I recently attended the Canon Solutions America PPS Leadership Forum at its Poing factory on March 18^th & 19^th and took the opportunity to catch up with the Océ team.

Canon Solutions America, formerly Océ, frequently hosts customers, and prospects at its newly redesigned Customer Engagement Center (CEC), an entire hall in its manufacturing complex. The user friendly CEC environment included a coffee bar, tables for small group discussions, a lounge area, meeting rooms, information & hospitality desk, as well as a floor map to aid visitors in finding solutions of interest. The CEC was thoughtfully arranged and included the newest product announcements from Canon Solutions America, the Océ JetStream 5500 and Océ ColorStream 3900s with fast MICR and invisible ink.  .

The agenda included a flexible schedule with industry tracks led by industry analysts & experts. Océ clients and prospects were allowed to select the most appropriate sessions and have deep interactions with both Océ staff and presenters.

Here are a few important take-aways from my visit:

• Canon integration appears complete. Canon’s integration of Océ production printing, especially for North America appears to be successful and complete. I dined with Toyotsugu “Toyo” Kuwamura, president of Canon Solutions America, and he outlined his vision for the future Océ. His plans of continued investment and pursuit of new markets with the combined Canon/Océ solutions will extend the reach of both organizations into new markets.

• Migration to Color Inkjet successful. From virtually zero market share in 2008 in the inkjet market, to the identified market share leader (>35%) in both placements and images, Océ has successfully reinvented its product line to stay ahead of the market demand.

• Continued technology advancements. Canon Solutions America is not content to rest on past successes, and is extending its Océ ColorStream & Océ JetStream product lines to support additional applications. The introduction of new security inks, including MICR, Fugitive and Invisible, extends the toolset for secure document creation already available from Canon Solutions America.

While not new, but still visually impressive, are the clean lines and paper path of the Océ ColorStream 3000 series. During our demonstration, the front doors were left open, and the speed, image quality, and simplicity of the device was readily apparent. An Océ ColorStream prospect present noted “it’s no wonder these are the leading placement devices in its class”. Here is a photo of the inside:

Note the new, refined and slimmer drying unit. By using less water, there is less liquid to evaporate, and therefore no need for industrial strength drying units, and their power consumption and heat byproduct. In fact, Canon Solutions America reports that the Océ ColorStream 3000 series uses up to 1/3 the power consumption of alternative inkjet solutions.

In case you haven’t heard, the U.S. Postal Board has delayed the elimination of Saturday mail delivery slated to being August 5.

This doesn’t mean that the transition won’t happen. It just won’t happen immediately. Apparently, the board still supports the long-term elimination of Saturday mail, but it appears to be claiming that the USPS didn’t have the authority to change its own schedule and that legislation first must be passed to give it this authority.

The fallout?

Mailers don’t need to worry about adjusting their mailing schedules through summer and fall.

The USPS has expressed that, if it is not allowed to cut these $2 billion in costs by a change in schedule, heft rate increases may take it place.

In an article in DM News, there was an interesting comment from the perspective of catalogers, who apparently are very much in support of five-day mail delivery:

Our members say they’ll take one-day delivery if it translates into lower cost. That’s how much of an overarching concern cost is. — Hamilton Davison, president of the American Catalog Mailers Association

What do you think? Is the delay a relief or a concern?

Like many others, you may have thought of LinkedIn as a place meant for posting resumes and searching for jobs. Think again.

LinkedIn just may be the best online marketing venue in the business – especially if you have a business-to-business company.

Launched in 2003, LinkedIn has recently emerged as a bonafide marketing behemoth within the social media landscape. It surpassed both Twitter and Facebook as a platform for posting marketing content, according the Content Marketing Institute report, 2013 Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends.

LinkedIn has recently amassed an astounding 200 million members. Plus, it acquires 172,800 new members every day. LinkedIn also generates the highest visitor-to-lead conversion rate — 2.74% — nearly three times more than Twitter and Facebook, according to a 2012 HubSpot study.

If you’re like other business owners, you know that you need to build an online brand presence. But, like many, your eyes glaze over at the infinite number of social media options.

