What is the Future of Print?

Thu, 19 May 2016 04:00:00 +0000

Those predictions are premature, but they do signal a new paradigm for the commercial printing industry. NEPS, an industry trade group, published an in-depth study through its research arm, PRIMIR, that explored the future of the U.S. commercial printing industry in its study, “The Future of Print in the U.S. – Landscape, Implications and Opportunities.” A summary of the study is available here.

“Our industry can emerge from survival mode to success through renewed dedication, adaptation, and adoption through consolidation, products and services expansion, niche market focus, and even creation of entirely new business models and partnering strategies…we must evolve,” said PRIMIR Task Force Chair Steve Mattingly.

This evolution will involve offering new products and shifting business models. “Successful printers in the future will shift their business away from the traditional print-based model and embrace concepts, such as differentiation and specialization in a particular niche, providing new services, and improving human capital,” he said. “Printers that fail to adapt will likely be acquired by larger, more progressive printers. Likewise, vendors will need to quickly adapt their business models and products to support the successful commercial printers—they will need to innovate, both in terms of products and partnerships with printers—to provide new business solutions.”

The industry has shrunk in recent years from 42,000 commercial printers in the U.S. in 2001 to 29,000 in 2014, according to industry data.

Commercial printers that adapt to new business models will survive and thrive in the future. At Marketing Solutions Unlimited, we offer customized solutions to meet your needs. These include:

A vast range of printing services from short run to large-scale campaigns. Our new Heidelberg Press offers 5 color printing plus a coating option. Our envelope press prints envelopes quickly and efficiently, thereby saving time.
On-demand digital printing with the power and versatility to complete jobs quickly and efficiently. Our digital printers offer outstanding quality, high speed and maximum productivity and the versatility to handle high volume or small, on-demand jobs. Our maximum digital print size is 14” x 26”, wonderful for a 6 panel brochure with bleed and of course, variable data.
Direct mail and fulfillment services that offer an integrated, one-stop solution. Our staff experts will handle your project from beginning to end, whether it is a simple postcard or a complex package that has variable data and multiple pieces. We offer Every Door Direct Mailing services if you are mailing to a concentrated area and want to take advantage of postage savings.
A state-of-the-art online ordering system that gives our customers the ability to send files directly to our printer for processing, saving both time and money.

The world is changing. Customer needs are changing. Marketing Solutions Unlimited is prepared to help you reach your goals in a changing environment with customized, integrated print solutions for your business needs.

Links/research notes:

www.npes.org/primirresearch/primr.aspx

http://www.piworld.com/article/article/new-primir-research-explores-the-future-of-print/