The Print Education Research Foundation (PERF) recently teamed with BFMA International, Clemson University and Cal Poly to develop a survey of print buyers to assess their attitudes about suppliers, buying habits and plans for the future. BFMA International is an association of end-user forms and systems professionals who are in control of large print budgets.

The survey included 23 open-ended questions, the answers to which reflect not only buyers’attitudes and plans, but also the very future of the forms industry. Eighty-six BFMA members responded to the survey. 

The survey suggests that the print industry is moving in a new direction, and that some re-engineering may be necessary for many companies. While hard-copy forms usage is in steep decline, new opportunities are opening up in the online world. Additionally, buyers are making increased or new demands of manufacturers and distributors. It may sound daunting at first, but the situation provides for richer, long-term relationships with clients in a variety of platforms.

QUESTION:
Which Products Are You Eliminating?

Forms manufacturers and distributors are focusing on the essential question of which products to eliminate. Consistently, they told us that hard copy orders are being foregone in favor of online order methods – PDFs, templates, or other electronic documents.

While buyers will keep some products in hard copy (at least for now), their ultimate goal is to eliminate warehoused inventory completely, replacing it with “just in time,” print-on-demand production.

All but two respondents are targeting hard copy forms for immediate elimination. “We are looking to eliminate any form that can be placed on the Web, initially with PDF and later with full electronic forms,” one respondent said.

How does print-on-demand eliminate forms?

Corporate buyers indicated they are actively removing these products:

  • Booklets
  • Continuous forms
  • Items that require manual fulfillment
  • Message books
  • Multi-color forms
  • Multi-part forms
  • Payroll checks
  • Purchase orders
  • Single-part forms
  • Snap-out business forms
  • Tablet forms

(To view a complete list of buyers’ answers, click here.)

Where are these products going? Corporations are moving them to electronic format distributed through, or accessed from, corporate intranets or through Web portals set up by third-party suppliers. As run lengths decline, buyers look to bring more production in-house. When asked what products are coming in-house, one buyer said “everything.”

(For a complete list of what respondents plan to produce and distribute in-house, click here.)

Don’t Oversimplify

But buyers aren’t just getting rid of paper. Instead, they’re consolidating forms into templates that can be customized by location or division to eliminate redundancy, reduce warehousing costs, and facilitate a “just in time” environment. Together, this process is known as “Web-to-print,” even if corporate buyers aren’t formally using the term.

When buyers were asked which products they were eliminating, the following responses were typical:

  • Tablet forms that can be converted to PDF and hosted online. Also, forms that have redundant information resulting in duplicated effort.
  • Products that can be automated.
  • We are trying to move as many business forms online as possible so that we eliminate print and storage costs. We want to not so much eliminate but standardize, as we have many duplicate forms that are manufactured in different ways.

Thus, the Internet presents a tremendous opportunity for manufacturers and distributors since one of the top requests from corporate print buyers is the ability to do more business online. This includes storing, customizing and ordering print jobs; tracking orders, accessing reporting, managing inventory, digital proofing and monitoring billing.

Flip-Side Opportunities

At a recent industry seminar, a distributor announced to his peers that “If you don’t offer your customers online ordering capability, someone else surely will.” Most often, the one who sets up the Web interface will get the business. For many manufacturers, this will be a new market with many cost-effective solutions to explore.

For digital printers, the variety of output options is growing tremendously. One of the biggest trends shaking the commercial printing world is the use of RIP-driven color copiers like the Xerox 250 or KonicaMinolta 8500 for handling both ultra short-run work and 1:1 personalized jobs. These devices have extremely high resolution (1200–2400 dpi) and can handle a wide range of stocks, including coated, and you can get into the market for less than $50,000.

For those who might be skeptical of the ability of copiers to handle the quality and demands of sophisticated color work, TrendWatch Graphic Arts (www.trendwatchgraphicarts.com) recently published a 119-page report on the growth in the use of color copiers in professional production environments (“Copiers & Printers: Serious Competitors in the Digital Print Marketplace,” also available in an Executive Summary version). The data shows that RIP-driven copiers are being used by printers of all sizes, at all levels of sophistication.

In fact, 37% of “digital printers,” defined as those who already own high-end toner-based or direct imaging (DI) presses, see “short-run color with color copiers” as a top sales opportunity for their businesses. Because they already have high-quality, production-volume presses, these shops are not using color copiers because they have to. They are using them because they want to. In some instances, they are simply the best tool for the job.

Short-Lived Opportunity?