So, let’s simplify this. If you had to choose just one social network for marketing your business online, LinkedIn would be a pretty good place to start. It’s easy to set up. It’s free, unless you spring for the Premium plan, and it won’t take up your entire workday to follow or maintain. Here are some simple action items:

1. Sign up. If you haven’t already done so, stop everything and set up a LinkedIn account for your company. By the way, a newer, sleeker LinkedIn Company Pages, launched last year, makes it easier to connect your business with those 200 million other users.
2. Introduce yourself. Write a company profile with strong, relevant keywords. Let people know who you are, what you do, and how to reach you. Maintain your page with regular company updates and news.
3. Join LinkedIn groups. (FYI: My favorite LinkedIn feature.) Join LinkedIn groups — either within your industry or in those you’re targeting to grow your business. See what people are talking about and sharing.
4. Build contacts. LinkedIn is ultimately a great place to network. Invite people you know to be “contacts” and, likewise, accept invitations from others to join their contact list. LinkedIn etiquette generally frowns on asking complete strangers to be contacts, but you may ask existing contacts for referrals to their connections.
5. Contribute. While LinkedIn is generally a promotion-free zone, it nonetheless encourages you to share and respond to relevant news, trends, observation and opinion with your groups and contacts. It’s a great way to build brand awareness for you and your company and widen your network of professional connections.

So, thinking about giving LinkedIn a try?  Good call. May be the best thing you do today for your company.

Editor’s Note: Bob Boucher is President of Boucher Communications. A communications professional for 30 years, Bob is an experienced marketer, copywriter, journalist and content generator for enterprises and agencies. He has spent much of the past 20 years in the graphic arts and digital printing industries.

The March 1^st issue of In-Plant Graphics had an article titled “Inkjet Summit’s Unique Format is a Win-Win.  The article talks about the upcoming invitation-only three day event for  ” for senior managers and business executives who want to understand how current and future inkjet technology trends, software, consumables and finishing solutions are and will impact their businesses and help them shape their visions and strategies for the future.”

Each of the past two Drupa events, in 2012 and 2008, was dubbed the “Inkjet Drupa” by many experts. Inkjet installations are increasing and projected to increase rapidly through 2016, driven by the conversion to digital print, growth in color applications, and system flexibility.  In November 12, 2012, David Zwang stated, “It is estimated that there were 46.1 billion color digital pages printed in 2010, and that number will jump to nearly 130 billion by 2015. While this estimate is comprised of all digital print pages, more importantly than the market share growth is the fact that the value of that digital print has jumped sharply, bringing better returns to the global print market.”  With all this hype, print business leaders have been considering the options and need for Inkjet Color printing, and considering migrating from their offset print or black and white digital.  They have been seeking answers.

What is of great interest at the Inkjet Summit is the potential for these senior operations and business leaders to get up close and personal with a number of the leading suppliers at one time.  Unlike Graph Expo and Drupa, the seriously interested leaders will have full access to leading suppliers in a small group environment.  In addition, unlike a one-on-one interaction with a single supplier in a typical sales meeting, the representatives from the user side and the service and equipment providers will be able to meet and compare all at one time.

The attendees will also have access to and hear reports from key independent industry leaders and experts who will be facilitating the event.  Finally, if they dare, the attendees will be able to meet and collaborate with their peers.  Yes, collaborate with their peers!  I hope this happens, because after all our real competition is those who would move everyone away from print to other communication media.

I would appreciate hearing from anyone who is attending this event when it is over, as I truly believe the organizers have a formula which should help print not just survive but thrive in this highly competitive time.
 

The Inkjet Summit 2013 event will be held April 9-11 at the exclusive Ponte Vedra Inn & Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL and is organized by Printing Impressions, the leading trade publication serving commercial printers, and nGage Events, the leading producer of specialized hosted model events.  The Inkjet Summit is an invitation-only, hosted event designed for senior managers and business executives who want to understand how current and future inkjet technology trends, software, consumables and finishing solutions are and will impact their businesses and help them shape their visions and strategies for the future.

“Our goal is to bring together suppliers of inkjet solutions with qualified attendees who are serious about investing in these solutions, into an environment facilitated by experts,” commented David Pesko, senior vice president at nGage Events. “Attendees will learn from experts, suppliers, and most importantly their peers on how to approach inkjet and how to be successful. Our event format accomplishes this and it shows in the attendees confirmed thus far and the overwhelming requests we receive daily.  This event is truly a win-win for sponsors and attendees.”

As the interest in inkjet printing continues to grow, print providers and corporate enterprises are seeking guidance from industry experts, peers and market leaders to help them develop sound business strategies, understand their technology options, and make major investment decisions concerning inkjet printing capabilities.  Vendors are also looking for ways to better identify and develop more intimate relationships with those buyers specifically interested in inkjet solutions.  Inkjet Summit’s unique format provides sponsors with Boardroom and 1:1 meetings with executives intimately involved with strategy, purchasing authority and buying intentions.

