Print Service Providers (PSPs) are no strangers to transformation. With a long history of reinvention and overcoming adversity, they are once again adapting to the new digital reality. Among companies that are growing, a majority attribute their growth to bringing in additional buyers, increasing business from current customers or increasing customer retention.
In other words, what has pushed them forward is their active pursuit of results, and not the generally favorable business conditions that would otherwise theoretically have helped everyone. This change is particularly important because business conditions are tough for commercial printers.
Transforming the printing industry
Digital transformation is a synthesis of digital technology across all areas of a business, revolutionizing the way companies operate and deliver value to customers. It is also a cultural transformation that expects organizations to consistently challenge the status quo, experiment, and become comfortable with failure. In business, digitalization usually means converting paper information into digital information.
For years, there has been a lot of talk about the power and impact of this disruption, the digital transformation, including the printing industry. It is a misconception to believe that printing will no longer happen because digital communication is the absolute priority. There is more printing: faster, more individual, more targeted and more demand-oriented. Print is not dead! But that doesn’t mean the printing industry as we know it will survive.
Printing in the digital world
The print industry has been feeling the power of the digital age for some time now; information is shared and distributed online rather than printed on paper. Manufacturers must now find new areas of innovation, all while trying to protect their core business – printing. The dilemma they face is finding new growth areas for printing while trying to make their product still relevant in the digital age.
It is now critical for manufacturers to connect with their customers in meaningful ways by creating services and products that leverage their print heritage, but also connect them to the digital world in which they do business. One of the ways manufacturers can achieve this is by driving the digital transformation journey. Paper remains a key element of the connected and collaborative office workplace and continues to play a crucial role in the business processes of many companies.
However, paper bottlenecks can hinder business productivity and frustrate customers. This is where print dealers can connect the paper and digital worlds and develop stronger expertise in workflow solutions and services, such as smart multifunction devices (MFPs), with online product designer, online product designer tools and HTML5 design software, which have become popular in recent have been developed over the years to become advanced document processing devices. This has far-reaching consequences for agencies, media service providers and printers.
Simplicity for the customer
Everything should be simple and easy for the customer. All the more so because customers have less and less printing knowledge in-house. User experiences in the personal use of digital services have an increasing impact on people’s business lives. A user who prints a birthday invitation with one click on an HTML5 online product designer on the weekend will also want to deal with the company’s printing the next day.
Always and everywhere
The internet disconnects us from time and space. The user can do anything, anywhere in the world, at any time. The disconnect from place has progressed even further with the triumph of mobile internet and smartphones. This means that customers want to print quickly and easily anytime, anywhere. Easily accessible online product design tools allow users to print anything at any time.
Speed and less is more
Digital communication is strongly influenced by the ‘trial & error’ principle. It is tried out quickly and easily. If the attempt is successful, the idea will be further developed. Otherwise, the next idea is tried. This ‘trial & error’ principle will also be applied to printed publications. Many options can be found for those willing to look in places other than the familiar.
Adding digital media and promoting services, along with expanding into growth segments such as innovative packaging, labels, signage, direct mail and point-of-sale targeting different sectors of the market, will bring new expertise, new technology and innovative methods of executing require business transactions.
Companies should consider the following for the digital transformation of the printing industry
Think strategically about the business – Commercial printing is transitioning from a production company to a service company. By offering a broader range of services, PSPs are well on their way to becoming strategic partners for their customers. This is the result of the focus on adding value and it is what separates PSPs with high profits from PSPs that are just breaking even.
Investing in Technology to Support Profitable Growth – Moving to All-Digital Printing Digital infrastructure, digital presses and workflow software such as HTML5 online product designer, HTML5 design software and other online product design tools are the top three capital investments made in recent years. Focusing on the right opportunities – Growth within the business is predicted to come from short-run, on-demand and personalized runs.
Personalized communication using all applicable media is the future
Digital printing is a rapidly growing phase of the commercial printing market. Digital color production presses offer high image quality and enable personalized printing, as well as very fast turnaround times for short runs, both of which are high-value products. The strengths of digital printing are complementary to those of analog printing, which excels at larger print runs.