Do you wonder what the future has in store for us?
Do you ever wait in suspense to find out what will happen next?  
Do you you follow the predictions of those who foretold the future?

The greatest of those who made predictions was Nostradamus.   Sadly, neither he nor any others ever made any predictions about the print industry.  So, in the absence of his input, I am going put myself into the role of a great visionary.  Here are my three print predictions for 2012.

1)     In 2012 print will be truly interactive
I believe that in 2012 communicators are really going to understand how print can work with other channels.  Print will no longer be regarded as something that stands on its own.  Instead, people will use it in conjunction with other channels.  

QR codes will become commonplace.  There will be more experimentation with other ways in which print can interact.  And we will see augmented reality starting to be used more widely.

These changes will offer both opportunities and threats to the print sector.  Print companies will have to learn these new technologies to stay in the game.  But these new technologies will also offer good opportunities to move print away from the commodity pricing arena.

And the main reason for this will be that print is becoming more measurable.

2)     In 2012 we will start hearing about return on investment for print more often
Now that print will drive prospects to other channels, its success can be properly measured.  If I put a QR code, or a specific url, on a piece of print today I can immediately check whether my campaign works.  I know exactly how many people have taken action as a result of seeing that piece of print.

The return on investment for print can now also be properly measured.  It is possible to work out exactly how much profit is generated by a print campaign.  

The relative efficiency of print versus other channels can also be measured.  E-mail may seem cheap.  However, if it does not generate any revenue against specific target markets then it is a waste of money.

So now marketing teams and publishers can work out exactly how print measures up.  They can understand exactly when it should be used in preference to other channels.  And what profits they will gain from print.  And I have no doubt that they will understand that print is still a vital medium to use to engage with people.

And there’s another reason why print will remain a vital medium.

3)     In 2012 the environmental benefits of print will become understood
Measuring the environmental impact of work is becoming more important.  People will begin to measure the environmental footprint of e-communication in more detail.  

I believe that print will come out very well in comparisons.  There is a huge long term impact of the server farms required for e-communication.  And there is the issue of disposing of all the devices that read e-communication.  In contrast, print is easily recyclable or compostable.

In 2012, I predict that claims that asking for e-communication as an environmentally friendly option will no longer be believed.

Of course my predictions may be wrong
But Nostradamus was notorious for accuracy and poor timing of his predictions.  So I claim the same right to be inaccurate too!

P.S.  If you want to find out if I’m right or not, and to read more about important trends in print, you should sign for my regular articles.  You’ll also get a copy of “Ten Common Print Buying Errors And What To Do About Them”, worth £25, for free.  Click here to get your copy.

Sometimes it seems that our traditional foundations have been collapsing.

2011 has been a year of change.  In the Middle East the old guard has been overturned.  A new start is underway for several countries.  And, as I write, we are still waiting to see if the Eurozone will survive.  Or whether there will be an economic revolution in Europe.

2011 has been a year of change for print as well
Sometimes it can be easy to forget some of the things we learned in 2011.  So here are three things that I think were really important last year.  Three things that I think we should remember.

I have chosen them because I think they have marked a big change in the way people think.  And it doesn’t matter if you are a print buyer, a print company or a print management company.  These are three things that we would all do well to remember.

And the first of these really was a major change.  And one that print companies will see with relief.

2011 was the year that print buyers started to accept higher prices
Up until now costs have risen, but print buyers were pushing back hard.  This year, some have relented.  Some buyers have signed contracts with guaranteed price rises.  And some printers have started throwing out clients who won’t agree to rises. 

Some of this activity has been caused by specific capacity issues in certain areas of the market.  But it has changed the way in which some printers think.  I believe that this may be the start of renewed confidence by some printers.  And I believe that we will see further price rises in 2012.

But it wasn’t just commercial issues that changed in 2011.  The technology changed too.

2011 was the year that inkjet came of age
Until now inkjet has been the preserve of desktop printers and large format.  But this year it has come to the attention of litho printers too.  Already in the UK we have seen the installation of commercial inkjet webs. 

The companies that have made these investments are early adopters.  It may be a bit too early to say that the technology is stable.  There may be some pretty hefty ink costs and power requirements.  And it may be too early to see buyers fully understanding the opportunities which could be available to them. 

However, some printers are clearly seeing inkjet as a viable solution for traditional litho jobs.  And I have seen one press being developed which is targeted specifically at the B2 litho market.  If I was a traditional litho press manufacturer, I would be starting to get worried.

Of course, some people think the whole print industry should be worried.  They think the print industry is in terminal decline.  But 2011 proved the doom-mongers wrong.

2011 was the year that print proved itself against other channels
2011 was the year that Google announced that they would be launching a print magazine.  Yes, the kings of the internet announced that they’d be spreading their word using good old traditional ink on paper.

And there were plenty of other studies that proved that consumers still view print as an important channel.  These days you’re not truly multi-channel unless you use print as a channel.

Whether we’re talking about multi-channel, inkjet or rising prices, 2011 has been an interesting year for print. 

I’m sure that 2012 is also going to be interesting year for print
In my next piece I’m going to make my print predictions for the coming twelve months.  In the meantime, I’d like to wish everyone a happy New Year.  And I’d love to hear your thoughts on the lessons for print from 2011.  And what you think 2012 will bring. 

By the way, does anyone want to make any predictions about regime change in 2012?  Or the future of the Eurozone? 

Personally I’m going to stick to print predictions!
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P.S.  One thing I’m predicting for 2012 is that industry negotiation skills are going to get a whole load better.  That’s because I’m launching the Print Industry Negotiation Handbook.  I’m giving away a free extract "How to avoid using straight line negotiation and giving way on price".  If you’re a print buyer, download it here.  And if you’re a printer or print seller, download it here.

