Fuji Xerox injects innovation to digital print

From digital packaging through to that baffling beast known as social media, this year’s annual Fuji Xerox Innovate roadshow covered the changing world of digital printing. Mitchell Jordan went along to hear the latest innovative ideas from speakers around the world.

Whether it’s printing or the business world in general, no one knows what the future holds (though plenty are willing to tell you they do, for a price). The only real certainty is change, and the necessity to change is something that the printing industry has all too often been accused of ignoring.

In his keynote address, Anders Sorman-Nilsson, former lawyer and future-thinker, told attendees that, “As business owners, you all need to become trend spotters.”

Judging from the guest speakers at this year’s Innovate, Fuji Xerox is doing a pretty good job at that. Presentations on digital packaging, social media and the future of the book provided some compelling information and facts. Here’s what the speakers had to say:

Boxed-in, booked out

There is no denying that we are living in a digital age and packaging is one area that can prosper from this trend, according to presenters, Shaila Shenai from Xerox Corporation and Simon Healy, chairman of Mediaware, Ireland (picturd below).

“The drivers for digital packaging are the same as when we moved towards digital printing: short runs, print-on-demand, the emergence of personalised packaging and sustainability,” Shenai says.

“Digital presses have evolved into robust engines to do this – colour consistency has come a long way.”

She estimates that by 2014, digital packaging will contribute to $6 billion of revenue.

“The timing is now,” Shenai says.

As the printer of packaging for Microsoft’s range of software, Healy has learned much about what consumers expect from printers, and also how to sell the benefits of digital packaging.

“When you sell the technology, you need to speak to the relevant person,” he advises, suggesting going straight to the CEO or management level rather than approaching people in marketing, finance or IT, who are only focussed on their own specific sector.

“The traditional selling process must disappear; it’s about selling a process, not a piece of print,” he says.

The book world saw a major upheaval this year when Apple launched its iPad, but printers are moving in on the new area of growth that is print-on-demand. With shorter run lengths and more people going down the self-publishing route, printers can rest assured that there will still be plenty of work for them; in fact, digital printers can use this knowledge as a way of demonstrating to publishers why they are the right printer for the job.

That was the message from Neil Falconer from PIRA International, UK, who delivered a presentation, ‘The Effects of e-books on Book Printing’ in both the morning and afternoon.

“It isn’t that books are declining, it’s that we’re being more efficient in how we produce and distribute them,” Falconer says.

As to whether e-books will ever dominate over their print companions, Falconer adds: “They’ve been predicting the growth of these devices for years and it hasn’t really taken off yet.”

He pointed to factors such as a lack of standardisation, image quality and the permanence of printed products as reasons why.

Shut up and listen
Audience members were advised of the importance of just listening in the sphere of social media by Peter Muir, (pictured) author of The Guide to Social Media, who spoke on the five social media lifestyles outlining the sometimes frustrating dilemma of marketers – knowing when to keep quiet, listen and let the customers take control.

His advice was to ”listen to what’s being said about you and your brand.”

“The centre of the whole thing [all channels] is brand. I like Marty Neumeier’s definition of branding: The feeling that someone gets when interacting with your brand the first and second time,” he says.

“What you should do around that is get people to connect to and be part of your business, your brand.”

Even if there is a problem expressed through social media, Muir states that customers can help solve problems online rather than the company talking to customers or addressing it.

“You can quickly look at it as constructive criticism,” he adds.

“There is no one way, engage don’t lecture, use content, channel and hook with a call to action,” he said. “Social media is made up of content and channel. The channel does not create good content and content sits idle without a channel.”

However, Muir advised that using social media is not a strategy in itself, using Clay Schossow’s quote that: it’s a vehicle with which to enact your strategy.

He suggested that to make social media part of a larger plan marketers need to ask themselves: what do you want to get out of social media? Who are you trying to reach? And what channels will you use to get to them?