The print industry is evolving globally, and for Australian printers, there’s a glimmer of hope.
One of the oldest industries, print, has undergone many revolutionary changes since its commencement. From woodblock printing to the current digital sweep, the print industry has experienced some of the enormous shifts in the global market.
With the emergence of digital and Internet technologies in recent years, new printing trends have been discovered that are forever changing the printing industry. The latest digital inventions have changed the way companies are doing business, from the design to the printing phase of operations.
The transformational wave of the print industry is notable, although, it has never been a smooth ride. There has been a lot of ups and downs for the print industry in terms of technology, quality, demand, economy, geography, etc., but no matter how much we move into digitalization, nothing can replace the charm of printed products.
If we look into the bigger picture, the global figures of the print industry remain positive overall, and if we zoom especially into Australia, the implementation of new printing trends has updated the workflow and production strategies of Australian printers remarkably well to meet the changing demands and to spice up the entire print industry.
But, as the Australian market is continuously in flux and upgrading to the latest technologies and processes, there are specific challenges that the print industry is facing today, which we are going to look into to find a way out of it.
New Technology Adaption
Even though times have changed and competition has become fierce, there is a population of printers that practice traditional printing in spite of knowing that expansion is happening in their industry. Australian printers must be made to understand that by adopting new technologies like IoT, AI, the printing industry would experience more advanced devices resulting in a smoother overall workflow, which has become a considerable challenge.
Where printing trends are gearing towards full workflow automation with the development of computer-to-plate imaging technologies that allow desktop publishing applications to output directly to a printing plate, “hybrid” printing i.e., combination of different reproduction processes since many print jobs are complicated with specialized coating or printing requirements, can be achieved which Australian printers must be introduced to. They must be explained about the growing trend in cross-media conversion from one file to any information distribution and electronic publishing methods along with the advancement of digital technologies such as Direct Imaging offset presses and Inkjet printers, which have made color printing cost-effective.
Related blog: Banner Printing Industry Trends – What Can You Expect in 2020?
Changing Demands
Customer preferences are always changing. To keep up with it, one has to transform accordingly. In the present times, ‘services’ have taken precedence over providing products and subscriptions. Today, customers are more interested in doing business with companies that enable variability, catering to a level of quality and quantity based around what they require. In short, customization is ruling the print industry. Customers are looking for products that can be modified as they like which custom web to print software solution has made it possible. Australian printing businesses can leverage the benefits out of it by implementing web to print software to their online site and offer personalization to the customers and keep them happy.
Digitalization
Printing is not limited to just paper or fabrics today. From shoes, bags, mobile covers, mugs, labels, trophies, and what not? One can get any product printed easily that, too, with customization. With digitalization, the print industry has been transformed remarkably well. With the help of various software like t-shirt design tool, business card design tool, greeting card maker, online photo album design, banner design, shoe design, web-to-print for personalized interior, etc. store owners can offer customers complete freedom to create, edit or upload designs, print them and even share their ideas to social media.
Where such automated workflow can eliminate the difficulties of printing processes and make it more customer interactive, the fear of digitalization replacing the old printing methods is yet another reason why the Australian print industry is lacking behind.
Adoption of Cloud MPS
The cloud technology and its benefits are known to us all, but in the print industry, approval of cloud-delivered MPS can do much more. A few of the market leaders, including Lexmark, Xerox, and Ricoh, are some of the companies that have already adopted this technology. Adoption of cloud-delivered MPS will reduce the complications of on-premise printing management and will eliminate the need for on-premises servers as well.
Conclusion
There’s much more to come in the coming years in the print industry, looking at the way it is unfolding day by day. The only way to overcome the fluctuations in the print market is by adopting the new technologies and trends and continuing to innovate their processes. New advances like multi-channel marketing, social media, and web to print software; and services and processes such as QR codes, 3D printing, and functional printing have made it possible to retain marketplace visibility and make an impact which Australian printers must take note of and start practicing in order to rise in their printing statistics.