Nov 7, 2006
The Broadhurst Report
Planning for Change
By Guy Broadhurst
Over the past few years, we have talked about the impact of convergence, which--since it is really about change--continues to be a constantly moving target. Color has brought it to the forefront in a lot of print providers' minds. As more and more documents are using highlight or full color, the demands on equipment, servers and networks are changing. This is evident from the office to the CRD to data centers and service bureaus. Color and more complex graphics are showing up in reports created in the office which are printed on workgroup printers or in CRDs. At the same time, companies are adding digital color to statements which increases the complexity of what were once black-only jobs containing statement data. All this color is great, but it adds complexity--and the potential for errors. The files are bigger, especially with full color, and that means more processing time. Color accuracy is a critical element, yet many people applying color to their documents are unaware that what they see on their screens is not necessarily what will come out on paper.
As a result, print providers have to think about how color is going to affect them, especially in direct mail and transactional printing. Whether they shift to highlight or full color depends on the application, customer requirements and other factors, but they will have to make the shift, and proactively planning for it now is absolutely critical. Talk with your customers. Find out what they are really thinking and planning with respect to color. In statement printing, for example, many companies have color committees to plan the transition from black-and-white to color statements. See how you can support them in sorting out the issues involved and play a part in the transition. Share your expertise. You'll learn more in the process and when your customer is ready to make their move you'll have been able to anticipate it in advance and give them the support they need.
Beyond Equipment
One of the first things print providers usually do when contemplating change is look at their equipment. While they may need to update their technology, an equally important means of dealing with convergence is gaining a better understanding of what is going on in their markets and where new opportunities may lie. An excellent way to do this is to go to trade shows and conferences and attend the sessions that are outside your normal range of operations. A commercial printer, for example, should spend time in sessions on variable data or mailing operations. Service bureau owners need to learn about color management and perhaps graphic arts workflows. Even go to a show you haven't been to before, such as MailComm or Book Expo, to get exposed to a totally different range of operations and thinking. The point is to expand your thinking because it helps you leverage the skills and equipment you already have and use it to grow your business.
When you decide on a direction, it's also absolutely vital to hire the right people. I've been in many printshops where the owners or managers have sought to handle convergence by investing n the latest equipment but have kept the same staff. The problem is that when they make a big shift, such as moving to color or adding services such as mailing, the learning curve for existing staff limits what can be done with the new technologies--and lengthens the time to a positive ROI. They often think more training is the answer, but I recommend that as they add new capabilities they also hire people who already have the skills they need. If you are shifting to full color, for instance, hire a graphic designer who's already comfortable and conversant in digital color production. Maybe you're a transactional service bureau comfortable with older datastreams but unfamiliar with PostScript or PDF. Hire someone who is, because it's much faster to get up to speed on these PDLs with an in-house expert on board. If you're adding mailing services, bring on someone who understands the myriad of issues surrounding mailing, and even add some experienced equipment operators who can help make sure your new machines are running efficiently from the very beginning. This approach has been a big help for many of our customers who have realized they needed to change but were uncertain of the best ways to move forward.
These are a couple of the ways you need to be thinking about your operations as you move forward. There is, of course, much more to this discussion, and we'll be covering that next time when I talk about The Cs of Convergence: Challenges, Change, Chaos, Cash and Costs.