Many print buyers measure the success of their printers by their turnover.  If a print supplier has a big turnover they must be doing well.  

But turnover is vanity and profit is sanity.  I prefer to measure the success of a printer by the profits that they are making.

However, there is one turnover figure that I am interested in
It has nothing to do with a printer’s revenues.  The turnover figure that I am interested in is their staff turnover figure.

Print buyers who use staff turnover as part of their supplier evaluation can create great partnerships.  They know which printers will have staff who want to work positively with them.  And they know which printers may do what is asked of them but no more.  These buyers know that they are using printers that have a good company culture.  They will be in control of their supply chain.

Print buyers who don’t use staff turnover as part of their supplier evaluation won’t achieve the same results.  They waste time when things go wrong.  This is because their print suppliers won’t be working so hard to resolve issues.  There will be no culture of partnership between the printer and the print buyer.

Staff turnover may seem an odd thing to ask about
But it is a very good indicator of the company’s culture.  Is the culture so poor that staff are leaving all the time?  Do people hate working for the company?

Or is the company full of people who have worked there all their lives?  This can be equally worrying.  It may be that there has been no new people with fresh ideas coming into the company.  And that may mean that the company dies not have a modern, forward-looking culture.

The ideal figure to look for is around 12-15% staff turnover per year
This means that there is not so much staff turnover that people must dislike working for the company.  And it means that the company is not undergoing constant change.  It also means that the company is not full of staff who have just joined.  You won’t be dealing with people who are still trying to learn their roles.

The figure of 12-15% also means that there is a healthy movement of staff.  People who are bored with the company or the print industry move on.  And new people join the company.  These people will have fresh ideas.  They will make sure that the company does not stay still.  

But does the company culture really matter for print suppliers?
After all, we are talking about a manufacturing environment.  Does it matter if a press minder likes their company?  They only need to do what they are asked.  

However, print buyers need to remember that press minders can really make a difference.  I remember the one who spotted a big error in the copy of a brochure.  They saved their customer a lot of money.  And I also remember the press minder that wasn’t really on the ball.  So the colour on an important brochure didn’t stand out as it should have done.

Press minders aren’t the only ones who can make a difference to your job
There are many team members who can affect your work.  Sales people, despatch managers and customer service staff are just some of them.

If a print company employs the right people, your job will run much more smoothly.  If they do not, your job will suffer.

But finding out about the right people can be hard work.

Don’t expect print salespeople to know the company’s staff turnover
You may need to dig deep to find this out.  But it is worth persevering with this question.  Many printers will not know why you are asking it.  So you are likely to receive an answer that is not distorted by sales speak

The staff turnover figure is a valuable question to add to your supplier evaluation.  In fact, it can tell you a lot more than the revenue turnover figure.

P.S.  If you have found this piece useful and would like to receive more information like this, you should sign up for the free e-book “10 common print buying errors and what to do about them”.  Click here to download it and to make sure you receive articles like this regularly.

Do you remember the tale of the tortoise and the hare.  And how everybody wrote the tortoise off.  The tortoise was seen as having no hope of being number one.

But the tortoise ended up a winner.

Sometimes it feel like print has been written off as well
And you’d think that one place where you would feel this would be MediaPro.  I presented at MediaPro recently.  This is one of the shows where all the latest marketing strategies are revealed.  The sort of show where print is left forgotten in a dark, dusty corner.

I had a good opportunity to look round the exhibition.  And I saw that print was well represented at the show. But what struck me most was that there were two types of exhibitor.

Some exhibitors offered a single channel to consumers
Their solution was often well presented.  And these exhibitors were usually able to show great depth of knowledge in their field.  Their services were often attractive.  But there was a drawback.  

To use their services you needed to connect with other channels that you might be using.  So you would need separate suppliers for print, e-mail, websites, sms and social media.

It wasn’t just (some) printers who were offering a single channel
A large proportion of exhibitors were hoping that a single channel would prove sufficient to attract new prospects.  Many of the new boys on the block were taking a similar disconnected view.  They were hoping that their solution would be bought on its own.  You could find examples of social media, sms and e-mail who were all offering just a single channel solution.

But there were plenty of suppliers who offered all the channels under one roof
You create one campaign and have it sent out in many different ways.  All the management of responses could be taken care of seamlessly.  All the measurement and reporting was managed in one place.  They were true multi-channel providers.

And some of the most prominent multi-channel providers had names that one associates with print.  Names that a few years ago were dedicated to churning out direct mail.  And now they were busy suggesting that their customers used all the other channels too.

So why are printers so prominent in the multi-channel world?
As print volumes decline, printers have to think about their long-term future.  And many are realising that being a commodity print manufacturer is not appealing.  So they have developed their offering.

And, for many companies, having an integrated offering is very compelling. It’s much more appealing than trying knit all the separate parts together.

So why aren’t other companies offering print?
Many companies that concentrate on other channels haven’t seen the same threats as print companies.  They haven’t seen declining volumes.  And they haven’t (yet) seen other channels looking sexier and cheaper.

So it’s easy for them to ignore print.  Either they are scared off by it.  Or they have decided that print is irrelevant.

Ignoring print is a big mistake
There are plenty of studies that show that large numbers consumers still prefer print over e-communication.  Even google, giants of the internet, are launching a print magazine.  But the e-mail, sms and social media providers have chosen to ignore this fact.

