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Below, Catherine Fiasconaro observes that the crowd at this year's On Demand Conference & Exposition was lighter than in the past; that even "at prime lunch hour, the show floor food courts were nowhere near capacity."
Okay, Catherine; I confess. I think I might be the person to blame for that excess food court capacity - at least on Wednesday, March 5. That's when 70 Xerox Premier Partners, special guests and Xerox executives spent their lunch-hour (below) up on the second level of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center with industry thought leader Margie Dana (below left) and me.
 
Boston Power Hour: Billed as the "Xerox Premier Partners Boston Power Hour," I asked the founder of Print Buyers International and Boston Print Buyers to meet with our members for an informative and fun lunch 'n learn session at On Demand. Margie talked about the hottest print buying trends for the coming year and she dispensed some solid print buying advice. Like Boston Red Sox sluggers Manny Ramirez and David "Big Papi" Ortiz, Margie belted a tape-measure homer with the crowd.
What's Hot: Briefly, here's what Margie told members of Xerox's global affinity network of 700 members are three of the hottest topics among the influential print buyers she serves:
- Digital Printing Presses and Variable Data Publishing Software - They're very eager to learn more about both of these inter-related printing tools and are looking to you as a key source of up-to-date information and expert insight. "Give them what they're asking for: more knowledge on these two, timely topics - including Web-to-Print solutions," Margie says.
- Multi-Channel Marketing - They want to know more about how these campaigns work and have these common questions: Who does what? Can one firm do it all? How are campaigns structured? How is pricing determined?
- Sustainability - They want your help to: (1) better understand the "green" issues, including what all of the acronyms stand for; (2) sort out whether digital is greener than offset; and (3) explain to their clients what you're doing to comply with various environmental certifications and other mandates.
Print Buying Power-Houses: According to Margie, there are 23,000 full-time print buyers in the United States who purchase half of all of the print and packaging. She also says there's an additional 92,000 buyers involved to varying degrees, with such titles as: Director of Marketing, Director of Brand Development, Director of Corporate Communications, Creative Director, Graphic Designer, Print Production Consultant and Publishing Advisor. Now, that's a ton of print buying power and 115,000 good reasons to closely work with this influential group of seasoned industry professionals.
We, all, hope to see bigger crowds at next year's On Demand, when it moves back to the City of Brotherly Love, March 30 to April 2. Hey, anybody want to join us for lunch? Maybe we'll serve some Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches next year!
Bob Wagner, Vice President
Xerox Creative Services Business
and Premier Partners Program
 Our 45 attendees at Print Buyer Boot Camp!(tm) on the last day of the show reminded me how the modern print buyer wants to and needs to see the equipment that's being used to produce their materials. Almost every attendee took advantage of the mini-tour that I led in the Exhibit Hall before our program began. They could have easily passed this up. Their participation confirmed the interest level of print customers in the technology that drives their print materials!
Margie Dana
Print Buyers International
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I thought the show seemed quieter than previous ones. I was there all day
Tuesday and Wednesday. The advantage was that I was un-rushed when speaking
with exhibitors. I didn't see anything really new or exciting--perhaps
everybody's holding back for drupa. I noticed a lot of vendors offering UV
coaters--they seemed very popular. I was also able to speak with some
current suppliers and have issues addressed.
All-in-all, it was a good show for me personally, but I'm really looking
forward to drupa.
Kenneth B. Chaletzky
Copy General Corp.
I had a very busy schedule at the AIIM/On Demand conference in Boston last week – meeting customers, analysts and press, spending time in the Xerox booth and taking part in On Demand’s Emerging Technologies Keynote Session, moderated by Jim Hamilton with InfoTrends. The session allowed industry executives to talk about key issues facing the printing world.
I talked about how Xerox believes applications are the key to helping customers be successful and grow their business. As customers learn about digital, they see opportunities to move work traditionally done on an offset press to digital and develop creative, and more profitable, applications.
Those applications in turn drive page growth, and in digital color printing, more pages mean more revenues. One example is the growth of customized travel brochures. I talked about work EarthColor is doing for the Bermuda Department of Tourism. Visitors to the department’s Web site and callers to a toll-free number can provide information about themselves and quickly receive personalized materials tailored to their interests. Thanks to the automation and quick turnaround of digital, EarthColor can offer their client a great return on investment.
Another key panel topic was the environment and sustainability . I believe there is a need for the industry to work together on environmental concerns. Xerox has pledged to support customers, partners and other industry vendors through information sharing and best practices.
Since Xerox’s inception, we’ve included responsible behavior as a corporate citizen as part of our core values. Our commitment to environmental responsibility includes helping our customers implement a green strategy, reducing the amount of greenhouse gas we produce, reducing toxic materials and free metals from our manufacturing processes, and producing energy saving products such as our EA toner.
I look forward to discussing these issues and much more at drupa.
Quincy Allen
President
Production Systems Group
This classic line of attendance-taking, from the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, seems somewhat befitting of this year's On Demand show. I thought perhaps it just seemed as if attendance was light due to the colossally ginormous Boston Convention Center (that might seem like hyperbole, but is there anyone who didn't get lost or anyone wearing heels who wasn't wondering why Nike and Manolo can't joint venture?). But, the proof is in the pudding, literally. At prime lunch hour, the show floor food courts were nowhere near capacity. No crowds, no lines, no table stalkers. Empty tables beckoned, and even at the internet café, computer stations stood ready and waiting.
So, armed with that very scientific data, I think attendance actually was lighter this year. Now some may say, "after all, it's a Drupa year", but let's face it – most of the typical On Demand attendees will not be jetting over to Düsseldorf this spring. Maybe it was location and the frightening New England weather that kept visitors away.