But manufacturers must move quickly. The window of opportunity may be open only for a short time. Print buyers understand the benefits of setting up these interfaces. Already, BFMA buyers overwhelmingly indicate that they are moving to Web-based administration and distribution of forms (as well as much of their commercial print), if they haven’t already.

What, exactly, defines Web-to-print? These solutions work from a central repository of forms or other documents. Simple versions centralize everything, allowing employees to access and print documents from anywhere. More sophisticated versions can be set up with templates, making documents customizable. Typically, branding is locked in and there is administrative oversight to monitor and approve changes, but users can often choose from a wide array of graphics, text and other elements to tweak documents to fit specific needs and print only as many as needed. From their desks, they can use Web-to-print solutions for a wide array of different output options, including short-run digital print, PDF output and long-run offset.

This is a big difference from simple Web-based distribution, which is just scanning or converting forms to PDF, leaving the same volume and redundancy that exists with paper-based forms and limited output options. True Web-to-print offers the opportunity for a completely different and more flexible and effective business model.

It is a matter of time before Web-to-print is the norm in large corporate environments. The question is, who will host the interface--the customer or the manufacturer?. The opportunity is great, but you must act quickly.

Forms manufacturers and distributors should be aware that commercial printers embrace this model now. Web-to-print is one of the fastest growing applications in the industry. Even by 2004, 30% of commercial printers offered some type of Web-to-print system. Of these, 38% used an ASP-type system, such as Printable (“Web-to-Print: Internet-Enabled Personalization,” TrendWatch GA, July 2005, www.trendwatchgraphicarts.com). This is important, because once one of these systems is set up for commercial printing, it’s a matter of time before forms are. In terms of the window of opportunity, you are competing not only with your customers but also with commercial print vendors. If you’re going to compete in this environment, you must be aggressive.

QUESTION:
What Trends Do You See in Run Lengths?

Run lengths are shrinking. What’s surprising is that the run volumes are shrinking to the point that even small-format offset presses are not always cost-effective. When asked, “What trends do you see developing in regard to run lengths for printed products?” only three of 40 corporate buyers said their run lengths were increasing.

Among the reasons given for the decline were the move to Web-based administration and distribution, consolidation of the number of forms, shifting to reduced inventory and warehousing through print-on-demand, the move to fillable Internet forms, and regular changes in the organization that continually necessitate new or updated forms. Notes one buyer: “Our run lengths are significantly reduced from past years. We spend millions less on printing than just five years ago. If people have access to our products electronically, then we tend not to send paper to them.

Another reason for shrinking run lengths is the shift to targeted marketing and 1:1 print (personalization or “variable data”). Notes one buyer, “Run lengths for most conventional products are getting shorter, while marketing items that are targeted 1:1 are getting longer as companies develop better marketing databases via data mining. Instead of having multiple forms, a single form style is acquired and then modified on the fly with variable data to make it do many different things.”

(To read all buyers’ comments, click here.)

All of this is known as “digital printing.” Whether high-speed black-and-white, four-color toner-based printing, or high-quality digital copier/printer technology, the trends point to a radical shift in production output. (Also see buyer comments for the question, “How will your needs alter the products that you purchase in the near future?” (click here) From this and other industry data, manufacturers (and even distributors) not considering investing in digital presses, printers, or copiers are showing lack of vision that could seriously affect their future business.

QUESTION:
What Factors Influence Your Ability to Choose Print Suppliers?

In this changing and increasingly competitive world, the question arises: “How do I compete? Even if I make these investments, how do I market them and gain new customers?”

According to the PERF survey, 17.5% of corporate buyers work from a bid system, whether governmental or otherwise; 10% single-source; and 7.5% work from a preferred vendor list. However, 65% of buyers say they  work with the vendor that best suits their needs, so opportunities still abound.

What factors influence your selection of a print vendor?

Corporate customers should know that, in order to meet their needs, manufacturers and distributors often make substantial investments to retool their operations. This is difficult to do in a commodity print environment where corporate buyers often fight to save every nickel. If you want your manufacturers to create the kind of flexibility and cost-savings that you demand, they need the price flexibility that allows them to do that.

(To read all buyers’ responses, click here.)

QUESTION:
What Are You Looking for in a Print Supplier?

Sixty-five percent mentioned price, followed by quality and reliability and the ability to meet deadlines. Other factors included turnaround times; proximity of the vendor; consistency of printed output; online ordering, inventory management, and control; willingness to upgrade equipment on a regular basis, and customer service.

