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The Evolution of Light Production
8 September 2009
While increased demand for shorter print runs that are delivered in half the time
has precipitated the growing need for digital light production devices, other applications
that traditionally have not been associated with printing services are beginning
to emerge. So says Andrew Griffith, product manager for office products at Bidvest
company, Konica Minolta South Africa, who presented at the recent Young Management
Printers (YMP) annual members breakfast in Johannesburg.
“The rise in demand for light production machines has been phenomenal,” he states.
“From Konica Minolta South Africa’s own experience, our overall unit placement year
on year across the board has steadily and significantly increased, but this pales
in comparison to how we’ve seen our page volume grow. However, one of the fastest
developing trends of the commercial print industry is the use of applications that
were not previously seen within this market segment.”
According to Griffith, one such technology is Variable Data Printing (VDP) in all
its forms. “VDP might still be in its infancy in South Africa but it is certainly
beginning to gain momentum. In addition, transactional and direct mail markets are
beginning to merge and, as a result, cross channel marketing is growing. And this
is just the start.
“The rise of digital printing has everything to do with the changes in print volumes.
The focus has moved to shorter runs delivered in the fastest time, factors that
have become major differentiators for printers.”
The concept and practice of on-demand printing has permeated every aspect of the
printing industry, forcing changes in workflow and document make-ready operations.
This has compelled printers to look for new ways to lower production costs and step
up efficiencies and has also provided an opportunity to establish new revenue streams.
The improvement in digital print quality and versatility, coupled with the advent
of VDP, has meant that “value added” or “ancillary” services are the growth engines.
“The term ‘ancillary service’ is used because currently these products are adjuncts
to the print. But in time, it’s the print that may end up becoming the ancillary
service when you consider how digital marketing database applications (which are
VDP based) and integrated internet services (being web-to-print solutions), workflow
applications (which are document make-ready, job queuing, scheduling, proofing solutions
and so on) make the device that generates the print merely a platform for the software,”
he explains.
Griffith maintains that over the next decade, an increasing percentage of print
provider revenue will be derived from digital printing and its related value added
products. “This is highlighted by research conducted by the Rochester Institute
of Technology School of Print Media, which discloses that as of 2010, as much as
48 percent of all print work will be in runs of 2,000 or less. That means that almost
50 percent of the traditional offset print workload will be ideally suited to the
capabilities, productivity and cost effectiveness that only digital light production
devices provide.
“Without cutting production costs and improving turn around times to compete in
this new market, printers will be running at breakeven or worse on nearly half of
the jobs they run.
“Based on these assumptions, printers will make less profit from providing the traditional
product of ink on paper through the offset lithographic process, so looking to incorporate
a digital production printer into your environment can only strengthen your profitability
and competitiveness as well as opening up opportunities to new value added services
and the discovery of new profit potential.”
Currently, he says, there are six major applications that are feeding
the continued growth of digital printing:
- Short run collateral marketing materials (brochures, flyers, booklets) with the
incorporation of static and dynamic VDP applications;
- Direct mail - Target marketing is a vast marketing channel barely adequately explored
that fits in perfectly with short runs and VDP capabilities;
- Short run and once-off publishing of books and manuals that are only printed upon
order can be produced very efficiently and cost effectively;
- Catalogue printing also incorporating static and dynamic content through VDP applications;
- Business identity items such as business cards and letterheads provide a revenue
opportunity in terms of design, as does the design and printing of all materials
related to corporate logos and identities.
- Transpromotional material such as integrating bills and statements with targeted
promotional content are key for credit card companies, banks, government, medical
services and so on, looking to cross- or up-sell, inform and influence. These can
all be tailored to the individual through a database, VDP applications and a digital
printer.
“The possibilities in this regard are truly endless,” says Griffith. “It’s all about
marketing, segmenting, targeting and positioning.
“So, with convergence upon us, the previous conceptions and skepticism are now unsubstantiated
and the road to the future is pretty clear. The value delivered by digital printing
being incorporated into traditional production mixes is certain. Not only this,
but there is a wealth of additional opportunities available through the use of value
added software that makes these devices so incredibly versatile.
“For at least the next decade, we foresee not the replacement of lithography, but
the rounding out of the overall production mix that will enable printers to profitably
and efficiently deal with changes in print volume requirements and the time constraints
now imposed by customers,” he concludes.
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