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Bringing your workforce up to speed should be a question of when, not if
PrintWeek readers are familiar with the ongoing debate on how print should tackle its skills shortages. While I think the industry is generally united on key issues such as the need to embrace the best technology and to become more environmentally responsible, how best to deliver training continues to arouse strong feelings among printers (see the round table debate in Printing World’s March edition for more on this).
This year, the industry has the opportunity to move beyond debate and produce some concrete outcomes. At the end of April, after extensive consultation with employers, manufacturers, trade unions and training providers, the National Skills Academy for Materials, Production and Supply submitted its business plan to the Learning and Skills Council. Pending approval, the Skills Academy will launch at the beginning of 2009, at last establishing the cohesive approach to training that the industry needs.
To be successful, this approach will have to address several issues that are specific to printing and are rooted in the industry’s structure. We know print is dominated by SMEs, some of whom, judging by the round-table debate last month, doubt the value of training to their businesses or, they simply cannot spare employees for training. (I can assure you larger printers also have the same concerns, and nor do they have built-in cover to allow time off for training.)
Staff loyalty
To deal with these points effectively, the Skills Academy needs to be able to demonstrate training is simple to access and deliver, and more importantly has a real pay-back. Whether it pays or makes employees more marketable is an old debate. But, in my experience, it can produce more motivated employees who stay with the company.
To take an example close to home, as part of Polestar’s apprenticeship scheme, apprentices select work projects where they could use these techniques to resolve a known problem. Over the past five years, the cost savings from these projects have amounted to approximately £500,000 against a training cost of £30,000. If the training was delivered to full-time staff who needed to be covered, the cost would be higher but the return still significant. In addition, more than 90% of our apprentices have stayed with the company.
But how do we spare other employees for training, and is it worth it? Many practical training modules can be delivered in bite-sized chunks at the start or end of a shift. The Skills Academy plans to achieve more flexible training by identifying the needs of employers, and one of its main aims is to take training to the business, thereby avoiding time out. However, employees need to be flexible too to prevent discontinuity or expensive cover arrangements.
While it is straightforward to see the cost benefit of problem solving skills in the example above or training on new equipment, the cost of training employees for a next role or to fill a vacancy can similarly be evaluated against cost of hiring and inducting a new but experienced person. This is clearly a make or buy decision. As to whether training just makes employees more marketable, I think it more likely that a trained and motivated employee will stay and contribute more to the business. Labour turnover in the industry (excluding redundancies) is low; I doubt any company experiencing a high turnover of staff can put it down to training their employees well.
Investing in training can be just as essential to business prosperity as investment in equipment, and the Skills Academy has a major role to play in making the training investment easier. If I had to choose one message that the Skills Academy has to get across to the industry, it is this: in the knowledge economy that printing competes in today, having well-trained people is the difference between thriving and failing, and training them is not an optional extra. The Academy then needs to provide the wherewithal to do it.
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Colin Thompson - 06 May 2008
Catherine Hearn is very experienced in the people market at Polestar through there many redundancy programmes and plant closures. The Print Industry needs to wake up the global trading environment and companies going `bust
Colin Thompson - 06 May 2008
Catherine Hearn is very experienced in the people market at Polestar through there many redundancy programmes and plant closures. The Print Industry needs to wake up the global trading environment and companies going `bust`.
I share with you a few moments on the present situation below.
THE ROAD AHEAD - CREATE THE OPPORTUNITY
Industrial Market Review and Outlook for 2008/09
Economic Outlook
In an unprecedented move five central banks, including the Bank of England, announced a raft of measures last week to improve liquidity conditions in interbank money markets. Separately, the US Federal Reserve has `slashed` interest rates with its biggest cut in 25 years. The Fed, the US central bank, is `trying`to keep the US economy from slumping into recession ( I believe the USA is in recession for some time) and US and European stocks took heart from the move.
Some analysts called the Fed move an act of "obvious panic".
It is also indicative of the elevated risks facing the world economy from 2008. Global or should I say Asia growth remains robust and oil and commodity prices remain at `very` high levels! With output gaps shrinking or closed, inflation is a `real` threat from 2008. Plus, when will oil and commodity prices stop rising?
In particular, labour and housing markets are in free fall in the USA with the UK following. In time, there will be rising rates which will `impact` on consumer spending also and we expect the US economy to slow in 2008 to a new low level.
