Running September 30-October 2, Print 18 featured new technologies and services from more than 350 exhibitors and brought together nearly 17,000 print professionals to learn about personalized print, the growth of direct mail, shop connectivity, augmented and virtual reality, and emerging revenue streams, among many other topics.
“Digital embellishment is going mainstream,” Kevin Abergel, MGI VP of Marketing and Sales, said during a Konica Minolta/MGI press conference, explaining one of his customers regularly sees a 400-percent increase in response rates any time it features tactile finishing on its mailed postcards. “[Printers] are taking advantage of personalized foil, whether it’s invitations, agendas or [customized] packaging…it’s turning them into collector’s pieces.” He noted today’s companies are maximizing their equipment investments by pursuing niche applications to create new business models.
At the Learning Experience Theater, Noel Ward, Managing Director at Brimstone Hill Associates, discussed how augmented reality can make print products more valuable by incorporating dynamic digital technology to present information. “Be creative. The more ways you can connect your customers with their customers, the better. [The goal is] for them to come back to [the product] more than once.When that happens, it increases the connection with the end-customer and leads to brand extension.”
After chatting with a number of print experts at the show, one thing is certain: A wave of disruptive technologies is hitting the industry and print providers must ensure their business strategies enable them to be agile and cost-effective.
This article was originally published in the November 2018 issue of PrintAction.
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