Printing Industry Commentary & Analysis

The Old Guard and the Economy Limps into Print 17; a Different Industry Takes Charge

Who didn’t envy or aspire to become a big, high profile printing business? The print business has been turned on its head, where small and medium businesses are outperforming their much bigger counterparts. The latter are still dealing with the relevance of legacy processes and assets while trying to bring new focus to rich digital media interactions to static formats like print. There’s no doubt: The Third Wave is being released at a pivotal moment. While the industry is churning, there are warning signs in the economy and for content creation markets. Dr. Joe is getting that 2008 feeling: he doesn’t like it.

New EFI Fiery FS300 Pro: A Platform for the Next Decade

Today EFI announced a new Fiery platform. The company reports that digital front ends (DFEs) based on the EFI Fiery FS300 Pro platform will drive presses across sheetfed, high-speed continuous feed, B1 folding carton, and corrugated digital production systems. This is perhaps the most aggressive Fiery release in some time and is being described as the platform for the next decade.

Williams Lea Tag is on the Move – August 2017 M&A Activity

Williams Lea Tag is carved out from DHL; Mittera buys Earthcolor; Stevens Group grows with CL Graphics acquisition; Oliver begins platform build-out; and more…

Dr. Joe's Key Recovery Indicators

The recovery indicators (when we started these we thought they’d be around for about a year or so) had four of its six factors turn negative, with one of those falling back to its recession level of December 2007. Yes, that’s when the recession started. That long ago.

Heading into the Cloud at Print 17

Are you ready to think about how your operation can start taking advantage of the cloud? It’s an inevitable evolution as everyone seeks to produce higher quality, push through higher volumes, and manage more workflows using the same staffing and resources.

Digital Channels Showing Highest Growth: But What About Integration?

What is the current state of marketing? A just-released survey from Salesforce provides insights into digital channel growth, along with the current state of integration. The takeaway for MSPs? If you haven’t invested in marketing automation, it’s time to take a closer look.

Industry 4.0 Will be Everywhere at Print 2017

Many historians agree that there have been three industrial revolutions to date, but interconnected digital technology might be triggering the fourth. Print 2017 is nearly upon us, and the concept of “Industry 4.0” will likely be a major theme at the event. This article discusses some of the Print 2017 advancements that are expected to change how print is manufactured, what service providers produce, and who print service providers will become as they transform their businesses to better align with digital technologies.

Identify Leadership Skills by Introducing New Print Software

Leadership is about embracing change as an iterative process of improving upon how your business operates. In modern times that equates to getting software to do more work for your business so your human labor can focus on higher-value activities.

Catching the “Third Wave”

We’re in another wave of media change, the first with the consumer Internet, the second with social media, tablets, and smartphones, and now a third with an infrastructure built for heavy volume and high speed. Through two waves, there were printers who got out ahead with savvy judgment that went against the common wisdom and blazed their own paths of market engagement and abandoned industry practice. This third wave is already more intense, as printing shipments in the last six months are down more than -7%. Success in this third wave demands a new philosophy, a different understanding of capital, and a new assessment of risk. Dr. Joe offers The Third Wave, a new book, that addresses these issues.

USPS Informed Delivery: Research Shows Strong Interest!

With Informed Delivery, the USPS has created a platform to promote consumer engagement with physical mail before it arrives, adding new value for marketers and recipients alike. According to recent research from Keypoint Intelligence – InfoTrends, the initial perceptions about Informed Delivery are encouraging for the USPS.

Sell Workflows That Result in Printed Artifacts

Print is an artifact of a business process/workflow. You should get very curious about the overall workflow so that you can provide more value than just the print. This is the path to embedding your services with a customer and increasing the areas where you can add value.

Memjet Launches DuraLink Aqueous-Based Pigment Ink and Inkjet Heads, Reaffirms OEM Strategy

Last week, Zwang and Sherburne joined a small group at Memjet headquarters in San Diego for an exclusive preview of the company’s new pigment-based DuraLink ink, inkjet printheads, and modules, together with an overview of the company’s strategy moving forward. They provide insight into what this announcement means for Memjet and for the industry.

What Facebook Insights Can Teach Us for Direct Mail

Want to help your customers improve their direct mail marketing? Help them market on Facebook. Here’s how you can use insights from Facebook’s business pages to introduce your clients to demographic targeting — for free — and enable them to reap the benefits.