What do buyers dislike about their suppliers? Many are frustrated by lack of print quality, missed deadlines, lack of professionalism, mistakes, and outdated equipment in the forms manufacturing industry. Some complain that they have been lied to and defrauded. These appear to be real problems that these buyers face every day.

One thing rarely mentioned as desirable in a supplier, however, is value-added services, or the ability to develop programs that save them money by developing applications such as Web-to-print. This doesn’t mean that this is not important to corporate buyers. What it means is that buyers are focused on the day-to-day issues. When asked what manufacturers can do to make the print buying process easier, it was clear that they are looking for help, even if they don’t know what the solution should be.

Among the comments drawn from various questions:

  • Know our business enough to assist us with ideas for marketing our product.
  • Take a vested interested in our business relationship. Suggest changes that improve the job, save money or create best practices.
  • Be knowledgeable in the printing industry and suggest different ways of producing the product due to new technology or print machines.
  • [We are] looking for expertise, new ideas — ways to save money.
  • Develop a relationship and take an interest in knowing our business. Also, bring solutions to the table that make sense.
  • Add value by coaching us about new ways of doing the work.

(To view all comments about help facilitating the print buying process, click here.)

Sure, this requires extra effort, but the benefits can be worth it. One print buyer described the pain of having 70 different print vendors around the country, costing the company immeasurably in headaches, confusion and time. Ultimately, the company consolidated buying with a single print vendor. While the buyer did not describe why the vendor was selected, the majority of survey data made clear that this company was not necessarily the cheapest. Rather, the company had made a significant time and money investment in its plan to streamline and lower the client’s overall cost of production.

Lesson for Buyers
Price, Quality, Service – Pick Two.

Buyers should take a lesson from this, as well. Presses, Internet infrastructures, online tracking and job management, and online ordering systems all carry heavy price tags. So when one buyer writes that he or she wants a print supplier to supply a “range of value-added services, quick turnaround, quality and low cost,” as most buyers do, they may be asking too much.

Take print quality, for example. While it sounds simple, achieving consistent print quality — day in and day out — requires extra time and attention in every step of production from prepress, to press maintenance and training. Developing applications and offering solutions also requires lots of time and investments in capital resources such as presses, computer systems, IT infrastructures, software, programmers and customer service staff.

If your provider charges the lowest price, can you expect top drawer products and service? There is a reason that manufacturers who offer consistently high levels of print quality, outstanding customer service, solutions and applications development and consistent on-time deliveries charge more. That level of service cannot be developed in a “lowest cost” bid environment.

(To read all of buyers’ answers, click here.)

QUESTION:
How Will Your Needs Alter the Products You Purchase in the Near Future?

Respondents’ answers were remarkably consistent. They indicated continued reduction, not just in forms, but in all types of print products. They are moving to Web-based distribution and e-forms, and for products that are still printed, toward consolidation and reduction in duplication, whether by eliminating forms or creating templates that allow form customization. This will result in even lower volumes of print than exist today, less color, and just-in-time production. It’s going to be a digital world.

(To read all of respondents’ answers, click here.)

The issue of security pops up throughout the survey, and this is a real opportunity for forms manufacturers and distributors. Paper-based forms have in them an element of security, especially when they involve signatures. But in the move to Web-based products, suddenly it’s easy to edit a form using a word processing, page layout, forms composition, or PDF editing program.

Document security is perhaps one of the greatest stumbling blocks to clients setting up these systems themselves. “Security products are new and a high priority for most agencies,” notes one corporate buyer. “Finding the right product for the job is trial and error. Costs for most of these items are very high.”

If you can remove the pain in the process by helping customers move to secure, Web-based administration and distribution, you can find a new position of value in the eyes of that customer. Customers will move to e-forms and Web distribution anyway. They may as well pay you to do it.

The same goes for the consolidation of paper-based forms. Your clients will do it anyway. Why not help them? Be a consultant in the process. Help them sift through forms, eliminate redundancy, and develop templates. Try to move them to a Web-based interface for ordering, customizing, and ordering those forms. This puts you in a more consultant-type relationship with that customer and locks them into a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship.

QUESTION:
What New or Different Print Products Do You Foresee Purchasing in the Near Future?

There was consistency in buyers’ answers:

  • 13.1% said electronic delivery, such as Internet forms, CDs, and DVDs.
  • 47.4% said “no change.”
  • 13.1% said Web-to-print, custom forms and variable data.                                                                    
  • 13.1% cited some kind of specialty products, such as waterproof paper, tamperproof paper, thermal-based products and foreign language products.
  • 7.9% cited miscellaneous print products, such as new concepts in training materials, billing inserts, boarding passes and tickets.
  • 7.9% cited some kind of digital print production.

