“Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes”
Surely David Bowie wasn’t thinking about printing when he wrote his hit song, “Changes” in 1971. But the chorus “Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes” certainly fits what’s going on in the printing industry today.
From Gutenberg’s movable type press in 1450, to the start of offset printing in 1875, people have found ways, more and more efficiently, to communicate on paper. But it took until 1991 for the technology behind digital printing to be practical. And we’ve made it our mission to focus on this newest technique and leverage its benefits for our clients. As this technology and its equipment have continued to evolve in the past 25 years, we’ve continued to stay up to date with it.
Buyers Benefit
Short run, high-quality, full-color printing, that once cost an arm and a leg, is now readily available in the marketplace. Print consumers are no longer held hostage with the decision to buy more than they need just to get the cost-per-piece down. Waste due to obsolescence can now be controlled with smart buying. Delivery time is much shorter and just-in-time delivery or print on demand is now mainstream.
One size fits all?
Is the latest digital technology a good fit for every niche? No, offset still has its place. But the offset marketplace is shrinking as digital technologies become faster, higher quality and more cost effective. Offset technologies are most cost effective on longer run jobs. The definition of longer runs is a moving target since digital is changing rapidly. But certainly run lengths in the tens of thousands and greater are best suited for offset…most of the time.
Game Changer
Personalized printing changes the game on even extremely long run jobs. Digital printers have the ability to personalize a piece, such as a direct mail postcard. Marketers can target their marketing to the individual based on information they have in their database, such as gender, age, location, income and past purchases. Used effectively, this can provide marketers with the Holy Grail of marketing: Return on Investment – ROI.
Advantage…Digital
Two areas stand out as sweet spots for digital printing: Short-run printing and personalized printing. It’s very difficult for offset to compete in these areas, due to longer set-up time and costs. Buyers want flexibility to buy only what’s needed. This gives them the ability to edit and update content before the next printing is due.
Personalized printing is a marketing tool that we’re seeing more often in our mailboxes. We’re also seeing the same content delivered via email, SMS, social media and micro websites. Digital printing, combined with these other technologies, is a powerful tool for marketers.
“Variable data printing (VDP)”, “Personalized Printing,” “1-to-1 Printing,” “Personalized Images”
These terms all mean the same thing: Documents that merge database information, along with text and images, tailored to the recipient. The purpose is to increase response rate by getting the recipient’s attention. Digital printing is the only way to deliver this.
Print on Demand, Just-in-Time Printing
This is the ultimate benefit of digital printing. Print what you need, when you need it. No need to buy more than you’ll use and risk obsolescence. Some customers order daily, others weekly or monthly, depending on their usage cycle. At Xerographic Digital Printing, we offer custom client portals, allowing our partners to track their projects, get them approved, and send them into the print queue. And they can do that 24/7.
Give us a call. We look forward to discovering your printing needs. As the leading digital printer in Orlando, you can rest assured that we will recommend the most efficient technique and technology to make you an expert in digital printing, too.