Mid-Year Progress Report: 2017 So Far

We’re mercifully more than halfway through 2017. How is the industry faring thus far compared to last year? Our new Economics and Research Center report looks at the latest economic, technological, and cultural trends affecting the industry.

Takeaways from the 2017 Social Media Marketing Report

Printers may not yet be fully comfortable with social media marketing, but it’s critical that they understand the basics. Here are the primary conclusions of “2017 Social Media Marketing Industry Report” just released by the Social Media Examiner to help in that effort.

Special Effects Beyond CMYK in Digital Printing

A number of today’s commercially available digital printing solutions have added units beyond four-color, either inline or offline, to enable special effects that enhance digital print. Unique imaging capabilities can transform printed materials from commodity, price-sensitive offerings to higher-value products that command a premium. This article explores how special effects can enhance the value of print and create new growth opportunities for service providers.

Hidden Impact of Manual Workflows

A manual, labor intensive workflow makes your print business inefficient – that is obvious. The hidden impact of manual workflows is the impact it might be having on your customer services team’s growth mindset.

Business Lessons after the Storm

As we ramp up to Print 17, three lessons from trees felled in a ferocious storm provide business lessons we can all learn from. Strength of foundation, flexibility, and integrity keep your “tree” upright under changing and challenging business conditions.

PIA Alliance Printer Panel Identifies Opportunities and Challenges for Digital Print Businesses

Last month, the PIA Alliance hosted a “Digital Think Tank” in New York City that brought together 150 equipment manufacturers, their customers, and other printers to talk about the latest technology and trends in digital printing and the industry in general. Here are the highlights.

Are You Ready for Emojis in Marketing?

Emojis have become an integral part of today’s communication. If you want to communicate in the language of your customers, like it or not, you need to think about integrating emojis.

Best Practices of High-Performance Print Sales Organizations: Part 2

According to InfoTrends’ research, high-performance print sales organizations follow clearly-defined sales strategies, hold their sales staff accountable, and continually adapt their organizations to keep pace with ever-changing market conditions. This article is the second in a two-part series highlighting the 10 common best practices reported by survey respondents that experienced double-digit sales growth in the past 12 months.

Updated Commercial Printing and New GDP Data

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released the Q2-2017 GDP data and revisions to historical data beginning with 2014. Back in mid-May, the Commerce Department updated historical commercial printing shipments (NAICS 323) as part of its manufacturing shipments revisions. This week’s chart shows an updated view of both data series in current dollars (sometimes called “nominal;” both terms mean that data are not adjusted for inflation). The red line is year-to-year growth rate in GDP, and the blue line is year-to-year change in quarterly shipments. Since around 1997 printing shipments have not met GDP growth except for a moment between 2010 and 2015. The most recent printing shipments trend at the right of the chart are remarkable for their direction. A discussion of the GDP revisions and the current status of printing shipments can be found in the column of August 7.

Ask More Questions, Make Fewer Assumptions, Sell More

People buy workflows; therefore sales is a discovery process that reveals the challenges in their workflows that you might be in a position to solve. You have to ask more question and make fewer assumptions.

It’s All About Me!

An image used in presentations at EskoWorld struck me as a telling comment on changing consumer behavior. Take a look.

Shutterfly Standardizes on HP Indigo, Adding More HP Indigo 12000s

At drupa 2016, Shutterfly placed an order for 25 HP Indigo 12000 digital presses, with an aggressive installation plan over the summer to be ready for the company’s peak season. Now Shutterfly has added another phase of HP Indigo 12000s to the mix. Senior Editor Cary Sherburne spoke with Shutterfly to get the details.

Wide Formant and Packaging are "Digital Proof" But But Where are the Real Opportunities for Printers?

You can’t protect an iPod in a digital box and you can’t replace vehicle wraps with email. Sure, there is some encroachment of digital technologies on the sign and banner industry, but there are limits based on the role that these products play. This article looks at some of the statistics on the current state of these two industries.

Kodak: An Update on Strategy and Performance

Senior Editor Cary Sherburne tuned into Kodak’s Second Quarter Earnings Call to get an update on Kodak’s strategy. There were some surprises in the call, and more detail about strategic initiatives moving forward.