What products do you plan to purchase in the future?

QUESTION:
What Characteristics Are You Looking for in a Print Supplier?

With all of this in mind, how do corporate buyers evaluate potential print partners? Overall, the answers are as might be expected — quality, good customer service, on-time delivery, good range of products, service, and range of output equipment. (See full list of comments.)

Corporate buyers see, to have consistent problems with their print suppliers in these areas. Indeed, nearly 20% said that honesty, fairness, and keeping their word was important to them, and when paired with things like “a sense of urgency,” “values-based company (no monkey business),” and “being able to deliver on time,” it is clear that there is an underlying concern about the integrity of many print operations.

Buyers want suppliers to do more than print. The phrase “consultative selling” has been overused, but it’s appropriate here. Corporate buyers rely on their forms manufacturers and distributors to help them understand how technology can be used to solve their inventory management problems and lower their costs. They want suppliers to educate them, make suggestions and take a proactive stance in improving their workflows and profit structures.

QUESTION:
What Can Vendors Do to Reduce the Time Spent in the Buying Process?

A trend throughout the survey is that buyers want providers who take their business online. When asked how forms manufacturers and distributors can make buyers’ lives easier, for example, the overwhelming response was “by taking our business ‘e’.”

  • “Be able to handle products electronically. Proof using PDF.”
  • “Offer a Web-enabled ordering, tracking, inventory portal.”
  • “Be totally electronic. Accept e-mail RFQs, respond with e-mail quotes, accept PDF art and specs.”
  • “Provide products online through a Web store front.”

(View all comments.)

QUESTION:
What Things Does Your Print Supplier Do to Make You Unhappy?

Forms manufacturers and distributors might be disturbed to hear that their customers see many of them as …

  • not meeting agreed-upon deadlines
  • sending inaccurate invoices
  • disorganized
  • over-promising and under-delivering
  • covering up errors and “playing the blame game”
  • supplying late without notification
  • producing substandard print quality and making mistakes
  • difficult to contact or are not returning calls
  • doing it wrong the first time
  • arguing about mistakes or failing to respond professionally to issues
  • not backing up the product if they make mistakes
  • not adhering to specs or making changes without authorization
  • saying they can do something and then failing at it
  • not keeping promises
  • “lie, cheat, and overcharge for simple things”

(Click here for the full list.)

These are serious problems. In fact, 36% of corporate buyers complained that their manufacturers or distributors regularly missed deadlines, 29.3% say that the quality is poor, and 26.8% say that their vendors regularly make mistakes. More than 14% say that, when confronted with these mistakes, the manufacturer or distributor argues with them and refuses to make good. A shocking 12.2% say that their print vendors regularly lie to them and 7.3% say their vendors make changes to specifications without asking. One in seven says that there are mistakes on invoices and 19.5% say that their print partners are either poor communicators, slow to return calls, or don’t call them back at all.

What do print suppliers do that make you unhappy?

But more importantly, these lapses do not appear to be the exception. Of the 39 buyers who wrote in responses to this question, 82% cited at least one of the above problems. These do not appear to be isolated incidents, but rampant challenges facing forms manufacturers and distributors in this industry.

Although manufacturers and distributors who practice these behaviors bear full responsibility, no customer can expect to have top quality and service and the lowest price. And what you may think is the lowest price on print can actually cost you more in the long run. Poor print quality, mistakes, remakes, lost time, missed deadlines, incorrect invoices. All of this translates to greater expense. Many print suppliers with higher prices but greater customer value will often save you money in the long run. There is a reason people say “you get what you pay for.”

QUESTION:
If you have left a print supplier in the last two years, what was your primary reason?
Some of the most common answers were price, poor quality, regular mistakes, refusal to take responsibility for errors and consolidation of suppliers.

But, more than these, buyers were offended by printers who didn’t return calls, who argued with them, or who made them feel unimportant. Twenty-eight percent said that they jettisoned suppliers they felt didn’t care about their businesses — twice the percentage that gave any other reason (see chart.)

(For a full list of write-in responses, click here.)

QUESTION:
What is the main reason you do not switch print suppliers, even though you think you should?

Fortunately for poorly-performing vendors, buyers also say that switching suppliers is time-consuming and frustrating, and often bound by contracts. Consequently, sometimes they don’t switch, even though they should. (For a complete list of comments, click here.)

