E-books or Paperback Book, Not Permanent Enough?

With the release of reading tablets such as the Kindle, there is an indication of the book sector developing into two sections both seeking a different market. This is the ‘serious readers’ who will continue to buy printed books and enjoy sitting back and enjoying the tactile quality of a the paperback version of their favourite novel. Or, alternatively there are the ‘consumers’ of mass market fiction, these people download new releases to their kindle or other e-readers.

The phenomenon some argue is already upon us, this could represent a massive upheaval in the way books are bought, sold and produced. However, print need not necessarily give up so easily on the mass market, provided it can improve upon the job it is currently doing, people are unlikely to ever completely stop buying books, right?

The shocking growth of sales and e-books in the market has been quite rapid and is rather extraordinary. So the figures say, for every 100 hard- and soft-cover books Amazon sold, it sold 105 Kindle downloads. Another worry for those of you sticking to your paperbacks is that launching an e-book-only title is now relatively common. This means print inevitably suffers as a result of this.

There is indeed a decline in booking being printed and of books being sold.  About 6.5% less books are being printed in the past year. Many publishers are predicting this will continue to drop and become a major decline. It is inevitable that the next year has further reductions ahead of us.

MPG Books chief executive Tony Chard attests to this trend. "E-books are eroding the print market," he says. "The reality is, people don’t want to take five books on holiday; it is more convenient to use a Kindle."

This is not just the case for fiction books; e-books have other availabilities making studying more manageable.  E-readers have now got access to a lot of textbook given to students to study from, but who wants to carry a weighty textbook to and from classes? It is predicted that in the next 3 years a decrease in academic printing will be among us having 10%-20% less textbooks printed.

The changeover from print to digital however will be more from the less serious, mass market readership. This is a theory printers are sticking by.

E-book’s are winning in terms of sales compared to print so are crime, romance and thriller book, known as throw away reads are also being downloaded on a kindle instead of having the actual book.

Industry upheaval

If this trend continues, publishers will be left with a much smaller customer base that demands a high-end product and that would require a completely different business approach and production capability than is currently the industry norm.

Some believe that e-readers will never completely take over and there will always be a place for the printed version. E-books are having the most success at the extreme ends of mass-market reads – and obviously online access to serious academic work as well – but the bit in the middle is still owned by the printed book.

Another sector where print seems to come out on top in is for children’s books - teaching a child how to read using a e-book would perhaps not be the best method.  Also illustrations do not translate will to an ebook format so print has the advantage.

There is also a price factor. Electronic books are almost always less expensive to buy than their printed counterparts, in spite of the fact that, unlike printed books, they are subject to VAT. So, in economically tough times, it is perhaps inevitable that readers will opt for the lower-priced e-books. Whether this means the trend will reverse as the economy improves remains to be seen. However there is also the initial cost of buying an e-reader which could get you up to 15 books in paperback form.

So the idea that the book-buying public can be easily divided along clear-cut lines into ‘serious’ or ‘mass-market’ readers, does not reflect the reality of the situation. That means, for a publisher, targeting a particular type of consumer is extremely difficult. And some question why book-sellers would want to target just a section of the reading public anyway. They argue that the printed and digital formats should not be rivals but rather complementary platforms, and that there is room for both to enjoy mass appeal.

An example to put this in perspective could be people many people having an itunes library and still will continue to buy cd’s of their favourite music.  This is the same for books, technology seems to be here to stay, and it is convenient and easy.

Printers should be reminded that they should focus on what makes print so popular and cherish that and deliver it instead of hoping to profit from a high spending niche.

You are buying an object that will stay with you for a long time. A physical book reminds you of reading it. Books are much more loved than any sort of e-book can be. They are cheaper and discard able but also keep able and can be read, lent out and annotated.

However those with e-readers will argue that a digital book is just as permanent and just as capable of staying with you – after all, people buy a book to read not look at and what really ties a book to our consciousness and makes it stay with us are the words within it. Print’s primary advantage is its ability to deliver the reading experience in a more attractive and enjoyable way than and e-reader – and that gives it an edge.

This could be because we are living in an age where the analogue product – the printed book so very much still thought of as the dominant technology; millions of people are familiar with it as well as being comfortable with it. This could no longer be the case soon enough as electronic screens are taking places in schools so children are growing up with e-readers instead of books. Libraries and bookshops are also becoming more adjusted to electronic screens this could become as familiar and comfortable as books as a reading platform for the future generations.

Many may feel like the future generations will not enjoy the kindle or tablet as much as an actual book, not quite like the real thing. But when will people be willing to let books go and become digital.

Worth Keeping

In order to keep readers coming back to ink on paper, print needs to provide an experience that cannot be replicated by a screen and to do that it needs to heed the advice of Julian Barnes, who, in his 2011 Man Booker Prize winner’s speech, implored publishers to create something "worth keeping" rather than relying on an outdated romance of print’s superiority. That means ensuring the highest standards of design and production for every product and pushing those design and production processes ever further – one bad experience could see a reader convert permanently to the digital format.

Many certainly believe that there will always be a need for print however; the industry does need to step up the game if they want to keep books in full swing of popularity. They need to keep the audience who love reading a book and make sure they want to keep the paperback version and not covert to digital.

Over the past two years there has been a noticeable improvement in design standards, this could be a good way of gaining customer loyalty. After all the cover is part of what sells the book, a digital version will not have this artwork in quite the same way. Another thing many designers and publishers are looking into to bring in more customers. This is improving many of the old classics with new covers to re-launch sales, with new designs and attractive exclusive covers.

This was something Waterstones was seeking to highlight last Christmas when it used tables at the front of stores to promote what it called ‘Beautiful Books’.  There is almost a revival of desire for the book as a beautiful object. The printed book is now a high-end product.

In shifting to a more beautiful product printers and publishers have to be wary of falling into the trap of getting greedy and producing high-quality books for high profit margins. If print is to continue to attract a wide audience, commercial considerations have to be thought out or printed books will become an industry catering to the rich only.

Waterstones feel that adding on the price to a print product is justifiable to have a physical copy of a book as opposed to an electrical copy in the form of an e-book. However for someone with an ebook, will they be loyal enough to stick to purchasing a real copy of their favourite book even if it is more expensive? This is a risk Waterstones are taking, meaning they are catering for a more wealthy audience.

And the truth is that books do not need to be expensive to look good, thanks to the advances in print technology. The quality of digital print is higher than ever before and production speeds and costs mean that print-on-demand is a model that even mass-market titles can adopt – bringing production, storage and distribution savings. Meanwhile, the cost of applying special finishes is becoming ever cheaper as inline processes and low-cost ‘cheats’ for things like gold foil effects become possible. Going forwards, it will be crucial that print maintains this level of development so that better and more affordable print products can be manufactured, if print is to remain competitive.

Bound to Sell

Just as important as good printing is a good binded book. Good binding of a book can often be overlooked. A nicely bound book will last after all. There is surely a need to have books better made and longer lasting with the increase in competition. The rise in e-book sales means that publishers should be focussing on what is important, and that is good binding! This ensures perfect performance, physically and in terms of market longevity. There is now a need for publishers to select binders and publishers; this depends on the quality of the products that are being made.

Binding is important because if you were to have a book for a very long time, it has a large chance of falling apart, this just isn’t permanent enough, you might as well have had an electronic version. The problem is that so many people now buy books through an online shop where it is impossible to get a feel for the finish on the cover or investigate the binding.

That means publishers and printers don’t just have to concentrate on how they are producing printed books, but also how they marketing their wares to bookshops and to the reading public. This means developing promotional campaigns that celebrate the look and feel of a book, as well as the words printed within it.

Some may not realise the reality of the issue but for retailers and printers it surely is a large problem. The likelihood is that, as with other areas where print and digital converge, the two media find a level of co-existence. Nevertheless, print will have to do more and say more to ensure it maintains its position in the books market.

Posted By Victoria Blackwell

As many as 400,000 downloads can be attracted by digital editions of magazines – this is for publications that can only be found digital. This is thanks to the grand success of tablet computers; this means that printers are being forced to finally take notice. Print at the moment is still remaining apart of the future of magazines, this means the portion of work printers are fighting over is falling and publishers are increasingly shifting to a new multimedia strategy.

There is a solution for production that includes a conversion for digital editions of magazines because this is now what the client wants. The problem for printers is the need to meet requirements; this is to avoid being overlooked for contracts in favour of those that are offering a one stop shop. This can provide a digital edition service which is more complicated than you would think.

