4 Printing Trends for 2011 (Allegra Marketing)

The printing industry is rapidly changing, as are many industries right now. We've all seen services and products that shaped our lives fall by the wayside as technology improves, and as our culture becomes more "on demand."
That doesn't mean print, or the need for print, has disappeared.  Certain aspects of print are declining, but there are other segments that are growing.  Here are some of the ways print will be changing in 2011:

• We will continue to see a decrease in offset printing for four color printing.  The reason is because more people are looking for "short run" 4 color pieces.  Short run printing is primarily defined as small quantities of print materials produced at an affordable cost.  It used to be that traditional methods of print (offset) were less expensive per piece, but had high rates of waste, as some (or much of it) went unused. Short run digital printing will continue to replace this outdated method.
• Desktop publishing will grow.  As many people need single pieces of personalized items(or small quantities of variable data pieces) and as design software gets easier to use, more businesses will design and print in house.
• Digital printing of variable data pieces will increase.  Look in your mailbox.  You'll find more and more mail coming to you with your name on it.  This is the primary use for variable data: marketing to specific people with specific interests to get a specific response.  The advent of more capable software and affordable digital printing has made this segment of the market boom in recent years.
• Creative design will outshine creative offers and targeted mailing lists.  Beware of this trend.  There is a rule that every marketing piece's success will be dependent on targeting the correct person to get it (40%), giving that person the right offer (40%) and designing a piece creative enough to cut through the clutter (20%).  Look at that carefully.  Only 20% is the design.  The rest depends on the right person and the right offer.  Put your efforts into that aspect of your marketing.

We'll see a lot of is a continuance of the decline and growth in certain segments of the industry.  Nonetheless, marketing your business continues to change.
If you need help navigating this somewhat challenging marketing landscape, call us.  We're experts at growing your business!