Due to the US slowdown this will lead to slower growth `globally` in 2008. When the economic slowdown really starts, inflation is likely to run out of control. Also, we need to keep a close eye on energy costs that are controlled by a `few` countries for the rest of the world.
Following a slowdown in UK growth in 2006 and 2007, consumer spending, retail sales and the housing market have all generally weaken and 2008 will be a very interesting period!
With global growth expected to slow in 2008, growth in the UK will slow also. GDP in 2008 is forecasted at only 1.9%. We expect that the slowdown in global growth will help to keep UK inflation under control and that the BoE rate throughout 2008 will be static!
The main industrial sector to continue in decline through 2008 is the manufacturing market especially the Print sector with mass redundancies.
Stop me if this sounds familiar: new leads, new ideas, new technology, value-added customer services, diversification, marketing and management. That`s right. those are items that will take you and your company to the next level of profitability and market share in the new year of 2008. Savvy business leaders with an eye on growth - that`s you - already know that. More importantly, the question is how you get there!
Take this step to invest in the future of your business, your employees and yourself. It`s a certain opportunity to prosper, which is one road sign that should be hard to miss if you invest now.
CHALLENGES FOR THE PRINTING INDUSTRY
Proactive maintenance of an existing customer base to improve your `bottom-line`. This is the future strategy for all to be successful in a global trading environment. Read on and find out how you will be successful by taking on board the facts that you need to master for 2008 and beyond.
Marketing to existing customers and prospects, with the goal of retaining their business while stimulating the marketers` sales. Also, the important of the retention of employees in this task.
Building and Communicating Value will be the single most valuable investment your organisation makes on the road to delivering sustainable shareholder value.
The creation of shareholder value is the primary objective of any organisation, be it a plc or privately funded company - and research indicates that the pressure senior managers already face to deliver value will intensify significantly into the future with a global economy.
Today, it is vital that all senior management builds and delivers superior long-term value to meet and exceed the expectations of all its organisations shareholders.
Discover how this report will enable your organisation to deliver superior long-term value to its shareholders and encompass the retention of its employees and customers.
Open your mind up to the `Challenges` we face in a global trading environment to be successful.
Executive Summary
While customer retention and its goals have not changed, the entire customer retention business is busy reinventing itself from what it was just a few short years ago. Whether new technologies drove new thinking or vice versa, it's hard to say. But, one think is for sure, what retention is - is really different. New reporting and tracking methods reveal how customers interact with content, not just, where they go and what they open. Smaller, but highly qualified audience segments based on customer intelligence are replacing broad, shallow pools derived solely from basic demographic information. Moreover, customers are no longer sitting back and waiting for the next brand experience - they are finally having some say in developing it.
Simply put, the goal structure is as shown below:
Distinctive Capability - The clutch of skills or competencies that distinguishes the company from the competition and will enable it to seize the opportunities that arise in the future - whatever they may be.
Market/Product - The focus of application for the company's skills and competencies.
Identify - Communicating a clear, positive perception and image of the company to each of the audiences who are important to its future wellbeing.
People - Organising the skills and competencies of the company to meet the needs of the customers both now and in the future.
Profit/Performance - Defining the results expected.
! - Customising the strategy to meet the special needs of an organisation. Yes, Strategy Planning comes first; we need to know the `full` ingredients to be successful.
The current state of the Printing and Graphics Arts industry has been variously described as stagnant, revolutionary and on the brink, set against the vendor hype associated with all things Digital. In the middle of all this, the bedrock of the industry, Commercial Printers, are fighting to survive. So what is happening to this vital sector across Europe, USA and the developed world? Will the predicted fall in revenues from traditional offset happen, and if so how quickly? The change will be rapid! In many cases, Commercial Printers are finding the pace of change in technology far to rapid and cannot cope with the uncertain business conditions facing the industry. Also, many Commercial Printers have no succession planning and are `life style` companies and the true worth of the company is not at the same value as the owner.
It is the general consensus that the European Print Industry is experiencing pressing times, but this is a challenge and such despondency should be looked at with a fresh and open view at the changing global market.
We should look at the growth of print markets around the world - from China`s ride along the Domination Highway to the more emerging markets of Eastern Europe. We need to open up our minds to the opportunity in the world - while growing markets are usually seen as a threat, we need a much needed `kick-in-the-backside` and motivation for the West's metamorphosis from a manufacturing industry to a service industry. Just look at the impact of the Print Management Services companies have made over the last 37 years!
