Production print providers across industry segments gathered at the Hunkeler Innovation Days (HID) Conference in Switzerland. Attendees were there to make decisions about new investments in print, workflow and finishing. While predominantly a European show, US attendance also increased over 2019.

New postage rates with an average increase of 4% took effect on January 22nd. And another rate increase will likely take effect in July 2023.

How can in-plants minimize the impact of twice annual postal rate increases? By taking advantage of the USPS promotions. Start by registering for all the 2023 promotions, even the ones that may not appear relevant to your organization.

With significant growth in 2022, Ontario based book printer Maracle, began their journey to upgrade print capabilities. Their sales grew by 30% and they were unable to accept all the work their clients wanted to print in the 2nd half of the year. Under the new leadership of Alec Couckuyt, they embarked on a solution to replace one of their three digital presses, an older HP Indigo. Who is Maracle?

Maracle is a midsized, privately owned, commercial printer serving Canadian and US customers, running a 2-shift operation

How can mailers and service providers minimize the impact of twice annual postal rate increases? By taking advantage of the USPS promotions. Start by registering for all the 2023 promotions, even the ones that may not appear relevant. Promotions provide postage discounts of 3-5% over several months. Even for medium size mail campaigns the discounts have a significant budget impact. The promotions are designed to demonstrate the value of mail and have the ability to drive consumers to digital channels.

With industry news continuing to focus on omni-channel, opti-channel and improving customer experience, the question remains: how does transactional print evolve in this digital-first world?

This article is the second in a series exploring how the leading composition software companies are investing in tools and platforms for clients that still need to create and manage printed documents and content for delivery across digital channels. In part one of this series, I shared perspectives from Quadient and Messagepoint.

For the first time in three years the industry gathered at PRINTING United Expo in Las Vegas. With nearly 30,000 attendees the trade show was a success on many levels. Yet, many in the industry chose not to attend – vendors and buyers. So, it begs the question, why go to trade shows?

Business travel is not nearly as fun as it used to be. Any travel can become complicated and stressful with unforeseen delays and logistics. Yet I still strongly recommend you attend shows and conferences. My top five reasons why to go to trade shows:

With industry news continuing to focus on omni-channel, opti-channel and improving customer experience, the question remains: how does transactional print evolve in this digital-first world?

This article is the first in a series exploring how the leading composition software companies are investing in their tools and platforms for clients that still have the need to create and manage printed documents and content for delivery across digital channels.

Two leading software firms, Quadient and Messagepoint, shared their perspectives on client communications and their approach to R&D investments for their software tools.

As organizations look to streamline their print and mail operations, many are reevaluating software platforms and workflow solutions for their operation. The decision criteria to evaluate software solutions has shifted in response to many changes in the last two years. Technical resources are stretched thin – with staffing shortages and increased workloads to maintain security patches on servers and platforms.

For the last 2 plus years, I have read many articles, attended webinars, and listened to several podcasts. All of these communication modes are informative, and I have learned a great deal. But I have that found I learn best with face-to-face interactions and peer sharing. As I book travel for my next in-person conference, I’m excited about the interactions, sharing and learning I anticipate from attending sessions with a knowledgeable and diverse group of industry peers

The pace of technology continues to move at warp speed. There are some terms that were once only discussed by IT teams and are now more common among businesses users and consumers. In my reading and research, I find there are terms that have multiple or unclear meanings in different contexts.

I recently spoke with senior managers at three distinctly different print operations to get their perspective on staffing and the changes they have made to fill open positions and grow their business. I talked with: Dairyland Power Cooperative, Kennickell Group in Savanah, and SPC a direct mail company in the Midwest.

The summer travel season is here. I relish a summer day on the beach with a good book. My toes in the sand, the sound of the waves, and a great story that pulls me in. This is my definition of a perfect day. Whether you have a vacation planned or a long flight in your near future, nothing is better than some uninterrupted time with a good book.

With significant increases in postage rates, marketers must justify their direct mail budgets and the results they are enabling. The USPS has an interest in getting companies to mail more even with the higher rates. To demonstrate the value of physical mail driving consumers to digital channels while providing postage discounts the USPS launched a series of promotions. The benefits for mailers include more effective mail with improved response and conversion across all channels.

Everyone wants to save money on their mail and direct marketing programs. The USPS has an interest in getting companies to mail more. The USPS promotions are designed to demonstrate the value of physical mail driving consumers to digital channels while providing postage discounts. The benefits for mailers include more effective mail with improved response and conversion across all channels.

Successful commercial printers and print/mail service providers take the time to conduct regular planning meetings with their largest clients. These meetings may be called quarterly business reviews, account reviews, executive business reviews, or planning meetings. At these meetings, senior level people from the client and the vendor attend. There is a structured agenda with a focus on the services, value, and metrics for print/mail services.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with four IPMA members on our Webinar: The Present and Future of In-Plant Print Mail Communications. You can view the replay here.

Our webinar panelists included Tammy Golden, Assistant Commissioner of Document Solutions at State of Tennessee and Mike Lincoln, State of Colorado Printer. In a recent IPMA blog, I shared how Tammy and Mike assessed their teams and services so they could adapt and grow. Both teams implemented changes and experienced growth in 2021. On the webinar, they shared how they are responding to staffing challenges and paper shortages while leveraging strong partnerships to meet their clients’ needs for printing and mailing.

The webinar included two additional speakers, Lauren Tarbet: Copy Supervisor, Pflugerville (Texas) Independent School District, and Danelle Clark, Enterprise Correspondence Technologies Manager, American Family Insurance.

A new year, time for new thinking and new approaches. While this coming January may feel different than others, it still is that time to pause and reflect and define the goals for the coming year.

If you don’t have a formal process for annual strategic planning, consider a strategic assessment.

In September of 2020, I spoke with managers running large in-plant print operations — Mike Lincoln, Colorado State Printer and Tammy Golden, Assistant Commissioner of Document Solutions at State of Tennessee. Despite significant differences in print volumes and approaches, both managers expressed the need to assess, adapt and expand their services to meet the changing requirements of their customers.

In-plants continue to face multiple staffing challenges from high absenteeism, large numbers of retirements, and state mandated hiring freezes.

Inkjet is delivering substantial return on investment for direct mail programs. This is the second article of a two-part series on how next generation inkjet is delivering results for direct marketing firms.

I recently spoke with Mark DeBoer, Senior Vice President of Darwill about their inkjet journey. They are a national integrated marketing company with two production facilities. They provide omnichannel services for direct marketing programs including data, creative, production, mail, and reporting solutions for their customers across many B2C industries.

Before the pandemic many print-mail service providers had what they thought were solid disaster recovery (DR) plans. These plans included contracts with national and local firms to meet client SLAs in the event of a disaster. Files were transmitted and paper stocks were held in inventory in the event a facility could not produce client statements and invoices. These plans were tested on an annual basis.