by Milt Vine
To borrow from Daniel Burrus' book, Technotrends, we've entered the Communication Age. Static media, such as the printed product, are being coupled with media in motion-communications modes that provide instantaneous delivery of information. This trend has monumental implications for our industry. In its November 1996 Technology Trends Advisory, PIA projects that by the year 2000 digital media will displace 2-3% of all of the print market and from 10 - 30% of the strongest print market segments-catalogs and sales collateral. While the study makes clear the trend doesn't herald the demise of printing, it does signal a dramatic shift to new media for the distribution of information.
The migration makes it mandatory for us to start making full use of electronic modes of communication, with clients and amongst ourselves. Like the phone and fax before them, the Internet, electronic mail and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) offer the promise of shorter lead times and faster turnaround for clients whose business depends on getting to market before the competition.
Unfortunately, the wave toward online communications has come right on the heels of the desktop publishing revolution, which has required huge investment in prepress equipment and staffing. The fact is, though, according to focus groups and other studies to which I've been privy, clients not only will choose vendors based on their ability to handle multiple media, they will expect their vendors to help them get up and running to take advantage of online efficiencies.
While the front-end part of this story-online communication with clients-is old news to most of you, the biggest impact will be on the way all partners in the manufacturing process will have to work together.
Doing the tango. According to conventional wisdom it takes two to tango. In our industry, however, multiple dance partners have to perform in sync. Paper, ink and film suppliers have to be in step. At the back end, binderies, finishers and mailing houses also have to keep up the pace. (In fact, we're often expected to quicken the pace due to delays in prior stages of production.) The point is, if we're going to win the race against time, we have to work as a team. Upstream and downstream, all production partners will have to employ all the time-saving tools at our disposal, including digital communications channels.
Along with the new media, a new production paradigm is emerging . . . a type of virtual manufacturing, where the document itself is the center around which all production evolves. Rather than the old client-as-adversary model, clients must become an integral part of the production process. Online communications are an obvious means to that end.
E-mail expediencies. Not having a phone number would be tantamount to financial suicide, right? Well, the time has come when not having an e-mail address is equally paralyzing. Long in use by corporate America, e-mail has transformed communications by making it easier and faster to send and receive information. The benefits are many, both to us and clients. Clients can request estimates and we can provide prompts for information necessary so we can accurately estimate the job. Job status reports can be systematically delivered to clients and production partners. E-mail enables us to simultaneously send messages to multiple parties in any number of disparate locations, with a simple keystroke. And recipients can read and respond at their convenience.
Working the Web. To avoid spending big bucks for high-powered ISDN and T1 direct links to clients, many are using the Internet as their transmission highway. Today's best web sites have at least one e-mail function, enabling visitors to ask questions, submit quote requests and get vital information. (While there are number of e-mail programs on the market, Eudora appears to have emerged a winner for World Wide Web travelers.)
To be successful, sites must provide value. Increasingly, also, they are being used to conduct business. For example, in addition to folding diagrams and a tab layout guide, Seattle Bindery has a page that enables customers to request a bindery estimate. Many are moving to the next level of interactivity by devising pricing modules for often-requested jobs, allowing customers to get instant online quotes. I recently saw a beta application that-after keying in name, address, phone, fax, etc.-immediately displays an on-screen comp for text proofing. As advances are made to address security issues, direct links to shared databases will allow instantaneous access to stored art files, inventory counts and billing information.
I am convinced the advantages online communications offer us far outweigh the expense and initial confusion they currently impose. Once clients begin to view us as extensions of their own departments-the time's not far off when they will be able to hit the Print key and send files to the laser printer next to their desk or to the digital press sitting on your shop floor-our success will be sealed.
Milt Vine is president of Seattle Bindery, a post-production house specializing in
index tabbing in addition to providing folding, stitching, perfect binding, scoring ,
perforating and trimming services for the trade. You can reach Milt at 206/682-2558.
© 1997, Seattle Bindery. Reprinted from Northwest Trader, February, 1997.