That Can-Do Spirit: New Trends in Beer Consumption Open Up a Can of Opportunities—Part 2 of 2

Canned beer isn’t your daddy’s tinny-tasting brew. As microbreweries move small-batch production from bottles to cans, it opens up opportunities for short-run can decoration.

Is the Future of the Traditional Textbook Business at Risk?

Time and again, we have seen non-traditional competitors storm a market to the detriment of the establishment. Senior Editor Cary Sherburne came across a fascinating story that could be a bellwether indication of trouble ahead for the textbook industry.

Best Practices of High-Performance Print Sales Organizations: Part 1

According to InfoTrends’ research, high-performance print sales organizations follow clearly-defined sales strategies, hold their sales staff accountable, and continually adapt their organizations to keep pace with ever-changing market conditions. This article is the first in a two-part series highlighting the 10 common best practices reported by survey respondents that experienced double-digit sales growth in the past 12 months.

How Well Does Your Staff Know Your Software?

We train on presses, we engage with the press vendors. We make sure operators are competent – why don’t we do the same for software solutions (especially Print MIS, production workflow, and web-to-print)?

Transformation and Rebirth – July 2017 M&A Activity

July 2017 – Mergers, Acquisitions & Restructuring in the Printing, Packaging & Related Industries. LSC Communications rebuilds diversified publication services; Quark transforms; DG3 acquires UK printer Leycol; Multi-Color goes all-in with deal for Constantia Labels; and more…

Packing a Punch with Print: Catalogs and Direct Mail

Catalogs and direct mail can help overcome the ‘digital fatigue’ that many consumers are experiencing today. Our customers are frequently telling us that when done right -- personalized and relevant to each recipient – it is the printed piece, especially when married with other media, that helps marketers boost response rates.

Does OEE Apply to Digital Presses? This study says Yes

What is OEE and why should you care? How does this metric – Overall Equipment Effectiveness – play in the world of digital printing? Those are questions addressed in a new report from jzarwanpartners. We’ve got a summary of findings for you!

GDP Revisions Offer New Perspective; Printing Shipments Remain Troubling

Revisions to GDP last month showed a slower economy in 2016 and a better one in 2014 and 2015. That’s fine – but we have to make decisions today, not three years ago. Do changes to economic data really matter? They do, but perhaps not the way you think. The stock market is up and setting records, so the economy must be great! A different metric says otherwise. Economic data: it’s a strange place. And commercial printing shipments? Pass the ibuprofen, please.

Conversations on Print - Ep 3: Owning The Creative Relationship - Featuring Peter Gunning

Jennifer Matt talks with Peter Gunning, CEO of Grafenia about how owning the creative relationship has moved from print to the website - our industry needs to evolve with that change. Grafenia's Nettl brand provides print service providers the tools they need to compete in the digital world.

Opportunities and Challenges in Life Stage Targeting

Life stage targeting takes advantage of a powerful truth in consumer marketing—for the most part, consumers are creatures of habit, and the times they are most likely to make major purchases is during times of transition. Understanding and tapping into those transitional times is where life stage marketing comes in.

Pricing Strategy: Labor Theory of Value versus Value-based Pricing

Companies within in the printing industry have historically had a manufacturing mentality—they subscribe to the labor theory of value, which states that the value of a service is determined by the amount of labor that goes into production. Now, thousands of firms in a variety of industries are pricing their services according to the external value created—as perceived and determined by the client—rather than the internal costs incurred in generating services. This article explores the concept of value-based pricing and highlights some real-world examples of companies that are embracing this strategy.

Print Business Investments: Presses vs. Software

Successful print companies have always been re-investing in their business to remain competitors. Up until now, that investment centered around production equipment and systems. Technology in the form of software will be a primary differentiator moving forward.

MIS Systems: Where are we now and where are we going?

Management Information Systems (MIS) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions in the printing industry have the reputation of being inconsistent and extremely diverse. We led a recent study for PRIMIR to explore the typical features of MIS/ERP solutions purchased and to what extent they have been implemented and integrated into print shop workflows. The result provides insight for both commercial printers and MIS/ERP vendors into which capabilities are most important, what their shortcomings are and improvements that can be made.