So it’s left to printers to offer a truly multi-channel solution.  One that also takes print into account.  Companies are waking up to realise that print is still a channel with which they need to be engaged.  And they are left with a single choice.  They will have to go with one of the printers that have evolved their business.

It seems that print should not have been written off after all.  It seems that, just like the tortoise, print companies could end up winners.

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P.S.  If you are a printer or a print management company you should visit my new website www.profitableprintrelationships.com .  Click here to make sure you receive articles like this regularly, and to receive the free e-book “10 common print selling errors and what to do about them”.

 

 

 

The numbers of unemployed are rising.  The queues at the job centres are lengthening. Unemployment is right up there in everyone’s minds right now.  

But some people have been unemployed for a long while now.  And that includes many, many print buyers.

Right now there is a huge lack of skilled print buyers
And that skills gap affects everyone.  People who are tasked with print buying struggle to get to grips with something they know nothing about.  They waste lots of time when they could be more productive.  

Companies lose money from lack of productivity.  And from paying too much for the wrong products.

Printers struggle to understand customers’ demands.  They are always trying to translate the customer’s wishes into something that is practical and realistic.

Skilled print buyers benefit everyone in the industry
Skilled print buyers create strong partnerships between their companies and their print suppliers.  They remain in control of their print budgets by specifying products economically.  And by choosing suppliers that can produce the products efficiently.  And they know what to do so they don’t waste time. They end up achieving far more than their unskilled colleagues could ever manage.

But to get these benefits requires investment and training.  Print buying is not something that is learned easily.  

Here are three types of company that should be investing in print buyers:

1)    Companies that use print
Print is still an important spend for many companies  But these companies need to make the most of their budgets.  They need to make sure that they get the maximum return from their investment in print.  They need to understand the most effective products for a purpose.  And they need to be up to date in all the latest technologies.  They need trained buyers.

2)    Print Management companies
The print management sector now purchases a huge amount of print.  They may advocate the use of e-procurement, but the fact remains that they also need a lot of buyers.  Many jobs just can’t be shoehorned into buying systems.  Print management companies have made some pretty big promises to their clients.  If they are to deliver on these they need some good print buying skills.

3)    Printers
It may seem odd suggesting that printers need to help educate print buyers.  But printers stand to save a lot of admin time if they work with skilled buyers.  The number of requites will reduce.  And they will spend a lot less time explaining why a specification won’t work.  Printers need good buyers as much as anyone else.

If good print buyers become even scarcer, a lot of companies stand to suffer.

Here’s what happened to one major print user
This company thought they didn’t need print buyers any more.  Instead they engaged a large procurement consultancy to help them with their print tender.  The trouble was that the consultancy didn’t specialise in print.  

They started the project off confidently.  A large tender went out to print suppliers.  And the current suppliers to the company pointed out that a lot of what was in the tender was
-    Not relevant to what was actually being produced
-    Uneconomically specified
-    Not suitable for their presses

They received the reply that they should quote on the details in the tender anyway.  So the company ended up with price lists that were virtually unusable.  The whole project had been a waste of time and money.

And there was no-one left who could pick up the pieces.  A lack of skilled print buyers cost the company a lot of money.  Now the company is beginning to invest in building up print buying knowledge again.  But it is a long, slow task for them.  It’s not easy to find skilled print buyers these days.  And it’s not easy to train new ones.

Don’t assume that a trip round a print factory is enough to train a buyer
A factory trip will open someone’s eyes.  But it is just the beginning of the training that they need.

Here are three areas that print buyers need to have skills in:
1.    Specification
2.    Negotiation
3.    Supplier management

Don’t let print buyers become another unemployment statistic
Start investing in a new generation of print buyers.  It will help everyone in the print industry.
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P.S.  Here’s a free e-book to get print buyers started.  It’s called “10 Common Print Buying Errors and What To Do About Them”.  Download it here.

 Autumn sale!
October sale!
Pre-Christmas sale!
Special sale!
-20% sale!

It’s a buyer’s market at the moment :)
When you walk down any shopping street you can’t help seeing that everyone has a sale at the moment.  And there’s some pretty lame excuses for sales out there.

In fact, the shops should just be a bit more honest at the moment.  Why not call their sales the:
“We’re desperate to get some customers in and shift some stock sale”

Because that’s what promising low prices is all about, isn’t it?  

Low pricing is a last ditch attempt to try and get some customers in
A final desperate plea in the hope that some turnover will be turned over.

In reality, slashing prices is just a sign that the end is near.  A sign that there will soon be yet another empty shop.

And isn’t this exactly what the print management companies are doing?
They are going into companies and promising ridiculous reductions in print costs.  They are promising 20% reductions before they even look at the print figures.

Isn’t that a sign that print management is in trouble.  Isn’t that a sign that they’ll soon be closing their doors?

Well maybe not.  Here are three reasons why I think print management companies are going to be around for a bit.  And the first is that they still have an opportunity to fulfil their promises.

There is still loads of bad print buying going on
The majority of clients that I see can reduce their print costs by around 30%.  And that is not by hammering their suppliers’ profit margins.  It’s by doing some simple things that most print buyers should be able to do as second nature.  Here’s just three of the obvious ways:
-    Sending jobs to suppliers with the right type of press for the job
-    Reviewing their job specifications
-    Creating more efficient buying processes

It’s not difficult for a print management company to reduce most clients’ costs dramatically.  And there are other reasons apart from cost as to why print management can be appealing.

Most people don’t want the hassle of buying print
Print is not a core product for most companies.  And most people don’t find buying print exciting.  Have you seen any marketing staff who jump up and down with joy when they want to buy print?

