PRODUCTION PRINT
PRINT.IT
13
Demand for print as a
communications medium is still
healthy and has seen little decline
in the last two years. Even so,
more in-house and commercial
print service providers (PSPs)
recognise they will have to change
if they are to continue to meet the
needs of customers, Canon claims
in its latest Insight report,
Building
your future with print
.
The international survey of 275
commercial printers/corporate print
centres and 277 print and media
buyers found that 62% of print and
media buyers are still commissioning
print for their communications
campaigns. However, 38% of buyers
expect to reduce their use of print
as they migrate to more measurable
and trackable digital alternatives.
Faced with this trend, four out of
five corporate print centres and PSPs
recognise the need to change the
way they operate.
While print buyers are broadly
satisfied with in-house and external
print providers – with 84% stating
they meet their communications
needs – Canon says there is
still scope for greater customer
engagement. For example, only 56%
of print buyers feel they are made
aware of new developments by their
print suppliers.
As well as providing customers
with more and better advice on
the latest print products and
technologies, Canon advises
PSPs to do more to promote print,
which is still valued by buyers
for its ability to reflect quality,
reach ‘offline’ audiences and
differentiate messaging from digital
communication.
Areas of growth
Awareness and use of digital
print applications and services
is increasing, with short run
publications, print-on-demand and
web-to-print all continuing to grow,
fuelled in part by buyers’ cost and
time pressures.
Web-to-print has seen the
greatest growth since the last
Insight
report, up 50% since 2012, as both
printers and customers recognise the
greater convenience, speed and cost
efficiencies of a web-to-print offering.
Almost one in three customers now
uses web-to-print services.
Canon points out that as 39%
of buyers remain unaware of the
availability of web-to-print services,
there is still plenty of scope for
corporate and commercial PSPs to
expand and/or promote their offering
in this area.
Multi-channel
PSPs also have the opportunity to
extend service offerings into non-
print media. Today, more than two
thirds (68%) of print buyers use
multi-channel communications,
up 10% since 2012, with print
being used in 94% of multi-channel
campaigns, according to Canon’s
2012
Bigger Picture
.
Yet, currently only 20% of PSPs
offer multi-channel campaign co-
ordination, indicating a large gap
between the help that print buyers
want when developing their multi-
channel campaigns and what PSPs
actually deliver.
In order to benefit from these
opportunities, Canon advises
in-house and commercial PSPs to
think more strategically about their
business. Currently, only 48% of
commercial printers and 32% of
corporate print centres have a formal
marketing or business development
plan in place – and where one exists,
only half review it on a regular basis.
Andrew Harris, European &
UK Professional Print Marketing
Manager at Canon, said: “Whilst
there is much to be positive about
in terms of the continued value of
print amongst print buyers, there
are still improvements that can be
made by print service providers to
capture further opportunities and
establish even stronger links with
their customers.”
A copy of
Building your future with
print
can be requested by emailing
.
To help PSPs maximise the
opportunities in digital print,
Canon recently launched a
subscription-based online hub,
providing commercial and in-house
printers with advice, mentoring
and profile and planning tools.
Complementing existing business
development tools offered by
Canon, Digital Dimensions
features expert advice on business
strategy and selling and marketing
digital print, plus master classes
on getting the most out of print
technology and workflow solutions.
It will also enable PSPs to build a
community with their peers and
interact via a blog and ‘ask the
expert’ seminars.
.
canon-europe.com
Two other reports that might be of interest to PSPs are
Future Focus – the UK Printing Industry
, produced for
Neopost by the British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF),
and the newly published
drupa Global Insights
report.
Future Focus – the UK Printing Industry
provides an
overview of the UK printing industry, the challenges it faces,
key growth areas and opportunities for diversification,
including multi-channel production, web-to-print, database
management and mailing and fulfilment. To download a free
copy, visit
The
drupa Global Insights
report, which deals with the
effects of the internet on printing, is based on an online
survey of 1,100 printing industry decision-makers conducted
in the Spring of 2014 and in-depth anecdotal evidence
from 240 participants. A PDF of the 249 euro report can be
accessed on the drupa website at
Learn from
your peers
Printed matter
New Canon report highlights opportunities and challenges facing
corporate print rooms and commercial print service providers
Opportunities in print
The UK Printing Industry
–
Future Focus
