If you're investing in a digital workflow, wouldn't it be nice to
know where the work is going to come from? It's one thing to
have all the latest technologies and variable print capability as
well as PDF processing and Web ordering. But once you have all
of that in place, how do you keep the machinery running and
the dollars flowing?

That may be a question that's best asked before the initial
capital outlay is made. Even if you find yourself in a position
of having the workflow technology without the work to fill it up,
however, a new program
announced at this year's
Print 05 show from the
Digital Printing Council of
PIA/GATF”?the “Marketing
4 Digital” series”?may be
able to help.

Beginning in November,
the council will offer a
series of reports that takes
an in-depth look at 24 different
digital printing market
segments and explores
the status and potential
of each market”?how to
reach it, who the players
are, what printing applications
each segment uses, and so on. These industries represent
nearly 80% of all print buying in the US, according to the
council.

Twenty-four market segments
The Digital Printing Council Steering Committee, under the leadership
of David Torok of Padgett Printing of Dallas, approved
the Marketing 4 Digital (M4D) project in October of last year.
The program is being researched by graduate students at Cal
Poly, Clemson, and RIT, under the direction of Frank Romano.
Eleven students are on the initial team, with three working on
the project full time. Administrative and production assistance
for the project is being provided by the PIA/GATF staff. Project
sponsors include Adobe, Canon, HP, Kodak, and Xerox.

The M4D project will analyze 24 market segments specifically
to aid printers in marketing digital printing as well as variable-
data printing. It will also provide information for marketing
of offset printing in general.

“Smart printers know that understanding their customer's
business is key to providing more value-added services,” says
Torok. “M4D helps you decide which 'frogs to kiss,' and where
your next top 10 customers might be.”

The market sectors covered in the 24 reports will be segmented
into three separate groups:

• Set 1: Advertising Agencies, Health Care (HMOs, hospitals),
  Cruise Industry (hospitality and tourism), Department
  Stores (retail trade), Gambling and Wagering (casinos), Automotive
  Industry (manufacturers and dealers), Insurance, and
  Real Estate (brokerages).

• Set 2: Gas and Electric (utilities), Hotel (hospitality and
  tourism), Office Supplies/Home Improvement (retail trade),
  Banks (financial services), Investment Companies (financial
  services), Travel Agencies (hospitality and tourism), Telecom
  (utilities), and Professional Services (legal, accounting, etc).

• Set 3: Food Services-Wholesale, Food Services-Retail,
  Associations, Education (public and private higher education
  only), Publishing (magazine and journal), Pharmaceutical
  (drug manufacturers), Religious Organizations, and Other.

Each report will contain a Market Overview including major
trends, marketing budgets, and dollars spent for printed products
“?plus a look at the sector's customer base and special
terminology used. There will also be a section on print applications
used by the segment and opportunities for digital and
variable-data printing. Top companies in the sector will be
named and key contact information provided; a company overview
and organizational structure for these companies are also
included.

Perhaps most important is a section on “How to Market to
This Category,” which gives the common print-buying practices
and hot tips on how to get a foot in the door. Supplemental data
will include government-supplied data, associations, and publications
serving the sector and other information.

I was able to get a sneak peek at a preliminary version of
the first of these reports on the Health Care segment. It might
surprise the average print-shop owner that this is a $4.6 billion
print market with $800 million being spent annually on directories
alone. That's about 100 billion sheets of paper, primarily in
black and white, according to the report. This market segment
also spends $100 million a year on packaging labels. Both of
these sectors are ripe for digital production.

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The report also delves into market-specific terminology
like HMOs, PMOs, and PPOs, and explains the differences in
layman's language. And it covers major trends, which today
include strong incentives for controlling costs and close federal
and state regulation.

Some of the opportunities for digital print in the Health
sector cited in the report include open enrollment advertisements,
customer billing, prescription packaging, and even
basic patient instructions.

Different issues, attitudes, and dollars
It's good to see PIA/GATF take on an initiative like this. Print
shops tend to get lost in the day-to-day production challenges
and have neither the time nor the opportunity to take any kind
of marketing surveys of their customer base. Plus, all too often
we attempt to sell the same thing to every customer.

These reports, however, will help printers understand that
customers in different sectors face very different issues”?and
have a very different attitude as to how they spend their printing
dollars.

Being able to access a wealth of important information
about 24 different sectors that has been gathered with the
specific intent of serving the interests of the digital print community
makes this collection of reports a “must have” set. It's
true that not every shop currently deals with customers in all
of these sectors, but it might not be a bad idea to read all of the
reports”?just to see what you may be missing out on.

The first set of eight reports (“Set 1,” listed earlier) will be
released at the November 6-9 Variable Data and Personal-
ization Conference in Phoenix, where Romano will present
the findings to event attendees. Set 2 will roll out in January
2006, and Set 3 will do so in April 2006, the council reports.
The studies will be available for purchase through the PIA/GATF
bookstore (www.gain.net) in packages of eight reports. Price:
$500 per set of eight ($199 per set for PIA/GATF members),
or $1200 for the entire series of 24 ($499 for PIA/GATF members).
Members of the Digital Printing Council receive the
reports as part of their membership.

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Stephen Beals ([email protected]), in prepress production
for more than 30 years, is the digital prepress manager
with Finger Lakes Press in Auburn, NY.