The optimum size for a printing company

[printheadz]

I'm afraid the tangible touchable stuff you're talking about is changing from newspapers, magazines, linernotes in cd's, books, is turning into blogs, facebook, twitter, kindle, alltop, etc.

Printing is not dead, it's evolving. Those who choose to evolve with it will survive. Billboard printers that refuse to go LED down the road will go out of business. If we screenprinted our decals like we had for 20 years instead of buying large format digital presses we'd be gone too.

Evolve and be proactive is what I'm trying to do, what strategies is everyone else using?

 

[ondemandbindery]

I can only speak for myself and since technically I do not put ink on paper my survival will be dependant on how smart printers are about making changes to the climate of the economy and the new revolution in printing. I downsized on my staff and have become less tolerant of taking in work to just keep the lights on. It is slow death as one of my clients have said time and time again. I am very lucky in that I can handle a project from when the phone call comes in wanting an estimate until the payment of said project is deposited at the bank. But my theory is I will no longer accept becoming any worse off while making someone else rich. I am lucky to have many players in my region talk to me about things and it is turning into a game of who can hold out the longest. My advice is if you put ink on paper is be very careful about investing money in offset and put your efforts into new markets where you could be the exception and not the norm. I am becoming more and more convinced that the whole dang Printing Industry runs off of debt and credit lines and in times like this your luck runs out. There are some clients of mine who have a history in printing and still base the operating principals on not spending all you have and run a tight operation. For those who do not want to buy into that Printing is forever changed you are in a for a rude awakening if you have not felt the affects of it already. I wish everyone the best of luck. To sum it up, lean and mean!!!

 

[printmybox]

No no printing is not dead. Using printing products people market and sell their products. So printing is good tool

 

[MikeG]

OutsourceD, wondering what part of the printing industry you are?

 

[Bizmarketer]

Hello Printing professionals.
I'm a marketing consultant and copywriter and have been following your discussion for the past few pages. I have heard that the printing industry is so brutal that some printers are actually only surviving on as little as 1% profit margins on jobs... Is this true? I have a hard time believing anyone can run any business on such margins.

Also, I'd like to put my two cents in on one subject. Printing isn't dead, even with twitter, facebook etc... I still write direct mail, and have my clients do it alot because i've found direct mail still pulls anywhere from 200 - 400% higher response than email or other electronic methods.

I have looked over dozens of printers websites and yellow pages ads and can honestly say, as an industry they do some of the worst jobs selling their services I've ever seen. maybe that's why some people feel it is dead. If you can't sell, you die, in any industry whether it's weak or strong. In a weak industry you just die much faster.

 

[davidhyter]

well in todays rough rnvironment the key is integration. A complete solution that combines management and web application on a single platform. Efficiency is very important.

 

[davidhyter]

It is same with letters. emails took over letters and sms has now taken over email. the personal touch is gone. But there are still people even in the new generation who value the feeling and sense of belonging a book gives. Culture may change but human nature remains the same. There will always be people who will be reading in print form. I foresee a new medium in the future , a mixture of print and digital.

 

[edwinb]

The manuscripts in the british libriary have a stream of visitors viewing them but I dont know of anyone using vellum and quills anymore.
I used to read books- I now have a kindle and love it! I use newspapers/magazine on the train only
The wall ads are electronic displays
I think Im a 'typical paper user'
diversity appears to be increasing at the smaller end becasue of their capability to respond quickly
there are a few HUGE companies that will eat up the bulk jobs because of efficency of scale.
The middle ground looks difficult.
edwin

 

[davidhyter]

Q edwin

Q edwin

i agree, but i am using both digital and print mediums to read. When i am on the move instead of a book i prefer to read on my psp as i can also read newspapers on it thanks to RSS . At home i usually like the comfy feeling of a book on my lap. I guess to some extent both mediums can and will coexist.

 

[edwinb]

i agree, but i am using both digital and print mediums to read. When i am on the move instead of a book i prefer to read on my psp as i can also read newspapers on it thanks to RSS . At home i usually like the comfy feeling of a book on my lap. I guess to some extent both mediums can and will coexist.

perhaps thats the real change - the expansion of diversity?
edwin

 

[davidhyter]

diversity is name of the game

diversity is name of the game

yes u r right . We lived in a diversified world where we need multiple options for every thing .

 

[cdelgado]

This original post poses the thought I've come to believe for more than a year. With so much diversification of customer demands, it'd be quite difficult for a mid-sized shop to compete and operate profitably. The agility and niche focus afforded to small shops would suggest that smaller shops, catering to their local area market, would be well poised to succeed. Customers are increasingly concerned with their return on spent marketing dollars and a proactive shop, with the ability to reach out and ally with alternate service providers is in the best position to fulfill a clients needs/demands, without the strangling overhead of idle iron, too large a workforce and the ancillary costs to support them both.
Large shops servicing the regional demands of large volume printing (litho and digital) would be well suited to succeed as well. one or two shops within a region would attract the type of work, in scope and volume, to support their structural investment.

 

[michaelejahn]

I do not 'print' my photos anymore

I do not 'print' my photos anymore

Film will go away, witness today's announcement of the death of Kodachrome. So now we use digital cameras to take pictures that we then "print on paper" to show aunt Emily. Sorry, did I miss something?

Hal Heindel

Well yes, Hal, apparently you have missed a few things. It is hardly about the death of Kodachrome, which perhaps you were unaware was a SLIDE film - not a color negative that required printing. Perhaps you missed that services like Googles Picasa, Flikr and other online photoalbum tools enable the user to share digital pictures with friends and family WITHOUT having to print them. Perhpas your Aunt Emily does not have a computer, well neither does mine, so we stop by with a new SD card once in a while and replace the one that is in her digital picture frame - which place a new slide show. Many of us never print, where before the only way we could see anything was to have that roll of film developed and printed - now, we do not waste materials when the flash fails to fire or our thumbs are in front of the lens.

This approach has become very popular.

 

[Morning Flight]

Now we do not waste materials when the flash fails to fire or our thumbs are in front of the lens.

No, Michael, we include them in the animated slide shows we upload to YouTube. You do realize my post was tongue-in-cheek?!

I wasn't kidding though when I said film "will go away." It pretty much has already. Of the four Hasselblads I own, three have film backs, one is a 555 ELD equipped with a Kodak DCS digital back. The film cameras haven't left their Pelicans in years. But if they should come out, I would have to load them with Ektachrome. For medium format, Kodachrome was never an option.

About aunt Emily, she has gone digital and loves her Kodak EasyShare printer dock. Could be a Rochester thing.

Hal