to stay at least one step ahead of your clients and
your competitors. And the way you do that, the
way we’ve done it for more than 30 years, is by
remaining relevant, by reconceiving our secret
sauce, and by re-imagining how to approach
creative challenges.”
Agreed, says Ken Madsen, executive VP, global
strategy, Diadeis: “Th e biggest challenge we face
is the race to the bottom
– commoditized off ering.
We need to be smart about
building value around
square-foot pricing. We
have to bring innovation
and other value propositions
to the table. We cannot
just sell on square-foot
8%
Percentage of total
company employees
(ft/pt) that make up the
sales
department.
price. Help the brands manage campaigns and
introduce innovations – you have to earn it.”
“Th ere are too many vendors and so pricing
is getting destroyed,” says Howard Weinstein,
co-owner, Candid Litho/Worldwide. “If the
industry on a whole does not stop low-balling on
the pricing of work, it will further hurt the print
industry overall. Owners of companies need to
spend time looking at what their true costs are.
We are in a total reorganization over the next 6
months, melding both sheetfed and large-format
into one working environment.”
Commoditization is oft en a factor of many
shops adhering to the traditional order-taking
model, says Marc Lovci - VP of business devel-
ARC/RIOT CREATIVE IMAGING (#7)
“Print providers need to stay on top of technology and how it impacts visual
communication,” says Lisa Mawson, director of operations, ARC/Riot Creative Imaging
(#7). “There’s increased competition – everyone is getting into color. We address these
challenges by staying on top of technology and providing quality products and services.”
SALES BY APPLICATION (%)
Retail & P-O-P 21%
Banners & Signs 17%
Décor Printing 10%
Exhibit & Tradeshow Graphics 9%
Fleet & Vehicle Graphics 9%
Labels & Decals 9%
Fabric & Textile Graphics 7%
Posters 7%
Specialty Printing & Graphics 6%
Engineering Drawings/Blueprints 6%
Backlit Display Graphics 5%
Billboards 5%
Building Signs 5%
Electrical Signs 5%
Yard & Site Signs 4%
Other 4%
Fine Art & Museum Graphics 3%
Regulatory Signs 2%
BREAKDOWN OF TOP SHOPS
Digital color shop/
digital printer
57%
Service bureau
7%
Commercial printer
8%
Other
10%
Reprographic shop
3%
Sign shop
15%
14 Wide-Format & Signage June 2017 PrintingNewscom