High Value Features: Increasing Importance

The clear trend in the industry for the last several years has been digital printing technologies overtaking traditional analog technologies.  And over the last few years, the sophistication of documents produced digitally has grown dramatically. You know, it wasn't that long ago that digital meant monochrome letter-sized printing!

Now we've reach a bit of a "tipping point", for lack of a better phrase, in terms of this sophistication. Everywhere you look now, you see digital products being produced with high value features. These features include, but are not limited to:

- Binding (Perfect, Case, Coils, etc.)
- Cutting (many different sizes)
- Folding (many different shapes)
- Coating (UV and others), Laminating
- Die Cutting (should probably be in quotes, because the lasers and other robotic devices are selling like hotcakes now)
- Inks: (additional imaging units have become common; Gold, Pearlescent, Neon Pink, White anyone)
- Dimensionality (i.e., Scodix, and native capabilities in HP Indigo and Nexpress)
- Papers (amazing, beautiful examples for all output technologies)
- Substrates (I spoke to someone who was printing on Hemp the other day, but plastic has become almost commonplace, and if you look at the GPA catalog, you will see a gigantic variety of versatile non-papers.)
- Foil (not done on the digital equipment, but applied to digital output)
- Special Effects (like Color Logic)

I've never seen so many example of amazing business cards since back in the early days of Printcafe... back in those days, a card that cost $3 was a demonstration of how well you could print, and all the things you could do.  PCAF had cards that were folded, scored, die cut, perforated, had at least 7 colors including a metallic and different coatings on both sides.  Those days are back, only it's digital not analog printing that is impressing.  Just take a look at Moo.com.  I bought some business cards from them, and they were insanely expensive-- so I expected the result would be for people to be impressed by them. I was not disappointed, everyone I gave them to (including many commercial printers) appreciated them.

Color Logic System Designer Swatch Book

It has been said for quite some time that anything that can go digital, will go digital.  In fact, I think Benny Landa himself has even said this. However, this is a double edged sword today.  Many things that were previously printed have gone digital in the form of not being printed at all-- rather delivered via the Internet. And many more will.  Some information simply makes more sense to be accessed via the web than via an relatively expensive piece of paper.

Other information, however, benefits greatly from the sophisticated treatments that can only be delivered by high-end commercial printing. When you understand that even the most basic printed piece is going to be more expensive to produce and deliver than something published on the web, you start to realize that the print service providers energy should be focused on producing printed materials for audiences who care about the quality of the piece. There are many examples of these categories of products and I may get into that in a future post.

Clearly, though the smartest operators in the industry have arrived at this conclusion, and are investing in capabilities that will allow them to offer all the advantages of digital printing coupled with beautiful, high-end features. They already have clients who see the value of this work, and they seek out more who fit the profile. This, to me, is the essence of the immediate future of the successful commercial printer.

64th TAGA Annual Technical Conference

It’s hard to say “there’s something for everything” about the TAGA Annual Technical Conference, the global graphics arts industries’ most elite technical conference. It’s specifically NOT for everyone—unless you are an academic, engineer, scientist, or technical practitioner of printing. In which case you will certainly find things that you need to know being discussed at this year’s 64th annual event, to be held in Jacksonville, Florida, on March 18-21. If you are a CEO, COO or Owner of a printing company or industry equipment or software manufacturer, I would strongly advise that you send a couple of your key technical people. I’ll explain why.

My personal involvement in the industry is in the creation of software for printing applications, and there are always a few great talks on this topic. But for me, what I find incredibly invigorating about TAGA is the fact that there are so many topics discussed that I am not directly engaged in as a professional. These topics are as far ranging as ink, paper, mechanical engineering, chemistry, physics, photography, light—but not limited to these. In fact, there are almost no limits. The result for me has been broadened horizons—I learn what I don’t know, and approach problems I face in my work with a new perspective.

The keynotes this year include some of the most interesting leaders from some of the most exciting companies in the graphic communications business today. Starting with Marc Olin of EFI, who has been travelling the world buying up printing-related software companies while other former industry leaders are suffering, to Mike Puyot from Memjet, a company which is finally shipping product via OEMs and is poised to dramatically change everyone’s business, after existing as a virtual “urban legend” for almost 10 years! These are followed by the most complete, robust technical program available this year at any conference in the industry.

One of the coolest things about TAGA is the questions from the audience after the presentations. As you can imagine with a group of this make up, there are many opinions and TAGA encourages an intellectually charged environment. There are no assumptions, and this is not a love-in where PR rules-- people are often challenged on the statements they make from the dais. It’s exciting!

Another really important aspect of the event is the student chapter participation, and the annual student competitions. To the printing company owner: here is the most important reason for you to send you top technical stakeholder or two to TAGA: recruiting. Plug your company into the top printing schools in the WORLD—Cal Poly SLO, Clemson, RIT, Western Michigan, as well as Ryerson in Canada, and leading global schools Grenoble Institute of Technology in France, and Linköping University in Sweden, to name just a few. They will be sending teams of their best students (usually Juniors and Seniors, who will soon be looking for a career position) to compete for awards in our annual technical competitions.

The program includes talks from some of the recipients of the Printing Industries of America’s prestigious Intertech Awards, an opportunity to learn about some of the industry’s latest and most advanced, game-changing commercial product developments.

Beyond all the important content, there is the “real world” social platform as well-- the three day conference is loaded with great networking opportunities, including luncheons, the association’s annual business meeting, and a gala awards banquet. TAGA’s annual event has been a “can’t miss” for the industry’s tech community for a long time, and I’d encourage anyone who hasn’t attended in the past to make it a new annual tradition. There is still time to register and attend, visit TAGA's Web Site.