Outsourcing is a big trend for many companies at the moment.  And print is seen as just one more thing to add into the pot.  And this is especially true when the outsource company can start giving more added value to the process.

Print management companies are starting to become multi-channel
Many print management companies are now offering data management.  They also offer e-mail and sms services as well.  Put that all into the mix and the communication management prospect becomes very appealing to many companies.  

If they outsource to one company they don’t need to worry about which communication channel to use.  Or how to segment their data.  And they have a supplier who doesn’t have a vested interest in particular channel of communication.  (And, at the end, the customer finds it much more difficult to move from that supplier).

Of course, print management companies are not the only route to achieve this.

Can’t print buyers achieve all this instead?
There’s a problems here:  print buying talent is fading away fast.  Many companies don’t have the right level of knowledge.  They need to start investing in their staff.  Otherwise they may have no option but to outsource if they want the best results.

Companies that do have print buyers can still suffer.  Often print buyers are prevented from becoming involved in other channels.  And some just don’t have the desire.

And so they become a target for the print management companies too.

Print management companies aren’t facing the same problems as retailers
They are not offering low, low prices out of desperation.  They are offering them because it’s easy to achieve, and it’s an easy sales message.

But some print management companies are now pricing their services very differently.  Some clients aren’t buying print management companies on price.  They are choosing them on the value that they offer in their communication instead.

And that’s a very far cry from the pile it high, sell it cheap strategy of the high street.

 A friend of mine had a shock the other day.  

He rang up for a take away pizza.  And as soon as the pizza company answered the phone, they knew who he was.  And what he had ordered last time.

I’m not sure why he was so shocked:  these days everyone knows everything about everybody.  The way in which we communicate is totally personal.  

And we need the same level of personalisation in print
Putting a name and an address on a flyer no longer counts as being personal.  Nor does spelling out someone’s name in flowers or clouds.  To have an effective personalised print campaign, you need to know about your prospect.  And you need to change your print piece according to the prospect’s personality.

Here are three reasons why this level of personalisation should be used:

1.    People give personal data willingly
You only have to look at Facebook and other social media sites to see the amount of personal data available on people.  And this data is given willingly.  Give someone a small incentive and they will give away a lot about themselves.  

If people are doing this then it would be silly not to make use of the data.  Especially as they help you improve your response rates.

2.    Personal data increases response rates
According to this report by CDMS http://www.printweek.com/news/771817/CDMS-survey-says-personalisation-multimedia-DM-response/ personalised marketing will have a “massive uplift” of response rates.  Make it event driven and you can expect a 35% uplift in response rates.

Companies that don’t use data will produce poorer marketing results.  And they’ll be disappointing their customers and prospects down too.

3.    The use of personalised data is expected
I don’t receive marketing which is personal to me, I feel let down.  A company that doesn’t make some effort to communicate with me personally won’t get my attention.  They need data about me, and they need to know how to use it.

And that’s where print buyers come in.

So what has data got to do with print buyers?
Data knowledge is going to be more and more important in print.  Print buyers who know about data will be able to create better partnerships with both suppliers and marketing teams.  They will have more control over campaigns.  And they’ll be able to ensure that their campaigns get the best possible results.

Print buyers who don’t learn about data risk not having the right knowledge to achieve the best campaign results.  And, as a result, they risk being side-lined.

But this is a whole new skill set for print buyers
It is indeed.  So print buyers will need to get learning!  Here are three things to do get that learning going:

1)    Meet with your supplier base and ask them to teach you all they can about personal print and data
2)    Search out new suppliers who specialise in the area.  Visit them and learn from them
3)    Talk to your internal teams and understand how data is currently managed at you company

Data is going to be an important skillset for print buyers.  The good news is that you can learn more about data usage just by ordering pizza!

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P.S.  Please tell me what you’d like me to write about next.

I was wet and fed up!

It was a day when it was pouring with rain.  I had planned to catch the bus in to a client meeting.  And now here I was cursing.  Because the bus had been full!

It had sped past without stopping – and showering me with more water into the bargain.  So now I faced an embarrassing call to my client.  I had to reschedule the meeting and possibly miss my sale.

Right now, print buyers face being in a similar predicament.  If they don’t start planning the next few months, they could find that the presses are full.  And then they will face embarrassing calls to their clients too.

How can you avoid embarrassing calls to your client?
Keeping clients happy means keeping jobs on track.  But we are now coming up to the busy time of year in print.  

Here are three reasons why this year may be even busier than previous one:

1)     Things will be busy as there is less web capacity
There has been a fair amount of consolidation in the web market recently.  Polestar, bgp and Walstead have all taken presses out this year.  

There has also been a reduction in gravure presses.  So this means some gravure work is also being produced by web.

Most web printers now only have limited capacity left for the end of this year.  In fact, the majority that I have spoken to are already booked solid for the next few weeks.  

And that will have an impact on the litho sector too.

2)    The litho sector will be affected by web capacity
If buyers find that there is no web capacity left for them, they will have three choices:

• Delay production
• Cancel production
• Move to litho production, despite the extra cost

I believe that some companies will be forced to produce work by litho in order to meet their requirements.  Traditionally it has been reasonably easy to find litho capacity, even at the end of the year.  This year may be different, especially if you have a sizeable job.  

And it’s not just an overflow from the web sector that will cause this.

3)    There are still likely to be printers that go out of business
Many companies are still fighting to win work at sensible margins.  And some have taken bad business decisions.  These decisions have forced many out of business.  But many feel that there are more businesses that will go under.  

This may seem strange at a busy time of year.  However, as printers get busier there is increased strain on their cashflow.  So we are likely to more printers close their doors in the coming months.

