It’s true that printers are not known for being great at promoting themselves, but today’s printers are realizing that they need to shift to speaking the language of their creative customers by providing beautifully designed and tactile publications that actually put their print capabilities into practice.

Driving this trend is the increased competition in specialty printing, and in the advancements in press coatings and digital printing that have changed the game. There’s so much going on that it’s hard for customers to understand the advancements in print and keep track of the capabilities of their different print service providers. However, dropping off a pile of customer samples or distributing basic swatchbooks of coatings and finishes no longer cuts the mustard. Creative people want to see these capabilities applied in exciting ways, and presented in a comprehensive idea resource. 

With that said, for many printers it can be a huge challenge to get everyone on board for the investment in time and money that it takes to design and produce, for example, a nearly 40-page publication where each page is showcasing a creative design, special effect, different or specialty paper, and a production technique—a piece where each page is seemingly more impressive than the last. That was Scott Engle’s challenge when he spearheaded the creation of their “Be Visual” promotion.