Gimbel & Associates Blog

 

Roger P. Gimbel and our Gimbel & Associates Sr. Consultants are excited to once again participate in XPLOR 22 activities and seminars!  G&A is always happy to share our knowledge and insights with attendees at the yearly conference. 

As the main XPLOR Platinum Sponsor Gimbel & Associates will be hosting Booth #1 in the Banyan Breezeway.

Come meet  Gail Gimbel, Executive Director and Randy Swope, Sr. Consultant- New Market Development  who will answer any questions about Gimbel & Associates services and where you can sign up for our monthly blogs and informative eBooks and webinar events.

Here's what's on the schedule.

 

Like the rest of us, print buyers have come through a challenging time. COVID has surely affected their jobs, and the profession itself has changed as print’s place in the marketing spectrum has evolved.

Today’s buyers include highly experienced professionals who understand the technicalities of print and are fascinated by equipment, and newly minted entrants who are likely to be digital natives or marketers without a great deal of printing experience. For them, buying print is not a primary function, but only one task in a broader portfolio. And let’s not forget that a lot of print buying has moved online.

 

Well, we are certainly living in interesting times. Two years of a global pandemic, followed by conflict in Ukraine, have resulted in labor disruptions, a choked global supply chain, and a shifting marketplace. What’s next is anyone’s guess at this point.

Interesting times certainly bring a host of challenges, but they also bring opportunity. That’s as true for the printing industry, which was living through its own interesting times even before the pandemic, as it is for individuals and society.

 

Online shopping is part of our culture.  During the pandemic we learned that even the least tech savvy consumer was doing their shopping online.  E-commerce is growing while retail businesses face declines in traditional in-person shopping. The trends in B2B shopping closely follow the consumer trends and the printing business is no exception. Online stores, also known as web-to-print or W2P, are an opportunity for printing companies to add value to their products, interact with clients in the ways they prefer, and grow their businesses.

A well-designed web-to-print solution can be a new sales tool for you, allowing you to make more sales to your existing client base.  Online storefronts allow print service providers to reach a broader audience with their existing clients. You may have a relationship with a solitary print buyer, but his or her company employs many other individuals who also order print, such as managers, administrative assistants, salespeople, or support staff. 

By analyzing the data collected from online storefront software about orders you receive, you can also gain knowledge about your clients or spot trends across market segments and adjust your marketing efforts accordingly.

 

Expanding into wide-format offerings is exciting on many fronts. It’s also challenging and complex as, among other things, it requires creating a smart manufacturing layout to produce the printed items profitably.

A good floor plan is like a puzzle—all the pieces must fit together to achieve the most efficiency. This includes moving materials, accessing equipment, creating networks, and other elements. Properly done, an efficient floor plan will reduce waste, increase productivity, and boost competitiveness.

Overall, the goal is to achieve an optimal flow. Create the most direct and productive means of physically moving a job from intake to production, to finishing and then shipping. The challenge is accommodating multiple printers, cutters, laminators, mounting devices, and other equipment into the flow.

The printing process is intricate and complex. Printing is a finely tuned and calibrated engineering feat with thousands of parts all moving in perfect harmony. On top of that, various technologies execute the function in different ways. While your customers needn’t be exposed to all the details, a little bit of knowledge about printing technology can’t hurt. Sharing information like this with your customers shows them you are a professional who has a thorough understanding of the industry.

Feel free to use the descriptions in this article to populate your own newsletters, blogs, emails, brochures or other communications aimed at your customers.

In-plant printing operations are different from commercial shops in significant ways. They are, for example, expected to provide services that support the goals of their parent companies. Sometimes that means decisions regarding scheduling, production, or resource allocation are dictated by the needs, wants, demands, and whims of the parent company, regardless of any financial impact on the in-plant.

But in-plants are like commercial shops in that they are expected to run efficiently and keep costs down while handily meeting customer expectations and delivering work on time. To operate at that

Wide-format printing, a large and resilient category, continues to show potential for growth and profitability. If you haven’t delved into wide format, it can be a significant new revenue stream for your print operations.

Definitions vary, but for our purposes, wide format means inkjet devices with printing widths of roughly five feet and greater. Encompassing many applications—posters, banners, pop-ups, labels, back-lit displays, textiles, home décor, wall art, and packaging—it also excels at very short runs with variable printing and customization.

Roger P. Gimbel and Gail Gimbel, of Gimbel & Associates, have established a new scholarship fund honoring Hy and Audrey Gimbel. The Herman L. Gimbel and Audrey M. Gimbel Memorial Scholarship Fund, will be part of the Xplor Member Scholarship program, which offers financial assistance to Xplor members and their immediate families who are pursuing careers in the electronic document and communications industry.

Hy and Audrey are the parents of Roger and Gail Gimbel of Gimbel & Associates. They were pioneers in the printing industry, opening their first printing business in 1942.  Recognizing early on the need for on-demand copies of business documents in the 60’s, they were one of the first to develop the concept of quick copy centers.

In the first article of this two-part blog, we discussed the major considerations of a business plan for a start-up printing company. This time, we’ll look at other aspects that must be handled well to succeed in the printing industry.

Equipment and Software

If you’re like most printers, you love equipment. The speeds, the colors, the rhythmic whir of the sheet intake and output — they’re all mesmerizing. Even if you’re not awed by presses and laser cutters now, you will be. It’s inevitable.

 

Designing for print and designing for digital presentation can be quite different. Some aspects are common to both, such as visual appeal, a pleasing use of color, and effective space utilization. Other practices, techniques, and executions will differ.