But surely September is too early to worry about print capacity
Many print buyers are planning their Christmas schedules right now!  If you don’t start thinking about your end of year production soon, you may find that you face problems.

These problems often cause a busy January for printers.  They are busy fulfilling orders for which there was no capacity in November and December.  

How do you avoid being scheduled into the January backlog?

Here are ways to keep your print on track at the end of the year
1.    Talk to your internal clients about their needs.  Get them to be precise and to give you the schedule dates that they are expecting.
2.    Talk to your printers about what capacity they have available.  Consider booking in jobs earlier than normal.
3.    Research some alternative options for print.  Who could you use if your printer was full at the end of the year?

This may sound like a lot of planning
But, trust me, there’s nothing worse than standing in a queue when there’s no space for you.
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P.S.  I’ve just relaunched my website.  I’d be delighted if you popped over to http://www.printandprocurement.com to have a look.

 I’d done it!

Standing on the summit of the highest mountain in Morocco is an incredibly satisfying experience.  But the satisfaction comes at a price.  

As we had trekked up to the mountain we were aware of the villagers.  They always turned out to stare at us as we passed.  We must have appeared strange to them.  We were the well-off trekkers with all their expensive hiking gear.  They were the villages with so much less.

It was a case of the haves and the have-nots.

UK printers are also becoming split between the have and the have-nots
According to KBA, UK print is also becoming two-tiered.  KBA’s UK Director, Christian Knapp, explained his views here http://www.printweek.com/news/1084696/KBA-UK-print-become-two-tiered/

Christian’s views have produced some heated debate on the Printweek forums.  I think that he is right and that there are two tiers of UK printer.  However, KBA focus on whether printers can afford machinery.  I think the two tiers cover a lot more than whether a printer has a recent press or not.  

Here are three alternative ways to see if your printer is in the upper tier:

1.    Upper tier printers invest
Upper tier printers are prepared to spend money.  And they know what they are going to invest it on.  This doesn’t mean that they will always be buying nice new, shiny presses.  Instead they are often likely to be investing in other areas.  These areas may include workflow and software.  They are also likely to include ways to provide new services to their customers.  

Some printers invest in new presses because they are suddenly offered an opportunity by a sales person.  An upper tier printer only invests if it is part of a strategy.

2.    Upper tier printers have a strategy
Upper tier printers know where they want to take the business.  They are not just hoping that the market will be good to them.  They know how their company needs to adapt to changing conditions.  They have a plan of exactly what they need to do to implement their strategy.

And they know how to communicate this strategy to their customers.

3.    Upper tier printers have a convincing sales message
Upper tier printers know why their customers use them.  They don’t just sell on price.  And their sales strategy is not to try and cut the competition, whatever the cost.

Upper tier printers know that they offer value added services to their customers.  And that these services can be sold on more than just price.  These services help build their customers’ businesses.

So what do customers gain from using an upper tier printer?
Customers who use upper tier printers gain partners for their business.  They control their communications more effectively.  And they achieve more for their business.  This is because their printers will be offering more advance strategies and production methods.

Lower tier printers can’t offer these strategies and production methods.  So customers of these printers will achieve less with their communications.  They won’t have the same control over their business.  And they are unlikely to have the same level of partnership with their printer.

But that doesn’t mean to say that lower tier printers might not sometimes appear cheaper.

Aren’t upper tier printers more expensive?
Upper tier printers are still price conscious.  They realise that they do not have a business if they don’t price competitively.  However, they are unlikely to be the cheapest printers out there.

So shouldn’t print buyers just go with the cheapest price?  This depends on whether they
-    Are happy with a supply base that may not be sustainable
-    See no value in the extra services that upper tier printers offer
-    Measure their print in terms of price or return on investment

An upper tier printer will:
-    Provide better return on investment on their products and services
-    Provide other services that will be of value to the print buyer
-    Still be around in twelve months’ time

Here’s an example of an upper tier printer
This printer specialises in the short run magazine market.  They have optimised their presses to produce magazines very cost-effectively.  But they have spent a lot of their energies in recent years in other areas that will benefit their customers.  These include page turning software, and apps for magazines.

So this printer is turning into a multi-channel producer for small publishers.  The publishers stay loyal to the printer.  There are few competitors out there that can offer this breadth of service.  Price becomes less of an issue.  Especially because the printer can drive good profits from the value added services..  

Everybody benefits:  the customer and the printer.

Here are three steps for a customer to benefit from an upper tier printer
1)    Understand the printer’s strategy and how it may benefit you
2)    Ask how the printer can help you further
3)    Make sure you meet with the printer regularly to review how you can both benefit further from working together

You’ll struggle to benefit in the same way from a lower tier printer
Some of them are focussing much more on whether they will survive or not.  At the moment, some of them are leading a life based on little more than subsistence.  

Just like some of the Moroccan villages I saw.
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P.S.  I’ve just relaunched my website.  I’d be delighted if you popped over to www.printandprocurement.com to have a look.

A better world.
Higher living standards.
A new future.

Politicians promise a lot.  But do you really believe everything that they say?  Or do you just think politicians blow a load of hot air?

Let’s face it; there are quite a few politicians out there that offer us a lot.  But do they really deliver?

Just like a politician’s promise, an FSC certification can appear to offer more than it delivers.  

FSC certification does not necessarily mean that a printer is environmentally friendly
An FSC certified printer does not have to be environmentally friendly.  FSC certification only means that a printer has a good paper management system.  It only means that a printer can track FSC paper to the correct job.

Of course, many FSC certified printers are very conscious about their environmental impact.  But how does a buyer tell?  Here are three ways to see if your print supplier really cares about their impact on the environment.

