Are you putting the flags out for the 4 July reopening of pubs, restaurants etc.? Wondering how much of a boost the move is likely to give the print sector. Are you benefitting?
Nicole Spencer - operations director at RMC Digital and president of Fespa UK Association - wants your help in developing a nationwide strategy to encourage people to come and work in print. Having kicked off her appeal of LinkedIn she’s already spoken with a number of PSPs and other associations to see how this can best be achieved, so get your voice heard. Give Nicole a call at RMC.
Mmmm - interesting that the IPIA has partnered with Xeretec and the online educational publisher, Twinkl, to offer cashback on printing equipment to support teachers, parents and carers across the UK during school closures. On the topic of education, wondering if there’s mileage in some sort of joined-up deal on helping schools out with printed large-format distancing graphics, room dividers etc. I know lots of large-format PSPs are already helping out educational establishments at local level, but is there more we can do?
A note sent out by Matic Media MD Richard McCombe towards the end of last week warned customers of the company’s ecommerce Graphic Warehouse Trade Print site that “due to the recent change in government advice allowing non-essential business’s to return to work, every courier across the UK is now facing a huge influx of collection requests and deliveries meaning temporarily next day delivery services are no longer guaranteed and we are noticing an increase in missing consignments. In addition to this, many of our courier providers have sourced subcontractor drivers to help tackle the workload, a lot of these subcontractors operate on a non-digital paper system meaning it may not always be possible to offer live tracking on your parcel. We would kindly ask all of customers where possible to order two days in advance to allow for delays.” You facing the same disruption due to external delivery issues?
I’m guessing few of you feel too secure right now. But is the reason your business’s lack of cybersecurity? At a recent seminar Colin McMahon of Keypoint Intelligence said connected printers could be the weak link, letting hackers into your networks. Ever even considered that? With cybersecurity an increasing problem maybe you should…
I’ve shared some key stats from a survey on shopping UK habits in this newsletter, because not only does it perhaps indicate important high street/retail trends (though yes, we do have to bear in mind that it’s from an ecommerce company!) - but it also flags up some interesting info on corporate/company responsibility. Last week at the PrintFuture virtual seminar, Simon Biltcliffe, Webmart chief exec talking on the topic 'Reboot Your Business' said: "To attract the best young talent, you've got to get the ethics right and make it about more than money." What are your thoughts on reimagining your business for a new normal and on attracting the right talent to get you there?
A Thursday thought: “Bring in young talent, listen to them, and overpay them.” That’s what you need to do to reboot your business according to Simon Biltcliffe, CEO of Webmart UK, speaking at this week’s PrintFuture virtual summit. As he reiterated, “business is an aggregation of talent. The real advantage is having the best. And to get that talent you’ve got to be proactive and on the look out for people with empathy, creativity and curiosity - because down the line computers will do the rest.”
Fujifilm is working with metal packaging printing firm Tinmasters to develop metal decoration possibilities using UV inkjet print technologies. We’ve often talked about the fact that you can print onto just about anything these days - and we’ve seen printing onto cotton wool, grass, even ice for goodness sake. So often the sticking point is not technical capability but route to market and the effort required into creating new customer bases - but as so many PSPs find themselves in the position of having to reinvent themselves I’m wondering if metal printing - and other ‘niche’ high-value applications - are getting a real airing? Would be interested in hearing from any of you developing more unusual inkjet applications.
What do you want from a webinar right now? So many manufacturers and distributors are running them, many marketed as ‘educational’ but really just lightly veiled product promotions. Are these useful? Do you think they’re a good move in the current climate?
Is there a large-format orientated PSP out there NOT moving production to PPE or other Covid-19 related products? Do you think this is the ‘new normal’ for some time to come? And, if so, what are you doing to realign your company? If you want to talk, I’d love to hear from you.
Are print firms currently undervalued? A month ago in this space I asked if you were likely to be selling or buying a business given this new landscape. Has much changed in the last four weeks? I would be interested from hearing from prospective buyers/sellers.
I know you’ve not being doing your bit to help out in this Covid-19 landscape to garner any honours, but this sector has done so much in relation to PPE provision etc. that it would be a shame if some of you weren’t recognised for your efforts. Thinking you might want to enter this year’s Stevie Awards for Great Employers, where six Covid-19 response categories have just been added.
This came to my attention and I thought I’d pass it on - IST Metz, in co-operation with Virobuster, is urging printers to install a Steribase air cleaning system that reduces micro-organisms in the air, thus reducing the potential for Covid 19 transmission in the workplace. A basic wall-mounted version costs £3,575. No doubt there are alternatives – just thought it worth flagging up that such systems are available and not necessarily bank busting.
As I'm a Northerner maybe that header should be eeee-help! Anyway, the point is, businesses forced to adopt e-commerce prematurely, or without experience, are being offered professional consultative advice from Energy PR in a Zoom webinar at 4pm on 12 May. There are probably loads of similar things taking place, so it might be worth a Google! You can register for the Energy PR webinar at www.energypr.co.uk.
Image Reports
Supporting the wide-format digital print sector