An excerpt from AP March 2020 Print Leaders Forum – by Digitalpress owner Theo Pettaras 

Reflecting back on my personal professional experience – namely when I first started my digital printing business in 2005 – transitioning from an offset to a digital printing business seemed like a logical choice as I knew digital printing presses were coming of age and early adopters with an entrepreneurial and innovative spirit would reap the rewards.

Things went well until the digital disruption greatly disrupted our industry. Along came the GFC and the industry was decimated.

Those that were heavily geared in expensive plant and equipment sadly suffered. Printing companies that did not look beyond CMYK and solely focused on excellent customer service and quality soon came to the realisation that it was not enough to remain relevant only on service and manufacturing.

Those that were relatively less geared and/or owned their own real estate had the opportunity to look at the future pipeline and by investing and adapting, were able to ride the storm and transform to become innovative, profitable communication businesses with a vast array of products and services.

So, what do we expect to be the trends in our industry for 2020 and beyond? These are some of my predictions:

• A focus on lean manufacturing running efficiently, keeping debt low and utilising existing equipment as much as possible
• Wide format is a very significant opportunity and the early adopters have transformed their businesses. But don’t do it unless you do your research, and understand the market, the right equipment and team to both produce and install
• Web to print is a process that will ultimately fail unless you do the market research, understand the process and have the ability to execute successfully by: having a great automated system and ensuring your clients are comfortable making the transition. Web to print forces you to compete with big players that have it all pretty much sewn up.

2020 is the year to look at your business and learn how you can adapt and learn to be more relevant to the marketplace.

The printing company of 2020 and beyond will not just offer print but rather one that learns, understands and offers a total marking communications solution. The first step in this process is to embrace what technology provides; it is a friend, not a foe.

You need to learn about new technology and how it can offer a point of difference to your service offering. A cloud-based operation provides great flexibility and efficient solutions for the manufacturer and streamlining processes. Learn to be technologically savvy, and invest time with vendors, but don’t let them waste your time and make sure they deliver on their promise.

Listen to vendors but remember, they are there to make a sale. Think carefully before making a major investment and do not do so unless you have the work and appropriate business plan and strategy to support and justify your investment.

Listen to your customers too; do your research and understand what their clients want. By doing so, you will maintain a strong relationship with them and will be adding value to both end user and customer. Look at new and better ways to produce tangible effective print that yields positive results.

Regardless of the outcome, reach out to fellow printers and do not look at them as competitors but rather as fellow colleagues who are striving to succeed in an industry most of us are so passionate about.

In addition, take the effort to make your team feel valued. Pay them for what they are worth and be prepared to educate them in being multi-skilled.

Your associations too have much analytic data. You have so much to gain about future and global trends by just reaching out to them.

Having successfully operated Digitalpress for over 15 years, we recently chose to be acquired by the Bridgestone Group of Companies. Moving forward, it is important for the company to ensure continued support to clients, staff, suppliers and the industry as a whole. It was a strategic move that ultimately is and will be good for everyone.

This acquisition is an example of what any forward-thinking printing company, large or small, is able to do if they have both long- and short-term vision, and a realistic exit strategy.

This article was written prior to the impact of COVID-19. The digital version of AP March 2020 is available here.

And as part of AP’s 70 anniversary, we’re pulling together a list of 70 local industry pioneers – you can make your nominations here.

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