That Can-Do Spirit: New Trends in Beer Consumption Open Up a Can of Opportunities—Part 1 of 2

Canned beer isn’t your daddy’s tinny-tasting brew. As microbreweries move small-batch production from bottles to cans, it opens up opportunities for short-run can decoration.

Locating Who to Talk To… It’s an Art and a Science!

Having a list of addresses simply isn’t enough in this modern age. Modern marketers are obligated to create an easy path to purchase, especially in an age where brick-and-mortar stores must compete with easy online purchases. This article explores how Geoservices tools can guide people to products by defining clear targeted areas for marketing campaigns.

Software with Print on the Side

Software is the toolset that enables you to solve the business challenges required to win the print that results from them. Your sales process is going to look like software as the main dish with print as a side dish.

Digital Embellishment Still a Hot Topic: JetFX to bring offline sheetfed solution to Print 2017

Digital embellishment was a hot topic at drupa 2016, and more companies are entering the fray. We came across JetFX at an event earlier this year and were intrigued by their approach. Read more about JetFX approach to foiling, spot varnishing, embossing, and high end digital holograms.

Opportunities and Challenges in Lifestyle Targeting

When personalizing marketing communications, it’s easy to default to demographic targeting, which tends to be straightforward and easy to understand. But lifestyle targeting crosses demographic lines and offers new levels of opportunity that can be explored.

Print is a Baby, Not a Geezer: The Newness Crisis

What’s new? You should say “print,” because so many of the media decision-makers have not had noteworthy experiences with the medium. Selling what you know can actually be dangerous, because you need to know what your client and prospect know, first. Only then can you have a chance at relevance. Print is actually a baby, and reference to its glorious past diminishes the many new offerings and tactics that can involve printed materials and specialties in meeting the challenges and objectives of communicators.

50 Billion Customer Communications Can’t Be Wrong!

Print service providers that are currently supporting the customer communications outsourcing market are taking a number of approaches when it comes to navigating from a print-focused core competency to true omni-channel offerings. This article cites recent InfoTrends research to explore how providers are reacting to declining volumes and evolving customer needs.

The Intellectual Property Buried in Your Print Business

Every person in your business solves challenges every day with the tools they have at their disposal and the tools they are comfortable deploying. There is a rich set of intellectual property buried there which can be retrieved by listening and understanding how humans looks for ways to build trusted systems.

Demographics Less Traveled

When it comes to targeting customers, most marketers think about demographic data, such as age, income, gender, and lifestyle. A recent white paper from AccuData lists some less common demographics that may be easily overlooked but that can add a richer dimension to your marketing.

Digital Print for Packaging: The pace is steady and picking up with lots of room for growth

In this article, Sean Smyth – Print Consultant with Smithers Pira examines the results of a new report that looks at the growth of Digital Print for Packaging to 2022. This report breaks down the projected growth by packaging application, and shows some surprising results.

Know Your Codes: As Signage Becomes a Hotter Commodity, Printers Can Offer Regulatory Guidance

Helping customers navigate complex and constantly changing postal regulations has historically been a vital value-added service for commercial printers. The various rules and regulations regarding signage today provide an opportunity for sign printers.

Adding Value to Direct Mail through IP Targeting

Savvy service providers are merging online and offline technologies to compound the effectiveness of their campaigns. This article discusses how IP targeting is being used to add value to today’s direct mail campaigns.

Do You Know the Four Types of Mail Behaviors?

According to the USPS, consumers’ “mail behavior” generally falls into one of four categories: sorters, scanners, weak habits, or skimmers. Each category has a different generational makeup, and it may not be what you expect. Knowing what category your customers tend to fall into can help you develop mail that resonates.

Avoid Common and Costly Traps of Print Software Evaluation

Evaluating software is not a math problem, please don’t count the number of features and award the deal to the highest score. Print software must solve your challenges, in the order of importance to your business.

Family-Owned Newspapers Roll It Up – June 2017 M&A Activity

Hearst, Gatehouse, Lee, Ogden, Phillips and Adams stir up the local newspaper business; Sandy Alexander acquires Designers’ Press; tuck-ins abound and more in the June 2017 – Mergers, Acquisitions & Restructuring in the Printing, Packaging & Related Industries.

