The good news is that there are many growth areas that savvy manufacturers are taking advantage of today. Some growth areas were distinctly spelled out by four panelists at the recent DMIA Manufacturer and Supplier Print Conference in Philadelphia.

At the Philadelphia event, RIT professor Frank Romano facilitated a panel of four DMIA manufacturers: Dale Dembski, of Data Management Center; Tim Dust of F.P. Horak, Co.; George Phillips of ProDocument Solutions; and Linda Poole-Bova of Primadata Incorporated. The four manufacturers told attendees how they have evolved their traditional companies for future growth while facing a challenging document market. Each of the four has poised their companies in different areas of specialization.

Dale Dembski of Data Management Center, Schaumburg, Ill., delivered a message that documents and document fulfillment go hand in hand but due to the ramp up costs involved, document printers would be best suited by partnering with a mail-processing document fulfillment company. Dembski told the group what was important in choosing a document fulfillment center.

Tim Dust of F.P. Horak Co., Bay City Mich., explained how a traditional forms printer evolved into digital printing, eventually opening up a separate digital printing facility to complement the work being produced at the traditional form plant. Dust’s presentation focused on the workflow issues surrounding the creation of a whole new production facility.

George Phillips of ProDocument Solutions, Paso Robles, Calif., spelled out how their company chose to become a full-service security document provider. Phillips expressed the critical nature of what’s involved in making your printing plant a “secure document facility” Phillips cited the plant’s ability to commit to knowledge, training, and involvement in creating a secure plant environment that customers will trust.

Linda Poole-Bova described how Primadata, a mailing facility in Green Bay Wis., was purchased by Libman business forms, a traditional forms printer that was looking for ways to get into the complex world of variable data printing and document fulfillment market. Poole–Bova also announced that Libman Business Forms would soon become “Primagraphics Inc.” as an evolution of the entire operation.

So, while the printing industry is being challenged on many fronts, there are viable products and services that forms printers can turn into profits. In the tables and summary below, we’ll look at an industry overview, the independent segment, the direct-selling segment, and a summary of today’s business document market.

Manufacturers should be aware that the relative stability of projected total industry sales masks some of the turmoil within the traditional forms industry due to major product mix shifts, declining value of products and consolidation. Projected industry sales growth through 2009 is below the expected general rate of inflation, which means that product shipments in terms of constant dollars will actually decline. Part of the reason is lack of pricing power by manufacturers in an environment of excess production capacity. The core conventional forms product group that defines the forms industry will drop from 53.9% of total retail product sales of distributors and directs in 2000 to 41.2% in 2009. The product mix of current forms industry participants may contain less than 40% conventional forms by 2010.

BACK TO TOP

	Order the whole report! FORMTRAC 2005 includes: • Printing Industry Overview • Forms Industry Overview • FORMTRAC 2005 Product Category Data • Shipments of Trade Manufacturers • Shipments and Sales of Direct Selling Manufacturers • Product Categories and Shipment Volumes
	If you’d like more information about FORMTRAC 2005, or to find out how you can purchase a copy, please click the button to the left.

You can search the DMIA Source Hotline Database through this state-of-the-art program featuring a comprehensive database of more than 30,000 suppliers organized by product category and region. With a few clicks, you can sort the capabilities of these manufacturing sources, identify your top five, and automatically send quotation requests via e-mail. It’s a fast, comprehensive and efficient way to develop and manage product quotations.

Built upon DMIA’s Source Hotline Database, this web-based service will save you valuable time and allow you to search for sources 24-hours a day, 7 days a week!

Start using this great member benefit today and see how it can help you make more sales, faster!

Just go to www.dmia.org and click on "Source Hotline Database" to enter the Online Sourcing Service. There is a tutorial that will help guide you through the system and then you'll be off and running!

The first time you use the service, you’ll need to enter your Login Name and a special password. (This is different from your regular DMIA password.)

If you need your login and password, call the hotline at 800-333-2828. Enjoy this new service from DMIA and remember that we are always working to bring you new products and services that really make a difference for your business!

BACK TO TOP