How to find a comfort level in the growing commercial printing industry.
Commercial print products are so diverse in scope these days that it is tough to pinpoint a precise method for marketing them properly. "Commercial printing is such a broad category that it is difficult to describe a sales formula that works for everyone," said Lindsay Gray, vice president of AccuLink (formerly AccuCopy/Quicktabs), Greenville, N.C. "You might as well ask General Mills to state the best way to market food."
Gray advised distributors in this industry to "divide and conquer" commercial print products. "They need to identify the products and services they can reliably sell and then identify the customers who demand those services," he said. "More often than not, the best place to start is with the existing customer base because there are probably departments within those accounts that are unaware of the distributors' capabilities."
Gray stressed that the most successful distributors will be adept at selling various commercial print products and services—from inventory control to the front-end. If they are lacking comfort and aptitude in this area, they should have the willingness and desire to learn.
"In today's environment, there is no reason why distributors can't handle Web-based ordering of business cards, letterhead and other office consumables, while also handling marketing and sales materials," explained Gray. "They should also be able to develop forms, labels, manuals and other products for their customers' manufacturing needs."
In an industry that—according to Jim Corr, vice president at Newtown and CRW Graphics (divisions of Hippographics), Pennsauken, N.J.—is expected to grow at a rate of 4 percent to 6 percent over the next five years, how can distributors find that comfort level? Staying on top of the learning curve is paramount, according to Gray. "I would suggest that distributors attend the DMIA trade marts and Print Solutions events in order to keep up with the latest trends and manufacturing capabilities," he advised.
Corr agreed. "Distributors must become educated by attending commercial print classes, such as those put on by the Graphic Arts Association," he said. "It is important to develop the 'working lingo' in this industry."
Corr also suggested that distributors tap into another valuable resource—their clients. "Call on current customers' or prospective customers' creative and/or support departments, such as marketing, new product development, human resources and in-house advertising," he said.
Full Speed Ahead
The decline of the business forms industry prompted Newtown to focus on commercial printing, which encompasses 25 percent of its total print sales. "Our commercial print products have seen a consistent increase of 3 percent to 5 percent each year for the past three years," noted Corr.
With such a growth rate, Newtown had no choice but to invest in both technical training and software and hardware—most notably with its recent purchase of two six-color 40˝ Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102 presses.
"After an exhaustive search, Heidelbergs were chosen because we have found their print quality to be excellent, and their support staff is terrific," said Corr. "Heidelberg is a leader and will keep us appraised of changes that we need to make."
With quicker make-ready times, the Heidelberg presses are ideal for shorter print runs, the direction in which Newtown sees the future of commercial printing heading. "For example, four-color process orders, at one time, would have taken three to three and a half hours to make ready," explained Corr. "The new Heidelberg CD 102's make ready is 30 to 35 minutes. This helps us to be very competitive in the shorter runs."
Moving on Up
AccuLink has also heavily invested in the future of commercial printing by recently relocating the business to a new $3.5 million facility that devotes over 70,000 square feet to bindery, mailing services and short-run printing.
"We have also invested millions of dollars in the latest cutting-edge imaging, bindery and mailing equipment on the market," Gray mentioned. "Our most recent purchase was a seven-color HP-Indigo digital press that delivers high-quality, full-color and hexachrome color to one-to-one marketing pieces of short-run color jobs."
Adding Value
According to Gray, AccuLink's "bread and butter" is its multiple-page documents, such as training manuals, directories and cookbooks.
Gray predicted that variable printing and mailing services will gain popularity, as well. One product feature that Gray sees as a potential gold mine is lamination. "Lamination greatly enhances the appearance and durability of book covers, menus, instruction sheets and other products," he explained. "I think laminating is drastically undersold by distributors, and they are missing out on some terrific profits when they don't promote this value-added service."
For Newtown, one of the best ways of adding value to commercial print products is through binding. "We are not afraid to tackle any service that requires us to do something to that paper," Corr commented, "whether that service be folding, inserting, stitching, perfect binding, die cutting, distribution or packaging."
What the Future Holds
Corr and Gray both see distributors playing a vital role in the future success of commercial printing.
"We truly think that this is an ideal time for the distributor market to spend the time to understand the commercial print industry, be aggressive in pursuing the market and have a great working relationship with us, in order to be successful," Corr commented.
Gray concluded, "I see the direction of our industry moving towards greater emphasis on digital workflow, personalization and shorter delivery times. We have designed our operation around these areas, and I feel confident about what the future holds."
By Jennifer Hans
- Companies:
- AccuLink
- CRW Graphics
- Heidelberg
- Newtown
- People:
- Jim Corr
- Lindsay Gray
- Places:
- Greenville, N.C.
- Heidelberg