Despite all the doom and gloom and despondency that Printers are complaining about, the market is an opportunity and challenging. We are in `business`, so act and perform as business people do! Printing is a by product/service of the business, so business methods are the most important - what is required are skilled and experience people in all areas of `the business`. Plus, business models to help the business perform to global standards.
The price pressure from `cheap` manufacturers in developing countries, which has seen the migration of USA manufacturing to Latin America and the UK`s to Poland, Czech Republic and others, is having a positive effect on the industry. With European Union grants to these developing countries in Europe will put extreme pressure on the other established countries within EU.
China Isn't The Only Emerging Print Market
China's not the only emerging market; emerging Europe is still a place of significant growth. In a five-year period to 2003 printing employment in the Czech Republic grew 5%, Spain's grew 12%, and Hungary's grew 84%. This was all at a time when the developed economies of Europe's printing employment were either stagnant or declining.
Economic freedom is not turned on like a spigot; it takes time for economies to grow and to benefit from new capital investment. The Eastern European economies have shown steady progress, with some impressive growth rates, while still behind the other mainland economies in terms of incomes and per capita GDP. In practical terms, Spain and Portugal can be considered emerging economies as well.
Growth can be found in many places. Ireland's rise as a notable economy has caused its printing shipments to double in the same time period with help from the EU. Trade agreements account for a great deal of this growth, but modern communications technologies further erode the natural barriers to trade and widen opportunities for buyers and sellers to meet. Constantly improving logistics play a major role as well.
It's essential to realise that just because print may not be growing in the developed European countries does not mean it is not growing elsewhere. `Business people` go where the opportunities lead them, to give them a `bottom-line` return on their investments. The realisation that there is now an interconnected world print economy rather than a collection of discrete print economies is hard for many to get used to... but it's critical that global thinking become second nature to all managers.
Companies in the developed countries are asking themselves - `what can I do to stop my customers leaving? ` You can help your company by being `service driven` in the first place; add value to what you produce. It is these added services that are changing the industry. Plus, implementation of business models to raise the `bottom-line` and training people of `all` ages in `all` sectors of the company!
Between 2000 and 2005, the industry went through rapid growth from conventional ink-on-paper to include graphic design, data handling, web services, subscription management, enveloping and wrapping, mailing, distribution, warehousing and fulfilment. But, what will the next ten years bring?
Also, the worlds growing reception of Digital and wide-format print processes, which now make up 10.3% of the market. Digital is not just for high tech people anymore - it`s part of the printers` armoury, if not, being successful in the future will be very difficult for Commercial Printers.
Latin America and emerging Asian countries have just bypassed traditional print and gone straight to Digital printing. China has gone absolutely mad on wide-format. Digital is growing, but would not take over from conventional methods in the short to medium term.
A Litho press with care and attention will last 50 years plus. Handed on to second and then third - world countries, it will generate cash. Digital is not a total replacement for traditional print. Just like Television is not a replacement for radio and email is not a replacement for the telephone.
There are `hybrid` presses; screen mixed with ink-jet, digital capabilities on the conventional press. But, `offset ` print processes have reached their peak, whereby Digital, including wide-format ink-jet, more than doubled in use from 2000-2005 to take 6.8% of the global market and is predicted to do the same again by 2010. It is a Digital World, look around you and you will see it in many forms! Yes, open your eyes to the future requirements of your customers.
The news is that regardless of the printing methods, the industry does not appear to be descending on the slippery path, but rather facing a mid-life crisis of which you must handle to be successful in the future. By the year 2010 the market could be worth £390billion plus!
China will be a major player and is expected to grow by 11.6% and India to grow by 8.2%, helping Asia to over-take Western Europe, with a value probably in the region of £114billion plus. This being almost a third of the total global market in five years time. The massive growth of China`s print industry has inspired many Western organisations to invest `big time` in the future of China and the financial rewards for the future.
The Print Industry is re-inventing itself all the time, and as long as you get pressure from the customers, it will continue to do so.
" It`s not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change" by Charles Darwin
Now read on about the `Challenges for the Printing Industry`.
THE CHALLENGES FOR THE PRINTING INDUSTRY
The biggest challenge facing the printing industry has become what almost seems like a "war on print" by those who produce and disseminate content. The advertising and marketing industry enthuses about online and even newer media 24/7-and has even taken to referring to print as "offline media." What the industry needs is not only to fight back and remind people of the effectiveness of print, but also to come to the same conclusion as its most successful customers: `that print walks hand-in-hand with other media`.
