noelward
Well-known member
Making Print Cool
By Noel Ward, Editor@Large
Having trouble hiring? You’re not alone and the print industry is not unique. One part is a lack of skilled workers because many are ageing out or retiring. Another is there are people who seem allergic to hard work. And part of it is that not enough people are coming into our industry because print is thought of as being static, boring and decidedly not cool.
So are they right or wrong? Maybe some of each, and what can you do about it?
Francis McMahon, EVP at Canon said print is a mix of digital and analog skills. Together, these skills create “documents” that work across pages and the screens of phones and laptops. Print is only one part of the media mix. It was by the way, only one part when TV burst on the scene, but back then the two forms lacked the relatively seamless interchange of today’s media. This does not mean print is dead. But it does mean its role in media has changed.
Potential employees need to understand this relationship and as a business owner it is essential that you foster using both digital and print media while providing ways for customers to take advantage of both under your roof. Doing so can provide a career path for employees from preparing files, running a digital press to social media and other electronic media.
Those worried that print is a dead end need to understand that the ability to combine print and digital media is a transferable skill that works across the country and around the globe. The press is only one element. If a press operator can run one offset press they probably can run a different make. Digital presses vary more, but someone who knows how to run a Canon inkjet press can run one from Ricoh with minimal training.
Different skills
Being able to envision how a printed page can be used in electronic media is not hard but requires a different way of thinking. It can begin with something as simple as a PDF or somewhat more involved like a video but how to distribute the content to laptops and phones is something your company can do.
It means hiring people with different skill sets, just as you would hire different skills for large-format printing, vehicle wraps, direct mail or printing folding cartons. Every form of putting ink on a substrate has at least one electronic counterpart. You can offer both print and electronic media to customers but you must make the effort and hire for it. And a heads-up: The person you hire to do the electronic stuff won’t know much about print. And that’s okay.
How do you get started? It depends on your company and customer mix but can include:
By Noel Ward, Editor@Large
Having trouble hiring? You’re not alone and the print industry is not unique. One part is a lack of skilled workers because many are ageing out or retiring. Another is there are people who seem allergic to hard work. And part of it is that not enough people are coming into our industry because print is thought of as being static, boring and decidedly not cool.
So are they right or wrong? Maybe some of each, and what can you do about it?
Francis McMahon, EVP at Canon said print is a mix of digital and analog skills. Together, these skills create “documents” that work across pages and the screens of phones and laptops. Print is only one part of the media mix. It was by the way, only one part when TV burst on the scene, but back then the two forms lacked the relatively seamless interchange of today’s media. This does not mean print is dead. But it does mean its role in media has changed.
Potential employees need to understand this relationship and as a business owner it is essential that you foster using both digital and print media while providing ways for customers to take advantage of both under your roof. Doing so can provide a career path for employees from preparing files, running a digital press to social media and other electronic media.
Those worried that print is a dead end need to understand that the ability to combine print and digital media is a transferable skill that works across the country and around the globe. The press is only one element. If a press operator can run one offset press they probably can run a different make. Digital presses vary more, but someone who knows how to run a Canon inkjet press can run one from Ricoh with minimal training.
Different skills
Being able to envision how a printed page can be used in electronic media is not hard but requires a different way of thinking. It can begin with something as simple as a PDF or somewhat more involved like a video but how to distribute the content to laptops and phones is something your company can do.
It means hiring people with different skill sets, just as you would hire different skills for large-format printing, vehicle wraps, direct mail or printing folding cartons. Every form of putting ink on a substrate has at least one electronic counterpart. You can offer both print and electronic media to customers but you must make the effort and hire for it. And a heads-up: The person you hire to do the electronic stuff won’t know much about print. And that’s okay.
How do you get started? It depends on your company and customer mix but can include:
- Find out what your customers would like to do. They may be doing some things internally but would be happy to outsource some of that work. They probably have an online presence but want it to be more tightly integrated with their branding. Maybe that’s not something their advertising or marketing agency can do. What is causing them pain?
- Can you ease their pain? Can you provide a service and add value? Develop an internal plan for producing digital and printed versions of documents that can be adapted to various customers’ needs. Turn off your ego and be ready to change and expand this plan.
- With knowledge of customers’ pain points in mind hire the talent you need. He or she becomes your resident geek and may be in his/her twenties. Then let the person lead (with your supervision of course). It is okay, as Steve Jobs once suggested, to hire people who can tell you what to do. You may be an expert at running a printing business but running a making print and electronic media play well together is not among your strengths. This is why you bring on someone who can do what you cannot. This is not new. You have probably done this in your pre-press department, with the people running your presses, and so on. This is just another set of skills.
- Once you know what you can do, find out more about what your customers would like. Learn about the weaknesses and strengths of what they do now. Your resident geek should be at this meeting. He/she will see things you don’t and know how to make them happen.
