the new technology and want to work with it.
Get online. If you don't have an Internet presence, get one. If you do, make sure it has evolved and grown to meet the latest needs of the customer. Your website should be your virtual CSR; available 24/7 to handle many of the customers' buying needs.
Document libraries, storefronts, business ordering packages, proofing, and payment options are becoming the standard way for customers to interface with printers. It may cost $1,000 to $2,000 a month for the different services, but it will still give more value than adding another full time salesperson.
The next year may be a challenge for some businesses, but printers could have the opportunity to prosper. People have to communicate. Printed material is a key element in most marketing plans. Printing isn't going away any time soon and the aggressive printer can get out and take business away from the competition.
Technology News PDF2U Updated
PagePath Technologies has upgraded its PDF2U print driver to support the Mac Leopard OS. The company recently released the improved software and reports it is compatible with all older versions of the Mac OS as well. PDF2U becomes the first automatic PDF creation program to run under all versions of the Mac OS, even as far back as OS 8.6. PDF2U is parted of PagePath's MyOrderDesk (MOD).
MOD is a private branded solution that combines print-to-Web, Web-to-print, automated proofing, automated pricing, reordering, and other services. It can be added to a printing organization's existing website or it can be used in a website supplied by PagePath. There are no monthly or transaction fees for using the MyOrderDesk system.
More information is available at www.PagePath.com or by calling 630/689-4111.
InterlinkONE Integrates Web Solutions
InterlinkONE's ilinkONE Version 8 offers print providers advanced, yet easy to use marketing tools that include the ability to build personalized URLs and marketing messages that target prospects with customized text, graphics, and a tailored call to action.
Additionally, the software offers a lead acquisition program, campaign and response management tools, online ordering, and email marketing solutions that help expand the reach of a company's direct marketing initiatives. The six integrated modules address marketing, variable data print, fulfillment, orders, project management, and sales force management.
Smaller printing companies should be interested because the product is a Web-based solution, and printers do not need to invest in new hardware. The different modules can be added as needed. For more information, visit www.interlinkone.com or call 978/694-9992.
Microsoft Publisher to Adobe InDesign (PUB2ID) Released
Markzware has released Microsoft Publisher to Adobe InDesign (PUB2ID) v1.5. The plug-in allows users to covert Publisher 2003-2007 files into Adobe InDesign CS2 and CS3 documents. The exciting part for many prepress departments is that the plug-in allows a user to convert a Publisher file on a Mac.
PUB2ID is a plugin for Adobe InDesign. On the Macintosh, it supports InDesign v4.x (CS2) (CS3 in the release version). On Windows it supports, InDesign v4.x and 5.x (CS2 & CS3).
PUB2ID runs on the Macintosh running OS 10.4 and higher, and on Windows 2000, XP, and Vista.
Font Guide Upgraded
Extensis has upgraded its Font Best Practice Guide to the fourth edition. The free guide can be downloaded at http://www.extensis.com/en/downloads/document_download.jsp?docId=5600039. Topics in the guide include system configurations, management of system fonts, cleaning up your font library, and making sense of font locations, formats, and caches.
Advertisements in PDF Files
Adobe and Yahoo have announced plans to allow publishers to insert advertisements into many online newsletters or other electronic documents. The ads will contain links so the reader can go immediately to the advertiser's website. If the reader decides to print the newsletter on paper, the ads—which appear online on the side of the document—disappear.
The deal requires publishers to opt into the program, and it will distribute revenue from advertisers between publishers, Adobe, and Yahoo. This is the first time Adobe has allowed dynamic ads into PDF documents.
To join, publishers must register online then upload their Adobe PDF content so that it can be ad-enabled. Ads can only be displayed within Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat in a panel adjacent to the content so that they do not disrupt the viewing experience. Publishers including IDG InfoWorld, Wired, Pearson's Education, and Meredith Corp. have already signed up. The program, which is now in beta testing mode, is currently open only to U.S.-based publishers that produce English language publications.
Markzware, Enfocus Settle Dispute
Markzware, a developer of preflighting, data extraction, and conversion software, announced that Enfocus/Artwork has entered into a settlement agreement for its part in a patent infringement lawsuit. The agreement resolves all pending litigation between the companies.
Contributing columnist John Giles is the owner of The Giles Group, a training and consulting firm specializing in digital file issues. Giles is currently conducting digital audits for quick printers around the country to assure the companies can accept digital files easily and increase profitability. He also conducts training seminars for printing customers on how to prepare files properly for a commercial printer. Giles also serves technology advisor for CPrint. Contact Giles at 304/552-5363, by email at john@johngiles.com, or visit his website at www.johngiles.com.
author: by John Giles