PMA 2004: Collaborative Opportunities Abound for Commercial Print Shops

The 80th annual Photo Marketing Association Intl. convention and trade show attracted nearly 30,000 photographic professionals, retailers and supporting vendors to Las Vegas Feb. 12-15. This was the largest PMA trade show in history, with 761 exhibitors occupying 350,000 square feet. More than 200

educational sessions, each one to two hours long, filled each day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Holding their annual meetings and sessions in conjunction with this PMA Convention were four allied imaging groups: the Digital Imaging Marketing Association (DIMA); the Professional School Photographers Association (PSPA); the Professional Picture Framers Association (PPFA); and the Photo Imaging Education Association (PIEA). Additionally, there was a "Quick Print Pavilion" on the trade show floor.

So, what do photographic enthusiasts and digital print retailers have to do with the print industry? Read on for a number of marketing collaboration opportunities as well as information about possible resolutions to digital capture workflow problems. There are at least five distinct market needs that a photo shop/commercial print shop partnership could meet.

Market opportunities

First, photo retailers have their thumb on the heartbeat of the fastest growing graphics image capture medium, the digital camera. There are opportunities to better prepare digital photos for optimum conventional print output while leveraging the process for faster, better, less-expensive media products, such as newsletters, product literature, and CDs and DVDs. Many photo retailers might not be as well suited to handle large volumes or run multiple shifts as are many of their printing company partners.

Second, digital images from camera phones, called "camphones," are expected to pose interesting capture, download, store and quality enhancement issues as this media is expected to grow exponentially. Print providers might be relying upon photo retailers to enhance the image quality off this next-generation digital capture device to optimize print production compatibility.

Third, regional photo retailers are quickly adopting the Internet as a means of receiving digital graphics media to be developed into various prints and ancillary custom graphics products. In a growing number of cases, the clients expect the finished product to be delivered back to them via various physical distribution means, i.e., USPS, UPS or FedEx. A photo conversion firm could look to its full-service print vendor for distribution expertise, economy of scale and fulfillment support services.

I was invited to put on the "Mailing and Fulfillment Services" seminar. A number of attendees commented that they had no desire to get into this business but rather wanted to learn who offers these services and how best to work with these specialty vendors. Even those photo retailers or wholesalers that choose to offer these services in-house might need the outsourcing assistance of a specialty firm for large or unusual projects.

Fourth, custom or vanity publishing of a few dozen books will continue to grow for digital print providers. Photo retailers are accustomed to working with and offering digital templates to their clients for special-effect output like calendar production. The opportunity clearly exists for print shops with single- and multicolor digital print devices and extensive finishing capabilities to offer short-run book production services to these photo retailers.

And finally, PC Magazine editor John Dvorak forecast in the DIMA closing keynote presentation, "Stores that add new services would be the ones to survive." This is comparable to the printing industry, where many print shops are offering more value-added services. Strategic alliances among key innovators in the same regional markets can offer all-encompassing capabilities without the drain of capital investment dollars or the dilution of management talent that the all-in-house approach dictates.

There are 1,600 manufacturers of scrapbooking supplies, and many of these are print providers. In an increasing number of cases, these print businesses also provide fulfillment services. They package various items to be sent to the ordering retail outlets, which often are photo retailers. The "Scrapbooking" seminar emphasized the need for retailers to remain current with the most recent designs and colors, because these are faddishly changing almost every quarter. The message to scrapbook print producers is quite clear: To avoid being stuck with stale inventory and growing carrying costs, don't own the inventory without a 90-day bill-out clause.

Vendors weigh in on technology

CNN financial journalist Stuart Varney moderated a global corporate visionaries panel composed of Daniel Carp, Eastman Kodak's chairman and CEO; Shigetaka Komori, CEO of Fujifilm Worldwide; Vyomesh Joshi, Hewlett-Packard's v.p. of Imaging and Printing; and Norio Niwa, executive v.p. of Epson. The panelists discussed the new products or services they anticipate in the next five years. Niwa discussed "display technologies converging with print technologies." Carp remarked, "Internet services will be expanding, as third-world countries have limited infrastructure." He added that the Internet will be necessary for the proliferation of camphones because these devices have no internal storage capabilities. Kodak announced product development relationships with KMobile and Verizon. HP and Nokia also announced a product development agreement.

At the press conference for their newly announced Novajet 1000i, Encad CEO Barry Lathan said, "Large-format digital printing is expected to experience a 14.9 percent compounded annual growth rate over the next four years."

A digital output provider's perspective

John Tysseland, owner of the general commercial printing firm Piano Type & Graphics in Piano, TX, commented that he has been a member of the Printing Association of Texas for many years and PMA (and DIMA) for the last six years. When he got into digital large-format printing, the PMA convention was the only trade show where he could see all of the manufacturers and most of their models operating at the same show. Plus, PMA's educational programs put him on a fast learning curve to a successful operation.

While I am fortunate to be able to attend a half dozen national and international confabs a year, this was my first PMA convention. This was as well run as any conference that I have ever attended with general sessions and keynote speakers of extreme repute. While much of the attention was directed to the retail consumer market, there were ample educational sessions and suppliers that clearly focused on the industrial and commercial applications that are essential to general commercial print professionals. Print shop owners and printing equipment distributors would benefit from a closer association with this group. It was exceptional, and I don't expect that it will be my last PMA!

AUTHOR_AFFILIATION

C. Clint Bolte of C. Clint Bolte & Associates in Chambersburg, PA, can be reached at 717-263-5768; fax: 717-263-8945; or e-mail: cbolte3@comcast.net.