1)    Environmentally friendly printers usually have certification
Most printers that have a true environmental programme usually have some form of certification to prove it.  The trouble is that there are so many different certifications.  Which one should you trust?

The most common environmental certification is ISO14001.  However, some print buyers insist that their suppliers hold ISO14001.  They ignore the fact that there are plenty of other certifications out there.  And some certifications are more rigorous, such as EMAS.

And there are also some printers who have a great environmental record but don’t hold any certification.  So how else does a printer prove that they are environmentally friendly?

2)    Environmentally friendly printers consistently measure and reduce
A printer that really cares about their impact on the environment wants to reduce their impact on the environment.  So they will measure their impact and announce how they are reducing it.  

Here are some useful environmental measurements:
-    Energy usage
-    Water usage
-    Landfill tonnage as a percentage of total waste
-    Vehicle miles
-    Factory emissions

A print buyer should be able to ask about these measurements and receive a swift response.  But who at the printer can answer the print buyer’s question?

3)    Environmentally friendly printers make sure that all staff are engaged with their policy
An environmentally friendly printer should make sure that all staff understand the environmental policy.  And the staff should be actively involved in reducing environmental impact.  They should all be recycling and reducing waste.  It always surprises me how few staff at some printers know or care about the environmental policy.

But sometimes it seems that some customers don’t care about the environment either.

Doesn't a company look green enough with just an FSC logo on its print?
A company with a true environmental policy should ensure that all its suppliers work to the same standards.  And a company can often gain other benefits through this strategy.

Environmentally friendly printers measure all waste.  So they are often more efficient than their competitors.  And they are often more forward looking too.

Environmentally friendly printers can often offer several advantages to the print buyer.

Here are three steps to see if your printer is really environmentally friendly
1)    Ask what certifications they hold
2)    Ask for their figures in reducing waste
3)    Ask the staff if they know about the environmental policy and what they are doing to comply with it

You will soon find out if your printer really believes in the environment.  Or if they just pay lip service to it.

Some printers promise you lots.  But then they just blow a load of hot air
Just like some politicians…

We had walked over a magical icefield.  We had skirted crevasses, watched an avalanche and seen rarely-viewed mountains.  And at last, after an epic 14 hour day, we could see the mountain hut looming out of the mist.

Not everyone likes the same sort of holiday that I do!  
Whilst relaxing by crossing Norwegian glaciers, we had used the services of a mountain guide.  At first glance, his job seemed fairly simple.  He had to guide us across the glacier, make sure no-one fell in and get us to our destination.

But that only accounts for a tiny fraction of his job.  He also had to give crampon and rope instruction.  He had to plan the route.  He had to make sure everyone was in good spirits.  And he had to manage the equipment logistics.  There’s a lot more than meets the eye to the mountain guide’s job.

And there could be a lot more than meets the eye to the print buyer’s job
The trouble is many companies don’t realise just how much print they buy.  They give print buyers the obvious print.  But the rest just gets lost.

Companies that ensure their print buyers are given all areas of print to buy get better results.  They will keep better control of their colour standards and branding.  They will achieve stronger partnerships with their suppliers.  Their print will be of better quality and achieve stronger results.

Companies that have lots of different people purchasing print will suffer from lower print quality standards.  Their print will not have the same impact.  They will not achieve strong partnerships with their suppliers.  And they may well end up paying more for their print.

Here are three examples of print which are often not bought by print buyers:

Exhibition stands
Exhibition stands are typically bought as a last minute thought by the sales team.  But all exhibition stands are examples of wide-format print.  Why on earth wouldn’t you give this to the print buyer?

Promotional items
Marketing teams are often tasked with promotional items.  Again, most of these items have some form of print on them.

Stationery
Surprisingly, this is often handled by the office administrator.  But a specialised print buyer will often be able to find better prices, better quality and a more efficient way of managing this process.

But doesn’t buying these things waste a print buyer’s time?
Most print buyers probably need all the work they can get at the moment!  Wide format and stationary can often be used to create better volumes for existing suppliers.  Print buyers may be able to improve agreements for all of their print.

Print buyers will also deal with these areas far more efficiently than sales, marketing or admin staff.  It is the buyers who should have the right supplier knowledge to hand.  And they should be able to ensure that colour and branding consistency are applied.

Print buyers should be actively seeking to buy these extra areas of print.

Maybe it’s time print buyers went on their own journey of exploration
A trek through the remoter regions of your company could give you a lot more work.

But at least you don’t need to wear crampons and a rope for your trip!
 
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P.S.  What are the key issues that you see in the print industry right now?  I’d love to know. 

I love my phone.

I love the keyboard.
I love the navigation software.
I love the way it reads my e-mails to me.

These are all features which I willingly pay extra for.  I don’t just choose my phone on price.

So why do we choose a print supplier on price?
If the print you buy is no more than a valueless commodity, then the lowest price may be the right choice.  However, I was happy to choose my phone with features that cost me more.  Here are three features that may be worth paying more for when you choose a printer.  

All the features are connected to the cost to your business.  And the first of these features refers to the balance sheet.

1)    Good printers are financially stable
These days lots of printers are struggling to make ends meet.  And printers are going out of business every week.  

If you choose a printer that is not financially stable then it could cost you dearly.  Here are just some of the costs:
-    The cost of time in creating a partnership with a new printer
-    The cost to your business when vital marketing materials do not appear on schedule
-    The cost to your budget when the price of printed items rises when you move supplier

Financially unstable suppliers add to your company costs.  But some printers can reduce your company costs.

