Beyond the obvious commodity products exists a wealth of profit-boosting solutions.
Offsetting not only the decline in traditional products, but also the ups and downs of the economy, cut-sheets are a reliable growth product, say manufacturers.
Over the past three years, as forms sales overall have slumped and then posted a modest recovery, cut-sheet sales volume has been "flat or slightly up," according to Jim Hill of Carolina Cut Sheets, Huntington, W.Va. The producer has manufactured only cut-sheets since 1982.
At Printegra, there has been steady cut-sheet growth attributed to new business and the ongoing decline of continuous products, according to Bill Reid, director of marketing for the Peachtree City, Georgia-based manufacturer. "Currently, more than 50 percent of our sales are for cut-sheets, compared to less than 20 percent five years ago," said Reid, who expects the trend to continue.
Cut-sheets have been a blessing for traditional forms manufacturers. Mat-Co Business Forms, Nashville, Tenn., has been in existence since 1971 but only began producing cut-sheets four years ago. "It's been steadily growing, approximately 15 percent to 20 percent annually, and is now 25 percent of our sales," said principal Mark Harris. "The whole time, continuous has been eroding approximately the same percentage as cut-sheet growth."
The demand for cut-sheets means that opportunities abound for distributors. End-user needs range from letterhead, checks and invoices to medical forms, packing lists and marketing mailings. "The markets that cut-sheets can be sold to are still unlimited," Reid asserted. "Any customer using a sheet-fed printer is a good prospect for cut-sheet products."
Distributors can specialize in vertical markets such as the financial, hospitality, educational, manufacturing, health-care and retail markets. Another option is forming alliances with vertical market software companies whose software is designed for use with cut-sheet forms and checks.
Add Value & Utility
Cut-sheets by themselves are hardly a gee-whiz product, so manufacturers counseled distributors to look for ways to add value. "Find out how the cut-sheet is being used and promote ways to increase the value," Reid advised. Upgraded paper, printed security features, additional colors, integrated labels and cards, and a redesign are all tools that the distributor can use to make a cut-sheet work harder and better for the customer, he said.
One obvious option is color. "One- or two-color laser sheets are somewhat of a commodity," Harris said. "The trend we see is for more color."
Reid noted that customers' desire for additional color encompasses both spot and process color. Distributors are increasingly requesting multiple spot colors on long-run cut-sheet orders. "We've also seen an increase in orders for multi-color pressure-seal mailers being used by marketing departments to mail promotional offers," he said. In addition, corporate identity documents—such as business cards, letterhead and sell sheets—require multiple process colors, which Printegra handles with a digital six-color press in its Smyrna, Ga., plant.
Cut-Sheet Trends
Variable imaging for statements, direct mail and other applications is one of the fastest-growing trends for cut-sheets, according to Harris. "That's where our growth is coming from," he said. For instance, utility statements are increasingly outsourced by municipalities to save money, and distributors can step in to offer a cost-effective print solution, Harris said. "That's a business with good repeats, too," he added.
Other examples of cut-sheet mailings that utilize variable imaging are hospital billing, department store statements, home refinancing offers and post-purchase warranty card registration. "Warranty cards are some of our highest-volume orders," said Harris, noting that Mat-Co Business Forms frequently runs orders with quantities of 100,000 and 200,000.
Hill cautioned distributors to not limit their cut-sheet thinking to 81⁄2x11˝ products. "Those are some of the most difficult products to add value to," he said. "Padding, folding and diecutting are great ways to increase the value of what otherwise is a rather low-cost product," he said. Carolina Cut Sheets produces up to six colors, and sizes up to 17x22˝ on web products and 28x40˝ on sheet-fed.
The company manufactures many products for the hospitality industry, Hill said, especially those ubiquitous pads of paper imprinted with the hotel name that are found in every room.
Pad products are also used as promotional scratch pads by companies as diverse as lumber yards and trucking companies. Businesses that typically stack order forms on a counter often find a padded product more convenient to use, Hill said.
Die cuts can be used to hold business or credit cards, to create door hangers often used by utility companies and other service people, and in myriad other ways. Harris said that he creates die-cut perfs for cut-sheets used in the automotive industry, a large percentage of his company's core business.
Large, fold-out forms are another use for cut-sheets, Hill said. An 11x251⁄2˝ cut-sheet can be folded for use as a price sheet, instruction sheet or a nurse's flow sheet. For assembly instruction sheets that will be used just once and then thrown away, it's less expensive to use a long, folded sheet rather than individual 81⁄2x11˝ sheets, which must be collated and stapled, he said. "Everyone's keeping everything as economical as possible," he said.
Integrate It
Integrated products are a great growth market for cut-sheets, manufacturers agreed. Cards and labels integrated with a cut-sheet offer customers more utility in the same product and provide more profit for the distributor, as well. But, while distributors have long been aware of such products, Hill said, end-users still require some education. "Few end-users are aware of integrated products, and I tell distributors that they've probably got customers that they ought to tell about it," he said. "There's not a whole lot that you can do with a cut-sheet, but integrated forms are a high-dollar item for the distributor that offers customers a low-cost way to create their own cards on laser printers."
Possible applications include health clubs, zoos, fraternal organizations, social clubs and civic associations, bookstores, video stores and even non-profit organizations—in short, any business or organization that offers membership or discount cards.
Reid noted that integrated cut-sheets eliminate matching errors and the need for separate product inventories—both major selling points. Applications include packing lists with integrated shipping/return labels, parking decals, returned goods forms with labels, membership notices and ID cards, and promotional mailings with discount cards.
Pressure-seal, cut-sheet mailers continue to grow in popularity in the short-run market, Reid said. Such products are a boon to small and medium-sized businesses with limited resources that may dread the folding and stuffing tasks associated with necessary mailings. Applications include payroll and accounts payable checks, marketing mailings, invoices, statements, school transcripts and grade reports, employee benefits notices, utility bills and W-2 forms.
Cut-sheet order quantities vary enormously, depending on customers' needs. Distributors should not overlook the needs of small businesses or organizations that may have a one-time need for an integrated card product. At the same time, larger organizations or promotional mailing applications may necessitate very large runs.
Harris noted that Mat-Co Business Forms' roll-to-sheet equipment is geared to runs of 20,000 and up, but there is a need for short-run cut-sheets in quantities of 5,000 to 10,000. Although Mat-Co Business Forms services the short-run market, Harris is shopping for specific short-run equipment and is deciding between digital short-run and web offset presses. "We're still very much a traditional forms manufacturer," he said. A digital press would help the manufacturer provide full color and variable imaging.
That's a direction in which Printegra has already gone in order to streamline online commercial printing programs, Reid said. "We implemented this process to become more efficient and competitive with online corporate identity programs," he said. The manufacturer plans to expand efforts to service large regional and national commercial print orders, which are almost exclusively cut-sheet products, he added.
Ask Questions
With so many directions to pursue for cut-sheets, distributors may be overwhelmed. "Don't be afraid to lean on manufacturers and ask questions," Hill urged. If a customer comes up with a challenging application, hunker down with the manufacturer to work on it. "You never know—it might open up a whole new product line," he said. "Look at Post-it Notes."
By Janet R. Gross