Immersive Medium

What printers and publishers do not fully understand when the tablet pc first came out was the fact that the platform offers a way of reading a magazine, this is as close to the print experience as any other digital device has got. This is because you can touch it, turn the pages and it can also be interactive.  

 The platform can be interacted with on a much more immersive level than for print this is because of the added functions such as video, audio and also animation. This is being realised more and more by readers.

In February 2012 the figures from ABC, for print magazine going digital, like men’s health for example leading the way with reports of figures as high as 7,779 in downloads being bought by people, in 6 months to December 2011, also in the same period other magazine such as T3 and GQ, with T3 reaching 7,327 downloads and GQ 5,731 downloads. Other magazines such as cosmopolitan have reached 5,675 downloads, these magazines are the top magazines in terms of digital sales.  

This does not however match up to the sales figures for the print versions of the magazines. For example the print circulation for Mens Health is 221,176 but very gradually they are making their way closer to each other. Each time the ABC is published the print circulation is continuing to decrease. Mens health’s print circulation for example was down 10.1% last time it was out – whereas the growth in the digital versions is forever raising. The latest figures for Mens Health for digital sales represent 345.5% year on year increase.

This is why the digital editions of magazines are becoming more popular. This is something that cannot be ignored by printers if contracts want to be kept. Many companies are more than happy to offer the complete solution. This includes the repurposing of files for the multichannel publishing process. It is likely that companies will lose out if print companies do not move to digital solutions because other organisations will take up the opportunity for the added value sell and the opportunity could be missed out on. The good news for printers is that they are in the prime spot to capitalise in the new digital ways. 

For printers, it must be understood that they are in a very strong position, and ahead of many other printers when going digital. These other businesses include hundreds of companies that are offering a service for digital versions of magazines already. Competition is also starting to come from other links in the supply chain. Such as distributers like Publishing Expo who is becoming a one stop provider for publishers for print and for digital.

But unfortunately having the motivation and the opportunity is not the same as having capability to do it. There is a bit of debate about how the best way to require this ability is. You have three options which are building your own system, or buy the expertise or even a mixture of the two.

One the face of it buying in the capabilities from third parties does seem the cheapest way for an easy and sensible solution. Services such as Aptus interactive would charge about £249 per year per magazine, and then on top of that about £199 per issue for straight PDF upload or around £350 on top for an issues with full ‘bells and whistles’ editions which are those which incorporate video, audio and animations. All the printer needs are the assets and the company handles everything else.

Choosing a strategic partner route is often the best way to go, this is because developing your own could be up to two years before getting to a point of being ready to convert to digital, this will leave you way behind the competition.

 

Industry professional such as some spoken like Lewis the company director who works with publishing houses such as River Group and Media Circus Group, as well as given that the tech behind Rio Ferdinand’s digital-only #5 magazine, which has had 495,989 downloads – the concluding showing the possible sales digital editions could require. The company is currently looking to link with printers to allow expansion – such is the power it believes printers have in this area

 

However many printers can find it a struggle to be able to afford the extensive development costs to create an economical solution. Many companies may find themselves converting too late missing the ideal opportunity to enter the market as crazes may have moved on. White labelled solutions can however be made by having partners.

 

Broader Compatibility

 

Electronic magazine editions are not just for the ipad, as a technology solution that produces magazines that work with the plethora of other tablet and smart phone platforms, such as Android. Aptus’s system is capable of but that even some specialist competitors have not managed quite yet.

One software company already in place at magazine printers – including Headley Brothers, Stephens and George and Polestar – is YuDu. Les Csonge, co-founder and director, restates that doing this alone is not the best idea however tempting it might seem.

Alot of bigger clients, have on their listing the plan of building their own system. It is only when they see how complex these systems can be, that they realise it’s not the most practical option. Some have tried and ended up hiring a partner company.

Csonge puts the value of the YuDu software investment at £2m – a figure out of reach of many printers. Even those printers that could spend that amount of money don’t, says Csonge. An example of Quad Graphics in the US, who are currently, the biggest independent print group in the world. It uses YuDu as Csonge is a company devoted to that side of the business because the digital world changes so quickly.

Despite the challenges, one company currently using YuDu is investigating a self-built solution to run alongside it – South Wales printer Pensord. Managing director Darren Coxon explains that Pensord has been providing digital editions to clients since 2008 using the software, but feels it needs an additional, more inclusive, service – although the cost of implementing such a system was not disclosed.

What can be done to tie together the very best parts of the technology that is readily available is by Publishers utilising this technology available by using their set of skills. A template driven workflow is aimed for so that the same content can be inserted into different templates. Systems are able to handle the request so the best possible reading experience can be given to the viewer dependant on the output device.

Walstead Investments-owned Rhapsody – previously Wyndeham Pre-Press – claims it already offers this type of service and more to the publishing community, via a blend of in-house development and third-party software. Handling all of IPC’s magazines, alongside a massive amount of other publications, through the Emagine system, the company provides a complete publishing solution. This includes a platform-agnostic approach to publishing and wide-ranging client management and research.

The service, the account management, the systems and the workflows, the flexibility, the cost, the ease of use – these are all part of the package. It is not just about a digital edition service – publishers want a complete system. So with Emagine, the resources come in and the client can send them to whatever output they want for whatever format. It also handles all other areas of pre-press, proofing, client approvals, cost rationalisation – and much more. If you are going to try and get into this you need to be able to offer a complete solution, not just a solution for one area.

This approach has tripled the users of the Emagine system in the past seven months and put the company into profit, suggesting Pipe is doing really well. But the printers YuDu and Aptus Interactive work with to provide a pure digital edition service have also generated significantly more work over the past year, this suggests it may not be completely necessary to go for as ‘complete’ a solution as Rhapsody.

What lesson does need to be taken from Rhapsody, and indeed the example of Pensord, is that digital editions are not just about placing a print PDF online. Whether you buy in software, create your own, or do a bit of both like Rhapsody, the technology is only half the solution. The client relationships and the talking to clients about what they need is just as, if not more, important as technology. It’s not just about throwing video or audio on the page – it is about content too, finding out whether readers want as much text on the page for a digital edition, for example, and if not, how can you get a situation where the software can deliver that?"

A digital edition at the moment is essentially a print magazine being read on screen – and that does not work. It is designed to work in print. The tablet or smart phone experience demands something different to that. It can still be the same content, but it has to be delivered in a different way.

These content questions make the whole issue of digital magazines even more complex for printers and take it beyond a purely technological quandary. Unfortunately, it is clearly a quandary printers are going to have to find a solution to if they are to maintain their prime position with publishers. Granted, digital editions are a small fraction of the market at present, but if the current trend continues they will be an increasing part of a publisher’s output and printers need to ensure they can meet that requirement – otherwise someone else will and the printer could find themselves frozen out by a provider willing to embrace the full range of publisher requirements

 

Printers Taking Advantage of Cross Media Techniques

Cross media is using many different forms of media for example personalised emails sent to you, this could be because you are a part of a mailing list - or even text messages arriving to customer’s phones telling them they have an email they should consider responding too. Another technique is receiving flyer printing through the post for the customer to see as they get up - this could really seal the deal, forms of print do not act as effectively on their own, and hence companies taking advantage of cross media. This form of cross media is what every successful marketing campaign will be using these days to attract a customer.

In order to provide this service it could involve buying a piece of complex software to co-ordinate various marketing streams and also track responses. This could acquire new skills, attitudes and new branding for successful use of the software. A change however may be around the corner as managing campaigns have been the preserve of the bigger print operations.

These software packages can however be very expensive and can range from £50,000 to a whopping £250,000. Therefore getting into cross media can be a very expensive upgrade, but can amount the annual turnover of a smaller print SME. Putting it into perspective the salary of a skilled member of staff per year could amount to £40,000 and beyond. So investing in such software is amounting to more than a year’s wages for a skilled professional. As for rebranding that is also often necessary when buying this software which could amount to even larger costs, this is the reason many SME print owners have steered well clear of this software due to the immense costs.

Cross media is however starting to look like a more accessible switchover on the software side of things. Many organisations do need cross media capability such as enterprising software firms and recognising smaller printers. There is however a solution, cross media capability has been developed at a much more manageable cost. This cost can be as little as £1,000 per month along with a small per item click charge software as service (SAAS) which offers a way around the problem with a how to offer complex software solution at a much lower cost.

One package printers are taking the benefits of is MindFire. This platform that allows printers to offer email campaigns on social networking sites for example Twittter (tweets), Facebook messages and SMS integration, PURL campaigns and the means to track these responses. These SAAS solutions use hosting from software company servers, this allows them to charge upright fees, but you will also benefit because you will not need to buy your own server hardware and internet connectivity.

