Your business can’t take a break between ON DEMAND shows, but the need for up-to-the-minute ideas and advice to grow your digital printing business is no less urgent today than it was a few months ago.

To bridge that gap, we’re pleased to bring you this inaugural issue of the ON DEMAND E-Newsletter. Here, you’ll find indepth articles authored by printing professionals like you… industry experts who will tell you what’s really happening -- and what’s happening next -- in the world of digital document production technology. And in addition to the case-based editorial content, you’ll also get access to important new product announcements from the industry’s top solution providers, as well as exclusive insider access to presentation materials from the ON DEMAND conference program!

So why wait a year between shows? Stay tuned to the ON DEMAND E-Newsletter to keep yourself a step ahead of the technology curve all year long, and find new ways to make your business more competitive and more profitable today.

Thanks very much for reading, and don’t hesitate to write in and let us know what we can do to make this publication more valuable to you. We’d love to hear what’s on your mind…

Best,
Debra Brown, Event Director
ON DEMAND Conference & Expo

Top Stories

Printer Finds Success Through Market Specialization and Digital Color
Every print service provider wants to grow, but actually achieving it is another thing entirely. But without a specific objective and course of action, many become frustrated as they spread themselves too thin trying to be everything to everyone.

Think about this: Is a doctor who specializes in one specific area of high-demand healthcare likely to earn more about that medical discipline than a general practitioner? Of course. How about an attorney specializing in a particular area of law who develops a reputation as the expert or the master of that field? You bet. The same basic principle applies to print service providers who specialize in a particular market segment and invest in the ability to serve it better than their competitors. continued

Pricing for Variable Data Printing
I recently attended a Webinar with many printers who are in the planning stages of adding digital color presses to their operations. A surprising number of them were undecided about exactly what to charge for Variable Data Printing (VDP) services, or even how to begin building a pricing model for them.

The 4Ps of pricing – “Proper Pricing Provides Profits” – is a logical place to begin the pricing exercise. The 4Ps also apply operationally and compartmentalize how to effectively price for VDP, including prepress and all of the things that need to happen before the job goes to press, the activities that happen during production, the paper used to manufacture the order, and all of the activities that occur once the variable data job has left the press. continued

Digital Book Technologies Reshape All Production Strategies
There is a controversy brewing about the future of book and manual production. Some people say book and manual production are going away, while others believes that book production is evolving from a labor intensive, manual process to a fully automated, template-based digital process. Your ability to adopt new procedures and adapt to new automated equipment for digital book production could hold the key to creating and maintaining this competitive advantage, and may help the printed page remain competitive against the onslaught of electronic communication.

The argument that books and manual production are dead is based on statistics like dwindling book readership, the number of book publishers, the cost of long offset runs vs. shorter digital runs, and the book distribution model. The flip side argues that print production is simply morphing as digital printing and online technologies advance, and that those who take advantage of this evolution will be able to use it for any printing application capable of digital transference. continued

Using Bindery Automation to Combat Rising Costs and Declining Margins
Printers of all stripes are under assault by acronyms. Industry pundits predict the end of print as we know it unless we adopt computer integrated workflows driven by job description format (JDF) files formally approved by the International Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress (CIP4).

Wow.

Be that as it may, your goals are probably a little different; you’re just trying to decide how to improve make-ready times on your saddlestitching or perfect binding lines so to handle short-run work efficiently and without breaking into long runs. Or you may need to finish variable pre-collated sheets from your new digital color press without sacrificing finish quality. Either way, you know you need automation…you’re not sure to what extent. continued

Product Case Studies

Direct Group Transforms Trigger Marketing with High Speed Digital Color
Trigger marketing is about getting the right piece to the right people at the right time. “In some cases, trigger-based mailings can result in very impressive double-digit lifts in response rates,” said Chris Ryan, Chief Operating Officer of Direct Group.

Direct Group is a major supplier of trigger-based mailing campaigns, which enable marketers to respond to life events such as birthdays or new cars with relevant communications. “For instance, when someone buys a new car, we want to be in their mailbox right away with the best offer for insurance,” Ryan explained.

“Clients tell us that using lists in the digital (i.e. variable) world generates up to 95 percent better results than traditional formats. The Océ JetStream helps us maximize the advantages of color, variability and speed for customer mailings,” he said. The Océ JetStream™ system is an ultra high-speed, high-volume full-color digital ink jet printer. Direct Group was the first in the U.S. to leverage its capabilities, installing two Océ JetStream 2200 systems in the company’s Swedesboro, NJ facility in 2008. continued

ON DEMAND 2009 Keynote Slides

State of the Industry: Recession Realities: The Year for Digital Efficiency & Effectiveness
Charles A. Pesko
Executive Vice President, InfoTrends/Questex

Keynote: Innovation: Turning Inspiration into Critical Customer Assets
Sophie Vandebroek, PhD
Xerox Corporation, Chief Technology Officer, President of the Xerox Innovation Group

ON DEMAND 2010 Show Highlights

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