Day3_62

GraphExpo_ShowDaily_September_27_2016

“The Future” Found at Muller Martini Attendees of all kinds were found investigating the many print solutions found at the Muller Martini Booth (1849) on the inaugural day of GRAPH EXPO 16. “The Future”, Muller’s show robot for the week, was found roaming the area, checking out the latest and greatest that Muller has to offer, shaking hands with passersby, and even stopping to pose for a photo. Andy Fetherman, VP of Sales & Technology, says the Muller Martini team is thrilled to be able to attend GRAPH EXPO 16 and try out the new venue this year. And for good reason. The booth was signifi cantly busy with interested attendees taking a close look at some of Muller’s offerings such as Varea, Presto II Digital, Connex, and Finishing 4.0. Finishing 4.0 encompasses game-changing technology in digital networking and end-to-end touchless workfl ow, from printing to fi nished product, which represent the cornerstones of the new age of print production. Muller Martini is facilitating this transformation with innovative fi nishing solutions for digital, offset, and hybrid printed products, including smart automation and connectivity; maximum variability and fl exibility of run sizes, trim sizes, and content; and an end-to-end touchless workfl ow. Accommodating both offset and digital printing, the Vareo perfect binder enables every processing step to be tailored to the given product, resulting in high productivity and optimal quality. Presto II Digital is capable of processing both sheetfed and web-printed products in offset and digital printing; this highly-fl exible saddle stitching system lets printers and binderies effi ciently increase their capabilities and product offerings. The Connex data and process management system is Muller’s new connectivity backbone for both digital and conventional print production. Andy Fetherman and the Muller Martini robot. Xerox Demonstrates “The Power of Relevance” Direct mail campaigns deliver results. Sunday’s “Case Study Café” with Xerox (Booth 1625), hosted by the Printerverse (Booth 701), offered two examples of how VDP continues to allow print direct marketing to outperform electronic and social media. Shelley Sweeney, VP/GM, Direct Marketing, Catalogs and Transactional Printing Sectors at Xerox, used recent campaigns by the New York Mets and Ohio’s Miami University to demonstrate how VDP has the power to boost response rates and return on marketing investment—even among Millennials. In 2009, the Mets moved to a new stadium, and wanted to improve group ticket sales. They developed, by VDP standards, a fairly simple printed mailer targeted to group leaders that was designed to get them to purchase tickets to more games and, ideally, better seats. The mailer featured content that was based on the kinds of groups they were, what games they had previously attended, and where their seats had been. Even the images were taken from an actual game a group had attended. The results were an 80% increase in group ticket sales yearover year and a 41% increase in revenue. “There was not a lot of personalization, it was really quite simple, but it delivered powerful results,” said Sweeney. The second case study was a direct mail campaign developed by Miami University (aka Miami of Ohio) designed to attract high-achieving high school students, or, basically, the top 8% of high school juniors and seniors. They divided their pool of potential students into two groups: those that had visited the campus already and perhaps taken an offi cial tour (“prospects”) and those that had not (“suspects”). The variable content depended on the recipient’s gender, intended fi eld of study, and whether they had visited the campus. If students had taken an offi cial tour, a picture of the prospect’s actual tour guide was also included. At the same time, a variable-data email campaign was also sent. Both print and email included a personal URL (pURL) that also used relevant variable data, and asked visiting prospects to answer a short survey that gleaned more data, including how they preferred to receive further communications. The result was a 4% increase in honor of student applications, a reduction in the number of touches thanks to the effectiveness of the fi rst mailing, and a 32% increase in student visits to campus open-house events. Additionally, 98% of “suspects” were converted to “prospects.” Surprisingly, Shelley Sweeny, VP/GM, Direct Marketing, Catalogs and Transactional Printing Sectors, Xerox. the campaign also discovered that, even among technology-loving Millennials, “67% said they wanted to communicate with print,” said Sweeney. The takeaway is that the use of personalization and relevancy works—and thanks to improvements in inkjet quality and speed, is more effective than ever. However, said Sweeney, “the most important thing is data,” said Sweeney. “It’s only as good as the data you use.” Living Large: Penthouse Possibilities with Wide Format Panel of leading wide format vendors reports on benefi ts to printers when adding the capability. Printers adding wide format are seeing a quick ROI and now have a way to provide their existing customers with new services to drive revenue, agreed the participants of the “Living Large: Penthouse Possibilities with Wide-Format” panel, held by Printerverse at Print Media Centr’s booth (701) on Sunday. The panel consisted of leading vendors in the wide-format space. Tom Wittenberg, Sign & Display Marketing Manager, Americas, HP (Booth 1825), reported wide-format printing can be powerful. “An advertiser has seven seconds to make an impression on a customer and 70% of large-format is responsible for creating that purchase opportunity,” said Wittenberg. “Large format helps a customer move from mass marketing to ‘me’ marketing.” Brian Phipps, President, Mutoh America (Booth 2475), reported wide-format can expand the products printers sell to customers. “Technology and quality are getting better,” he said. “Better inks are driving it. You can print on almost anything. Printers can get into wide-format at a low cost, gain experience, and broker work until they have the money to buy a bigger machine.” The expanding substrates give commercial printers new applications to sell, said Mary Ann Geers, Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy, GPA (Booth 2940). “The growing markets are large window displays and décor products for both retail and the home. New applications are being developed. For example, alumigraphics is a substrate material that conforms to the texture of rough or smooth surfaces such as concrete and asphalt. It offers a wide range of outdoor possibilities.” The panel believes adding wide format will put profi tability and growth back into a printing company. Randy Paar, Marketing Mutoh's Brian Phipps (center) at Sunday's panel. Manager, Display Graphics, Large Format Solutions, Canon (Booth 1500), sees printers using wide format to diversify their business. “The profi table companies are moving past printing banners and offering high margin products that make dollars by the square foot.” Rich Farmer, Director, Wide Format Sales, Ricoh USA (Booth 2035), noted wide-format uses the same business practices they are already using and has many of the same challenges. “Finishing automation will be critical in the process, but the equipment is getting easier to use,” said Farmer. Most printers already have a background in RIPs and color management so the key will be learning the substrates. There is also a wealth of training available for the different applications. MIS solutions to estimating and managing the workfl ow are also available to make the transition to wide format production. Understanding and estimating substrates is one of the more diffi cult areas for printers, said Stephen Feldman, Director, Product Management, Avanti Systems (Booth 1879). The panel concluded that wide-format is getting easier, faster, and eco-friendlier. With the expanding applications and faster ROI, printers should look to complement their commercial printing services with the wide format services. 62 | September 27, 2016 | GRAPH EXPO 16 Offi cial Show Daily | PrintingNews.com


GraphExpo_ShowDaily_September_27_2016
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