This is good because with normal cross media platforms at a standard a printer would have to pay £60,000-£70,000 at the least for the package when it costs £7,000 for the servers with an added cost of £200 per month for internet connectivity. But there is a better deal yet, with MindFire you can receive it all for £7,500 which includes set up, any training necessary, the first years service support including help desks and telephone help lines and finally £0.02 per PURL sent out.

A SAAS product just like this are becoming very popular across the world and along with the popularity comes trust to the product. They have even got some of the largest printing companies buying into cross media providers and there product and seeing it as a great way to reduce their large overheads.

There are cross media marketing providers such as communisis is one of these companies who do in fact have their cheaper options combined with their more expensive systems. Along with the comprehensive email platform ExactTarget which is a document composition package that communisis built itself. The company even uses an Email Centre for some of their campaigns. This is a very effective way to communicate and is also relatively inexpensive as an email platform.

Nowadays technology does not need to be too expensive as all the materials needed have came down alot in price. If you sign up to an email provider like email centre with a charge of as little as £100 per month with an added click charge for outgoing emails.

This is however not the only email package available there are many other SAAS email packages available some being ‘MailChimp’ and ‘Lastrek’, these could be the key to providing effective cross media services depending on the complexity of the needs of the printing company. 

For large scale manufacturers of non SAAS cross media platforms say SAAS packages are cheaper for a reason. This is because comprehensive cross media packages offer the most automated and sophisticated campaigns. What this SAAS system has that many others do not is a very personal way of interacting to ensure the client is getting what they want. However less sophisticated packages can do that but not quite in the manner, these packages would be doing it manually which can be alot more time consuming than need be.

Manual Intervention

For many busy SME’s manual intervention has been a struggle, however a little hands on help is sometimes necessary if there is only a small number of campaigns being run. But for companies who want to upscale their electronic offering this can be an issue. SAAS packages are really good for those who are just starting out with a small scale of business; this is because these systems do not favour scalability. This can be a problem because all big successful businesses now a day’s started of small. You also need to consider how quickly a printing company could potentially grow. For example your business could be achieving 10,000 clicks today for the local company just down the road, but when more channels are opened e.g. text messaging, this volume could all of a sudden increase dramatically. This means the software is because redundant because as the company scales up the software is constrained and can no longer keep up with the size of the business and the quantity of information

In a pay as you go scenario the package may become outdated and no longer meet the sophistication needs of the printers. It may also loose economically and become an option that is not longer the most cost effective, it will not match up the competition anymore. The reason for this is that the printing companies cross media client base grows bigger the company can end up paying more than they bargained for! The printing company may pay more money long term on click charges and per month fees; this is alot more than if they were paying for a package up front. In this circumstance you are best of switching to a fully fledged owned package which will be ultimately advisable and much more suitable where price is concerned.  

MindFire is a company that admits that their packages do not come with an option for customers to gradually achieve a fully owned package option. This said however MindFire is still an excellent way for printers to build up their cross media customer base and confidence. This is all ready to invest in an ownership of another brands software package.

However some of the bigger developers of software, namely Neolane have taken to the idea of a ‘training wheels’ approach which works in a similar way to the SAAS only cross media package. Neolane has released hosted versions of its software which comes with additional advantage of simple switch from a hosted to a fully fledged version. The Training wheel approach is basically starting of with a standard piece of software and upgrading eventually to a fully fledged version as your business grows in scalability.

There has been a rumour that many leading print software manufacturers will follow and will reveal plans for these kinds of hosted offering in the coming pre-drupa months. A low cost way for many printing manufacturers to test out cross media software before they buy has been offered by a partnership which is proving very popular.

An SME would consider this software only half the investment needed to make it into cross media. This is because as all owner of a business know that the technology that you will need to buy is of course not the only cost when you are considering taking up and new idea. There are many hidden cost you need to be aware of before taking the plunge. This is because it could stump you later on if you discover costs you where otherwise unaware of when purchasing, this could be a nasty surprise for business owners. One of the most recurrent hidden costs found by companies is personnel which ranks at the most significant cost in electronic offerings.

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As well as investing in this new software you also need someone who is capable of managing it which is even more important because without someone to manage the software then it is pointless. You need to invest in the appropriate training for your sales team in order to sell cross media; this kind of sell is very different to print.

A good example of an SME printer is the Rapidity which is the top end of the market with people paying £40,000 to £50,000 for an annual going rate for a annual architect in the SME market. This is a good example of an SME printer what has managed to make the switch into cross media work but the SME market is varied. Some similar expenses are gained upon the introduction of costs when rebranding your business; this is so clients know they can trust in its cross media credentials which are considered.

Rapidity felt that they needed to rebrand from PrintFlow because the perception of them as a printer was holding them back in certain scenarios of sales. The rebrand was not cheap however; the rebrand cost around £20,000 to £25,000 for a website, new signage and other marketing materials.

Some SMES may bail out before reaching this step because of the ever exceeding costs. Even those larger companies able to afford the technology must consider personnel and rebranding costs they also must accept that there is already well established cross media market.

Despite the competition if you invest in cross media services could be a smart idea if you are a company with an existing client base interested in this area. If you are cross selling to clients then this is a significant opportunity – this is because the printer will have already gained trust within the client so a one stop shop can be offered for all marketing needs.

A golden rule for printers is to cross sell to existing clients, this saves you finding new work. The first step is finding out whether your existing client base has a need for cross media if not your going to need to look for new work.

There is in fact an argument that there is a greater need for those thinking of adding cross media software to their business, there is a great need or SME printers to establish a client base within a larger printing company

There is however a danger if you are a printer looking at catering for large brands, the problem is that these clients are more likely to purchase their own cross media software instead of investing in a company, instead they may bring integrated marketing campaigns in house - whereas smaller scale local clients may look for some bespoke expert guidance from their printer.

Emerging Mediums

Another way a printer might ensure that they are competing directly with those who have more experience and many resources to carve out a niche in the cross media market emerging medium, this is one example of social media. This is important for those small company concerned in getting lost against the larger companies.

With this is mind small printers might just be able to make money from emerging digital media, this is offered to printers with big budgets. What is required is not always necessarily expensive fancy software all that is needed is the ability to communicate and also to invest in the next biggest trend.

There are many opportunities for small printers to discover the most effective way of communicating with customers with integrated campaigns far from an established science project.

Cross media is however quite a new concept that people are still beginning to understand. This means it gives a massive opportunity for small businesses to invest in because they can be a step above the others. Cross media is all about creativity and agility it is however quite hard for a large organisation to be agile - whereas smaller organisations are perfectly able to experiment and try new things.

Taking Risks

taking risks and trying new things can often pay off, if you don’t take on cross media you may be more of a disadvantage to a company than if you take the risk and get yourself and your company involved. However becoming involved in cross media is not an easy job, especially for a small printer. Its alot for a small business to be able to afford – but without taking the risk they are likely to stay as a small business because they will not be expanding into cross media territories. Just sticking to print is something the smallest of businesses should do because they cannot afford the conversion.

Many SME’s often discover that regardless of the appearance of the more affordable packages available for cross media software, they do not really have a choice, this is because unfortunately they cannot afford the monumental costs of becoming a cross media supplier.

There is such thing as a SAAS model which may well bring down costs quite significantly, but associated expenditure still sadly remains high and, largely out of sight of many SME’s. For the business’s that have gathered the right client base for taking on the cross media expansion and also those with a eager eye on upcoming cross media opportunities; or even those with a bigger budget – for them there is a risk of expenditure that may well be justified. But for most SME’S the financial outlay id far too high of a gamble in the already tight economic crisis.

Reader Reactions

From the manufacturer (Ricoh Europe)

The most sophisticated software solution for printers who are keen on offering multiple channel communications is called Direct Smile. Ricoh can cater for those who want cheaper entry level software; this is possible with the new TotalFlow portfolio. Included in this profile is a print solution along with direct mail, email, online, PURL, social media, SMS, design, campaign execution and management and tracking.

you have been advised if you are a SME printer wanting to branch out, the advice is that it is the best idea to start small with cross media, in order to succeed it must be a big part of the business. Upon brancing out into cross media and having it work you must dedicate enough of your time, effort and also focus upon this new area of the business.

