Welcome to PIE’s New Printing Blog

Printing is alive and well, and it always will be. Just look in your mailbox. Where there once were only a few options, like offset, gravure, and letterpress, now there is an abundance of choice: offset, digital, large format printing. The list goes on.

Hello. My name is Steven Waxman. For the past decade, I have been writing the Quick Tips column for the PIE website each month, providing information on trends in digital and offset printing, and offering advice on how you can buy these services more efficiently and economically. Knowledge is power, and my goal has been to empower you as print buyers. To expand upon this a bit, PIE will be initiating a new blog to educate print buyers and to discuss current trends and technologies in the printing field.

It’s ironic that we’re discussing printing on a website, isn’t it? The Internet is adding dimension and richness to printed communications. It’s supporting ink-on-paper by making it easier to find sources for quality business printing. It also provides opportunities for two-way communication about topics of interest.

At an ever increasing rate, the challenge for printing companies is to help their clients choose the best medium for communication for a particular audience at a particular time and place, to achieve a specified goal. And this often depends on blending various ink-on-paper and toner-on-paper technologies.

Maybe a company wants to merge its client list with a Photoshop image to provide a digitally printed, personalized calendar, prominently noting each client’s name written in the sand on the beach in the photo.

Possibly a company wants to print a digital or offset brochure or postcard (brochure printing) (postcard printing) that can be paired with a personal web page (PURL).

Perhaps a company is looking for on-demand book printing services to selectively bind short-run versions of text books (each with different content) (book printers) (on-demand book printers) (short-run book printers).

Or they may even need large format printing (large-format printing) for a huge poster: an image to wrap around the side of a building or a vehicle.

It’s a view of the future (and the present). And it includes printers and printing.

This marriage of digital and offset printing with Internet technology is known by many names, including “convergence” and “integrated marketing.” Increasingly, printing companies seek to partner with clients to help them craft their communications strategy. Printers are working to provide superior service and quality business printing in order to help raise their clients’ market share and boost their return on investment.

The key word here is “partner.” Printing companies and print buyers are coming together for mutual gain.

This is the future of printing, involving new technology and a focus on partnerships. In this spirit, the Printing Industry Exchange will initiate a new printing blog. Think of it more as a forum. The goal is not to duplicate the the Quick Tips newsletter but to complement it. The newsletter will continue to provide information on how to be a prudent print buyer by understanding and leveraging current technologies. In contrast, the PIE Blog will provide an opportunity for print buyers and printing companies within the PIE community to exchange thoughts and information, pose questions, and vent frustrations, in addition to learning about new printing technologies and techniques.

I will facilitate the discussion, and I will ask all of you to share your thoughts and experiences so that we can all benefit.

Sample PIE Blog #1

Let’s start with an example of how we envision the PIE Blog. First, here are a few provocative questions to get you thinking:

How can offset printers bolster their competitive edge and increase market share? What printing services do print buyers need their vendors to add (such as mailing services, fulfillment, digital storefront and print-on-demand services, or large format printing for producing signage and point-of-purchase displays)? What other services can printers offer to print buyers to shift their focus from price alone to the additional benefits of their printer’s knowledge, experience, service ethic, and commitment to quality?

Now it’s your turn. Let me know what you think. I will share it with our readers, and, hopefully, your comments will provoke further thought and discussion.