Increase Value with Integrated Products
More uses are awaiting discovery in a boundless market.
Integrated products are attaining unique capabilities in traditional business forms and labels markets, as well as in promotional printing. The products' inherent advantages of consistency, versatility and economy often make them the better choice over more traditional labels and cards. As business practices change and new markets emerge, investing in this product is becoming all the more worthwhile.
One of the reasons is that printing integrated products eliminates the use of additional processes, therefore reducing printing time and cost—attractive characteristic for clients. "Distributors can spend $1.25 apiece for a plastic card or they can produce an integrated card at half that price, depending on what is printed on the form and the paper weight used," said Robert Nost, general manager of Highland Computer Forms, Urbandale, Iowa.
According to Dave Wandling, vice president of marketing at The Flesh Company, Parsons, Kan., "There are only a handful—probably 20 or fewer—manufacturers producing integrated products." This reduced printing time and cost, coupled with the ratio of high demand to a few suppliers, translates into big profits for both manufacturers and distributors.
Not only are these products valuable, they are value-added as well. "It is not the type of product that is just a commodity, but the opportunity for distributors to create solutions for their customers that will benefit and outweigh any type of additional costs that the product may incur. Rather than bidding on a product, the distributor can go in and create a solution for customers, which has ten times more value," said Paul Curry, president of PrintGraphics, Vandalia, Ohio.
While integrated products offer many advantages, there are certain shortcomings and precautions that both manufacturers and distributors need to be mindful of, including the possible deterioration of label adhesives over the duration of the product's life. Nost noted, however, that this is also true of most other types of labels.
In addition, some laminates used on cards may experience eventual discoloration overtime. Fortunately, most cards are used for memberships at clubs or insurance agencies and are replaced on an annual or short-term basis.
Regarding specifications, distributors need to be aware of the systems and types of printers used by their clients. The better one is informed about a client's system and processing methods, the better he or she will know how and what sort of adhesives and laminates to apply.
Without Bounds
Another reason integrated products are worthwhile investments is because they have not exhausted their market. Their versatility and innovative potential offer plenty of room to create new applications and find alternative uses. For example, one of the more recent applications at Highland is die-cut keytags.
"There are travel companies that send their members keys and luggage tags that can be used for identification. If the luggage or keys are lost and then found they can be easily returned," said Nost.
Integrated magnets have also been recently introduced to the market. The magnetic strip is applied to the stock much like an adhesive is applied to integrated cards. Likewise, the magnets are die-cut and printed in a similar manner to the cards and labels.
"The integrated magnet is very thin, so it doesn't have the strength of a hard metal magnet, and it's not going to hold a bunch of papers on the refrigerator. But it can be used as a promotional product since it can be applied to a refrigerator or a file cabinet very well," said Curry.
At Highland, Nost has seen increased sales and revenue for integrated products and believes that the market will continue to grow in the future. "Given what we're seeing, what we've got on the table and what we're lining up for the near future, there is still room for significant growth for integrated cards used in the promotional printing market," he said.
Tom Yeager, vice president of marketing at Strata-Tac, Batavia, Ill., noted that the promotional printing market is still being defined. The company is always looking for new applications and, currently, their product line includes products such as scratch-off labels, integrated magnets and window decals.
"Although there are no hard figures available, estimated numbers for the U.S. integrated market range from $200 million to $400 million," reported Yeager. "In fact, the total North American market could be as high as $600 million."
Markets that manufacturers and distributors currently cater to span the spectrum and include health care, warehousing, universities and commercial and retail businesses.
Integrated labels are only the beginning of what might be possible with the Internet market, as companies start to seek preferred shopper cards, membership cards and other promotional products.
Meanwhile, as clients streamline and modify their interoffice systems, they are finding that integrated products offer the consistency and efficiency that they currently need.
"There's a lot of growth potential as there are more laser printers in the work force and more people are looking to up-grade their systems. With integrated products, clients can put two processes into one, and the final product goes through the laser printer very well," said Curry.
Do the Right Thing
Because the integrated products market is unbound in so many ways, Nost advised distributors to keep an open mind while remembering that the solutions available for integrated applications are limited only to the imagination of the distributor, his or her customer and the product designer. "We've seen the neatest ideas come from marketing people whose minds just race when they see a product like this," said Nost.
Distributors should also look to manufacturers for ideas, cautionary tales and sales tips, said Curry. "For us, developing a solutions involves teamwork. We prefer that distributors use us as a resource because it helps satisfy our customers and gives them a product that really works well," Curry explained.
Knowledge regarding the product is also key to selling these sorts of solutions. "Distributors need to arm themselves with samples, know what the different laminates are, where and how a particular product is being used and then try to match that to their customer's specific needs," said Wandling.
Yeager advised distributors to remember that peripheral business can often come along with an integrated item sale. "Basically, if a sales rep sells 5,000 brochures with integrated cards, then he or she may also get the 20,000-piece direct mail job for that same company," he said.
Ultimately, he added, distributors will benefit the most from knowing about the integrated market as well as the needs and goals of their current and potential clients.
"The fact that integrated products offer a simple single solution for several problems also helps," said Curry. "If distributors do their homework, know what the product is, know what's available and offer clients the right product for their situations, then the product will just sell itself."
By Sarah Lerow
- People:
- Paul Curry
- Robert Nost