The Large Cross Media Provider

For printers branching into cross media capital for technology is less of a problem. You should note that it in not the size of the business these days that determines whether to make the move to cross media it is the nature of the clients. Smaller printers may find cross media just as suitable as larger companies if they have the right clients. It is all about listening to your clients and seeing what direction they wish to go. 

You must also work your way in and up it is no good being a printer one day and then all of a sudden being a fully fledged cross media marketer the next, you’re only going to confuse people. The most success is found in those who start off small scaled and build up their software and gradually grow and gain expertise.

The SME Cross Media Provider

When cross media first came around In 2005 it was certainly in the SME catergory. Many businesses since then have founf success which is growing businesses who have invested in this area. This success was mainly down to how careful many companys were to invest in software specialists before the actual kit. Advice to anyone else considering cross media is to do just this because the specialist will be able to identify what software is the best to invest in.

Another key to success is looking at cross media as a bulk game: the more you send out, the more profitale your business will become. For example SMS blasting to the web print online, if you have these numbers you have the oppitunity to make alot of money.

Posted By Victoria Blackwell

The Product Battle to Stand from the Shelf

Printing is not only important when you are advertising when you are making a poster it also counts for product labels. To cater for those impulse buyers who will buy a product by looking at the labelling you need to make it just as effective as any poster or flyer. Brand managers should be looking at ways to optimise their packaging through better branding and imagery, using new print techniques you  must make your product stand out over all the rest on the shelf, but how do you do this?

Alot of brands sacrifice price for quality because getting a really good piece of graphic design on the label of a product is something that seems to only be used for luxury brands. Most brands have to settle for a middle balance between uniqueness and cost. This is because just because you have the best packaging that you have splashed out on doesn’t mean your product is going to sell more than the rest of the products on the shelf. However many brands are holding tricks up their sleeves to make their product stand out from the shelf.

The request to brand to invest in more ambitious packaging is on the rise, most UK packaging printers are reporting an upsurge in demand for adding little special touches to make the product look more unique. Products are looking to stand out more by using print techniques more extensively for their personal packaging solutions. Hence quite a few firsts have been introduced recently by brands such as fragranced boars and scratch and sniff packs. These are common for commercial print but are very rare to find on product packaging. Brands have to make their packaging work harder which is pushing the printers into new areas. One example is using heat sensitive inks on bottles; this tells the customer when the beer is at the right temperature. Another idea that has been used is a label that shows different imagery under UV light. These techniques are not however being employed just to make a product stand out, the premium nature of the product also wants to be conveyed. 

The time restriction for consumers to choose a product from a shelf has now increased because people want to finish their shopping as soon as possible and get home. This means for brands that standing out on the shelf has become even more of a concern for brands. For luxury brands with high value products there is also the additional factor of the packaging reflecting the luxury nature of what is inside, this leads to a packaging innovation.

I'm now gonna have a look at what some brands are doing about their packaging....

Games Up

Games Up is a company who is also finding the demands of packaging design overwhelming. The issue of packaging is not only the case for products in supermarkets it is also the case in the computer games market.
When computer games come out it is usually around Christmas time so as you can guess it is a very competitive time so companies have to work even harder to make sure it is their packaging that the consumer notices on the shelf and picks up. But standing out is not the only issue, the games packaging needs to be at a very high quality as you  could be paying up to £50-£60 for it.

Games within the same genre are in constant competition with each other on the shelves of game stores. For example if you haven’t really heard much about a game then what are you left to go by? Surely you can only go by what has been advertised and what the description on the packaging says. This is where packaging becomes really important, you need to know you will enjoy the game before even playing it; therefore you make your entire decision on the packaging and anything you have heard about the game through media advertising. That’s a lot of pressure on the designer and the advertisers of the game!

Packaging Techniques

But for brands wanting to do something and actually being able to do it are two very different things. For example printing techniques such as embossing and foiling are often desired but not as often used because of the cost and most products are trying to cut budgets. Also new materials or inks for printing, some products use better quality materials for their packaging which as a buyer you can tell.

For example Kettle Chips use a much higher quality material for the crisp packet then other brands such as Walkers, this shows Kettle Chips as a luxury product.

But for some companies skimping out on the designing and printing packaging is just a big no. So instead they are having to task and deliver the results from an affordable cost point. Companies are getting involved in the design process before the final product is made in hope to tackle the issue. Some companies even charge extra just because their packaging is more fancy, this helps fund the cost of printing and designing the packaging in the first place. Getting involved at the design stage is in fact quite crucial if you want to get the right result at the right price.  You should get involved as early as possible because some products will go through seven or eight stages before the final product is met. This is all about coming up with a cost that is acceptable to the brand and still giving the customer what they want.

In order for this to work the brand must talk to the printer, keeping good communication throughout the designing process will really help achieve the desired outcome. This is slightly more complicated if there is a third party designer involved but if clear instructions are given then the design process should be made much easier for everyone, brands always benefit from the printer being vocal. It is in fact quite crucial that the printing company come to the table with their advice and their ideas. This can help to pinpoint things that set you apart. These techniques may seem minor, the printer but it may be something the client had not before considered. Therefore no matter how small a point may seem the printer should always speak up. After all you’ve got to get what you’ve paid for!

Proofing is essential to any client relationship, and this brings light to making packaging innovation more affordable e.g. digital technology. Ideas need to be tested more cost effectively and due to the increase of digital presses this has been made possible, allowing more affordable short runs and packaging.

It use to be too expensive to run a proof, People wasn’t prepared to push any boundaries as you had to set up the whole press. Now however you can use digital technologies, to give a proof, in a more cost-efficient manner giving people the confidence to try new things.

Printing can be used on multiple materials allowing you to target new niche markets where before more original labels weren’t available because of the cost. Clients have specific needs and they all desire the same thing which is reduced costs, digital technology plays a hand in opening new affordable options. Using digital technologies and ingenuity ‘clever cheats’ can be used to deliver that specific look the clients want and at the desired price.  Cheaper and alternative options have to be considered to get specific effect the client wants but without the cost. Gold foiling is liked by many but the cost can be too expensive so an alternative, cheaper option would be used for example tinting metallised paper gold. This method doesn’t look as good however it can be a workable solution.

Instead of actually foiling, digital press can be used for something similar like overprinting onto a metallic silver substrate.  New game on the market ‘uncharted 3’ appears to look like it used foil blocking but on the contrary just used a foil board. Using simpler, techniques like this for a more complex process is what packaging innovation is all about. Amazing results can be achieved by merging techniques, it doesn’t have to be as expensive or complicated as people may think and these techniques are relatively simple.

If the budget allows it packaging printers can really push boundaries given the chance too. The company (AGI) produced Games such as heavy rain, which was made several years ago, used a spot gloss to contrast the matt cover, and then use sculptured embossing behind each spot gloss droplet.  This gave a desired effect of making it look like it had actually rained onto the packaging. The high street is in a continuous battle and showing no signs of calming, with new product launches which is increasing the competition. Packaging will progressively more be the brands focus for differentiation and impact, and printers have to be ready to deliver those demands at an affordable price.

English Provender Company and Berkshire Labels

The EPC (English Provender Company) manufactures sauces and condiments. Much of their produce ends up in retailer own brand ranges or branded under its own name. The EPC had an idea of a completely transparent labelling allowing you to actually see the product. This idea was looked more thoroughly into to see what was possible and how it would look. The importance of packaging to make a product stand out and catch the eyes of consumers is very high and there were sever trial ideas before the final label was settled on. In the end the final design was a clear label with simple messaging that appeared to be scribbled onto the jar in a ‘homemade’ style.

The text on the jar is chalk-board style type writing and it worked very well making it stand out by using certain printing methods. EPC put down two white and cream spot colours than varnish over the top. It needed to be particularly dense so they used another hit of white which later found was needed in the testing process, as an end result EPC was please. This is called ‘the naked look’ and its aim is to stand out on the shelf of the store,  proving just how important packaging and labelling can be and as EPC figures show that an increase of sales up to 148%!

Monsoon Home Range and Glossop Cartons 

Derbyshire-based Glossop Cartons created designs for new packaging for products such as body lotion and perfume for retailer monsoon. Derbyshire-based Glossop Cartons had an aim that was to give an antique style effect with an inspiring feel on cartons.

The job ended up being very tricky consisting of a 10-colour print all colour-matched spot colours, (including one metallic) a gold foil block and a blind emboss on an antique texture board. Knowing how important it is to make sure a product would stand out to the consumer, ensuring the best sales possible, the level of detail required was huge.  They were trying to concentrate on getting the colours correct, 10 colours including a metallic, colour-matched to fabric references and printing onto an absorbent and textured substrate.

