During my flight back from San Diego yesterday I was thinking about the questions that many commercial printers are asking me these days: Is moving into the digital print market a leap of faith – is variable-data printing and Web-to-print business really there for the taking? And if so, how do I get started?

Having just finished presenting “Hot Applications in Graphic Communications” with a specific focus on Web to Print and Variable Data Printing to 50 design creatives, direct marketers and a few printers at the Print Week Conference in San Diego, I’m energized by the positive response and the fact that these questions continue to be asked.. In fact, the feedback from the audience was – what exactly is available to me? How do I take advantage of these tactics? And who can I go to help ensure I’m successful in enabling these projects for my clients?

Here’s one quote:
“We would like to provide custom advertising and collaterals for our customers to use for promotion to gain customers and grow their business. I am curious about XMPie or any other similar solutions for my clients’ needs. Is there a local sales rep we can talk with who can point us to someone already doing this?”

So, on all accounts the answer is yes. Moving to digital may seem like a bit of a “leap of faith” but the good news is there is opportunity out there and plenty of resources to guide you along the way. I welcome more of your questions as you consider taking the leap.

Rick Schadle
Vice President, Commercial Print and Pre-Press Segments
Xerox Worldwide Graphic Communications Industry Business