DIGITAL PRINT
PRINT
IT
RESELLER.UK
31
on-demand and the ability to interact
with websites, fashion magazines
would disappear, unable to compete
with websites that can show clothes
being worn, have links to prices and
instant ordering. But fashion magazines
are stronger than ever. This is because
possession of
Vogue
makes a statement
about the person carrying it – a
phenomenon that has encouraged online
fashion websites like ASOS and Pret-
a-porter to launch their own printed
magazines.
The doomsayers who predicted the
same fate for catalogues have also been
proved wrong. People like to browse
catalogues or holiday brochures; they spark
the imagination in ways that digital fails to
do. Retailers that dropped print catalogues
in the past, or that only exist online, are
returning to print to remind customers to
visit their websites to complete a purchase.
If online shopping is going to grow, it will
need the help of print to do so.
But not the same sort of print as before.
For example, why send someone who
always travels to Mexico details of holidays
in Canada? Instead, the holiday company
should create a brochure highlighting the
best hotels and resorts in Mexico. It will
be a smaller publication, with a shorter
production run, but production standards
can be higher in terms of print, paper and
personalisation.
A printer must be able to deliver this to
its customers. This will require investment
in technology that can cope with shorter
print runs and can print on uncoated
papers – popular because of their tactile
qualities. It means being able to enhance
a printed product using varnish, foils,
raised print effects, die-cutting and other
processes that make it more exciting
and engaging. It could even involve the
inclusion of printed electronic circuitry that
turns a printed page into a loudspeaker or
causes a printed label to light up when a
sensor detects movement.
Printed pages can also be embedded
with codes that, when scanned with a
smartphone, unlock digital information,
such as an e-voucher to be redeemed
in a store or restaurant, while providing
the company making the offer with
information about who scanned the code,
where and when. The printed poster or
advertisement acquires a measurable value
because it has demonstrated its relevance
to the consumer.
Marketing innovation
The high quality print and finishing effects
that sell premium bottles of spirits are
finding their way onto other types of
packaging, especially artisan-produced
goods. Overall volumes for such products
might be small, but their look and feel
is important and printers can have much
more influence on packaging than is the
case when working for global brands with
large product marketing teams.
In the future, even global companies
must become more flexible in order to
satisfy society’s craving for innovation and
novelty. In this context, printed packaging
can become a major marketing tool; just
consider the impact Share a Coke has had.
A printer must be able to help cut the
time to market for new products, either
through automated workflows or perhaps
by taking on prototype creation using
3D printing technology. Using new inkjet
technologies, printers can print directly
onto a bottle or package. In what is known
as direct-to-shape printing, the printing
system becomes part of the bottling or
packing line, so rather than printing and
delivering labels, the print company’s role
is to manage the technology and establish
a new workflow.
Such developments necessitate a
whole new approach to marketing what
a printer is and what it can do. For many
print service providers, this is unknown
territory. Exceptions include online printers
that have grown rapidly in recent years,
sweeping away swathes of small print
businesses. They rarely lead on price,
but sell convenience and ease of access
instead, raising brand awareness through
constant marketing and sponsorship
initiatives.
Increasing value
Printers should develop marketing skills
to promote their unique benefits, such as
People like
to browse
catalogues
or holiday
brochures;
they spark the
imagination
in ways that
digital fails
to do.
continued...
...continued
Printed electronics
by Novalia
Luxurious packaging
from Scodix
Tactile Mohawk
Superfine paper
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