Customers are demanding shorter and shorter turnarounds on jobs, and the time from order to delivery is one way you can surpass your international competitors. International printers often ship their jobs by sea to cut costs, which can mean a wait of weeks or months for the client. However, using air freight to reduce shipping time usually raises costs to unacceptable levels. Sending goods by sea can also weather the printed pieces, decreasing the quality of the piece before it is even delivered.
Some clients just need press approval in order to sleep at night. Ask them to factor in the cost of flights if they are considering an international printer—and even if they do approve the job on-site, what they see on the press could be different than what shows up at their door once the product survives the rigors of shipping. I had a client ask if we could print a job here and ship it to China for finishing; I informed them that I could not guarantee that the colors they approved on press in Canada would be the ones they received back in 3 months.
In addition to geographical challenges, there are often cultural and language boundaries as well. While international prices are often enough to entice even the most frugal of clients, the difficulties are numerous when dealing with someone who doesn’t speak your language. Even when the print products are of comparable quality—which they often are—not knowing the language can prevent you from getting exactly what you need. China has produced some of the world’s finest print, and by offering good jobs to graduates from North America, they are learning to speak our language much faster than we are learning to speak theirs.
Client environmental consciousness is not a trend; it is a response to the earth’s deteriorating environment. There are many environmentally friendly products available these days at reasonable prices, but as reasonable as they are, quick and dirty is still a hundred times cheaper. You may want to remind your clients that most printers in China and other third-world markets use raw materials from old-growth forests with no regard for environmental standards or labor laws. However, even such exhortations may fall on deaf ears in an industry where price is king. I often find it helpful to offer a quantifiable number—“by spending X more, you save Y trees.”
I know I have not stated anything new or groundbreaking over my five-part series in Graphic Arts, but I hope I have reminded us all of some important truths about the industry. Often we get caught up in pointing a finger at one client, competitor or factor as the reason for declining profits. Instead, we should focus on the big picture and work together to make the industry a profitable group of highly specialized organizations that can both meet and exceed clients’ demands.
The impending retirement of the baby boom generation could cause closures and mergers that will ultimately shrink the industry to the point where we might be able to form a board that helps dictate acceptable levels of print pricing. In an ideal world, a customer will get high-quality products at a reasonable cost with amazing service, printers will be respected, and we will all make money. I wonder how long it will take before such an idyll is achieved?
I would love to hear your thoughts on the series, and I am always interested in your ideas for future articles. Please feel free to contact me at johnathonanderson@graphicartsmag.com.
Johnathon Anderson
johnathonanderson@graphicartsmag.com