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A new survey confirms that the lines between traditional print businesses are blurring. Consider these suggestions for adapting to this convergence.
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How to Prepare for Ongoing Convergence in the Printing Industry A recent research study conducted by NAPCO Research and SGIA (Specialty Graphic Imaging Association) confirmed what print-business owners have sensed for years: The distinct boundaries that once separated commercial printing, graphics printing, garment printing, package printing, and industrial printing are getting blurrier. The survey, entitled Convergence in the Printing Industry, found that print-service providers are considering investments in both their own segments as well as expansion into new segments. Nearly all of the print service providers who participated in the study believe there is opportunity for growth with new products and services. Of the 470 print-service providers who responded to the survey, 93 percent believe expansion into new segments is occurring and 81 percent believe it will accelerate over the next five years. Most crossover is occurring among commercial printing businesses, sign shops, and wide-format graphics producers. At Ordant, we have observed this convergence in progress for quite some time. In fact, it’s one reason why we built a Print MIS program that is extremely easy to customize. We believed that off-the-shelf solutions built primarily for commercial printers, sign shops, or screen printers might not be adequate for print businesses of the future. From our everyday discussions with Ordant users, we know that print-business owners today must be fast, accurate, flexible, and agile. To prosper, you must remain alert to shifts in the marketplace, be open to new ways of doing business, and seek innovative ways to differentiate your business. Here are some suggestions for dealing with the ongoing convergence. Understand why convergence is occurring. The demand for printing has shifted dramatically over the past 10 years. The widespread adoption of digital marketing has been accompanied by corresponding increases in complementary forms of out-of-home advertising, experiential marketing, and event marketing. Personalized direct mail is also becoming popular as a way to help drive traffic to websites and landing pages. As digital marketing has become more complicated and time-consuming to execute, print buyers don’t want to deal with multiple print vendors in order to get the printed materials they need in conjunction with digital marketing. Fortunately, digital printing equipment has become faster and more productive, making it easier to produce short runs of all types of printed materials to complement digital campaigns. Plus, automated workflows, advances in color management, and cloud-based platforms have made it much easier to distribute and coordinate production at facilities with multiple types of printing and finishing equipment.
B2B e-commerce is also becoming much more common. With the rise of Amazon and other online marketplaces, consumers have grown accustomed to being able to order a wide variety of products from a single online storefront. Decide what type of expansion makes sense for your business. Convergence in the print industry doesn’t automatically mean that everyone will be able to compete for the same type of business. For example, if your screen-printing shop uses a mix of automated screen-printing presses for high-volume orders and DTG (direct-to-garment) printers for short-run work, you won’t be competing with an in-plant print shop that uses a DTG printer to make T-shirts for company or school events. Likewise, a graphics company that adds a digital printing system for short runs of customized packaging isn’t likely to compete for the high-volume jobs handled by well-established packaging converters equipped with a mix of offset, flexo, and digital presses. But you can use short-run package printing capabilities to attract a higher number of orders from the many small- to- mid-sized businesses that prefer dealing with one shop for most of their printing work. This includes many start-up companies and e-commerce-first businesses that are experimenting with creating pop-up shops or experiential marketing campaigns. Market your services online. With an effective online marketing program, you can never predict where your next request for a quote will come from. It might come from a small business in your neighborhood. Or, it could come from a buyer at a major corporation who happened to run across your online advertising. Effective online marketing can also drive more business through your web-to-print storefront. So, if your shop operates a combination of analog presses and digital printing equipment, you remain well prepared to serve a year-round mix of higher-volume and short-run customers. As you become more skilled at online marketing, you can set up separate online storefronts for niche markets. In the world of online marketing, it’s easy to create a website that makes your company seem much bigger than you actually are. Attend a mix of conferences and education programs. SGIA is replacing their successful SGIA Expo format with a “bigger, bolder, and better” Printing United event that will bring together manufacturers of all types of printing equipment, finishing equipment, and services. Scheduled for October 23-25 in Dallas, TX, Printing United 2019 should give you an excellent opportunity to see the types of equipment and services that can help you expand into new markets and services. . It’s also useful attend conferences that your customers attend. One key to expanding into new markets is to thoroughly understand your customers’ business and what types of problems they need to address. Use automated software that works for you. The possibilities for building new types of printing businesses are endless. But to make new business models work you need strong, flexible
print-business-management systems for tracking costs, creating custom estimates, and maintaining fast, accurate communications with your customers, suppliers, and outsourcing partners. As you continue to expand your product offerings to match the requests of current and new customers, you can’t afford to be locked into off-the-shelf automation systems that can’t be quickly and easily customized. Ordant’s customizable software makes it easier for print-business owners to expand beyond their original competencies. Our subscription-based software offers considerably more customization than traditional out-of-the-box systems. Our framework for print-business management can be easily adapted to the unique mix of products your print business or sign shop chooses to offer. To schedule a demonstration, visit www.ordant.com. (Source: Convergence in the Print Industry: Understanding Growth Opportunities and Competition: SGIA and NAPCO Research)