“Canon Solutions America is pleased to sponsor the Inkjet Summit. The format enables us to meet 1:1 with qualified decision makers who are serious about inkjet solutions,” stated Francis McMahon, vice president marketing, Canon Solutions America, and Production Printing Solutions. “With Océ inkjet production printing solutions making up approximately 32 percent of the worldwide inkjet market, our customers know they can count on us to partner with them for success.  This event gives us the opportunity to discuss and understand specific customer issues and work with them to ensure they have the right capital investment strategy and solutions needed to profitably produce books, magazines, direct mail, transaction, and transpromo.”

“Inkjet technology is a disruptive technology that will touch everyone’s life in the future,” relays George Promis, vice president, Continuous Forms Production Solutions and Technology Alliances, Ricoh. “Bringing industry integrators, developers and businesses face to face is important to exploit and help direct its future. Ricoh is proud to participate in the inaugural summit.  It’s a unique opportunity to build and strengthen relationships with a diverse group of output solution businesses and share our view on what the future holds for inkjet and its ecosystem.”

Last week, Canon hosted a cross-section of prominent companies from the graphic arts, book, direct mail and transaction printing segments in Munich Germany. I was pleased to be invited, along with other expert presenters from Gartner, InfoTrends, InterQuest, IT Strategies, Madison Advisors and NAPL. The  Leadership  Forum was held at Canon’s impressive 14,000 square foot Customer Experience Center where several cutsheet toner presses and a huge array of high-volume, continuous feed inkjet presses were configured as custom application demonstrations. I had ample opportunity to network with attendees and learn what was driving them to update their technology. While not specifically an inkjet event, the majority of attendees at the Leadership Forum were evaluating the transition to inkjet or expanding on an existing inkjet implementation. The top three reasons cited:

• Speed/Time to market requirements;
• Full-color, white paper efficiencies;
• Plans to enter new markets.

My charter was to prepare a wrap-up session on “Preparing Your Business for Inkjet ” along with two customers; Bob Radzis of SG360 (a direct mailer) and Mike McCombs of RevSpring (a transaction printer.) These two gentlemen shared their successes with transitioning to inkjet along with candid feedback on the challenges they faced as early adopters. Dialogue with attendees focused on perceived challenges with inkjet adoption but, there were very few actual barriers cited. Some key take-aways were:

• Inkjet has clearly reached a tipping point among high-volume printers of variable applications;
• Quality is no longer perceived as a barrier to adoption;
• Customers were encouraged by the increasing variety and availability of inkjet papers and seemed confident that the trend would continue;
• Customer seemed to recognize that the right workflow solution was as critical as selecting the right press but were less aware of the critical tradeoffs between paper selection and ink usage;
• The major remaining obstacle to inkjet adoption is production volume. Mid-volume companies often can’t generate the business case for inkjet.

While this was a working trip for me, it was also an opportunity to attend great sessions covering the social, economic and technical factors that are changing the print industry in general, as well as, drill-down sessions on key drivers of change in book printing, direct mail and transaction printing specifically. Whether you are a print provider or a consultant there is constantly more to learn in our industry and the Canon Leadership Forum did a great job of blending business, technical and market related content with product demonstrations and networking opportunities. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Canon’s CEC, or attend a future Leadership Forum I highly recommend the trip.

Elizabeth Gooding is the President of Gooding Communications Group and editor of the Insight Forums blog. She writes and speaks and provides training on trends and opportunities for business communications professionals within regulated vertical industries.

I read an interesting article today on Printing Impressions’ Digital Printing center which surveyed in-plant managers on their purchasing processes. The article prompted managers to reflect on what they wish they had done during the purchasing process of digital color presses. Benefits from digital color presses are abundant: the ability to finish jobs quicker (and cheaper), the ability to produce higher quality printed outputs, the ability to incorporate variable data printing, etc.; but the purchasing process can still be scary. The last thing any manager wants is even the slightest form of regret after a major business decision and hefty purchase. Therefore, I’ve tried to distill the major themes from executive answers into a few key points:

1. Do your research. The average purchase decision ranges from a few weeks to a few months. During this time, consult every source of information possible. Visit the websites of vendors you are interested in, view their press demos, and compare the press spec sheets. Sales representatives are valuable sources of information, especially since they should be considered experts on the machine they are trying to sell. But we all know they are not entirely impartial and a purchasing decision could be better informed by seeking out balanced and neutral information from other industry experts. Which brings be to #2.

