InfoTrends has announced the launch of a comprehensive new study entitled Production Print Services in North America: An Evolution in Progress. The double impact of market trends and an ailing economy are pushing print service providers of all types to become more innovative, productive, and cost effective. It is therefore particularly timely to understand how all types of print service providers (whether in print-for-pay or print-for-cost environments) are reacting to this challenge.

Steve Adoniou, an Associate Director at InfoTrends, stated, "We've researched the commercial and in-plant print markets thoroughly over the years, but this is our first major study that will involve a combined approach covering both types of print service providers. We believe that this will offer unprecedented insight into these environments."

Through a combination of e-mail surveys, phone interviews, and desk research, InfoTrends intends to:

- Indentify key growth services and print applications and quantify their future growth
- Understand the impact of industry consolidation on these key industry segments in terms of downsizing, merger & acquisition, profit margins, access to capital, outsourcing, etc. as these elements apply to the various segments.
- Obtain profile information regarding growth and/or success factors by each type of print service provider segment.
- Profile the installed hardware and software products used in commercial, quick, digital, and in-plant printing environments.
- Identify product purchasing plans and how these relate to growth strategy.
Measure the impact of digital print hardware as well as software tools for Web job submission, variable data, and other functions
- Compare how trends are impacting print-for-pay and print-for-cost environments differently.
- The results of this study will reveal how changing customer behaviors and economic pressures are shaping the future of production print services in North America.