I'm writing this column from the 2004 Graph Expo trade show. Cynics refer to it as the "International Overcapacity Festival." Its sheer size and the noise of operating manufacturing equipment present sales opportunities for shoe repair and hearing aids. While Graph Expo is an important venue for those interested in learning about the latest graphic arts technology, it's important to maintain perspective. Not all of this equipment, software and technology will exist two or three years hence.
Several years ago, dozens of computer-to-plate systems existed. E-commerce was going to be the greatest thing since night baseball. However, the medium was confused with the message. Tools such as e-commerce, variable data output, computer-to-plate technology and computer-integrated production can make a major contribution to the success of buying and selling organizations--but don't forget that they are tools.
Buyers' needs remain largely unchanged regardless of the communication vehicles and tools available to them. Print--especially commercial print--remains a product characterized by elevated anxiety on the part of the buyer, who won't learn the wisdom of his supplier selection until it's too late to do anything about it.
It's easy to be "wowed" by the technology exhibited here, but it's important (perhaps even critical) to remember that no product, technology or organizational change has relevance unless and until it's converted into a perceived benefit to customers. This column is more a commentary on the state of the industry represented by Graph Expo and other trade shows rather than a commentary on Graph Expo itself.
With rare exceptions, technology travels faster than the ability to use it wisely and efficiently. In real life, only a handful of people--apparently those with little else to do--are conversant with more than 10 of the dozens of functions in a cell phone. Well-engineered microwave ovens are purchased by those who use the device to heat water.
It's little different in the printing industry. Color variable data presses are in their 14th year. The integrity of the technology is a given. The challenge remains developing the applications and selling the technology. Many software management manufacturers offer rigid programs. There is often a "take it or leave it" attitude when a print company asks about customization to meet the special needs of customers. Operator training is treated as a nuisance and "overhead" by some equipment manufacturers.
The scenario is analogous to automobile manufacturers seeing no reason to support driver training.
Those charged with buying and selling print need help. Simply having sophisticated, space-age tools does not translate into the skills necessary to use those tools to their full potential. Many readers of this column never dreamed they'd be involved in the selling or production of ink on paper. I'm in that group.
We figuratively stumbled into this business, learning our craft largely by trial and error. Understanding changing technology is a major challenge. It's magnified by changes in buyer/ seller motives and relationships.
I'd love to see the day when Graph Expo exhibitors promote operator training as vigorously as they feature their equipment. I'd like to see manufacturers of variable data presses share case studies and tips about successful sales approaches, and create the conditions that lead to sales throughout the entire supply/distribution chain.
Until this happens, the industry will continue to be characterized by million-dollar equipment purchases that enable price pressures to intensify. The call for help should be answered by more than a solution confined to equipment.
Contributing Editor Dick Gorelick is an award-winning
authority on sales, marketing and business strategies for the printing industry. As president of the Graphic Arts Sales Foundation in West Chester, Pa., he travels extensively, consulting, writing and speaking on sales training.
