What makes them so special?

Is there a printer that you think is doing an outstanding job? Even though they may be a competitor? Why not find out what makes them so special? Since it’s not unusual for printers to subcontract presswork to cover peaks in demand, or to deliver specialty presswork, why not subcontract to the printer you admire? Even if they come in at a higher price than you would have charged, the experience gained by studying their processes might inspire you to discover new ways to make your own business something special.

A "Marketing Services Provider" approach to print sales

True sales professionals establish and develop their skills to manage a complex sales scenario. They typically enter a buying culture that positions print as an undifferentiated commodity. As a result, the sales professional must use their ability to collect customer and job data, uncover broader business issues, develop solutions from their expert standpoint, and then develop the strategies required to align the printer’s production system to deliver the appropriate solution. Sales must also endeavor to make buyers realize their payback – the value proposition – they derive from the printer’s uniqueness. This allows Sales to sell more of the value of their solution, which in turn will give the print buyer more effective print communication pieces while helping the printer maintain their margins along the way. As this process develops over time, the sales person gets to know the account intimately and learns how to shape the printer’s solutions so that they evolve with the print buyer’s needs and always form the right fit. When Sales only has one print solution or standard, it makes it hard to tailor it to meet customer needs. One print-production method and presswork standard, SWOP or GRACoL for example, may save time and cost in the cases when just that solution fits the customer’s needs just right, but otherwise it may push the sales person and the printer further into a commodity position where price is the sole differentiator.

Adding value beyond print – Japs-Olson Co.

One of the popular topics at Print '09 concerned printers adding value beyond just ink-on-paper. As the 1950s advertising ruler that I bought on my trip to the show demonstrates, the idea of including services going beyond print is not a new idea. In this case, the Japs-Olson company, in addition to printing and stationery, offers...furniture!

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Other print advertising rulers can be seen by clicking HERE

Print '09 - Final thoughts

PRINT 09 drew a total 18,999 actual verified attendee/buyers who were greeted by 9679 booth sales and demo personnel. Put another way, there was about one vendor representative for every two attendees.

I thought it was a pretty good show - but not very much was causing any show floor buzz - no "oh wow did you see what they've got/doing/showing at booth xyz."

Most of the folks I spoke with felt that the Kodak booth was high on flash but low on making their solutions or products visible. "No substance" was a term I heard several times. Very hard to discover what was new or exciting in their product line up. A great many people either couldn't figure out how to use the RFID triggered displays (and other displays), or once they did weren't that impressed by the content. "Why go to a tradeshow to see what you could see on the web?"

The outstanding thing for me at the Kodak booth was their ONE magazine which demonstrated Staccato screening printed with flexo. It was easy to miss if you didn't read the production notes - and there wasn't, to my knowledge, any reference in their booth to this amazing technology that I'm sure that flexo printers would have wanted to know more about.

BTW MAN-Roland also had no equipment in their booth (but without the fanfare). - Their solutions were very well displayed and articulated.

Agfa, Screen, Heidelberg, and Fuji all had very standard booths (not that there's anything wrong with that) - and probably the only ones that showed CtP devices.

It was great finally seeing the Xingraphics no-process plate - but I'll bet many people missed that.

There was a very strong and well organized presence from Chinese suppliers - they're coming on much stronger than in previous years.

East Indian print and prepress suppliers were represented for the first time - but, unfortunately, not that well IMHO. The fellow staffing their booth had a great deal of difficulty with English - which I though was quite odd.

I was surprised and disappointed that Esko didn't have a booth at this show. I'm not sure that they were that well represented by their partners – at least when I tried to get information.

Some presenters seemed to pop up at different booths (Barb Pellow comes to mind) making the same pitch about printers should transform into becoming a variable/personalized/marketing services provider rather than just a printer. As a result, the message seems interchangeable between vendors like Kodak, Canon, Xerox, et al. No vendor differentiation. Also, in Kodak's case, out of some twenty roundtable-type K-Zone presentations there were no solutions stories for other market segments - e.g. publication, packaging, commercial printers who don't want to go down the road of variable transactional marketing.

If I hear one more call to "Tweet or die" I'll explode.

Personally, it was great for me to finally be able to visit vendor's booths, like Agfa's without being thrown out. Actually, I lie, Agfa was always gracious about competitors, like the former me visiting their booth - the other vendors not so much though.

The show itself was better promoted and organized than previous years.

The food was just as expensive and mediocre.

Due to the poor attendance there were no lineups at the cafeteria check-outs - and plenty of seating was available.

Thankfully the weather turned from the originally predicted thunderstorms and rain to very pleasant sunny days. I hope a good omen for our industry.

All in all, a very sedate show which required more effort on the part of attendees to extract the value of attending than previous years.

Re:Print – Print '09, The Show Theme

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Print '09 - Day 2

The Kodak booth caused quite a preshow brouhaha because they weren't going to display any physical equipment at the show. Their booth was quite Zen-like in its black simplicity:Althought it's their first version of a solutions vs boxes type booth, unfortunately many Kodak booth visitors, it seems, could not figure out what they were supposed to do to get the info they came to the show to get.

Interestingly the most innovative booth award may be given to EskoArtworks who, not only were not showing any equipment, but whose booth was so virtual it was invisible. I.e. they are not exhibiting at Print '09 at all, despite the show's heavy packaging focus.

At every GraphExpo/Print show there is a Chinese presence. However, this year it appears much stronger and better organized – although still quite poorly visited.
At least show attendance is up with the number of attendees probably equaling the number of sales people.

Print '09 - Day 1

Today was the first full exposition day of Print '09 in Chicago.
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Entrance to McCormick Place:Main entry hall:Despite the excellent efforts of the Print '09 organizers, the economy has certainly taken its toll on attendees. The Agfa booth made use of cardboard cutouts to boost booth attendance:Xerox's excellent presentation on green issues for the printer, like many of the presentations at the various vendor booths, had somewhat limited attendance:And this photo shows the general lack of attendees on the afternoon of opening day:Hopefully attendance will improve over the next few days.

RE:Print - "Print '09 Pundit: Evolving the Printshop"

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