2)    Good printers can reduce your costs
A good printer will be able to work with you to reduce cost.  Note that I am talking about cost, not price.  

Here are three ways in which a printer may be able to reduce your costs:
-    Reducing cost by changing to specification to make an item more economical to run
-    Reducing cost through reducing your stock holding by using print near demand
-    Reducing cost by increasing the return on investment on printed items.  One way to do this is through increased personalisation

Good printers should be actively suggesting how to reduce your costs.  And printers like these will also know how they will continue to be able to do this.

3)    Good printers have a development plan
A good printer will know how they want to change their business over the months and years to come.  This doesn’t mean that they need a huge investment plan featuring lots of new presses.  But it does mean that they will have clear business strategies.  And that they will be looking to develop their services.

Here are some ways in which printers might be looking to develop:
-    Developing cost reduction offerings
-    Developing more efficient processes between the printer and their customers
-    Developing offerings in channels other than print

Good printers will be looking to develop their own set of new features on an on-going basis.

Buyers who choose good printers like this will achieve more
These buyers will have more time in which to develop new projects.  They will remain in control of their supply chain.  And they will create powerful partnerships with printers and inside their company.

Buyers who focus solely on price will rarely achieve these partnerships.  They won’t have the same control over their suppliers as many of their printers will go out of business.  And they won’t achieve much as they will always be setting up new suppliers.

Looking at a supplier’s features is always beneficial for a buyer.

Here are three practical ways to start choosing printers by feature
-    Make a list of the features that would be really useful to you
-    Check to see if your current suppliers can offer these features
-    Use these features to decide which new suppliers you meet in the future

But don’t be seduced by features they don’t need
Some features that printers offer may not be much use.  Offering web to print only works if you have standard products.  Offering online ordering may mean that you end up doing just as much data entry.  And you may never use all the wonderful finishes that a printer offers.

It is important to be practical and think about the features that you really need.

Whether it’s a phone or a printer, don’t just choose on price
But you might want to pay for slightly less pointless features than I have on my phone…

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P.S.  Do you have a print buying topic that you’d like me to write about?  Please let me know.

Would you build a house without an architect?
Would you fly in a plane without a pilot?
Go to a restaurant without a chef?
Or have an operation without a surgeon?

So why would you specify print without involving a print buyer?
But this is a situation that many print buyers let happen!  They take instructions from others in their team.  They do no more than obtain a price and a supplier.  It doesn’t occur to them to try and influence the specification.  

And even if the print buyer feels that they can make useful input, they often feel that this is outside the scope of their role.

But print buyers who are involved in print specification are able to achieve much more for their company.  They control and influence important parts of their company’s spend.  As a result of this control, they also form powerful relationships within their company.  The print buyer is seen as an important part of the team.

Print buyers who are not involved in print specification are seen as fulfilling an administrational responsibility.  They are unlikely to have worthwhile relationships with senior management.  They do not actually control any spend.  They do not achieve bottom line results for their company.  

Achieving these results would be great, but is this realistic for a print buyer?
Many print buyers think that creating a role with this influence is almost impossible.  It is possible to achieve this influence, but it requires effort on the part of the print buyer.  Here are three ways to start becoming more important and influential at your company.  And the first of these ways is to know more about what is going on.

1)    Print buyers must find out what projects are happening
Several print buyers have complained to me that they are the last to know what is going on at their company.  My response is that it is their responsibility to know what is happening.  They need to ask what projects are coming up.

When print buyers know about upcoming projects, they can ask to be involved in the planning meetings.  These meetings allow the print buyer to start to influence the specification of print jobs.  

But this is not the only advantage of attending planning meetings.  Planning meetings can be used to show creativity to the rest of the team.

2)    Print buyers should bring new print ideas to others
New print ideas will show others the value that print buyers can bring to projects.  The ideas don’t always have to be new print finishes.  They can also be used to show ways to reduce costs creatively.  These ideas can also be used to start gaining new allies within your company.

These allies will be the start of the print buyer’s company network.

3)    Print buyers must network to prove their worth
A print buyer’s company network is an important tool.  It should be used as much as possible.  It is your way of making sure that as many people as possible understand the value that they bring to a company.

Print buyers should not be shy about telling as many people as possible what they have done.  They should also tell people about what else they could do, given the chance.

If people don’t understand your value, you could be on the way out
Companies are looking at reducing non-essential overheads.  Print buyers who are seen as administration staff could well be on the casualty list.  But print buyers who are seen as people who can bring value to their company are much more likely to be retained.

So here’s a summary of how to stay retained
-    Become more involved in project planning
-    Bring new ideas to projects and to the teams
-    Use the teams as the basis of your network and make sure people know your  contribution

Make sure that your worth is understood.  Make sure that you are seen to be as vital as the surgeon, the chef, the pilot and the architect.
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P.S.  Do you think print buyers bring value to their companies?  Please post your comments below.

Inside, there is scarcely space to breathe.
Heads are poking out of every window.
People are grimly hanging on to every handhold.
There are even people hanging on to the roof.

On Indian railways, passengers are often shoe-horned in to every available space.  And in the UK, web print jobs may soon be crammed into schedules in a very similar way.

Web print capacity is reducing
The planned closure of two more major factories has been announced in June 2011.  And, if the big print groups are to be believed, these closures are only the beginning.  Print buyers have been warned to expect a 25% reduction in UK web capacity.

What does this capacity reduction mean for the print buyer?
The obvious consequence of reduced capacity is higher prices.  However, prices may be the least of a print buyer’s worries.  There may be times when print buyers will struggle to have their jobs printed.

