At industry trade shows, I like to keep my eye out for information that will improve my clients’ businesses. Here are tips on how I analyze new technology I see at trade shows. I’ve included trends that I predict will hugely impact the label printing sector.
When researching new equipment trends, I have two approaches:

•Find out from vendors about technology that’s just been launched and that which is under development.
•Talk with successful printers to see what they’re doing right.

As far as new equipment, one way I evaluate technology is to look at companies that receive awards from the trade show organizers. Of course, sometimes this process is tinged by trade show organizers who promote certain technology because they are paid to do so. To remove bias, I look for technology competitions with third-party judges. One of those competitions is the “Must See ‘Ems” from Graph Expo.

Graph Expo is the annual North American trade show for all sectors within the printing industry. I consider this a “general” trade show that may be weak in offering specific information for label printers, but is strong in terms of broad trends and technology developments.

Must See ‘Ems
This year, companies that were awarded “Must See ‘Ems” had solutions for mail and fulfillment, pressroom and postpress, software and color management, and workflow management.

In looking for commonalities across these winners, two things are evident: Automation is increasing in every part of production and customer care. And predictable color has become a key workflow issue, not just something to “deal with on press.”

We’ve seen plenty of on-press automation and prepress automation over the past 10-15 years, but printers are now realizing that automation can shave precious minutes off each job, make quality more predictable, and, ironically, give customers a better sense of being taken care of.

When I talk to successful printers, they mention that automation allows them to get more jobs through the shop and helps employees plan and manage jobs more efficiently.  In addition, automation in the customer service portion of their businesses helps with communication, clarification, accuracy and customer “care” or attention. Successful printers say this helps cultivate repeat business.
Furthermore, automation that is built into a workflow means quicker and more accurate estimating and invoicing, and better intelligence on new products and services that can be sold to existing customers. Successful printers tell me that, in a world where a job can be won on a few-cent margin or a few-hour turnaround, automation is a key investment.

From a color management standpoint, we know that managed color does not necessarily have to mean “better” color or more complex color. The key point here is that printers need predictable color to meet the quality expectations of their customers.

For label companies, that may mean having to match a color that was printed elsewhere as a four-color build on an offset press. Or it may mean adjusting color reproduction on new substrates. Color management software vendors are finally recognizing that we’re not all printing G7 jobs, but we need to know what to expect on press so we can estimate the job, schedule it, and then allocate supplies accordingly.

Finally, the Must See ‘Ems signal a clear interest in digital inkjet printing.

Digital inkjet
For the offset world, digital inkjet is a big leap. For label printers, the leap is less daunting. Narrow web flexo and digital inkjet are kissing cousins. The label industry already knows and uses web technology. From color control to inline and near line finishing, the move to digital inkjet for label printers is a matter of digital integration, substrate options, variable output, and the involvement of some very motivated digital inkjet press manufacturers. In fact, digital inkjet for label printing is already a growth area in Europe.

However, the cost of entry for digital inkjet is high. Unless you have an existing client base that is clamoring for variable output, the unique strengths of digital inkjet are limited.

Press manufacturers, though, are highly motivated to make sure their digital inkjet customers are successful. As they jockey for market position, they want to showcase customers who are making a killing in digital inkjet. They are investing time, resources and strategy to help these customers tap into existing markets and create new ones. The success stories from their customers are compelling.

If I were a label printer witnessing this phenomenon and considering digital inkjet, I’d do two things:

1. Examine the existing client list and see which customers could gain perceived value by switching to digital inkjet. “Better” color is not a value, in my opinion. Neither is speed of turnaround. If your customers didn’t think you were providing adequate color or printing quickly enough, they’d be printing elsewhere. You have to look at whether your customer could make more money or some other valuable result from the use of digital inkjet on their jobs. And then they would have to be willing to pay more for that result.

2. Look at your customers’ customers and figure out if there are new products that can be produced for them on a digital inkjet press. That is, how can your customers make more money from their customers? In the success stories I heard at Graph Expo, printers chose to add digital inkjet so they could offer wide format or custom book printing, for example. Then, using the guidance of their press manufacturer, they honed their process, drilled deep into their customer and prospect list, and set a goal to achieve a return on their investment within 18-24 months. It’s a bold model that is exciting to hear about but also requires the right kind of company and staff to be able to implement.

To that end, the next trend I see that applies to label printing is the focus on niche and auxiliary markets.

Marketing trends
During a presentation at Executive Outlook — the annual technology briefing that opens Graph Expo — marketers discussed how to use a broad approach to marketing to find new sectors to develop products and services for.

By serving a more diversified clientele, even with the same products, label printers can protect themselves from the ups and downs of economy, market conditions, supplies, and other issues that affect their clients’ verticals. Therefore, some printers are looking at digital inkjet as a way to diversify their offerings and hedge against changes in market conditions.

To that again I say: digital inkjet is not inexpensive.

If you are the type of company that always seeks to gain market advantage by “getting there first,” then you might see how digital inkjet could be a good fit for you.

Keep in mind, top printers that are deploying digital inkjet have the backing of an up-to-date website, a smooth-functioning web-to-print portal, predictable quality, efficient throughput, and a flexible and multi-pronged marketing program. If you are merely looking for a new way to serve existing customers or debut a different product to lure in new customers, you might look at more affordable options.



Rock LaManna, President and CEO of LaManna Alliance, helps printing owners and CEOs use their company financials to prioritize and choose the proper strategic path. Rock can be reached by email at [email protected].