2. Consult your network. Seek out the opinion of industry people who do the same type of work you do. This can be done through existing personal relationships with other print operations or through consulting your online network in the form of LinkedIn groups. A quick search of Digital Printing Group on LinkedIn reveals that numerous print professionals choose the online option, inquire about specific products, and receive thoughtful and detailed replies.

3. See your options print in person. This was a major theme as nearly every manager polled highlighted the need to see the press perform in person. What was interesting in these recommendations is that most managers recommend viewing the machine in a working business location as opposed to the vendor showroom. Doing so gives the added advantage of being able to speak with machine operators and owners akin to #2 on this list. If you do not personally know anyone who operates the machine you are interested in viewing, your sales rep can likely make a connection for you and help schedule a visit. Some managers even mentioned running their own jobs on machines – either in a showroom or at another organization – to see how the machine performs on their specific projects and to better understand the workflow from start to finish.

4. Research the cost of operation and consumables. Don’t forget that the purchase price is not the only price consideration when purchasing a new printing device. You’ll also want to take into account the cost of consumables – like toner – as well as relevant costs per click, electrical costs, etc. Make sure you have a complete understanding of the true cost of operating the equipment.

5. Consider training and service reputation. Make sure to ask your sales rep about the training that comes with a purchased product. Robust training makes your operators more knowledgeable, significantly reduces the time spent to ramp up a new machine, and reduces errors that may occur during the early days of implementation. Some vendors even have business development programs which may provide additional sources of value by helping you make the most of your new purchase. You should also be critical of the vendor’s service capabilities and reputation. While you want to avoid complications, you also want a vendor who can respond quickly and effectively and has a proven reputation of doing so, in case complications do arise. Again, consult your network to learn about your vendor’s service reputation.

Happy purchasing!

We all know that e-readers are everywhere these days and, in only a few years, have become a commonplace way to consumer your favorite literature. But as the title of this blog suggests, an e-reader is not for everyone. Not everyone has the tech-savvy desire or budget for an e-reader and some people just flat out do not want to read books electronically. For some, there is still the allure of being able to physically turn the page of the book he or she is reading. I am one of those people. Even though I’m addicted to my iPhone, iPad, iShuffle and laptop, I still prefer to read my books in print. Perhaps it’s because I am employed by the printing industry, but I like to think it’s the experience of an actual book versus another one of the many tech products we all seem to own now. Maybe I’m just a hipster and like books because they are not the “in” item.

Regardless, books have been around for a long time and they will likely not disappear for good. Therefore, print will continue to play an important role in the book publishing industry, albeit in a somewhat different manner. Most publishers are looking for the ability to print shorter runs and print-on-demand. To do this, offset is not answer; digital printing is. Offset certainly still has its place. But for those of us who did not come up with The Hunger Games or 50 Shade of Grey, it can be hard to justify the high quantities of offset printing. Digital printing offers a flexible solution for printers to be able to print what they want, where they want, when they want, and in whatever quantity they want.

Ultimately, digital printing technology offers numerous benefits for printers. For one, it reduces the risk of having to forecast demand. Printers can now print only what is ordered, thereby eliminating warehousing needs and waste. Digital print also offers blazing fast turnaround times with some book printers being able to fulfill an order within 24 hours of receiving it. Finally, digital print allows for anyone to be a publisher. With no minimums to meet, books can be published in small quantities. Digital also allows for increased creativity through customization and personalization. All while creating a real life book that someone can hold!

The bottom line is that books are not a thing of the past, and by implementing digital printing technology, printers are able to stay in the game and are better equipped to deal with whatever trends may come their way. They can have greater turnover, new revenue opportunities, and improved profitability. And these business benefits are not just limited to book printers! Photo book sellers, self-publishers, non-profits, and corporations can all benefit from the publishing revolution through digital printing technology. The question is… how can you benefit from it?

Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to print

The statements and bills of outrageous usage,

Or to take online against a sea of logins,

And by accepting digital mailboxes? To print: to email;

Much more!

Ah, Shakespeare and his affinity for transactional documents. Well documented in his masterpieces, such as “A Midsummer Night’s Data” and “Much Ado about Printing,” Shakespeare is not the only one that noticed a shifting landscape from print-only transactional documents to online documents. Well, which one is better? To print or not to print?

As you might have guessed, the answer is not a simple one. I recently read an article in the Digital Nirvana blog describing the online shift for statements. To quote the article: “According to a massive 2011 InfoTrends study, the shift is taking place slower than anticipated. In fact, only 11% of American consumers receive their bills electronically.” Whereas, the perceived shift to electronic communications seemed prevalent (at least to me), consumers still crave printed materials, for reference purposes and for security.