They Say It’s Great, But That’s Up for Debate

The economy is sluggish on the positive side, and it would be grand if commercial printing would be the same. Recent printing shipments trends are a concern as the industry continues to reshape itself in response to a dynamic communications marketplace that is seems to re-create itself daily. One Midwest printer lands a big contract for signage… but of the kind that a third wave of media change mandates.

Bobst Group and Radex Launch Mouvent for a Focus on Digital Print

The Bobst Group and Radex formed a new company, Mouvent, to spearhead its digital printing strategy and has announced two production inkjet system for labels and textiles.

Did You Know Interest Rates Have Been Falling?

The Fed has been so reticent about raising rates, and in the process, rates for the 10-year US Treasury actually were negative in February. No, that’s not market rates, that’s the 10-year rate less the year-to-year Consumer Price Index. Since that time, the rate calculated in this manner has moved up 80 basis points. The rate peaked in September 2015 and it’s been down since then. The Fed is having problems making the decision to raise rates, and often announced more rates in a future period but increasing rates at a slower pace. They have a target inflation rate of 2% (which means you lose about 25% of your savings over 10 years on a compounded basis). If you believe that the inflation rate is calculated in a manner that makes it seem lower than it actually is, then the Fed’s desire to see inflation at the 2% rate before they start pushing interest rates higher may be be difficult to reach or sustain. That means long term rates will stay artificially low (on purpose) for a longer period of time than most experts expect.

What Makes Mail “Interesting”?

85% of people will open mail if it “looks interesting.” But what makes mail “interesting”? While we tend to talk about the elements of direct mail in isolation, the reality is, it’s not one element or the other—but a combination of elements whose results are multiplicative rather than additive—that make mail interesting. It’s important to get that combination right.

The New Xerox: What It Means for Software Strategy

Senior Editor Cary Sherburne recently spoke with Xerox executive Jacob Aizikowitz about his new role as head of the new Xerox Software Products Group to learn more about how the new Xerox is bringing together its diverse software development efforts.

Target Marketing: It’s Time to Differentiate Your Business!

A number of very large and profitable companies got their start by focusing on specific market segments, and the same is true for some service providers. Aiming your marketing efforts at a target market can offer a number of benefits. This article focuses on those benefits and outlines the steps that print service providers should take to get started with a targeted marketing approach.

Understanding Order Entry from Your Customer’s Perspective

Too many online order entry tools are discounted because the printer fails to see the value from their customer’s perspective. Don’t let your competitors use your customer experience to replace you.

A Look at 3 Great QR Code Applications

Even with AR/VR on the rise, QR Codes are still very much an important and functional tool for marketers. This blog takes a look at three recent and well-crafted uses of QR Codes.

Sappi 2020Vision: One Paper Company’s Aggressive Plan for the Future

What’s the future of the paper business? One company has a bright vision of its future and is making the requisite changes to get there. Senior Editor Cary Sherburne spoke with Mark Odgers, Director, Packaging Grades at Sappi North America, to get more details.

Preference and Data and Prices, Oh My!

Prices tell us a lot about how media is changing and what’s ahead. It’s funny – the categories that are growing the most are the ones where prices are dropping. That’s strange. But media preference surveys can be misleading because they can assure media producers of the love of the marketplace, and divert their strategic attention to competitors impinging on that affection. What does Mary Meeker know? A trade association executive says she’s biased. That’s okay. Dr. Joe has different data.

Former Xeikon CEO Wim Maes Lands at Summa NV.

People seem to move around a lot in our industry, and sometimes it is hard to keep track. In this edition of “Where Are They Now?” we share Wim Maes’ thoughts on his new gig at Summa NV.

Five Steps to Helping Your Clients Optimize the Customer Experience

Customer Experience (CX) is the product of an interaction between an organization and a customer over the duration of their relationship. This interaction is made up of three parts: the customer journey, the brand touchpoints the customer interacts with, and the environments the customer experiences (including digital environment) during the engagement. This article explores why the customer experience should be a top priority for marketers.

Print Software Evaluation – First Define the Problem It Solves

Every software tool sets out to solve a set of problems, all too often the problem is never defined because the sales process focuses on solutions, benefits, and features. Take the time to understand the problem print software solves and most importantly whether you have that problem!

