Printers are using different approaches to face the changes in the print industry. Some are adapting new workflows, some are renewing their equipment and some are adding new services to their portfolio to grow in 2018.
Strong Partnerships Lead to a Strong Market Presence
Smaller printers often struggle to compete with full-service print providers. But as a printer, you don’t need to provide all the services of a full-service printer to stay competitive – having the right partners to turn to can be a good approach, too. Corporate partnerships are a popular way for companies to merge their powers and benefit from each other’s expertise.
Louella Fernandes names Konica Minolta as an example for making “steps in this direction by partnering with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and other technology vendors for its Workplace Hub Pro platform”.
Digital Print is Growing
In a paper called Latest Print Industry Trends, Konica Minolta notes that “as well as changing their sales and marketing approach and adding new services to enhance the overall customer value proposition, print providers need to give equal attention to the core business of producing printed products more efficiently”.
As a result, many offset printers are investing in at least one digital printer or press to ensure efficient and cost effective output. Digital Printing forecasts digital print to have grown by 43% since 2013.
Further, offering a mix of printing processes gives printers a way to produce highly relevant communications in a cost-effective way.
A New Range of Services
In addition to their core printing services, many printers start providing services supporting the value associated with a print job. Offering marketing services makes sense – it can complement the services the printer is already providing and also generate new printing requests. Such services can involve data management, packaging solutions, growing use of personalization, etc.