On Demand--Build A Digital Dynasty

Digital printing will surge to a $35 billion market by 2003. At the recent On Demand Conference, in-plant managers learned how to prepare.

Every year at the conference he started back in 1994, Charles Pesko presents the crowd with figures predicting the tremendous growth of on-demand printing. Even so, when Pesko, managing director of CAP Ventures, announced this year that digital printing will surge from $13.3 billion in 1998 to $35.1 billion in 2003—a 21 percent per year growth rate—the crowd at the On Demand Digital Printing and Publishing Strategy Conference and Exposition was duly impressed.

Nearly 20,000 people arrived in New York recently for the conference, co-produced by Advanstar Communications and CAP Ventures. It featured 275 exhibits along with daily keynotes and conference sessions. In-Plant Graphics moderated several sessions and attended many more.

The first keynote speaker on Tuesday morning was Steve Kroft, co-editor of 60 Minutes. Kroft made some interesting parallels between the changing roles of journalists and printers. Both have seen changes in their professions through advances in technology, and both are now on-demand entities. People want their news right when it is happening, just as they want their printed work right when they need it. Kroft has seen the newsroom transform from a manual process into a digital medium, just as many printers have seen their shops change in recent years.

"Computers have taken over a new and dominant role in the newsroom," Kroft said. And with prices on equipment coming down, and more people having access to the Internet, Kroft feels the information marketplace will be flooded with competition.

"Soon we will have a world where anyone can publish as costs come down," he said. He added that pressures for up-to-the-minute news have changed journalism from a craft into a manufacturing operation, much like on-demand printing has altered in-plants.

Following Kroft, Pesko fed off the hype from Star Wars to tell those in attendance that, "the force is with you" when you use digital printing equipment.

"Today the forces of print technology are colliding head-on with the forces of information technology to detonate a new business paradigm—resulting in exploding opportunity for the on-demand market," Pesko said.

Pesko backed that statement up with figures from a recent CAP Ventures annual forecast. According to the report, the total U.S. printing market, including commercial, in-plant and quick printers, stands at $105.5 billion and is projected to grow "modestly" to $130.9 billion by the year 2003.

The report found that digital printing would surge to $35.1 billion in 2003. Between 1997 and 1998, Pesko said, on-demand printing grew by 27 percent. Digital color is expected to grow at an annual rate of 31 percent, Pesko revealed, and now makes up 62 percent of the on-demand market.

Data Center Merger

In-Plant Graphics attended a number of educational sessions at the conference. During Session One, "Linking Corporate Information Systems and Digital Printing," attendees heard from two in-plant managers who have merged their printing departments with their data centers. First up at this session, which was moderated by In-Plant Graphics Editor Bob Neubauer, was James DelPrincipe, manager of graphics communication services for the New York State Department of Transportation.

DelPrincipe revealed that his shop decided to go electronic back in 1987, and has since formed a strong alliance with its Information Technology department. He admitted that at first he was hampered by slow computers and jammed networks, but he urged managers to "take risks to reap the benefits."

Carol Holland, copy center manager at Brigham Young University, explained how the 1996 merging of the printing and MIS departments brought extensive cost savings to the university, enhanced copy quality and broadened employee expertise. Holland said attitude is often the key to a successful merger; if managers are enthusiastic, it will rub off on all involved.

In another session, also devoted to this topic, Carol Doffing of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Minnesota talked about her company's merger of its data center with the centralized duplicating and outgoing mail operations. In 1994 the company noticed that both printing operations were competing for the same business, so Doffing was called in to oversee a combined operation. Since then, she said, the cost of document production has gone down.

Her strategy, she said, is to eliminate internal paper documents when possible, help customers use documents in the most efficient way, aggressively manage costs, aggressively train and cross-train her staff, and invest in more high-productivity technology.

PDF Changing Publishing

Wednesday morning opened with a keynote address from Charles Geschke, president and CEO of Adobe Systems. Geschke explained how Adobe software is key to enabling a digital workflow. Geschke said Adobe is focusing on two areas for its Acrobat 4.0 product: producing a digital prepress workflow and helping make a seamless transformation from paper to digital distribution of corporate documents. Late stage editing, optimized output settings and custom job options will help make this possible, Geschke said.

Digital Dynasty

"Building a Digital Dynasty" was the topic of Session Nine. Neubauer, of IPG, again moderated this session. Jean-Luc Devis, production manager of Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Lab, explained how web-based submission of jobs was faster, easier, helped distribute work better and was a point of growth for his enterprise. He said it was a major factor in achieving customer service success and keeping down costs.

Also proclaiming that digital equipment is the way to go was Mike Renn, assistant vice president of corporate services for Mellon Bank. Renn uses both digital and offset equipment to keep up with customer demand, splitting some jobs between offset presses and digital printers, like the DocuColor 40. Renn stressed that by using digital equipment for certain jobs, managers can decrease corporate expenses, reduce waste and eliminate warehousing.

Cluster Printing

Session 16 dealt with black-and-white mid-range and cluster printing solutions. Jim Hamilton, senior consultant for CAP Ventures acted as the moderator for a panel of vendor representatives from Canon, Ricoh, Lanier, Océ, Konica, T/R Systems, IBM, Xerox, Hitachi and AHT.

Hamilton opened the session by defining mid-range black-and-white copiers as 40- to 79-ppm units with a monthly range of 100,000 to 750,000 impressions. Cluster printing was defined as "a powerful front-end system driving multiple devices as if they were a single comprehensive printer." Hamilton said there will be over 1,000 cluster systems in use worldwide by the end of this year.

The panel agreed that there is an increasing acceptance of multiple-use units among users—devices that will scan, copy, fax and print. Also vendors predicted the emergence of a "mini-DocuTech" and more entry-level models. Analog was out, according to the panel, while tandem printing/copying systems, high-speed engines, and robust feeding and finishing capabilities were in. More competitors and products were predicted to emerge, creating a more diverse marketplace.

Blueprint For Digital Success

In a session called "Building a Digital Dynasty," Wayne McDowell, director of in-plant solutions for ColorNet, a division of the Internet Publishing Network, presented his blueprint for digital success:

• Develop a digital strategy.

• Define your digital process.

• Choose and acquire equipment.

• Get support from vendors, your IT department and your organization.

• Educate your users.

• Expand in ripples, not splashes.

• Use the Internet and your Web site.

• Expand by offering new services that come with new technology.

• Keep your knowledge base current.

McDowell, a former in-plant manager who now helps in-plants move into the digital arena, also gave tips on how to keep an in-plant up and running using what he called his "In-Plant Survival Guide."

• Memorize your company's mission statement, and develop a department statement that reflects it.

• Know your costs, your strengths and your company's needs.

• Develop strategic alliances.

• Provide ongoing staff training.

• Establish and enforce corporate identity standards.

• Prepare monthly management reports.

by CHRIS BAUER