Nothing is constant, but changes. True for the print industry as well. Starting from woodblock printing which dates back to the 6th century to laser printing and now the latest 3-D printing, this industry has been continuously evolving.
Adaptability is a must for any company in any industry. And if a company doesn’t follow the Darwinian theory, ‘Survival of the fittest’, it’ll surely meet its ‘Waterloo’. As never-ending evolutions will render that company unfit for survival over time.
Print industry has been serving multiple industries even today. But it’s time for printing business owners to gird up their loins. And face the challenges high-end technologies are posing to traditional print methods.
Digitization, AI, IoT, and other such technologies have swarmed the market. And apparently, no industry is off the hook unless they embrace them. So is the case with print industry. It’s become imperative for printing industry owners to put their thinking caps on and go that extra mile to grow their revenue.
Now that this year is about to end, here we are with the emerging printing industry trends you should be aware of going into 2020. While you might find plenty of them on the internet, the following ones can definitely bring a difference to your business.
Must-Adopt Trends for Print Industry
Internet of Things (IoT)
Internet of Things (IoT) has revolutionized the print industry. With smart printers in place, more and more printing service providers are getting smart and saving paper and resources. The advent of IoT has also led to the rise of AI. IoT and AI combine to provide personalization, predict paper usage, alert about possible breaches. And thus, make the print environment highly reliable and efficient throughout.
E-commerce
E-commerce has taken the entire world by storm of late. And a print service can utilize that potential of e-commerce.
If a print company sets up an e-store to sell print products, it is sure to work wonders. This combination will skyrocket sales and consumer base. And will take the company business to new heights. Thus, it is high time every print service provider welcomed the concept of e-commerce with open arms. And made the best out of this revolutionary idea in the years ahead.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence has managed to carve out a niche for itself everywhere today. From the simplest mobile devices to the most complex rockets, AI is everywhere. And it is impossible for any industry to not acknowledge the advent of AI.
Print industry can use print management software that integrates smart algorithms to recommend layouts and minimize wastage of paper. Further, printing sensors can send signals to indicate the need for machine maintenance or ink replacement. Thus, it can reduce downtime of every printer machine. And even if a machine goes down, AI can help reroute that printing jobs automatically to another printer. This way, printing job becomes hassle-free and efficient.
By using AI, you can also increase security of printing jobs. And control what employees of different departments can print with the ‘printer authorization’ feature.
For example, a delivery man in a company can print a packing slip while an engineer there can’t. Similarly, an HR can copy a passport while an employee in the manufacturing department can’t.
A company owner can code the badge of every employee. And authorize them for only specific printing jobs as per their profile. Also, it can help the owner keep track of print jobs every department carried out during a specific period.
Thus, security protection of printing jobs becomes easy. Further, every department in a company can keep track of paper and ink usage and expenses.
So, print industry should be ready to rule with AI in the years to come.
Personalization
Personalized products or services are selling like hotcakes today. As people love the touch of personalization in products or services they buy. In such a scenario where personalization has taken e-commerce industry by storm, how can print industry stay behind?
Every print service provider company can bank on personalization. Different product designer tools like Photo Book Design Software for photo books and other such designer tools enable print industry to provide personalization. So, print companies with tools for personalization will have an edge in 2020 and ahead. And this personalization in products will definitely boost sales and skyrocket profit margins.
See how a Design Tool can help you achieve all your business goals.
Security in Printing
Cybercrimes are plaguing anyone and everyone. Printing industry is no exception. Companies dealing in print services and products must ensure that their products are cyber-secure. Installation of security software can help you secure sensitive data of customers against tampering or hacking.
So, security of documents should be the primary focus of print industry in 2020 and ahead. And every print company must take it as a challenge to ensure security in prints. Only then, customers will actually be able to bank on print companies for printing of important documents like ID cards, exam papers, etc.
Digitization
Digitization has been around for a few years. However, print industry has yet to embrace it fully.
Digitization can help you in numerous ways. You can allow users to scan and store documents in their smart devices. And send them for print as and when they need. This way, the paper wastage can go down greatly.
Further, you can print only as much as you require and not extra. And this reduces the need for continuous inventory management.
3-D Printing
3-D printing used to be a niche area earlier. But with the advent of high-tech 3-D printers at highly affordable prices, this industry has witnessed a big revolution. By delivering 3-D prints to customers, print service providers can make huge profits.
While some leading brands have already embraced it, some have yet to do so. 3-D printing can be a boon to different industries like construction, education, automotive, art, furniture, firearms, eyewear, aerospace and furthermore!
So, 3-D printing technology is definitely a technology printing industry can’t afford to miss out on in the years ahead.
Cloud Printing
Cloud Printing is the innovative technology potential enough to shape the future of print industry. Many big players in print industry like Linux and Lexmark have already got on the bandwagon of cloud printing. And are providing cloud-managed print service.
It does away with the need for on-premise employees and servers. One can easily carry out a print job even remotely with cloud printing. With its power, driverless printing is possible. And doesn’t need a software driver to connect a device to a printer every time. Printers access whatever you need to print straight from the cloud service.
This ensures a more reliable and convenient way of printing management in an organization. So,
it is pretty evident that this print technology is sure to go a long way in the coming years.
Print on Demand
Print-on-Demand is a trend these days. Most of the e-commerce store owners are utilizing this business trend.
If you are a print product supplier, you can partner with different e-store owners. The more custom orders from your clients (e-store owners) pour in, the more profit you make. Also, providing print-on-demand feature for e-stores will create a new source of income for you.
Big players in the e-commerce industry are now adopting print-on-demand for their e-stores. And you want to be ready for it.
Sustainability
Print industry is also currently witnessing the demands for eco-friendly or less harmful printing methods. And this industry can’t go on without accepting environmental concerns as it’s the elephant in the room.
Sustainable printing practices earlier were optional. But with the rise in awareness among people, they have become necessary. HP has already initiated low-carbon printing. This is an initiative taken to reduce the impact on the environment. The other companies are yet to follow the trend.
It doesn’t mean that consumers will dictate the way a company practices eco-friendliness. However, they will definitely prefer a company with eco-friendly practices over the ones not having any in the future.
In A Nutshell
You can see that a lot of trends are to flood the print industry in 2020. Though many big players in the print industry have already welcomed the latest trends, these trends have yet to cover a long distance before every single organization adopts them. But surely, these printing industry trends are going to bring revolutionary changes in the entire print industry.
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