The skill of the Glossop print staff and the quality of the press meant that the final result surpassed expectations of what they thought could be achieved, However the client needed to be aware of the final look of the carton. The quality of the press and the more pleasing the product looks is key to making the product draw all eyes onto its self compared to the others around.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception and AGI World

The AGI World team were hired to print and help design the Naughty Dog Company’s computer game Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. The ‘old world’ feel of the game had to be reflected in the packaging. Customers have to like the game even before playing it, this means the packaging needed to stand out, they wanted something vintage shown as a life like journal to resemble the game. To show its life likeness they gave the packaging a leather effect achieving this through print techniques.

For this to be possible special software to emulate print techniques which allowed it to shortlist ideas, this shortlist was then put on a proofer to create mock-ups. This was a very extensive testing process in which the client was heavily involved. Understand that the quality of print and attention to detail was needed to make the product draw attention to it standing out on the shelf. They tried hard as well to come up with a lowest cost possible but still giving them the simulation they wanted.

The end product that they came up with was a lay-flat book with four-coloured plus white on a silver board, incorporating a soft-touch lamination and debossing. It was printed with yellow and magenta ink then die-cut and debossed, the gold effect was also used by using silver board. Using innovative techniques such as soft-touch lamination left the clients amazed that you can get that real old world feel. It’s using printing like this and new digital technologies that allowed it to stand out from every other game.

The Body Shop and AJS Labels

AJS Labels was tasked with a complex print job for The Body Shop aimed at giving the retailer’s Love Etc range of products maximum on-shelf impact. The job was a dynamic multicoloured base label and a three-ply, peel-and-read back panel. This could only be completed by doing a number of things such as; a combination of 10 colours, three varnishes and silicone. It also needs matching colours with the self-adhesive label to the litho printed box, these created some difficulties.  The job ended up being printed in two passes; the end product was a success and had a very high impact on the final product.

 Organic Foods Keeping Up Appearances

It is true that there is a big challenge among organic food suppliers both as a retailer and as a printer. They must make sure the packaging is worth the extra expense. Products have to carefully word what they put on the packaging and whether it will appeal to the shopper. Many organic products use phrase like ‘naturally sweetened’ and ‘no added sugars’ etc. But we all know if the packaging isn’t attractive enough to the shopper it will be over looked by the consumers.

But the packaging doesn’t just have to look nice the product itself also has to live up the standard it has set itself. If the packaging looks nice but the product is less than satisfactory then people aren’t going to be buying it again.

Printers now a days are also very concerned about how they are effecting the environment with what they are doing therefore substrate and ink used will be key. So the question is how can packaging printers help keep whole food brands maximise their impact on the shelf and still manage to minimise their impact on the environment.

Here are two case studies on companies who are taking measure to be good to the earth and how they do it?

Organix

Organix is a brand that sells baby and toddler food, they were founded in 1992.  The company is a supplier of 20 organic food manufacturers throughout the world. They use the services of 60 different printing and packaging companies for the packaging of their fruit cereals, fruit purees, savoury pouches and steam cooked ready meals.

The company produce food for young children, their priority lies in packaging their food so the quality is preserved. With this amount of suppliers it is difficult to keep the packaging quality consistent. Another thing that brands are constantly aware of is the colour uniforms also known as a house style.

A house style is important because a colour scheme or a logo can be associated with a brand. For example coca cola used red as it’s house style colour, if coca cola where to change the colour used to green one day then the bottle wouldn’t be recognised and it would be quite unpopular to people. The colour can also suggest something about the product for example green packaging could suggest the product is environmentally friendly or an eco product.

Organix set some guidelines to all of their printers have to follow in order meet the concern of functionality. This is because it is important for the packaging so that it can reflect what the company is all about, the essence of the company if you will - which is giving young children the highest of quality in food and also made from the most natural of ingredients. They have people appointed to make sure that the packaging meets its function which is to preserve the quality of the food and its shelf life. Because as well as the packaging attracting a customer it also needs to keep the food fresh for as long as possible.

Food safety to companies is vital so companies have to set very strict guidelines. For example on plastics and films, if a supplier wants to include something new to the packaging and the company is not sure it meets these standards then the supplier will be challenged and perhaps an alternative will need to be found.

For example Organix a new savoury cereal bar has been launched by Organix and will be wrapped in Gravure-printed packaging. The supplier wanted to use a new single mono web film. The company were not happy with this because their standard that they usually use I multilayered films, this is because this means their shelf life is greatly improved.

The main problem with the mono-web film is that it didn’t meet all of the testing requirements which were quite rigorous. So Organix like to stick to multilayered packaging until the testing had been done. This is an example of how things cannot just be done in order to make the packaging costs cheaper, new processes need to be thought about thoroughly. Organix have a technical department to make sure they are happy with the changes.

This doesn’t however mean the companies ad adverse to changes suggested by printers. Companies like printers being more proactive in suggesting new ideas in order to save some money when making the packaging and making it more innovative.

Organix think that printers should play more of an active role, this is because there a real potential for them to suggest something that the company may not have thought about. For example removing the tabs on some of our cereal bar cartons for example was a great suggestion from one of the printers working for Organix. This allows it to fit in more boxes on one printing plate and saves alot of money. But the company wouldn’t have known these themselves.

Organix says that they would also welcome more of an input on how to make packaging more eco friendly. However they do have quite strict deadlines on only using solid corrugated board that is recyclable unless it is a huge contract in contract in which they would use FSC or equivalent and generally printers are very willing to meet these. This is because printers are realising that if they use sustainable materials then this is becoming the focus more and more for companies. The sort of substrates Organix are after will also be popular with other companies. Organix feel it would really help them if the printing companies gave them more input instead of just responding to their requests.

Life of a manger of packager could also be made easier is if designers give more of an input as well. A lot of graphic designers are only focussing on how the graphics look on the screen not how they will look as packaging. Sometimes design wok does not look right on the packaging due to sizing or whatever other reason. Unsuitable designs make the initial design stage alot more time consuming. This means that the whole process could be made quicker if consideration was taken about how the product will look with the packaging on.

Here is another example of a company that are focussing alot on packaging...

Rude Health

Rude health is a company that was created about six years ago and they have an aim which is to produce healthy snacks and meals such as muesli, porridges, and cereals, unrefined and naturally sweetened ingredients. These products should also be organic and as naturally healthy as possible by only containing ingredients that are unprocessed unrefined and naturally sweetened. But an issue healthy snack companies is sacrificing taste, rude health wish to make both healthy and tasty products.

For companies such as Rude Health who have strong brand principles and design ideas it is key for them to work closely alongside a printing company who are prepared to talk ideas through in depth with a greater knowledge this also means flexibility is needed as much as possible.

Much like Organix Rude Health is also feeling the pressure of standing out from the shelf. To make their packaging the company choose a company that has the unrefined look they are after. An issue that arose for them is that they were printing on the non coated side of the material meaning colour matching is important however achieving the right colours is difficult. It can be a game of trial and error sometimes for printers because a flat tone cannot be selected and assured to be the right shade on this material. Also because of this it makes it the even more important to use a printer that can be patient and fully realise the implications of the printing process because the design was made without this knowledge. It is very important that the printer welcomes them on the press each time a run is printed. This means that the colour that was in mind is achieved.

The main issue is for the company when it comes to standing out from the shelf is that brilliant white cannot quite be achieved on EcoKraft without passing the boats through the press twice. This is an extra cost that the company would rather spend on their food product.

To conquer this issue which has became critical for the packaging of the new seven grain granola bar the company decided to use a new substrate. This substrate promised really good colour accuracy and intensity and is called Hermiwhite. This ensures the white on the packaging is bright enough to compete with the other cereal brands which have busy and colourful designs. Not all of the packaging has been changed to this technique yet because organic mueslis and porridges are still using the old substrate, EcoKraft! This is because it can be a nightmare to make changes because it is time and money spent to make new artwork for plates.

Rude health feels that taking the environment into consideration is very important because their products philosophy is all about healthy and sustainable living. The company help the environment by:

• ·         Using recycled materials
• ·         Using undyed materials
• ·         Using water based inks

This is the case for all of their packaging.

However environmental printing is an incredibly complicated area which h the company has discovered as they have became more knowledgeable about printing processes. There are many complexities to consider for example the source and content of recycled board and the fact that it might wake more energy to produce than your standard board. You must also consider whether your materials are FSC approved. The company feel it is a constant struggle to determine the most environmentally friendly substrate. This is because every supplier will have their own set of standard that they must achieve.

