The printing industry is in the process of a transition that when finished, will put an end to the traditional ink on paper printing company and many of the iron printing presses. Over the next five to ten years, thousands of printing companies will cease to exist as this new business of printing takes hold.

Communication companies will replace the traditional printing company and the impact of this change will be far and wide. Traditional equipment manufacturers, publications and trade shows will have to evolve as well.

This is not a battle between which digital press is best, or whether ink is better than toner or if PDF and JDF are essential tools for the future. This is about a complete fundamental shift in how corporations, advertising agencies and design firms use print and other forms of communication to deliver their messages to consumers and businesses in the future. For this column, I am mostly speaking about sheetfed printers more than web offset printers. Web offset printers will have to change too, but I believe this evolution will make its way first through the commercial sheetfed market.

Like the Transportation Industry?
The printing industry finds itself precariously at a crossroads very similar to that of the railroad industry of days gone by. As you may know, in the early 1930s the railroad industry was at its peak with a work force of approximately 1.6 million employees. Manufacturing companies all over America were dependent on railroads as the main mechanism for timely and cost effective delivery of their products.

Off in the horizon a new industry, the transportation industry was emerging. The executives responsible for leading the major railroad companies decided it was not necessary for their companies to become part of this new industry. This decision left the airlines, shipping and trucking companies to create their future based upon a new vision, the transportation industry, ultimately sealing the fate of many railroad companies.

Mergers, consolidations and massive bankruptcies soon dominated the railroad industry. In a relatively short period of time employment dropped from 1.6 million to just 220,000 employees. An industry once at the forefront became a back room player forced to take handouts from the new companies who were now in control of a very successful and profitable transportation industry.

So to all who choose to remain in the “old thinking” of the printing industry, I have no further words of encouragement other than my article ends here with me bidding you a grand farewell. Plus, here is a company name, address and phone number you may need: Dove Bid, Inc. 1241 E. Hillsdale Blvd. Foster City, CA 94404 1- 800-665-1042. Dove Bid auctions the assets of distressed and bankrupt companies.

For the rest of you, please read on. I am assuming most all will continue to read on. If you care enough to be a paying Premium Access member of WhatTheyThink, it is very likely you are already on your way to being a successful communications company. That is why I enjoy writing to this progressive audience, even if you disagree with some of my opinions.


Just in Time Printing
Just in Time Printing (JITP) includes VDP, 1 to 1 Marketing but is not limited to just those two applications.

JITP borrows from Michael Dell’s vision for manufacturing computers for customers as they order instead of the alternative - large expensive inventories of unsold computers seeking customers that may never materialize. The most important aspect of JITP is that it refocuses the process of printing and assures that the evolving toner on paper printing business model is an efficient method of communications. When JITP is effectively implemented communication pieces are produced only when the need arises. Gone are the days of brochures sitting stacked in warehouses waiting to be shipped out to buyers who may or may not make a purchase.

The Internet browser will be the "killer application" as it continues to become the main front-end gateway to all communications. Computer terminals with familiar user interfaces like Internet Explorer will appear everywhere we go, from shopping malls to gas stations and eventually in every automobile sold. This model of change is why printing companies must stop seeing themselves as simply ink on paper companies. The Internet will not go away and it will continue to change our lifestyles for years to come.

Whether the economy recovers in 2004 or 2005 is immaterial. Corporations will continue to focus on technology purchases that reduce their operating costs and make their companies run more efficiently. Corporate America’s only decision with print will be - should we do this in-house or outsource. Should we print on paper or deliver the brochure via broadband communications or a combination of both.

While some printers love to chat about the craft and history of the printing industry, corporations do not care. Corporations do what is best for their shareholders and if a corporation can save $25 million dollars by bringing printing in-house you can bet they will.

Today’s digital presses arrive minus all the environmental issues associated with offset presses of the past. The quality of today’s new line of presses are so good the only reason to not print in-house on an iGen3 or similar press will be because of the economics of the run length.

If a corporation chooses not to build the department themselves they can easily contract with a communications company to manage all of their printing needs. Just in time printing will breath new life into print but not traditional print.

New Companies Lead The Communications Industry

I believe there are three different types of companies that will make up the early landscape of this new breed of communication companies. One group of communication companies will be born out of hybrid prepress and service bureaus. These companies are often overlooked by the traditional printing industry but they have been leading the digital charge for many years. Most of these companies understand the digital ecosystem far better than printing companies and have already earned the confidence of their customers.

Secondly, we have printing companies with leadership smart enough to make it out from under the shackles of the traditional printing industry now. They are stepping forward and refocusing there culture and will stop at nothing as they take their companies to the next level. No longer do they see themselves as “ink on paper companies” but digital communication companies capable of producing any form of communications their client will need. They’re investing in broadband technologies, database managers and mid-range and high-end digital presses, not sheet-fed presses.

Group three comprises companies from outside the traditional world of printing. Some of these companies will be from the database and 1 to 1 marketing side of the business. Others will be interactive media companies, and some will include advertising agencies looking to become larger stake holders in the entire process. These companies pose the greatest competitive threat to the companies’ in group one and two because they have the ability to control and create a wide range of content. Most of these companies are also better skilled at working with the upper levels of executive management at large corporations.

All of these communication companies will move quickly, embrace new technologies and jump on potential double-digit profit opportunities.