News Highlights from around the world...
-- Despite gloomy economic reports, Printing surveys have found that business conditions for printing firms remained healthy, if not spectacular, in 2007.The industry expect business to continue to be generally stable through 2008, but, will it be?
-- In Spring 2007, in the USA and Europe, 66% of printers cited "competition" as a major business challenge, a reaction to what is thought to be too little work flowing into too many organisations;
Challenges and Opportunities for the Printing Industry in the next 12 Months and Beyond
It's no secret that many firms in the industry have been struggling, and demographic data show a great deal of turmoil that continues relatively unabated. Yet, there remain very successful businesses in the industry. Cultural changes in the way people access media are having profound effects on the demand for print, particularly among advertisers, marketers, and publishers-all of whom are, not coincidentally, printers' biggest customers. How has the explosion of new media affected the print markets? What can the industry do to effective cope with these trends? And what will 2008 bring?
In 2007, digital printing; personalised, customised, variable-data, and other targeted printing applications; "Web-to-print" applications and use; wide-format printing; and interest in and implementation of production workflow solutions are progressing rapidly. But, do not forget business models, which will increase the `bottom-line`! Plus, experienced and skilled people of any age are a major asset.
2007 has seen marketers and advertisers steadily distancing themselves from print, and yet, given the effectiveness of print, they do so at their peril. Regardless, "cursing the darkness" won't help; printers need to develop a cogent strategy for responding to this trend. What the industry needs is an emphasis on seeking out new business models, niches, and applications for print. This is 180 degrees from how the industry tends to operate; but the need to do so has never been greater and will only become more profound in the year(s) ahead. Research and plan ahead, do not put your head in the sand.
The biggest challenges facing those who produce and distribute content are not necessarily production or workflow issues, but rather involve navigating the seas of new and newer media. The key is to `strategise` successfully and understand how each medium-whether it's old media like print, new media like the Internet, or newer media like podcasting and mobile media-fits into a given marketing or advertising campaign. For publishers, the situation is even more crucial, as they need to understand and adapt to changes in the ways that people obtain content.
The past two years have seen a resurgence of business for these markets, and at the same time a veritable explosion of new ways to disseminate content. Cultural changes in the way people access media are having profound effects on traditional advertising and publishing models. Easy-to-use desktop publishing software has made it easy for business and individuals to do their own graphic design work. How have these societal and technological changes affected the creative markets-and what will 2008 and the future bring?
From reports business conditions for design and production firms were strong in 2007, although they were slightly below what they had been a year earlier-although they expect business to continue to be strong through 2008. From worldwide surveys the following information was made available;
In Summer 2007, 37% of publishers said that e-mail promotions and e-newsletters would become more important for them in the next 12 months, while 27% said Web advertising will.
In Summer 2007, 51% of graphic designers cited "customers doing their own desktop publishing work" as a business challenge.
In Summer 2007, 36% of design and production firms expected business in the next 12 months to be "excellent, better than the last 12 months," up from the 33% who said this six months earlier.
In Summer 2007, 64% of publishers cited "printing costs" as a business challenge, the highest this challenge has ever charted in 10 years.
In Summer 2007, 56% of Web design and production firms cited "database development projects" as a sales opportunity, the highest this opportunity has charted in six years.
In Spring 2007, 28% of printers cited "design/creative capabilities" as a sales opportunity; an all-time high and a sign that print customers may be increasingly competing with their printers.
In Summer 2007, 42% of design and production firms said that "jobs designed for colour digital printing" were increasing, while 27% said that "jobs designed for traditional offset printing" were decreasing.
The Printing Industry is a major communications tool and is viewed as a bellwether of trends in the economy as a whole. This as always was the case from writing on stone up to the present day technology. There will always be history, change and the future.
The key issues continue to hamper the Print Manufacturing organisations that do not change in this global trading environment. These organisations need to wake up to the reality of life, listen to experienced/skilled successful people who can help, take on board business models to help them operate more efficiently and manage the management of change. To be successful in this global trading environment you need all these business tools to survive, so they need to take them on board and find success or not survive!
Take on board the benefits from a Non-Executive Director who will add value through independence and experience to raise your `bottom-line`.