Why print?

First and foremost, consumer preference leans towards the printed piece. In Epsilon’s consumer preference survey, direct mail was the channel of choice for health information, insurance information, and financial services statements. 62% of Americans enjoyed checking the mailbox daily. Print technology is simply making the printed piece even more engaging, and consumers also expressed that printed mail is easier to reference at a later date. Digital Print technology has evolved in such a way to take statements and personalize them to levels never before thought possible. Utility statements can show individualized usage charts and suggestions based on energy consumption. 401k mailing and insurance statements can pair with information databases to show full color representations of distribution and growth, as well as market trends. These personalization options will continue to shift consumer preference towards print, and any business can outsource the data storage, printing and mailing responsibilities to a qualified provider.

Why online?

According to the same Channel Preference study, Mobile device users were 40-50% more likely to prefer email and online communications, respectively, than non-users. This fact is important to note in an increasingly connected and mobile world. Not only are statements shifting to online options, but mobile apps for statements and utilities are surfacing, as well. Younger generations are being raised in an online world, and when they become billpayers and recipients of medical statements and 401k breakouts, they will expect them to be digital communications. The social media component very well might eventually pair with transactional documents in the future, and digital mailboxes will provide a level of security to appease those concerned about online threats.

So to print or not?

Both. The answer lies in determining and exercising your client preferences. Finding out whether your customer prefers electronic presentment is the first step in statement redesign and billing preference. Whereas mobile is convenient, the printed piece offers great levels of personalization, color, and is tactile. For a long time to come, the solution lies in combining the printed world and the online world into an overarching multichannel strategy. Preparing your statements for both online and printed communications will allow the customer to choose how and when they transition between mediums and will help you answer the question “To print or not to print?”

Two Sides, a print-friendly perspective providing responses to the greenwashing of the e-media world, is now on Facebook (to visit the page, click here).

You might recognize Two Sides for its Get the Facts (on paper vs. emedia), exploding the myths, and cases studies. On Facebook, it gets more interactive . . . as Facebook tends to be. The page is new, so comments and postings are minimal right now, but especially if you begin to participate, that will come. What I particularly like is that the Facebook connection gives you a constant feed of updates on new content. This is really nice, especially if you’ve been sharing this information with clients.

Currently, Two Sides is running a poll through Survey Monkey that I encourage you to participate in. It is asking about attitudes toward e-billing — yours, your clients, and your friends and neighbors. They don’t even have to be part of the printing industry.

So check out the new community. Share the word by tweeting, liking, and otherwise passing it along. But even more importantly, participate!

Property and Casualty (P&C) Insurance carriers are in the business of assessing risk; risk of theft, damage, injury, professional malpractice and catastrophe as well as investment risk. They make their money by laying odds on the likelihood that things will go sideways for their customers and that they will earn enough money by investing the pool of premium dollars to pay out on the bet if things do. Lately it seems that climate change is blowing up all the models for setting the odds of a natural disaster and insurers are dealing with defining and delineating coverage for new threats like cyber-terrorism that have completely changed the game.

The core systems most insurers have in place are woefully inadequate to handle the scope and pace of this new insurance game. In order to keep up, companies have built add-on modules and work-arounds to their core systems, often relying on Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Access “Band-Aids” to keep business moving. Many carriers that have upgraded their core systems did it on a “go-forward” basis leaving existing business on the old policy administration or claims system and writing new business on the new platform. At some companies this has happened more than once and there are now several “core” systems in production for different lines of business. All of the Band-Aids, work-arounds and go-forward solutions have left data scattered in multiple repositories just when carriers need data in one place more than ever.

In order to adequately assess risk, insurance carriers need large amounts of policy, claims, fraud and customer demographic data all in one place so that they can use risk modeling and data analytics to determine which types of risk are profitable to insure.  According to Accenture’s  2012 North American Claims Investment Survey, 54% of P&C insurers have core systems that are more than five years old, 66% say their claims systems are not optimized to collect and analyze data and 78% regard their capabilities inadequate to manage new forms and levels of risk, such as those presented by cybercrime, terrorism and increasingly frequent and severe natural catastrophes. So, after years of avoiding the disruption, expense and well – risk of a major core systems upgrade many companies have realized that they just can’t avoid taking the leap. A small study of 37 insurance carriers by Novarica indicated that 25 percent of large P&C insurers and more than 40 percent of midsize carriers were in the middle of converting their policy administration systems or planning to start a conversion at the end of 2011.

