Finding a Niche
It's hard to deny that it's been a tough couple years for continuous and multipart forms. Once a massive cornerstone of thousands of businesses the world over, forms have since declined in popularity due to the rise of online alternatives. Whether it's for reasons of speed, cost or even marketing, more and more businesses are replacing their forms with online options.
But, this is old news to pretty much everyone in the industry at this point. Online cutting into print profits has been the lead story for the better part of the last 10 years. It began as a legitimate concern—the print world is ending, the print sky is falling, etc.—but as the years have passed, we've seen a different truth reveal itself. Online surely has cut into print profits, but said cut has been just that—a cut, a piece, a portion—and not the entirety of the print market. Just as radio did not fully replace books, and video did not fully replace radio, the Internet has not fully replaced the print market.
Some may say that continuous and multipart forms have been hit by the Internet a little harder than other print sectors, but the market is still there, to be sure. Savvy printers, such as Calibrated (an Ennis company), Columbus, Kan., have found ways to succeed with this product, largely by focusing on niche markets, differentiating their product and cultivating a culture of customer service and technical skill.
Why does this matter to you? Simple. The harder printers have to work to succeed in a shrinking market, the stronger they become as your acting business partner. Here are three things to do when looking for a printer of continuous and multipart forms.
1. Find a Niche
Since buyers of continuous and multipart forms have shifted from "pretty much every business" to "not that," finding success with these products has become a matter of understanding what niches—be they products or markets—are still profitable. Richard Miller, general manager for Calibrated, explained further.
"The demand for multipart continuous forms is declining, but there are still niches of business that fit best in an impact printed environment," he said. "We see many opportunities for variable imaged or multipart [forms] with integrated labels on them, or both. Many tractor-fed printer manufacturers are still supplying new and refurbished printers to meet this demand," he explained.
"The one-part continuous volume is controlled by jumbo rolls. This product is manufactured on the same base press as collated continuous forms with oversized unwinds and rewinds. These usually end up a sheetfed product, but they feed continuously into the printer before processing," Miller said.
According to Allen Simon, president of Datatel Resources Corp., Monaca, Pa., jumbo rolls can print about 80,000 documents per roll, making them a strong choice for high-speed, high-volume printing. Said Simon in September 2012's "The Path to Survival": "In concept, the processing company only needs to mount the roll and push the button. They don't need to do anything to change the paper for 80,000 documents, as opposed to maybe 2,500 documents if it's a cut sheet or continuous product. The advantage of jumbo rolls is high-speed, high-volume processing. The processing company can load up that roll and get many, many more documents."
Where jumbo rolls are able to succeed due to high processing speed and volume, other niche form products succeed in the market by doing what the Internet can't—such as interacting with the physical world. Adhesive components, anything that has to be attached to packaging, or physical anti-counterfeiting elements are all features unavailable on Internet forms, making them good areas to focus on for forms sales.
As for markets worth exploring, look into either smaller businesses or those that have a long tradition of working with forms. Trucking companies, auto-parts stores and car dealerships fit both these criteria nicely. Some other choices would be banks and other financial institutions, and government offices.
2. Enjoy the Highly Competitive Market
A plus-side to shrinking market size is that printers have to compete harder for your business. From improved materials to increased efficiency, print manufacturers in this product space have more to offer buyers than they did 10 years ago.
"For Ennis to remain the market leader in continuous product, we must continue to share knowledge effectively between our 50-plus plants," said Miller. "We support this with warehousing, distribution, and technology on the front and back end, as well as using the best print manufacturing materials in the marketplace."
3. Bank on History and Customer Service
In a competitive market, sometimes the biggest differentiator between printers is skill and customer service. The printing industry as a whole has a lot of history and experience in it, but some companies have more experience than others.
"Calibrated and the rest of the Ennis plants are separated from our competition by our cumulative knowledge in creating a quality product and the ability to offer a diverse selection of other products and services that accompany traditional forms," said Miller. "Continuous and multipart is traditional print, and Ennis has been producing it for over 100 years. No other company can surround and support that product like the Ennis facilities. Extra care in the form of other types of printing or services turns a traditional order into better account penetration and a stronger long-term customer."