The Print Industry is undergoing fundamental changes in every aspect of both Technology and Strategy. Also, the current economic climate and the vast range and speed of new technology development ensure the future will be a challenging time.
The UK Printing Industry for example is the 5th largest of the manufacturing Industries, but it is among the least well documented. It is an industry, which serves all sectors of the economy including public authorities, financial services, publishers, and distribution services and manufacturing industries. Its customers range from major institutions to the smallest business. The Main land European Print Industry organisations follow similar trends.
Its structure reflects the diversity of its products and very fragmented nature of its market with less than 20 printing companies employing more than 500 people and only around 550 employing between 50 and 499 people. These companies tend to specialise in a narrow range of products in national and international markets. There is a vast army of small firms, which usually are general printers catering for a local market. The number of organisations in the sector has declined `rapidly` in the past few years. According to VAT registration data there are currently almost 17,500 print businesses, a fall of over 6% from 2002. Nevertheless, this still represents more than a tenth of all manufacturing organisations, reflecting the fact that most printing organisations are very small businesses. Also, it means there are many more print businesses that are under the VAT thresh hold and many who do not class themselves as `print businesses`, but do print! The number of print businesses could be as many as 30,000 plus in the UK! In the whole of Europe there could be 150,000 companies that can be classed as Printers!
The five largest countries in Europe (UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy) account for more than 77% of all print in Europe. When collecting statistical data, it becomes evident that Europe is not a single country, but an amalgamation of national industries that can serve a common market. The European Print Industry consists mainly of small enterprises, as 85% of them employ fewer than 20 persons.
In many of the statistical sources, printing is not classified as a separate industry, so that information about it is scattered among sources often related to industries of which it forms only a part. The reason to try and `hide` information on the printing industry is due to `very low` profit margins, many loss making organisations and `life-style` firms! , high capital expenditure, deterioration in general state of trade and high impact of technology from non-print manufacturers, which now form a part of supplying customer needs.
It is difficult to measure the size of the printing industry with great accuracy, largely because of the overlap with publishing, packaging and Print Management Service providers. Also, the change of industrial classification by some printers to move into other classified areas so they do not register as `print` organisations. The printing industry contributes only 1% of the UK`s total GDP and represents around 3% of manufacturing turnover. Printing provides employment for about 170,000 people in a market that has annual sales of around £14 billion. But, do we believe the statistics recorded in the world to be correct?
Despite moves towards consolidation during the 1990`s, printing is still one of the most highly fragmented manufacturing activities. Over 60% of printing businesses report an annual turnover of less than £250,000 (compared to 55% for manufacturing as a whole), and four fifths of printing organisations employ fewer than ten people. Many printing organisations are single-outlet enterprises operating from workshop units or, to a lesser extent, high street print shops (there are thousands of these operations). A fifth of printers, moreover, achieve annual sales of less than £50,000.
On the other hand, large organisations dominate the sector for the printing of newspapers, magazines and security products. Among the major organisations are, De La Rue, Chesapeake UK Holdings, Clondalkin Group, St. Ives
In contrast to other manufacturing industries, printing organisations are geographically spread right across the country. There is little or no training for succession planning in the people arena, therefore the rapid change is to Digital printing with keyboard skills against craft skills. The traditional printing industry is killing itself by no training/use of business models and lack of experienced and skilled people and therefore can only cast blame on the lack of management strategy to see the future. The needs are continuous training programmes for all employees and effective business models plus the passion to be successful.
Key Issues;
· Overall market conditions continue to be tough. The corporate market in particular has suffered from the decline in company profitability, lower levels of merger and acquisition activity and from the continuing downturn in manufacturing within Europe.
· Customers are continuing to be ever more demanding in terms of customer service and printers who follow a pure` manufacturing` business model will struggle to sustain adequate profitability. In most cases increased losses are at a level, which will not be accepted by lenders/stakeholders. Prospects are brighter for those organisations, which see themselves as a `wider communications chain` and can offer customers an enhanced range of value-added services. The offerings by `Print Management Service` organisations are very appealing to large/medium/ and even SME`s due to a total package of customer service driven activities.
· The outlook remains very mixed, with the prospect of no growth in the manufacturing recovery together with growing pressure on household spending. The impact on household spending totally affects the Print and Communication Industry together with shorter print runs and a rapid move to Digital operations and Print Management Service companies.