Keep in mind that the typical core systems upgrade will take from an incredibly fast eighteen months to a more typical three years plus to complete, depending on the number of undocumented work-arounds that need to be incorporated into the system and the level of data conversion to be completed. This means that a large percentage of the industry is either planning a core system upgrade or in the midst of completing one. And what comes out of these systems you ask? Documents, lots and lots of documents: quotes, policies, premium invoices, notices, claims reports, payments and more.

Opportunities abound for reducing the costs of producing documents in parallel with core systems conversion. Bringing systems together increases the opportunity for postal optimization, targeting analytics and improvements to the design of the documents themselves. The core systems upgrades have a larger implication as well; they enable insurers to develop more segmented and personalized products to appeal to different age, risk, ethnic and geographic groups of consumers. Direct marketing and agency marketing support is becoming more tailored and personalized as well with multi-touch, multi-channel and multi-language campaigns hitting the paper, airwaves and cyberspace simultaneously.

P&C Insurers are expected to spend an average of 17.5 million on Claims System upgrades alone. This seems like a pretty substantial number until you consider that the top 16 P&C insurers spend an average of $315 million on advertising each. GEICO alone spent over $993 million on advertising in 2011. This is not counting direct marketing spend – P&C Affinity Mail alone exceeded 500 million mailings in 2011 according to Mintel Comperemedia.

Savvy service providers are positioning themselves to help insures take advantage of newly upgraded systems and a wealth of new data to improve their customer experience throughout the insurance lifecycle. With their plates full to overflowing with core systems conversion initiatives, insurers need help to ensure that the tangible representation of their value to consumers – namely insurance documents – are not put at risk by the very projects intended to reduce risk. Now is the time to show insurers how to redirect some of those advertising dollars toward investments in customer experience and cross-sell using low-risk, high-reward solutions like direct mail, statement marketing and personalized collateral in tandem with QR codes and other calls to action that drive social media engagement and leverage consumers interest in mobile insurance applications. If your company isn’t positioned to help them, maybe you should be looking at some core systems upgrades too.

Elizabeth Gooding is the President of Gooding Communications Group and the Editor of InsightForums.com. She covers business communications trends in highly regulated industries such as insurance, financial services, healthcare and telecommunications.

According to a survey conducted by Aquent and the American Marketing Association (AMA), nearly one in three marketers plans to decrease their organization’s focus on newspapers this year and approximately one-quarter plans to decrease focus on consumer magazines (28%), radio (24%), trade magazines (22%), and TV (21%).

While that sounds scary, what’s interesting to me is that this doesn’t seem to include direct mail. Only 9% cited “direct marketing” as an area of declining focus. Why is that?

1. In a digital world, print carries weight.

2. The mailbox is getting emptier, so well-crafted direct mail campaigns have a better chance of being noticed.

2. People like to print — in a world of intangibles, they like to pick up something tangible and look at it.

4. Personalization is making direct mail more relevant.

In a world in which PSPs seem to constantly be bombarded by bad news, it’s nice to get a little pat on the back once in awhile.

Pat, pat, pat.

But if you’re a publication printer, not so much. No wonder high-speed inkjet sales seem to be picking up steam. It’s time to squeeze every last bit of inefficiency out of the process if you haven’t already.

In 2010 two of the printing industries largest players – Canon and Océ – announced plans to merge with Canon taking over Océ North America. That announcement has officially come to fruition with the launch of Canon Solutions America, Inc., on January 1^st of this New Year. The new company reports to Canon U.S.A. and combines the best of both companies to offer a depth of sales and support for Canon and Océ hardware, software and services targeting general office, production print and large format markets.

While this is major industry news, what does it mean for customers of both companies, print providers, and marketing service providers? I’ve tried to sum up a few key areas below:

• Increased Focus on R&D. Canon and Océ product strengths complement each other in that Canon is strong in office printers while Océ is a market leader in continuous feed, high-volume, and wide format printers. Canon has shown a large commitment to funding R&D which will benefit all product lines and allow the companies to build on each other’s strengths.
• Service. Océ is known for its quick response times and exemplary servicing practices to average 98% uptime. Canon production customers will now benefit from this and receive the same promise of efficiency and uptime.
• Workflow. Océ PRISMA® workflow software has been greatly successful in on-demand printing environments. Now the software will be available for both Canon and Océ product… handling new job types in shorter run lengths with the ability to support converging offset and variable data applications
• Financing. Canon brings financial strength to the table which means more options for financing and leasing printing equipment – this goes for both Canon and Océ product lines.

