By Susan Kelly November 4, 2002 -- Just think how quickly the world of print has gone from faxing a one-page hand-written print specification to emailing a 50-page RFP (Request for Proposal) with predefined spreadsheet templates. Is this a glimpse of how all print will be bought in the future? We don’t think so. While automation is nice, it is going to be about how different market segments are starting to buy differently and consequently, how printers will have to decide which customers they want and can afford to support. Printers have historically derived all their customer lessons from the publishing world. The print standards, workflows, and economics have primarily revolved around fee-based print products such as newspapers, magazines, and books. Since the days of Gutenberg, big businesses spending big dollars on internal marketing materials and direct mail have followed essentially the same processes as the publishers. And up until the age of the Internet, worldwide or global corporations (i.e. Enterprises) have been satisfied with the results. A Changed Playing Field by 2005 As content management technologies collide into print production technologies the aftermath is becoming clear. The world of print will separate into two distinct worlds: Publishing versus Enterprise printing. Publishing printing will continue to advance the technology needs specific for fee-based printing. As a printer, the comfort zone resides with Publishing print where there is a greater understanding of digital asset management through to paper purchasing programs. However the demand in this market is shrinking and shifting as eMedia and eSubstitution trends slowly take hold. Enterprises (i.e. business printing) also spend big dollars for print are getting smarter everyday about what and how they buy print. The two goals of Enterprise printing are first to drive efficient collaboration through streamlined document management, and secondly, to gain substantial cost savings through eProcurement. The mantra is simple: Buy less for less. Eventually Enterprise printing will require an entirely different approach from their printers from sales right through to fulfillment. Over time, Publishing and Enterprise printing will become two very different animals and many printers will have to choose which business they are in. Each segment will use different technologies and standards to buy and make print work for their environments. It’s not surprising that the biggest conundrum for printers today is around their technology strategy and technology choices. We believe printers are intuitively aware of the great divide between Publishing and Enterprise printing. They realize they have to make critical strategic, organizational, and supply chain decisions before investing in future-defining technology choices. We believe printers understand that singularly focusing on Publishing print could be like walking into a one-door room with no way out. We believe printers also recognize the immense restructuring challenge needed to capture Enterprise print. And more importantly, printers are very conscious about economic impossibilities that it will take to do both profitably. Bottom Line: Coat-tailing Customers This tough economy is accelerating the division between the two groups. Printers are clearly faced with extra cost pressures to support both Publishing and Enterprise printing. Choices will have to be made in order to survive. So what’s a printer to do? Raine’s recommendation in the short term: Be the flea on the dog of your most strategic customers. In other words, know who your best customers are and why. Invest judiciously with your best customers in technology and cautiously experiment your way to tangible market opportunities by learning what your customers are doing within their own companies. In time, the center of competency will become clear: whether the printer is servicing Publishing and/or Enterprise printing markets.