In an ideal world a printers would be able to come up with a portfolio saying which substrates are the best for the planet and for what circumstances. This would be easier to consider what balance to achieve in order to meet the commercial pricing realities faced on the shelf.

Posted By Victoria Blackwell

Attracting Your Target Audience

You could have a quality piece of advertising for example flyer printing but ultimately, the success of advertising rests on whether it influences behaviour.

Product advertisers want consumers to buy their product; political advertisers want voters to vote for their candidate; and sponsors of public-service announcements related to the harmful effects of smoking want the incidence of smoking to decline. These may be done with flyer printing campaigns or posters. But while such effects are of primary interest for understanding the influence of advertising, advertising is only one of many factors that influence such behaviours.

A consumer might want to buy an advertiser’s product they saw advertised a piece on flyer printing, but may not find it in the store, or another less-desirable product is so much less-expensive that the consumer chooses it instead.

It is possible, in some cases, to identify the direct effects of advertising on behaviour, but in most cases, there are simply too many other factors that can influence behaviour to isolate the effects of advertising.

It is for this reason that most advertising research focuses on other effects in the hierarchy of effects. When measuring the direct effect of advertising on behaviour is of interest, it is necessary to design carefully controlled experiments to control for all factors other than advertising.

But How Does Advertising Work?

Advertising is a form of communication. There are many forms of advertising such as flyer printing, poster printing and online advertising. Like all forms of communication, it has many different effects and these effects are often related to one another. The message in an advertisement, no matter how strong and persuasive, will have no effect if the consumer does not see the advertisement or pay attention to it. This means you must concentrate on distribution and make sure you get your flyer printing or leaflets to the right people.

One useful structure for understanding these multiple effects and their interrelationships is called the hierarchy of effects model. The hierarchy of effects model identifies different stages in the communication process.

Hierarchy of Effects Model

Here is an example of the hierarchy of effects model.

The hierarchy of effects model Is key advertising theory, it was created to show the clear steps of how advertising works.

Awareness

This stage is where the advertiser is building awareness of their product, if someone has never heard of the product or brand then the job of the advertiser is to create brand awareness and get the name out there. When someone is buying a product and they recognise the brand they are more likely to buy the product because people put their trust in well recognised brands. Many companies use repeat advertisements repeating the product name many times in hope the audience recognises it and take it in. However this is not that straightforward, even if someone notices a poster or flyer, they may not notice the brand name or product name. This means that the brand names need to be the main focal point to make the consumer aware.

Knowledge

At this point people may have heard the name of the brand or product but not know much more. This stage is where you start to gain knowledge of the brand. You learn what the brand stands for, this may appeal to you or not and if so it could benefit you. The advertisers have to tell the customers what makes their brand different from competitor brands – also who is the target market? These questions are ones that must be addressed if the company wants the customer to gain brand knowledge.

Liking

At this stage the target audience will know the product and have a general opinion of the product and the brand. They will either like the brand or not – if a brand gets a bad reputation then this could be very harmful, the brand will need to fix the problem and rebrand their product - however if the audience like the product then the company have this reputation to uphold.

Preference

The target audience will now have favourite brands and brands they like but may not prefer them to other brands. At this stage the company are concerned with building them as the buyers preference they do this by promoting good quality, value and performance of the product. The company can see how effective their advertising is by measuring audience preference before and after their campaigns.

Conviction

Just because a buyer prefers one product to another it still doesn’t necessarily mean they will buy the product. What needs to be done now is conviction among the target audience.

Purchase

This is the final stage of the hierarchy of effects model, this stage the target audience may have conviction towars the product but might not quite get around to making a purchase. They may have intentions of buying but never getting around to it. To persuade people to take the last step of buying low prices are offered.

Advertising cannot just simply induce immediate behavioural response, each stage must be fulfilled before the next stage is possible and finally the purchase happens.

Effective Communication

Effective communication must begin by obtaining the attention of the consumer. This may be a large title for your flyer printing or quotes or eye catching image or colour scheme. Then, the consumer must process the information carried in the advertisement. Such processing of information may be followed by an evaluation of the information, the source of the information, and ultimately the desirability of any actions suggested by the communication.

This evaluation process may, in turn, give rise to the formation of attitudes, the development of intentions for future action, and, eventually, an action. Different characteristics of an advertisement have effects at different points in this hierarchy.

You should also consider HOW you communicate with your audience; you want to be able to create a personal relationship, make them believe you are in their same mind frame and that you are only interested in helping them or provided them a service. This tip will help you on your quest to create successful advertising, or get someone to do it for you?

Forms of Advertising

Is print really dead or is it just a myth?

In the mid 1990’s print media, e.g flyer printing and poster jets, was the main advertising media on the schedule for SME’s around the world.

Nowadays, media advertising is driven by enhancements to technology and the need for advertisers to reach their target audiences in the places where they are looking for information.

It seems that Internet Advertising is the fastest growing format of the moment, but print media advertising still has a very firm place in most ad schedules, this includes flyer printing and poster printing.

One of the main reasons it still works is the fact that people tend to be very much away from work when they are reading information and looking at adverts in print. If we look at magazine advertisements, their main advantage is the fact that a much targeted audience is seeing them. This is of huge benefit to the advertiser and magazine advertising gives them the space to capture potential customers when they are at their most relaxed. You can include full page adverts in magazines or flyer printing slipped into a magazine related to your topic.

This is also true for newspaper advertising, although there is probably a significantly higher amount of wastage in terms of matching the ad content to the type of reader. Now you can see why suppliers of mobile phones and car companies advertise in newspapers - most of the target audience is relevant to the products or services shown in the advert.

The advertising costs associated with magazines and newspapers do vary considerably, but do make sure that you negotiate if you plan to book a series.

Another area to consider for print is yellow pages and other directories. Some directories are now very targeted and the advantage to this format is that people are actually looking for adverts. The other thing to consider is cost and an annual price for an eighth page in a directory can be very reasonable.

What are the Advantages of Print Media over a number of other advertising media formats?

The advertising media format of the moment has to be online advertising - but does it cover every element that you need it too?

The traditionalists (and magazine and newspaper publishers) will say no and the fact of the matter is that magazine advertising, flyer printing advertising and newspaper advertising does have its advantages in the media advertising mix.

One of the main advantages of print media is its capacity to excite and stimulate when people are in a relaxed frame of mind. Even though Internet Advertising has the edge in cost per lead terms, it is print media that seems to stay with us. Also internet advertising can get really annoying to view.

If you run a campaign of flyer printing you are unlikely to be able to monitor the effectiveness of that schedule in direct response terms. However, print media seems to be moving away from direct response anyway and is now positioning itself as a corporate, brand awareness or back-up media to other formats of advertising.

One of the other main advantages of print is its credibility. If you see it in print, it usually holds a higher position of respect and value - one thing that the internet is falling down on, due to the fact that it is very much a content-led format and therefore depends very much on results from search engines. Of course, people who want to make money from ad clicks are abusing this, by putting up very poor content.

Whatever you say about print media, it is here to stay and continues to be a valuable tool for advertisers, publishers and readers like you and me.

Posted By Victoria Blackwell

Getting Your Audiences Attention

In the context of advertising, the first hurdle for an advertiser is to obtain the attention of the consumer. This involves two important actions. First, it is important for the advertiser to know where a communication should be place to increase the odds of reaching a particular type of consumer; this is the media decision.
Careful analysis of the consumer use of various media (e.g., what television shows they watch, what route they take to work, and what magazines they read) allows the advertisers to identify those media to which target consumers are most likely to be exposed.

Placing an advertisement in a place where relevant consumers are unlikely to see it assures that the advertising will be ineffective. However, just because a consumer happens to view a television show or read a magazine in which an advertisement is placed does not a guarantee that the consumer will see the advertisement.The consumer may have left the room when the television commercial aired or may not have read the particular part of the magazine in which the advertisement appeared.Advertisers solve this problem by repeating advertising in the same and in different media in order to increase the probability that a given consumer will actually be exposed to the advertising. A key task for the advertiser is to identify those media to which relevant consumers regularly attend and develop a schedule of repetition for the advertisement that maximizes the number of consumers who will be exposed to the advertising message. This is typically the responsibility of the media department in an advertising agency. This could include flyer printing, poster printing, magazine articles, TV adverts or internet advertising.
Exposure to an advertisement whether it is flyer printing or another form still does not mean that a consumer will attend to it. A consumer may simply turn the page of a magazine, or chuck the flyer printing in the bin, or even look away from the television, or click on a banner advertisement on the Internet to make it go away without ever paying attention to the advertisement.