Those are just a few things to be on the lookout for as the new Canon Solutions America, Inc. establishes itself in the printing market as the combined force of two well-respected companies. Only time will tell if Canon and Océ are truly, “stronger together”.

If you want to learn more, you can read the official press release here or read the merger brochure here!

According to a new report from Smithers Pira, “The Future of Variable Data Printing to 2017,” we finally can put some numbers on the overall growth opportunity for variable data printing. These are not hard numbers since Pira does not track the difference between variable and static clicks, but they are “max ceiling” numbers based on total 100% digital + digital preprint/overprint numbers.

Smithers Pira projects the global variable data printing (VDP) market opportunity (not including catalogs and packaging) to be 656,756 million sheets in 2012 or 28% of total output in the areas under review. It forecasts VDP market opportunity to be 853,097 million sheets in 2017 or 34% of total output in the areas under review.

What’s particularly interesting about these numbers is that globally, Pira forecasts traditional print/preprint output to fall by 0.5% CAGR between 2012–17. This tells us that the opportunity for VDP is coming from the overall cannibalization of digital from offset.

Pira forecasts electrophotography, for example, to grow by 1.5% CAGR and inkjet to grow at CAGR of 14.2% on a global basis.  Likewise, 100% digital output is forecast to almost double from 8.2% market share to 14.2%.

In a global print market that is essentially showing stasis or declines in output volumes, these numbers are really striking. We’ve known for a long time that digital is cannibalizing offset, but these forecasts give us some idea of how quickly and to what extent.

As digital market share grows, so does the lure of VDP. Not just for personalization in marketing, but also for process improvement, cost reduction, and efficiency. In fact, these are the areas in which Pira found the opportunities for VDP to be the greatest.

Process improvement is not sexy, but volume is volume, and the more printers start thinking of VDP as a process, not just a marketing approach, the more those opportunities will continue to open up. Plus, process improvement is an easier sell!

Running a hospital or healthcare practice is already labor and capital intensive, highly regulated and impenetrably complex. The Affordable Care Act and the growing trend toward consumerism has added constant change to the list of industry challenges. While the ACA itself is the law of the land and implementation is moving forward, the foundational elements to be implemented are as firm as warm Jell-O. Change is the new normal:

• States may or may not expand their Medicaid programs;
• Health Insurance Exchanges (HIX) may be set up by states or by the Federal government in certain states, and the Federal HIX implementation structure is not fully defined;
• Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are being formed and tested in near real-time;
• Definitions of Essential Health Benefits (EHBs) can vary by state and guidance is required;
• The “standard” 8 pages format for the newly mandated Summary of Benefits & Coverage (SBC) can now be any length determined necessary by insurance companies (Note: the purpose of this new, somewhat redundant, document was to provide a standardized plan comparison for consumers.)

Provider’s biggest concern may be potential changes and interpretations surrounding “Necessary Care.” According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, “care that did not show a proven health benefit, and where a less costly alternative was not used,” accounted for between $158 billion and $226 billion in 2011. Proposed regulation around necessary care shifts financial risk to doctors and hospitals and this, along with other regulations and stricter Medicare compliance requirements, will require investment in Electronic Health Records (EHR) and other major infrastructure upgrades that smaller providers are not equipped to fund.

The combination of independent providers’ flight from risk, a need to dramatically reduce costs and increased capital requirements is driving the next big source of change: Mergers and Acquisitions.

Market consolidation

The pace of consolidation is mind boggling: the annualized number of hospital acquisitions or mergers nearly doubled between 2009 and 2012. Plus, physicians are merging with health plans and hospitals, hospitals are merging with hospitals and long-term care providers, health insurers are investing in hospitals and physician practices. Not to mention non-provider consolidation in biotech and pharmaceutical manufacturers, disease management companies and all along the healthcare supply chain. In an interview with The Huffington Post, Robert Laszewski,  president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates referred to the M&A climate in healthcare as an arms race in which the players are merging into bigger entities in hopes of restraining their own costs and grabbing larger shares of the markets.

According to PWC’s Healthcare Executive Agenda consolidation is not a panacea and even small healthcare mergers carry a lot of risk. We’ve seen the same thing in the merger-prone print industry – nearly two-thirds of deals do not meet pre-merger expectations. This lack of stellar success is not likely to stem the tide of mergers; however, it does present many opportunities for print service providers and industry consultants to make these newly consolidated entities more successful. Here are a few thoughts:

• While individual providers and provider groups have low volumes of communications, larger merged-entities have volumes that are more attractive for outsourcing.
• Newly formed entities have redundant documents and systems that need to be unified or eliminated in order to gain the sought-after costs savings from the merger. Consultants and Outsourcers can help to meet those needs more quickly.
• The ability to consolidate volumes, processes and technology allows outsources to deliver immediate savings from house holding, postal optimization, white paper processing and electronic services such as electronic payment and presentment.