PDF For Packaging: The Missing Link in Digital Packaging Production

In this article, David looks beyond the hardware at prepress, and how new developments will play a significant role in driving the growth of digital packaging production. This is not surprising, since we have been here before in other areas of the industry.

Making Tracks: Signage, QR Codes, and Customer Journey Analytics

QR codes are great for “making print interactive,” but in today’s high-data marketing environment, they also have a more important purpose: making print measurable.

Marketing Mix Trends 2010-2016: Winners and Losers

Highlights from Target Marketing’s annual Market Mix Trends report, including trends in direct mail (both personalized and traditional), FSIs, email, online search, and mobile.

Industry 4.0: Leading the Transformation

Industrial revolutions are momentous events, and many historians agree that there have been three to date. Interconnected digital technology might be triggering the fourth revolution, and this article explores the actions that printers should take to remain at the forefront of Industry 4.0.

Mailers Weigh in on USPS

How is the United States Postal Service perceived by key members of the mailing supply chain? A recent Idealliance study lays it all out, the good, the bad and the ugly. While there is certainly room for improvement, and it is unclear what the USPS response to this study will be, be sure to read to the end for a view of what mail and communications would be like if the USPS wasn’t functioning as well as it is!

EskoWorld: A Unique Experience

Last month, I attended EskoWorld for the first time. This was the 26th EskoWorld, so I am a little slow on the uptake. But the event was well worth attending and had quite a different feel from other user groups I have attended.

Product Spotlight: Kodak PRINERGY Cloud

Your print business runs on software, more and more of that software is being delivered via the cloud where resources can be precisely controlled and scaling (both up and down) is configurable in real-time. Kodak’s flagship workflow product – PRINERGY Workflow is no exception to taking advantage of what cloud computing can do to a printer’s production workflow.

Conversations on Print - Ep 2: Being a Data Driven Company - Featuring Susan Moore

In this podcast we talk to Susan Moore about the various roles Susan has had in the printing industry: supplies sales, printing business owner, MIS platform provider. We talk about becoming a data-driven company and how MIS transitions are hard but they create a great opportunity to restructure your business model and to transition to today's world.

Small Printers are Big Business – May 2017 M&A Activity

Global franchise system owner of Mail Boxes Etc. acquires US-based printing franchise system PostNet, Standard buys Epic, ICV Partners moves upstream with LeadingResponse, and more.

Friend to the Industry Kip Smythe Has Died

Sadly, the industry lost one of its loyal behind-the-scenes advocates, Kip Smythe. His coordination of efforts involving industry research, statistics, standards, trade, and others, was appreciated by everyone who worked alongside him. Dr. Joe has a special remembrance.

Recovery Indicators Move to Half Here, Half There; Shipments and Profits Fall, Concerns Raised

US commercial printing shipments and profits are in a pattern that suggests another re-set of media communications strategy is underway. The national employment data looked great on the outside, but were disturbing on the inside… again. The latest publishing revenues suggest that content’s kingship status is not what everyone thinks it is.

What Google Trends Has to Say About QR Code Searches

QR Codes have been trending. What does a deeper dive into online search data tell us about interest in QR Code adoption and usage? What market categories show the greatest curiosity? Here’s a look at what Google Trends has to say.

Inkjet Helps BMS Make a “Statement”

Printing and mailing customer communications, statements, and bills is a critical business process that can benefit from outsourcing. This article explores how BMS Technologies is capitalizing on the transaction document outsourcing services opportunity by supporting its customers’ ever-changing needs and investing in inkjet technology.

Software is our Primary Business Tool

Buy, implement, build – software is part of your everyday business life now. It is the primary tool of all businesses.

Measuring Efficiency with Overall Equipment Effectiveness

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) can be used to both measure your production efficiency, as well as use it as a tool for making equipment purchasing decision.

Show Me the Money: Why Strategic Buyer Financial Disclosure Is Normal in Printing Industry M&A and What to Do About It

In the world of strategic M&A among privately-owned print, mail and graphics communications companies, seller due diligence into the buyer is a common practice.

Six Big Mistakes That Aspiring Wide-Format Printers Can Make

Wide-format and specialty and specialty printing are where a lot of the action is today. But expanding into these new areas is not without its pitfalls. Here are some worth avoiding.

Augmented Reality: Will it Revolutionize Packaging?

