Bryan Yeager is a Senior Consultant for InfoTrends’ Production Workflow Solutions Consulting Services. Bryan covers a number of existing and emerging software and technology markets that enable cross-media marketing communications. He is the author of several in-depth Ultimate Guide reports that span across a variety of software categories, and provides insight through research, analysis, and consulting. He can be contacted via e-mail at bryan_yeager@infotrends.com or via Twitter (@bryanyeager).

While the use of mobile 2D barcodes such as QR codes continue to pop up in print marketing and advertising at a brisk pace, a growing chorus of pundits are questioning their long-term relevance and overall sustainability. Most notably, Dave Wieneke, a digital marketing strategist, wrote a fairly scathing article last week on AdAge titled…

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Over the past year or two, I’ve had the impression that the term “TransPromo” is perceived outside the printing industry as being very print-centric. I have this impression because that’s what people outside of the industry that I speak with about TransPromo tell me. Perhaps because the terminology was so talked up in our own…

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It’s no secret that proprietary technology powers the printing industry. Over the years, there have been several significant milestones that work toward “opening up” systems that power printing, such as the introduction and adoption of JDF & JMF, the standardization of PDF, and the growing presence of open interfaces to connect disparate systems together. Despite…

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For better or worse, living in Boston means that I am subjected to quite a bit of marketing and advertising. As I drive in and out of the city, billboards plaster each side of the highway. When I visit any number of watering holes across the region, there’s bound to be an ad or two…

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I’ve been seeing some great posts lately on the The Digital Nirvana that cover many different aspects of mobile marketing and technology, including mobile 2D barcodes, mobile content delivery, and more. In light of a number of very recent events, and to build upon my last post about data security, I wanted to cover one additional…

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Last week, I attended the 2011 Xplor International Conference & Vendor Forum, which hosted a number of educational sessions on transactional documents, such as bills and statements, and the infrastructure that enables output and delivery of these mission-critical applications. Not only do these types of documents need to reach 100% of recipients consistently every cycle;…

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“Right message, right time, right medium” is the mantra that we’ve been hearing regarding the need to make communications more relevant, personalized, and tailored to a person’s interests and preferences. One area where we’ve seen increased focus on applying this concept is in the area of customer communications, which encompasses informational, transactional, and promotional communications…

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A few weeks ago, there was an inquiry on the social question and answer site Quora asking about companies that offer on-demand printing and mailing services with an application programming interface, or API. As my first foray into Quora, I provided an answer that listed some of the available options I could think of, noting…

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For the past decade, consumers have been moving many of their day-to-day activities to the Web. Millions of people have adopted communication technologies like instant messaging, e-mail, and social networks to engage with each other in a virtual way. Online shopping is more prevalent than ever, and is becoming even more diverse. Moreover, people are using…

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There’s been a bit of resurgence in interest regarding the rapidly changing dynamics in the publishing business as of late. While the talk of paywalls in front of currently-free content on news sites has been discussed (and sometimes implemented), paid content just got a whole lot more interesting. Last week, Apple announced its long-awaited content…

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Although it’s not something typically associated directly with the print industry, three-dimensional (3D) printing is gaining a lot of traction as a way to revolutionize and democratize manufacturing. 3D printing is used largely in general manufacturing, architecture, engineering, industrial design, and other areas that rely on rapid prototyping. It’s an additive manufacturing technology, meaning that…

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In case you hadn’t figured it out, I’m a software guy. Don’t get me wrong; I like checking out the latest and greatest digital printers and I’ve had the privilege to run various types of presses to give me a true perspective on end-to-end print workflow. Nonetheless, these days you really can’t afford to have…

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The evolution of variable data publishing and the technology that enables it has been a bumpy journey. While that journey long predates my entry into the print industry, many of the issues that printers have had to deal with when trying to accomplish the creation and production of a variable data job have persisted: processing…

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There seems to be an ongoing discussion about names and descriptions of things in our industry, particularly when it comes to the seemingly hotly-debated phrases “print service provider” and “marketing service provider”, as well as their acronym counterparts, “PSP” and “MSP”. Cary Sherburne sparked some debate last year with her post on Print CEO about…

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Over the past year or so, my colleagues and I at InfoTrends have been taking a look at software that enables TransPromo communications. For those that may have attended InfoTrends’ recent TransPromo Summit in Boston or are attending our European TransPromo Summit in October, you know that TransPromo programs can be extremely effective, but most…

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