Charles Pesko formed CAP Ventures in 1991 to serve the digital printing and publishing, electronic imaging and document management industries. CAP Ventures’ services include strategic consulting, market research, seminars, training, publications, and trade events for vendors and end-user organizations. With more than 30 years of industry experience, Pesko has provided research and consulting services for literally every major player in the world-wide electronic printing and electronic imaging market.

Pesko was the founding publisher of Print On Demand Business magazine, and was the founder and chairman of ImagingWorld (now KM World) magazine. He was also one of the founders of the On Demand Digital Printing & Publishing Show and The Imaging Expo. (now KM World) event.

Pesko’s enterprises have been recognized four times among the fastest growing privately held companies in America by Inc. magazine. CAP Ventures was ranked #69 in 1997 and #204 in 1998 on the Inc. 500 . Pesko has been included as a member of "Who's Who in the Computer Industry", "Who's Who in American Business", and "Who's Who in Global Business Leaders".

Pesko is a recognized authority in the information processing and electronic imaging markets. He serves on the board of directors for AIIM International and was previously on the board of the International Information Management Congress (IMC), and is a former member of the Corporate Advisory Board Steering Committee for the National Computer Graphics Association (NCGA). He is a past Chairman of the Statistical Committee for the Graphic Arts Marketing Information Services (GAMIS). He is a frequent speaker at major industry trade shows and conferences around the world. He is frequently quoted or published in industry trade magazines and leading business publications including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Business Week.

Prior to founding CAP International, Pesko served as product development manager for Xerox Corporation, and as market planning manager for the Graphics Division of Itek Corporation.

Charlie, your firm is an easy target for criticism because of your size. You have heard the pundits say that research firms like CAP Ventures slant data or findings to appease their customers.

We do our job which is why we have a strong relationship with the customers in this industry. You never hear about all the research we do that point clients in a different direction than they were headed. Research firms have always had a stigma with wanting to find the results that meet their own motives. I can tell you that any firm doing such would not be in business very long.

We have reported the steady decline in the forms business as companies change the way they print and store documents. What have you seen in this market?

The forms business is falling about 6 to 8 percent a year. Most printers have seen this coming and are doing something about it. We are helping our clients make smart transitions to become solution providers. When one is looked at as a “solutions provider,” - it doesn’t matter what the trends are.

We have heard for years that digital printing, specifically color has great prospects for the future. Xerox has said that their future color machines will run as fast and efficient as their DocuTech Publishing Systems (which print black and white pages at about 9000 impressions an hour). What’s your view here?

Digital printing is clearly the future. You’ve got the big vendors, Xerox, Heidelberg etc. trying to dominate the next color frontier here. The cost of the digital page is coming down accelerating the adoption rates. Previously, the cost of color, on-demand prints was 20 to 40 cents each. Now, it is much less expensive. Specifically, color is very attractive because of the sharp decrease in prices to the end user. Look at black and white printing. Those prices remain steady and will continue to stay that way for a while.

$2 billion revenue giant Kinko’s started the 24 hour revolution way back in the 80’s foreseeing this feature as a huge selling point to customers. What are you telling clients now about speed and distance barriers in the future of print?

We told clients way back to think in terms of 24 hours. People need documents fast and many print vendors supported this model with the increase acceptance of overnight delivery, fax machines and emails. We now tell clients to think in terms of 4 hours. That is the trend now as more companies develop workflow and processes to create, print and deliver in that period of time without the geographic barriers.

It has been a very challenging year for the web based, e-print solution providers as you know. Specifically, the bidding and auction sites seem to be hit the most.

The auction sites will have a challenge more than other web based solutions. Not only to they have to deal with adoption rates but the sphere of potential clients are less than with other models. The (auction/bid) sites only appeal to commodity print buyers. These sites have to deal with buyers who have a commodity job in one hand and a brochure in the other. Do they send the brochure over their network to their quality, competitively priced printer and then log on to a bid type site for the other?

Our monthly Print Buyer Pulse has rebounded recently with more buyers confident in their spending over the next few months. Do you anticipate a better last half of the year in terms of print purchased?

It is very hard to forecast demand in this economy. We have always told printers to watch the GDP numbers and the consumer confidence numbers. While not specific to the industry, historically, the demand is pretty much in line with those indices.

We do not think there is a need to panic. What I can say is that consolidation is a common function of a growing industry. Business models are being realigned and the smart businesses will adjust.

Why do printers and suppliers need a company like CAP Ventures at their side?

We combine industry expertise with market research services. Most all our consultants are from this industry and armed with CAP Ventures research - can help companies make better decisions. We assist companies with business plans, market opportunity assessments and brand awareness campaigns. It is our job to help customers find opportunities and to adjust to the conditions - not just to survive - but to thrive in any economic environment.

Thanks Charlie. We appreciate your time and CAP Ventures support of this community.