Augmented Reality has the potential to open a world of possibilities for brand owners who are seeking to drive an immersive consumer interaction with their products. When applied to packaging, the digital information is visible through mobile or tablet devices and is enabled by an app. Customers are becoming more receptive to AR, and this article explores how brand owners are leveraging packaging to integrate the technology into the customer experience.

Understanding the Software Development Process

Making good software is like building a nice home, it takes multiple resources who are coordinated to deliver on your needs. The more a printer understands the software process, the better they will be at managing it for internal projects or influencing the software roadmap of their vendors.

No Time for Automation? Try Lean

You may not be able to make a commitment to implement full workflow automation, but this does not mean you should write off workflow efficiency gains entirely. Why not try going lean instead? This printer did.

Specialty Printing and Events: Made for Each Other

Commercial printing is evolving into specialty printing, and opportunities abound—if you know where and how to look for them.

Inflation-adjusted Shipments per Employee

The Commerce Department’s revisions to industry shipments show a much different picture of a key metric for the industry, sales per employee. The chart was created using 12-month moving totals of inflation-adjusted shipments and the 12 month moving average of total industry employment. The latest reading through March 2017 is $182.65 per employee, a meager +1.5% higher than it was at the end of 1992. It fell from a peak of $195.51 which was just before the burst of the housing bubble, the rise of social media platforms, tablets, and smartphones. The fall in this calculation has some interesting characteristics. Historically, large printing businesses focused on magazines, catalogs, and newspaper inserts, had sales per employee that were significantly higher than the industry averages, anywhere from 30% to 50% higher.

Inkjet: Finding the Path to Profitability

Advances in inkjet technology have print service providers asking “not if, but when” they should invest. This article highlights recent interviews with a number of inkjet users to find out the critical strategies they are following to accelerate their organization’s path to profitability.

New Xeikon President Benoit Chatelard Shares Vision for the Future

In late March, Xeikon announced that Benoit Chatelard, at the time the Vice President, Production Printing, for Ricoh Europe, would be joining the company as President & CEO Digital Solutions, Flint Group, Xeikon’s parent company. Chatelard began his new role May 8th, and speaks with Senior Editor Cary Sherburne about his vision for Xeikon.

The Danger of Rushing to a Solution

We want to be efficient, we want to feel smart. When we hear even the first words of a challenge, we categorize it and start trying to solve it based on our available tool set. This prevents you from a real understanding of the problem.

Last CTP Innovations and High Quality Printing Innovations Case Dismissed

Another Major Victory for the Printing Industry: The largest of the most recent patent troll cases against the printing industry and its OEMs was dismissed.

The Changing Specialty Printing Market: New Opportunities Big and Small

The same technologies that have enabled the proliferation of wide-format graphics are also profoundly changing the traditional specialty printing market. Here’s how print service providers can take advantage of the “nichification” of commercial print.

Where’s the Workflow?

Despite all the talk about the need for automated workflow, printers are still not rushing to invest in these solutions. How long can they hold on to fractured and inefficient workflows without this becoming a serious liability?

Commerce Department Revisions Send 2015 and 2016 Shipments Down More than -4%

We love numbers, especially when they go in a direction we like. Accuracy of the information we use in decision-making should not be a matter of liking numbers, the numbers are what the numbers are. What happens when one set of numbers you relied on are revised on the basis of new and better information and describe a different scenario than before? Dr. Joe helps sort it out… we think.

Xerox Forum: Connecting Your Network!

Under the “Connecting Your Network” theme, the 2017 Xerox Forum focused on business growth opportunities in today’s dynamic graphic communications market. This article highlights announcements and speakers from the event.

Your Customer’s Lack of Change Management Kills Web-to-Print Adoption

People don’t like change, they need to be led through change because the transition between “how you’ve always done it” and the “new more tech-focused way to do it” can be a river of misery.

Omni-Channel Communications: Secrets of Success

Marketers’ love affair with a digital-only strategy has begun to wane, and while they are continuing to invest in digital channels, print is regaining ground as an important part of the overall media mix. This opens the door to a more active role for print service providers in moving upstream and becoming engaged with helping marketers develop and execute an effective omni-channel strategy that aligns with the way consumers want to interact with brands. We spoke with some experts to learn their secrets of success.

Commentary & Analysis

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