Obtaining the attention of consumers who are, in fact, exposed to an advertisement is a significant challenge for advertisers. Various characteristics of advertisements have been found to increase the likelihood that consumers will attend to an advertisement. Advertisements that include relevant information for the consumer, such as a product benefit that is important to the consumer, are especially likely to attract attention. Information that is new to the consumer is also likely to obtain the attention of the consumer. Various creative devices such as the use of humour, a well-known celebrity, or an especially entertaining presentation also tend to attract attention. If it is flyer printing then maybe a flashy title or fact or quote, or an eye catching image or colour scheme?
 The devices must be used carefully; if they are not well integrated with the primary message of the advertiser, the consumer may attend to the advertisement, but only focus on the creative device (the humour, the identity of the celebrity) rather the intended message of the advertiser.

An especially challenging aspect of advertising revolves around balancing the repetition of an advertisement, which is intended to increase the probability of a consumer being exposed to it, with the likelihood the consumer will attend to the advertisement when exposed. Consumers are less likely to attend to advertisements they have already seen, and the more often an individual consumer has seen an advertisement previously the less likely they are to pay attention to it when exposed again.

This phenomenon is referred to as “advertising wearout.” Wearout can be a particular problem when advertising in markets where the likelihood of advertising exposure varies considerably across consumers. The number of repetitions of the advertisement needed to reach some consumers may be so great that the advertisement wears out among other consumers who are more readily exposed to the advertisement. To combat such wearout, advertisers will often use multiple advertisements that vary in terms of execution or presentation but carry similar messages. Such variation tends to reduce advertising wearout by providing something new to the consumer that serves as the basis for attracting attention.

This problem is combated by constant change of content and angle of direction to the audience. For example you may wish to make a newer version of your flyer printing or poster printing every so often. This can be determined when by trends if you have a peak in profits after the realise of your newest piece of flyer printing then you may wish to wait until you have reached the level you were at before again before making a new addition this stops the effect of advertising wearout.

Posted By Victoria Blackwell 

How Can Research Techniques Result In A More Successful Piece Of Flyer Printing 

In order to create a successful piece flyer printing you must really understand your audience, the following will give you many things to consider when addressing your audience.

1. Firstly consider Geodemographics are the place/places in which your audience that you are targeting lives. For example if you are aiming at young people in London it would be a good place for advertising as opposed to a small village as there are more young people in London that are aware of consumer advertising. This will help you know where to distribute your flyer printing.

2. Secondly consumer behaviour may be linked to buying habits for example where, when and why they buy things. - If you can understand why somebody buys a product or where and even when you can aim a product towards them much more effectively. If you know when they are most likely to buy you can get your flyer printing out their just in the right time.

3. Also consumer attitudes are essentially how the target audience see things, and what they think about certain things. This could include their beliefs whether they are moral or religious; this could mean the content in the product you are advertising may need to be made to suit this particular group. Also their intentions and feelings are important understand, if you make the person feel a certain way about your product they may be inclined to buy. This can also be linked to Physiographic categorisation, for example their interests and personality traits.

4. Audience awareness is important because you need to be fully aware of who you are selling to, if you are aware of the types of people buying the product you can aim at them more effectively. This can be achieved with heavy audience research.  You need to know what age group would be interested in your product and also their budget along with many other important things to consider.  The audience also needs to be aware of the company, or the product or service. You can heighten brand awareness  by getting your logo and company name out their, this can be done with flyer printing as well as other forms of internet and multimedia advertising.

5. The product market is very competitive; your product needs to fall into the market to join similar products or to meet a gap in the market. You must research into where there is room for more in the market if not you would just be making similar products that have no unique selling points. When making a product you need to be aware of the market that you will be entering into. Getting along with the best design team you can will help you be on top of your competition, a good flyer printing represents you as a good and professional company.

6. Competition may also arise if you create a product that is similar or intertextual to another, this puts the strain on the creators of the product because they will forever need to keep on top of their opponent, and this may be done with unique selling points or smart advertising. You may not be on top of your completion simply by being a better product or service it is important how you are represented to the audience, this makes advertising e.g flyer printing and poster printing is really important as they are the tools that advertisers use to get a person interested in your product, the more effective the advertising ect generally the better the sales regardless of whether the product is the best or not!

7. Competitor analysis is in marketing and strategic management it is an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and potential competitors. This analysis provides both an offensive and defensive strategic context through which to identify opportunities and threats.  If you know where your competition is doing well and where they are doing badly you will be able to work on where they are weak. You can make their strengths weaknesses by doing one step ahead of them all the time. Also if something they are doing is working well you may want to try it too. For example if the product is selling well in one particular shop you may put more of your product in that shop alongside it.

8. Advertising placement is important because it makes all the difference of whether your target audience will see the advert or not. You may need to research what other products your audience buys or where they go. For example if your target audience reads Marie Claire you may place an advert for your product in that magazine. You also need to know which place in the magazine would be the best advertising slot as you wouldn’t want to be placed next to a story that doesn’t put you in the mood to buy. If you are aiming at a young audience you may place adverts in buses as young people use public transport for college before they learn to drive? Or if you are aiming it at mums then maybe place your flyers in a supermarket? Also adverts placement is important online, you may want to invest in advertising banners to place on frequently viewed sites by your target audience, or on the Facebook sidebar.

9. But why choose print? Print is disposable and reasonably cheap to produce, with print you can hand it out almost anywhere and nobody needs specialist equipment to view it such as online advertising you have to rely on the right person to be online and in the right place at the right time. Whilst handing out print you can direct your advertising to a wider audience and also specially select who views it. 

10. Why Advantage Digital Media? Well because we can offer you the highest quality print at great deal prices sent to you with a 24 hour service. We also offer many other services including our print partnerships, visit our site to see what Advantage Media can do for you to help your product or service sell! 

Posted By Victoria Blackwell

It’s been known for several years now that the state of our environment is greatly suffering. The print industry could be somewhat to blame for this misfortune. I would like to discuss many ways in which we can help the environment from your home and also from within the industry. But what are the industries actually doing to help?
International paper has recently announced environmental goals that they will be setting in hope to meet this year. International paper plans to be cutting their energy usage by 15% and also reduce their greenhouse gasses by 20%, this goal is one they are hoping to have fully achieved by 2020.

International paper is a paper making company who are setting themselves many sustainability goals that they will be announcing over the next few months. But how are they planning on doing this? Firstly they will be looking at improving manufacturing efficiencies as well as exploring new technologies. They will also be consulting their employees in hope of finding some new environmentally friendly solutions to their problem. So far the company has reduced its global energy usage by 12% says Greg Gibson, vice president of the company. He quotes “we feel confident we can improve on the performance while still delivering our industry leading products and customer service.” In European operations, reduction of greenhouse emission of over 70% has been achieved since 1990 by International paper.

But this still doesn’t account for many other sectors of the industry that are contributing to the environmental issues. Just think for a second how much paper is used to produce for example a magazine, now think how many copies of that magazine there will be produced worldwide each month and now think how many different titles of magazine there are on the shelves? That is a huge amount of paper, however the magazine industry has realised this and are looking into new technologies in order to reduce the amount of paper they use. Many magazines can now be viewed on your phone, ipad or computer but what about if you could have a virtual copy on e-paper?

Electronic Paper
electronic paper has been in production for 35 years now as is set to revolutionise the way we read and write and work. E-paper is essentially an electronic sheet that you can download content onto to read, it is also made of flexible material so it can be rolled up and transported in a bag much like a magazine. It is easy and convenient to read and will soon be making an appearance into many people’s lifestyles. You will soon have the capability of holding a libraries worth of books on just one small chip. E-paper is hoping to replace the majority of newspapers and magazines within the next decade.
So how did it all start? It started in the late 60’s and the early 70’s with Xerox attempting to develop the Alto personal computer which never took off. They hoped that it would become the world’s very first word-processing PC. The machine unfortunately had a major problem, the cathode-raytube display was simply too dark and the contrast was unsatisfactory, this was however the best available at the time. Sadly the machine could only be used in a dark room. It was a challenge for many scientists to attempt to create a better display that could be used in brightly lit rooms as well as darkened ones. Then the Gryicon rotating ball display was invented which was based on a phenomenon called ‘elecrocapillarity’. This worked by moving coloured liquids against a plain white background. The development however was then delayed until the early 90’s which then became the starting point for today’s electronic paper. So how was e-paper actually born?
The need for e-paper was discovered in 1989, Xerox had predicted a future of a paperless office.