But even if manufacturers or distributors have made mistakes — or even completely botched an account — all is not lost. Corporate buyers indicated that they were ready to forgive if the vendor was willing to make things right. Writes one buyer: “It comes down to service. There is no problem if it is reacted upon the right way and taken care of.” Writes another, “Be honest with your customer. We are more reasonable than you think.”

One buyer even tells the story of how its forms manufacturer saved a seemingly irreparable relationship by changing reps. “We had a terrible problem (bad representation, dishonest, bad pricing) with our main print supplier. I informed my management about the situation. I approached the printer’s management and told them that the account was in jeopardy. Here were the things they needed to do to even have a chance of keeping the account. They responded immediately and we got a new excellent rep. All was much improved.”

QUESTION:
What Can a Print Supplier Do to Reduce the Work Involved in the Print Buying Process?

What can distributors and manufacturers do to make buyers’ lives easier? A lot. Buyers experience a high level of frustration with what they perceive to be manufacturers’ and distributors’ lack of understanding of their businesses, backwardness on technology, and lack of online communications. They want sales reps to have greater knowledge of their businesses, greater knowledge of technology, and to update their technology and provide them with more Internet services, such as online bidding, job tracking, inventory management, estimating, pricing calculators and ordering.

Here are a few of the responses:

  • “Be knowledgeable about the industry. It’s amazing how many forms salespeople do not know the industry or how to price products cost-effectively.”
  • “Provide online access to order history, with the ability to select and reorder, plus pay online.”
  • “Have a good back-end accounting system that has flexible options on payables and accurate invoices.”
  •  “Respond and deliver quality product according to specs on time.”
  • “Supply us with better cost spec sheets and keep them updated. Have current software, such as Adobe InDesign. Stop using Adobe PageMaker.”
  • “Be able to handle products electronically. Proof using PDF. Have competent staff.”
  • “Provide products online through a Web storefront.”

(For a complete list, click here.)

QUESTION:
What Print-Related Services Do You Need Most?

Corporate buyers were most likely to desire warehousing and distribution, prepress work and color correction, web or sheetfed offset printing for higher volumes, and various types of commercial printing. (See full list.)

What print-related services do you require the most?

QUESTION:
If You Could Give Your Forms Manufacturer or Distributor One Piece of Advice, What Would It Be?

Buyers’ answers could be summed up as follows:

  • Use the Internet to improve estimating, job submission, ordering and billing.
  • Show the customer that you care — be willing to admit mistakes and make things right if you’ve made an error.
  • Move toward short-run, just-in-time and digital printing solutions.
  • Be more than just an output provider. Offer larger solutions, such as Web-to-print, and act as a consulting partner to your customers.
  • Ask questions and have a proactive relationship with the customer. Don’t just take orders — buyers want you to listen to them.
  • If there is a problem, take care of it right away. Contact the customer, work out a solution. Don’t wait until it’s a disaster.
  • Be honest about your capabilities, including turnaround. Don’t over-promise.
  • Provide accessible, accurate reporting, preferably online.
  • Use the latest technology, both printing and software. Don’t try to make do with outdated tools.

Takeaway Points for Good Business

This survey contains some unsettling news for forms manufacturers and distributors, but there is good news, too. Change creates opportunity, and the benefits can be substantial.

Remember that your competitors already compete on the same things you do: quality, service, turnaround and price. Buyers view printing as a commodity, and much of it may be converted to web-based documents. It’s time to retool. This will allow you to sell new services, to new customers, using a new business model that is more sustainable in the long-term.

Although retooling requires investment, one does not have to be a cheap printer to save the customer money. Take the time to read through the buyer comments in all categories. While some focus exclusively on price, not all of them do. Read their comments carefully, then seek out like-minded customers. This will result in a more profitable business for you and your clients.

Print buyers need to do their part, as well. The issues faced by many print buyers are fostered in an environment dominated by price, where pricing pressures prevent forms manufacturers from making the investments in their businesses that buyers require. Where possible, buyers should give suppliers the flexibility to increase prices to make those investments, or work with suppliers — even if they charge a little more — who have already made them.

If the industry is to change and grow, there must be change on both sides. Manufacturers and distributors must take a more consultative approach to their businesses, rather than seeing themselves as exclusively output providers. Print buyers must see suppliers as true partners, whose time and services are worthy of their wages, and be willing to pay a fair price based on value provided, not simply price-per-page.

It is these kinds of investments on both sides that will create a healthy, profitable environment on both sides of the fence.

The PERF Print Report is published by the Print Education & Research Foundation.