What needs to happen after a merger? Plenty of situations where service providers can add value:

• Determine brand strategy. Research demonstrates that capital markets respond more favorably to brand strategies that involve combining elements of the two companies than strategies that replace one entirely or leave both untouched. This requires an analysis of the strength of both companies.
• In parallel with re-branding considerations, a business communications audit needs to be performed to identify the people, processes and technology used for generating business documents. This audit should generate documentation on current processes and recommendations for leveraging the best practices within each firm, the combined volumes of the merged firms and eliminating redundancies.
• New branding (and likely new regulatory language) will need to be incorporated in the systems that are proposed to be maintained going forward. Efficient implementation will typically require an additional analysis and redesign step to create document standards and streamline implementation.

The newly merged company will likely also be evaluating their supply chain; eliminating vendors or “right-sizing” with vendors that fit their new status as a larger organization. The ability to support these firms with the analysis and streamlining processes makes it more likely that you will be considered for additional outsourcing opportunities rather than dropped from the vendor list.

While it would be prudent for these companies to go through a detailed pre-merger fit and synergy analysis from both a financial and a customer perspective – most often the customer and customer communications strategy is in that “warm Jell-O” mentioned earlier. The opportunity to help companies evaluate these issues pre-merger or immediately post-merger can be of huge benefit in achieving the hoped-for cost savings and also maintaining market share by communicating effectively with customers and making sure the bills get paid amidst the merger madness. Let’s call that preventative care.

The bottom line is that if constant change is the new normal for health care providers, there will be constant opportunities for companies who can help them deal with those changes.

Editor’s Note: Additional information on changes in the Health care industry is available from our sponsor, Canon Solutions America. See the PressGo! Industry Guide to Healthcare.

Elizabeth Gooding is the president of Gooding Communications Group and the editor of InsightForums.com helping clients in highly regulated industries—and the service providers they depend on— to optimize the designs, processes and production technology used for multi-channel communications.

As with the coming of every new year, we all look forward with anticipation of what the new year will bring. For marketing service providers, 2013 seems like it could be an exceptionally exciting year with new advances in technology and the ever growing integration of marketing communications across multiple platforms.

It’s not uncommon to see various blog posts predicting what will be big in 2013. But in my opinion, one of the best compilations of forthcoming trends was blogged by Matt Graham on the SourceLink blog. While I cannot take credit for any of these thoughts, I was so interested by all of the posts that I thought it best to share his insights instead of creating my own (with permission from SourceLink, of course). It is my guess that these trends will resonate especially with print and marketing services providers. These trends will not only challenge marketers, but will provide new opportunities to incorporate some creativity and take advantage of marketing channels, variable data, and emerging technology. So here are the trends, according to Matt Graham, to be on the lookout for and to take advantage of in 2013!

1. Display becomes addressable - New targeting tools allow for online display targeting that is closer to direct mail.
2. Direct marketing becomes conversation – Direct marketing is no longer one-way advertising but now must be able to respond to interested consumers and support two-way conversation.
3. Smartphones and tablets pass PCs – As more and more people begin to own and use tablets and PCs to access online information, websites and mobile content will become optimized for various screen sizes to increase the viewing experience.
4. Social becomes measurable – This is a big advantage for any Social Media Manager! New tools allow for a better measurement of ROI from social media marketing.
5. Hyperpersonalization: the use of big data – The options here are overwhelming when you consider the amount of data being collected and the number of channels available for communication.
6. Digital Mailboxes take root – the digital mailbox replaces email in-boxes while direct marketing and advertising quickly follow suit.
7. Channel convergence becomes real – Marketing channel crossover continues and increases as users expect to have seamless conversations across multiple platforms.
8. Digital couponing and payments sway consumer decisions – Direct marketing allows for marketers to target coupons to relevant prospects and stimulate purchase decisions.
9. Direct mail survives, but not standalone – Direct mail will still be utilized. However, volume and expenditures will continue to decrease as integration of direct mail and online initiatives becomes more prevalent.
10. Big Data – Big Data is everywhere and the topic of many a white paper in 2012. The trend increases in 2013 as marketers learn how to organize and capitalize from data.

If you clicked through to all of the articles, this is certainly more than enough reading to get you excited for 2013! May the new year bring you success… Happy Marketing!