A Print Buyer by EVERY Other Name
Print buying as an occupation is a difficult concept to grasp. Try telling someone outside of the industry that this is what you do, and be prepared for that blank stare.
They'll think you buy fine arts or are somehow connected to photography. When you try and explain that you work with commercial printers, well, you'll perplex them even more.
Print buyers need a new title.
It is a title rarely used these days anyway. It describes part of a person's responsibilities. Most people who purchase printing have a lot of other duties as well.
As I took a look at the attendee lists of our past Boston Print Buyers events, I saw lots of titles. Here's a sampling:
Print buying as an occupation is a difficult concept to grasp. Try telling someone outside of the industry that this is what you do, and be prepared for that blank stare.There were maybe - maybe - a handful of professionals who used "Print Buyer" in the title slot. When did this happen?
You get where I'm going with this. Professionals who work with printers have all kinds of cool corporate titles, depending on their organization and where they fit in the organization. Some are in Communications departments; others are in Media or PR. Some are in Purchasing. Some are in Marketing. And while many of these people would identify with "print buyer," others would not.
This is why it's so dang hard to identify corporate print buyers. They could be anywhere in a company, and their titles are all over the map. (Say, do you think this is intentional, in an attempt to hide from new printers?)
And while this is hard enough for printers who are prospecting for new customers, it's likewise difficult for the industry to reach buyers with trade information - stuff they really need to know.
Professionals who work with printers need information, they crave information, on new printing technology. However, reaching them is the difficult part.
This dilemma surfaced when we set out to name Boston Print Buyers. Lots of other ideas cameÉand went. "Graphics communicators" was too much of a mouthful. "People who work with printers" didn't roll off the tongue. "Print media buyers" was too cold.
So we stuck with the tried-and-true "print buyers" in the group's name, crossing our fingers that the right people would recognize themselves in who we wanted to attract as members.
What's great about getting a gang of these professionals together is the energy they create. When they find themselves in the midst of a room filled with buying peers, their voices carry with a rare delight in being among new and fast friends.
Whatever their titles may be, they quickly find and relish their common bond.
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© 2005 Margie Dana. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. Margie Dana is an independent print consultant, trade writer, and popular public speaker who focuses on the printer/customer relationship. She founded Boston Print Buyers to offer networking and educational opportunities to print customers. Visit www.bostonprintbuyers.com to subscribe to her free weekly email newsletter, Print Tips.