In Bad Economy, Shops Urged to Widen Palette

Not surprisingly, seeing "economic conditions" as a business challenge has been on the rise over the past few TrendWatch Graphic Arts Printing surveys not just among printers, but also among their clients.

Everyone everywhere is concerned about the economy, and for good reason. But focusing laser-like on economic issues ignores other, perhaps more serious and long-term concerns, such as the loss of print work to the Internet.

When printers were asked what they hoped to do about weathering the economic storm, for the first time in the history of TrendWatch surveys they overwhelmingly said " 'improving economic conditions' is our top sales opportunity." In fact, 45% of printers see "improving economic conditions" as a sales opportunity.

There always has existed within the printing industry the perception that if work isn't coming in, it must be because of either the print shop down the street (traditionally the perception) or bad economic conditions (the current perception). Ergo, once the economy turns around everything will get better, so until then many are content to sit tight.

But if truth be told, waiting idly for recovery is not a great strategy, as work not coming into one particular shop doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to a competitor. In many cases, money budgeted for print projects instead is going to Web designers and Webmasters to put the material on line rather than in print. These fund also are going to graphic designers to simply create as an electronically distributed PDF file what would have at one time been a print job.

Thus, the goal is to be more proactive in seeking ways out of the current malaise, and not just by expanding print work. Industry pundits have been exhorting printers to think "beyond the press" for a while now because they may find that when the economic tide returns, print volume may not be what it once was. Yes, a rising tide lifts all boats, but it also washes one's sand castles away.