Did you know?
The amount of paper wasted each year in the typical office is about two and a half pounds every week. Thats about 10-12 pounds of paper every month!

However the paperless office sadly never happened and instead the invention of personal computers instigated for paper and wastage in the office. Many offices keep soft copies and hard copies of everything they do which before backup systems where developed was a very necessary process but in today’s world the need for soft copies is forever decreasing. Other reasons for the large amount of print outs is often that most readers prefer to read something on paper as opposed to on a computer screen as it is proven it is much easier on the eye. Therefore when making e-paper it must look as much like ink on paper as possible as this is the ‘perfect display’.

Reasons that e-paper has not yet been fully mastered and adopted by the general public is simply that no technology is sufficiently paper-like enough quite yet. But what is needed to make the perfect reading material?

· Thin

· Flexible

· Capable of storing readable images

· Highly readable in ambient light

· Good resolution

· High whiteness

· Good contrast

· Quite cheap

Finding technology that has all these properties is proving difficult, this does not mean that e-paper is not currently available it just means it hasn’t been perfected yet. You could say it is in the early stages. Remember the old televisions? Look at them now, and they are forever improving, just imagine where your office could be in 20 years time.

E-paper will not only cut down the need to print newspapers and magazines we could also hope to be seeing electronic billboards which would create a whole new level for advertisers to explore, this could include teaser trailers being played at bus stops or moving images for advertisements on billboards in city centres, the possibilities are endless. Eventually we can hope to see e-paper in our pocket as portable media devices.

But how is e-paper expected to behave, well, e-paper will be embodying a cylindrical tube with a diameter of about 1cm and will be 15-20cm in length, this is perfect size for ones pocket. The tube will contain a tightly rolled sheet; this will be the e-paper which can be rolled and unrolled for reading and storage. You will be able to download books, newspapers and magazines at the touch of a button onto a chip; you will also be able to use it for internet and email anywhere in the world. Better yet it will only cost less that £75, in the future we can hope that nearly anyone will have one!

How does it work?

E-paper is made up of two part, the ‘frontplane’ and the ‘backplane’, the frontplane is the electronic ink and the backplane is the electronics required to create the text, patterns and images on the page out of ‘e-ink’.

Many different methods have been used to try and create successful e-paper but the best way so far is the ‘electrophoretic’ method, this consists of millions of tiny microcapsules, which measure 100microns in diameter – this is about as wide as a piece of human hair. Each one of these little microcapsules will be filled with a clear fluid which contains a positive charge white particle a negatively charged black particle. When a negative electronic field is created the white particle moves to the top of the microcapsule, this causes the area to appear as a white dot, while the black particles move to the bottom of the capsule and are hidden from view. When a positive electric field is applied, the black particles travel to the top and the white particles shift to the bottom, creating a picture or black text.

Here is a diagram to help you...

Eco Products

Electronic paper could be considered as an eco product; however what exactly is an eco product? An eco product is a product that is sustainable, these products use one or more methods to reduce their impact on the environment overall.

How do eco products reduce their impact on the environment?

· Derive from recycled materials (plastics and metals)

· Reduce the amount of energy they use

· Adjust the energy used to suit various tasks

· Less weight/size or packaging meaning that less materials are used

· Longer lasting

· Can be easily repaired

· Solar power/wind up devices can generate their own energy

· Containing less harmful chemicals

· Easily taken to pieces for easier recycling

How Print Is Going ‘Greener’

Over the years the printing industry has been attempting to be good to the environment and to go green. They are using a combination of greener technology as well as meeting customer demands, using tighter regulations and cost pressures which have altered the industry, the industry has cut down a substantial amount of chemicals, emissions and waste. Over the past 10 years you can clearly see that companies are recycling a lot more and making use of forest certified substrates. Many printing companies even have environmental management systems now as well.

But why go green?
The printing industries are going green in hope to:

· Reduce costs

· Reduce waste

· Increase environmental performance

· Improve working conditions

The industry are also finding that by taking a new constructive approach to environmental matters is having a positive effect on your company in areas such as:

· Company’s profitability

· Staff confidence

· Relationships with customers

· Relationships with regulators

But how are they going green?

Printers are now recycling all paper waste, this is helping dramatically because it is reducing the need to cut down quite as many tree’s to make new paper. However new paper is of course still being made but many environmental projects promise to plant a new tree for every tree they cut down.

Some printing companies are even replacing the inks they use; some companies are using vegetable based inks as an alternative. However vegetable based paste inks are not suitable for all types of printing, they are becoming much more popular for sectors such as commercial, newspaper and magazine printing. These pastes are good for the environment because they are less hazardous than those based on mineral oil; they are based on a renewable resource. Other inks that help the environment are UV inks which can be used for processes such as screen printing, UV ink helps the environment because they set using UV light, this is opposed to evaporation of solvent from the ink, this will reduce VOC emissions and eliminating drying problems.

Printing companies are also using their resources more efficiently; the cost of waste can be from 4-16%, of the turn over for many types of printers. If you begin to understand the cost of waste, this could help you to identify possible saving options, from improving resource efficiency.
Did you know it is estimated that the average substrate wastage rate is 17%, within a range of 7-33%. This can be calculated by comparing the tonnage of waste with the tonnage of substrate purchased. Printing companies are also making more efficiant flyer and poster printing, they can be made out of recycled materials.

Carbon Footprint

companies are also making a conscious effort to reduce their carbon footprint. Reducing your carbon footprint can benefit both you and the environment – this is because carbon footprint is the measurement of energy use, particularly for transport and is linked to direct energy costs.
companies also need to watch their consumption of energy because using electricity obtained from fossil fuels i.e. gas and oil can lead to emission of carbon dioxide which is known as a greenhouse gas which is a large contributor to global warming. You can reduce these emissions by becoming more energy efficient.
Even from home you can help by not leaving appliances on standby you should unplug them when no in use, you should also try and use public transport as much as possible this will reduce your carbon footprint because there will be less vehicles on the road if people begin sharing a bus. You should also consider properly insulating and heating your homes efficiently, instead of coal/log fires you should use electric heaters and also insulating your houses properly can cut emissions because less heat will be escaping into the atmosphere.

Recycling

Recycling happens both from homes and from businesses but what exactly happens to our recycling and how does it help the environment?
Recycling is collected using a ‘kerbside sort’ scheme which is where the recycling bin is put into the lorry at the side of the curb and then taken off to a place called MRF (materials recovery facility). The rubbish bin is also taken but is sorted into a different compartment to the recyclable goods.

When arriving at the MRF another process of sorting is taking place, the recyclable goods are sorted and separated by hand or by a machine into their different types, for example plastic bottles, cardboard, paper and metal are all separated into different places. These are then sent to the appropriate manufacturer and can then be made into new products. Once sorted these recycled material become very valuable products.

Did you know?

Facts and Figures

1. All newspapers manufactured In the UK are now made from 100% recycled paper

2. All garden and kitchen waste is recycled very close to where it was collected

3. Glass in the UK is mainly used to make new glass this is over 80% of what is collected

4. Some countries are prepared to pay very high prices for waste plastic and other recyclables this is apparent in places such as China.

Recycling holds more benefits than using raw materials because:

· The use for natural resources such as oil is reduced

· Recycling dramatically reduces energy use and carbon emissions when being manufactured

· The impact of transport is also reduced

· Less materials being sent to landfill

Here is a chart to show how much material is recycled in the UK and how much is exported abroad:

Material

Reprocessed in the UK

| Reprocessed Abroad

Paper

49%

51%

Glass

81%

19%

Aluminium

66%

34%

Plastic

33%

67%

Wood

100%

0%

Whether it is recycling or reducing your carbon footprint the printing industry hopes to see people at home trying to do their bit for the environment as well as the print industry. The print industry holds a big responsibility for alot of environmental problems but with the initiative to ‘go greener’ we should start to see a good impact on the environment in the upcoming years along with big changes!

Posted By Victoria Blackwell

Flyer printing has been used for Aura Lounge.

The flyer printing has been made for dub n bass night.

The flyer printing says that the date of the event will be on friday 27th of January.

The flyer printing says that the night is free entry.

The flyer printing says the event will start at 10pm and finish late.

The flyer printing says that night will include beats including dubstep, drum and bass, drumstep, trance, electro, house and progressive etc.

The flyer printing has been handed out in colleges to get young music lovers involved.

Posted By Victoria Blackwell