How Digital Is Changing Print Business Models
Digital printing has been a mainstay of the industry for over two decades, slowly gathering steam and taking market share from more entrenched offset technologies.
Figures released by international research firm Smithers show that digital printing will be worth $230.5 billion in 2032, a leap from $136.7 billion today. It will account for almost a quarter of all print business, with inkjet set to dominate the market. So despite its current prevalence, digital still has a lot of potential in it.
A Shift That Touches Every Part of the Business
But a digital transformation, or even adding a new digital department, will impact your entire business model and your operations, from sales commissions to maintenance.
When you move from a traditional offset production system to a digital one, you’re exchanging long static runs for a slew of short ones with much shorter turnaround times and, sometimes, variably printed pieces in the same run.
This gives rise to a host of considerations.
Digital equipment, whether toner based or inkjet, can reduce the need for floor space, especially as you’re doing away with prepress equipment. Given the ability to print on-demand, inventory and warehouse management will change, both for you and your clients.
Buying a digital press isn’t like buying an offset press that you can amortize over decades. When you go digital, you often adopt a click-based payment model, which can include maintenance. It also means you’ll likely be upgrading equipment more often than you’re used to in an offset environment.
Digital presses shine at short runs. Instead of selling a few long runs to keep the presses running, you’ll have to sell many, many smaller jobs to achieve the same volume. Sales reps will have to adjust to this type of sale, and their compensation will have to be modified as well.
One approach, at least initially, is to offer incentives with a higher commission structure for each job or for each new client. Variable work will require a greater degree of client education and more time to make a sale. Commissions will have to reflect that as well. Good training, coaching, regular sales meetings, and a well-defined sales process will be key.
Selling variable print may also require an upgrade in staff that understands how to handle databases and file set-up for output.
Shorter runs, and particularly variable runs, need their own pricing structure. A run may be short, but it can be very valuable. You will no longer sell on the number of impressions, but on the value of outcomes for clients. Market research and client education will help set the proper price.
A higher volume of short runs requires more agility from all departments, from estimating to bindery. Jobs will have to be quoted and produced more quickly. A software upgrade will help. You may need different bindery equipment that is more adapted to a digital workflow.
Once your business grows, adopting good MIS and production software systems will become more critical. A good software stack streamlines workflows, reduces manual labor, and makes your operation more efficient by integrating all departments. It also generates the data you need to understand your metrics, identify bottlenecks, and make strategic decisions.
Digital printing is not as simple as buying a new press and plugging it in. It has its own demands that must be met to be a success. But it also gives you opportunities. You might find all kinds of niches for your local markets, anything from personalized birthday cards to wallpaper. Digital printing, with its potential for repeat orders, is also better suited to creating an online store where jobs are barely touched by human hands.
Digital requires some realignment, but the opportunities are plentiful.