· For a high value-added business the print industry exhibits relatively very low profit margins and in many cases heavy losses. This largely reflects intense global competition in a very highly fragmented industry, which restricts the ability of organisations to raise prices. Therefore, print organisations should look very closely at improvements in operational processes. There are experienced/skilled people available with vast knowledge of managing successful organisations, who have developed business models especially for the print/communications industry. Use them and you will be successful in this global trading environment. Visit the knowledge bank at www.cavendish-mr.org.uk for comprehensive information.
· Mergers and acquisitions have occurred among large organisations (Equipment Manufacturers /Print Manufacturers /Print Management Service Organisations) with only a few SME`s being acquired by other businesses to try and stay profitable. Pressure on margins and the need for constant investment in new equipment and R & D will drive further consolidation within the industry.
· The growth of electronic media represents a threat to print products, but some sectors are more at risk than others are.
THE DYNAMICS OF THE INDUSTRY
The printing industry encompasses a `wide` range of activities and products. It includes printers who receive most of their work in the form of individual jobs (job shop mentality) to produce printed matter.
The Customers
By far the largest single market is the production of `advertising literature` (including brochures, direct mail and commercial catalogues) which at present accounts for 50% + total sales (but this sector is in decline except for direct mail).
Digital Display Printing is a major growth area in the future to traditional media printed products, whether home produced or imported.
Output of Printed Products
The direct mail market has been among the most successful sectors in recent years, having grown by more than 150% over the past 12 years. But, lower company profitability and confidence has hit spending on advertising and promotions, the largest single source of printing industry revenue. Also, there as been a rapid rise in Digital Display Printing in POP/POS and large personal wrap’s on buildings.
Official statistics from the Office for National Statistics in Europe show that sales of advertising literature fell in 2001, the first time in six year and continues to fall year-on-year from 2001 up to 2006, and will continue to fall.
Spending on books, newspapers, magazines and stationery has been one of the `weakest` areas of household expenditure in recent years and will continue to decline. Within this, the strongest subsection has been books, although the pattern of growth tends to be somewhat erratic. Newspapers and periodicals have generally exhibited slower growth and indeed spending in this segment has declined in each of the past four years and is still predicted to decline further.
In addition, to no growth of consumer spending, printers in the magazine sector have had to contend with the effects of a complete slump in advertising. Advertising expenditure in business magazines, for instance, was down by 8%. This has often resulted in a reduction in the number of pages printed. Meanwhile leading publishers have sought to rationalise the number of print manufacturers that they work with! This will mean, cost cutting - which will push print manufacturers further into decline? This of course is a great opening for foreign print organisations from China and others to step in with even more economical prices! There will be many more acquisitions to try and keep the margin up, but the trend is still `over capacity` with `ridiculous` prices!
Possible Prospects for the Print Industry
In an industry plagued by over capacity and chronically thin margins and in most cases heavy losses, it is inevitable that some printers will continue to struggle. Print organisations should look close to home at their operation processes to cut costs, by using business models to help them raise the `bottom-line`. Plus, take on board experienced/skilled people in `management of change` to introduce best practise.
Consolidation will continue to take place among SME`s as it has become clear that a certain critical mass is sometimes necessary for survival. But only if the SME`s wake up to the `true` value of their organisations. The consolidation of the large corporations will also continue on a global scale.
Pressure on margins, the need for capital investment and the desire to build market share will continue to drive further acquisition activity. Continuing rationalisation either though mergers or plant closures, while painful to some in the short-term, may provide a firmer financial footing for the industry if some `below-cost` organisations are squeezed out!
There is no doubt that the growth of electronic media, including the Internet, is the single most important threat to the printing industry. Some parts of the print industry are less immediately threatened by these developments. Direct Mail of a specialist nature and Transactional Billing for example, are expected to see further growth over the next few years, while most manufactured products will still require packaging.
Elsewhere, however, publishers will be looking to use other media, as well as print, to distribute their content. Likewise, major organisations are seeking to communicate with shareholders and the public by electronic means. Printing of newspapers, magazines, and business communications will therefore be more vulnerable to the threat posed by new media. Plus, shorter runs and Digital processes will dominate.
It is not all doom and gloom. Printing is just one part of a complex communications process and print organisations may be able to undertake other activities and capture some of the value associated with other parts of the process. The development of variable data printing, where print jobs are linked to information held on databases, may afford opportunities for printers to become involved in managing data on behalf of customers. This is potentially highly profitable work, althoug
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