Here are three strategies that print buyers may need to consider.  And the first strategy means that forward planning is essential.

Book your print jobs well in advance
Traditionally, many print jobs have been confirmed at the last minute.  In the months to come, print buyers may struggle to find any last minute spare print capacity.

Print buyers will need to educate their clients that planning should be carried out months in advance.  Clients may need to accept very different schedules for some print jobs.  And that is not the only scheduling challenge for print jobs.

Make sure you send your print jobs on time
Web printers will have no spare capacity to accommodate late print jobs.  If the pdf isn’t on time some projects will be delivered much later than required.  And some late jobs may even be refused.

But the challenges won’t just be about job planning and scheduling.  The challenges will also be about price.

Consider index-linking your prices
With rising costs, printers are already talking about price rises.  But when there is less capacity, printers may also want to increase their profit margins.  Print buyers will be faced with serious pressure to accept higher print costs.

One way to manage higher costs is to accept a base line price for a contract.  However, the base line cost will then be linked to an annual review of a price index.  Print buyers may refer an index such as HICP (the harmonised index of consumer prices).  Printers may want to link an index to paper and energy costs.

An index linked agreement has already been made by one UK web printer.  This agreement means that the buyer has accepted rising prices, year on year.  

Some may think that this print buyer has misread the demand for web print.

Won’t falling demand for web print counter reduced capacity?
Some web print jobs will be made uneconomical by rising prices.  The fact that these jobs will cease to exist will create some extra capacity.  However, this capacity will be more than offset by demand from the gravure sector.  The reduction in machines in this sector means that some gravure jobs are being printed by web presses.   

Web print in the UK is in demand.  Sometimes print buyers may need to look at alternative options to the web sector.

Print buyers shouldn’t forget to examine sheetfed options
With rising web print prices, some buyers may need to look at cutstar and similar presses.  These presses may prove to have the capacity that some buyers are looking for.  And there may be considerably less pricing difference between cutstar and web in the future.

But many buyers will need to stick with the web sector.  They would do well to remember the Indian railway passengers.

Will you have a seat reserved on the print train?
Or will you be left grimly hanging on, hoping you won’t be knocked off.  Worse still, could you be left on the platform with no way of getting to your destination?
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P.S.  Will you be affected by the changes in the web sector?  Please post your comments below.

I have an important client meeting next week.  I wonder how the meeting will go.  It would be great to be able to see into the future and know the outcome.

But actually I have a fairly good idea of what will happen at the meeting.  I have done the equivalent of staring into my crystal ball.  

I have done my research.  I have worked out what is the likely outcome, and what this means for me.  I have prepared for what might happen.

Sometimes print buyers do not prepare enough for the future
Thinking about what is going to happen in a few years’ time can be a low priority task compared to dealing immediate production crises.  However, if we don’t think to the future we may be guilty of holding back our businesses and clients.

Two things will have an effect of the future of our print buying.  These two things are the changing needs of businesses and the ability of printers to adapt to these needs.  So let’s look at the changing needs of business first.

We can already see that modern business has developed its communication methods
Businesses now need to communicate with customers on a much more personal basis.  Personal communication requires variable data printing, shorter print runs and just in time delivery.

However, many businesses have yet to adapt to this new style of communication.  We are still at the beginning of this cycle of change in communication.  What if the publishing sector started using more personalised communication as well?  Could the print industry cope with wholesale change?

This brings us on to the ability of printers to adapt to new business needs.  Will printers invest in the right presses and processes to give business what it wants?  Or will printers to continue to invest in traditional technology?

If print buyers want their printers to adapt, they need to educate them
Printers will need to understand the needs of their clients.  I have regular dialogue with major suppliers on how my clients are adapting.  This helps the printers shape their investment plans.

But, of course, this may not prevent a major shift in the suppliers that we use.  Printers who are slow to adapt to change may not be around for much longer.

But are things really going to change so much?
You might be surprised at how much change has occurred in recent years in the print industry.  The speed of change of technology in our industry is extremely rapid.  A few years ago, digital print was still very much an emerging technology.  Now digital print is an accepted mainstream production process.  

But digital print is now being challenged by inkjet.  And litho is also being challenged by inkjet.  In the next few years I predict that we will see the first B2 inkjet presses becoming commercially viable.  And inkjet will provide print buyers with a whole new set of challenges and opportunities.

Print buyers need to be thinking about future challenges and opportunities right now.

Looking into the future will make you a better print buyer
If print buyers look to the future they will create the right partnerships.  They will be in control of your work as processes change.  And they will achieve more for their companies and clients.

But if print byers stick to the past, they may be stuck with the wrong production partners.  They may not be able to achieve what their company or client wants.  And they will lose control of their print work.

An understanding of the future and emerging technologies is extremely important for the print buyer.

But print buyers should not be seduced by technology
There is a danger in assuming that all technology should be instantly adopted.  If technology is not right for your business needs then it should not be used.  Print buyers should not assume that all new technologies will be adopted in the future.

Here are three steps to make you concentrate on the future
-    Make sure that you keep up to date with new technology.  Printweek magazine is an ideal way to make sure you are aware of all the latest developments
-    Make sure that you discuss these developments, and the opportunities they present, with senior management at your company/client
-    Use these management discussions to create a three and a five year strategy.  And make sure you review the strategy frequently

This strategy will make sure that you don’t become stuck in the past.    

No-one thinks of using letterpress now
Will litho seem as out-dated in a few years’ time?

Just like I thought about next week’s meeting, I have thought about the decline of litho.  So now I am prepared for what the future of print might bring for me and my clients.  Are you?

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P.S.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on the future of print:  please post your comments below