For those of us who make a living in the world of commercial printing and say, “but I don’t print books,” don’t forget that the quicker people get used to using digital tablets for communication, that the day-to-day uses of print become threatened.  And for many in our industry, that will create business opportunities.  Content may be king, but those who can format content sit at the right hand of the king.

Getting set up was a bit tricky, but that’s what tekkie sons are for.  James had recently purchased  his iPad and helped his old man get setup and introduced to a variety of applications — and games — of course.

Although I’ve carried a laptop for years and a smart phone for the past two, this device takes it to a new level.  NO, it doesn’t replace the smart phone, but once I get the right apps setup it will replace the laptop.  More importantly I am starting to see why it’s a game changer for the publishing industry.  And in turn it will affect many of the ways print will be used in the future.

I challenge you to make the investment (it’s not small) because it’s important for us in the world of print to understand the different ways people use to visually communicate.  If we are going to succeed in our business, we need to understand this technology rather than condemn it.  It’s the old adage — “Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.”  And while you’re thinking about that line, check out this recent WSJ article on Eastman Kodak.

OK, it’s now time to check out how my Angry Birds are doing.

The book, which is a very quick and straight-forward read, is titled “Business Transformation, A New Path to Profit for the Printing Industry.” The author is John Foley, Jr., and unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock for the past six months, you’ll recognize John as one of the industry’s voices on social media.

I thought John’s book was chockfull of information and more importantly contains the steps one needs to take to either re-invent their company, or to make modifications to be properly positioned in the visual communications industry (we used to call it print.).

Here’s a key excerpt from the WSJ interview of Howard Stringer, Sony’s CEO, “He said the security breach at PSN, Sony Online Entertainment, an online game service for personal computer users, and its Qriocity streaming video and music network could lead the way to bigger problems well beyond Sony, or the gaming industry. He warned the attacks may one day target the global financial system, the power grid, or air traffic control systems.

“It’s the beginning, unfortunately, or the shape of things to come,” said Mr. Stringer. “It’s not a brave new world; it’s a bad new world,” he said.

Given all they hype of cloud computing and our ability to more readily communicate any time, any place, I don’t know whether I should cry or be happy.

On a lighter note (not really), check out this WSJ cartoon which reflects a pervasive attitude of society.  It was published in the online WSJ on Monday, April 18th.

I think there are many who see this adventure in couponing as a “soup de jour” type of service, which will be here and gone tomorrow.  That might be true of Groupon, but given the history of the Web, there are too many folks with deep pockets and extremely creative solutions which can change the face of how business is done.  If Mason’s creation does not become the dominant force, it could be Google, or even Yahoo who become serious players in this space.

Joe Webb had an interesting observation on this topic, “Yet somehow we’re to believe that these digital new media are somehow only mildly effective or generally ineffective or not credible or some other expression of unsatisfactory result.  It looks to me like it’s a great fit in the long-term development on local search and also their (Google’s) ongoing development of AdWords.  In the last four quarters, Google’s annual revenue is about $28 billion. Their annual profit is getting close to $10 billion.” 

That’s some serious money, and there are a varietyof other folks who want to be part of that advertising space.  Yahoo and Microsoft come to mind – just to mention two.

A recent study by the Annenberg School for Communication, UC Berkeley School of Law, and the Annenberg Public Policy Center shines an interesting light on how consumers react when they realize how data is gathered.  Check out this interesting summary on Print In The Mix.  The issue of 1:1 marketing is a lot more complex than what one is led to believe.

The Griffin Technology Advantage, Seton Hill’s commitment to provide students with the best in technology and collaborative learning tools, ensures that Seton Hill students will be uniquely suited to whatever careers they choose – even those that have not yet been created.I think this is very representative of the changes which are rapidly affecting print and visual communications.  What are you doing to become more knowledgeable about the tools which will continue to impact the way we communicate — today and in the future?

Over the past several years, I have spoken to dozens of owners, as well as speaking to a multitude (more than 15?) of digital print manufacturing executives.  What I have observed, to quote Dick Gorelick, is a solution looking for a problem.

Everyone in this market is challenged with the fact that selling a VDP (variable data printing) solution is much more than selling printing.  It’s a much more complex project than just being a print provider.  You’re dealing with multi-media marketing – mail, web interfaces (PURLs), email, data tracking, and data manipulation, as well as trying to sell the idea of 1:1 marketing.  Management needs to understand that its sales force must be totally retrained, replaced, or supplemented.  You can not just “build it, and they will come.”

Messemer did a very good job of detailing the technical complexities of what it takes to sell and produce a variable data printing project.  Although it was not the prevue of his webinar, I would love to hear good solid information aimed at owners and sales/marketing managers of the need to rethink their whole sales approach once they step into the digital print arena.  Sales comp has to change.  Strategies need to change.  The type of rep who will be successful will be trained differently. AND the entire business will have to change.  We no longer are just printers – but something else. The term du jour is marketing service provider, but I see us entering the world of visual communications providers a.k.a. printer.