Nonetheless, I have to say, it was a great show! Most booths were abuzz with activity, while a few (big name) others were eerily quiet and unpopulated. I think those who did attend the show were very, very pleased and found it to be worthwhile and productive. Perhaps, those who were in attendance were those who really wanted to be there — to experience the products, for the networking opportunities, and for the educational value; as opposed to the ubiquitous pen collectors, mint stockpilers, and other freebie junkies.
Hopefully, next year's attendance will rise – with the show heading back to Philly and scheduled for late March-early April. I do hope so. With trade shows and their turnouts seemingly on the decline, and the increase in popularity of webinars and virtual trade shows, if expos such as On Demand were to cease within this (the printing) industry, would that be the demise of the hardcopy of hardcopy?
Catherine Fiasconaro
Vice President, Operations
Director, SpencerLab Digital Color Laboratory
The On Demand discussion on TransPromo: The Technology… The Tools was outstanding on many levels.
The speaker panel consisted of (in order of presenter) Jeffrey Dowd, Business Consultant, DPS, HP; Chris Irick, VI Strategy & Planning Manager for the Workflow Business Unit, Xerox Corporation (myself); Christopher Reid, Global Solutions Manager for Commercial Print, IBM Printing Systems; and Buddy Mountcastle, Software Marketing Manager, Océ.
Many of the themes were consistent across the four vendors; each has an offering of services, each has some software solution to address the technical aspects of creating and deploying the applications, and each highlighted the print engines in their portfolio that they believe will drive TransPromo. Where the vendors differed was either where they placed their emphasis. HP for example focused on educating the attendees on the current statistical opportunity of TransPromo as detailed in industry literature and concluded the discussion with an overview of a sample application that won an award earlier at the show.
IBM Printing Systems (Ricoh InfoPrint Solutions) focused on the classic transaction side of TransPromo printing. Helping to illustrate that point, they highlighted AFP as their data stream of choice for driving applications and the InfoPrint 5000 system. In addition, they announced a new consultative services offering for TransPromo.
Océ had two primary topics; the Prisma suite of products and their printers. The latter is where they placed the greatest emphasis. Buddy declared that the printer “is where TransPromo happens” using the new Océ JetStream™ 1100/2200 machines as the backdrop. Like their Ricoh counterpart, Océ announced new services designed to address TransPromo specifically.
Finally, Xerox put its focus on end-to-end workflow flexibility, scalability and productivity. The cornerstone of the presentation was the VIPP Pro technology and how it enables a framework whereby customers can drive everything from classic transaction to graphic arts applications. Resource management and extensive printer fleet capability (from office to enterprise) were addressed as well. Attendees resonated with the Elixir Vitesse customer testimonial where the printer achieved an extra one million pages per month volume by switching to VIPP Pro. Like the other vendors, Xerox touched on the services that we deliver that help printers.
In the Q & A session customers were interested in where the true cost of printing TransPromo was; color or postage? The answer was, as you may imagine, it depends. The second question was around the adoption of onserts versus inserts and if it was practical for applications where customers need to take the inserts to a location. The answer was yes, it is practical and it is a growing trend. To the point of practicality, automated perfing machines and electronic redemption strategies are both ways to address the requirement.
All in all, it was a great hour. The audience, all from various market segments and disciplines seemed to enjoy the discussion.
Chris Irick
Strategy and Planning Manager, Workflow Business Unit
Xerox Corporation
After two long days of attending the various conference sessions to learn and see what other services providers are doing as well as what systems they are using for delivery of services, I finally got the chance to spend a little time on the show floor and talk to some of the vendors. It is impressive to see so many data capture software companies as well as sales and marketing management tools available for all of us. This On Demand Conference is defiantly focused on the strategic applications and new services needs of the new and non-traditional buyer than on the short run digital printer of the past. While the usual digital press manufacturers are very well dominating the show room floor, it is the applications and software that has come of age in their booths that makes it happen.
The floor is buzzing with activity and something unique that yours truly had not seen before at On Demand and that is the networking between individual attendees of the show. The food court tables were full of people from different companies sharing their experiences and what they had learned at the different sessions with each other. I felt like a roving reporter listening in on people’s different conversations. It is also most impressive the number of educational institutions that purchased booths to exhibit their programs this year, 8 by my count.
Missing from the show floor this year, are various MIS (Management Information System) companies except for Pace System Group, Inc. and Kodak Nexpress devise.
Waleed Ashoo
Lithexcel Communications
Both the conference and trade show exhibits have been great.
Monday Cathedral's VP of Operations and one of our customers
participated in a Xplor panel on document re-engineering with other
service bureau companies. It was a great experience. There were about
40 people in the room and they had a lot of great questions. Our
customer was extremely articulate in his explanation of why his credit
union uses trans-promotional advertising in their statements. We had
follow-on discussions with people who attended the panel and learned a
great deal about their needs, etc. We will definitely present and
attend the Xplor and On Demand Conference sessions next year.
Tuesday I went to the EDSF luncheon. It was such an inspiring event and
I hope it gets more visibility. Some of the students who received
scholarships spoke to us about their studies and their goals, and
explained how important the scholarship money was in allowing the
students to travel to shows like On Demand and to participate in
internships. They were poised, confident, and filled with enthusiasm and
just listening to them got me fired up about the industry all over
again.
Wednesday and today, I am mainly walking the trade show floor although I
did attend the keynote discussions yesterday. I am always amazed at the
number of new software vendors at the show each year. And we certainly
need them. The documents we produce for our customers are getting more
complex especially as we implement trans-promo concepts in statements
and invoices.
Marianne Gaige, CEO
Cathedral Corporation
It was a good omen for On Demand 2008 yesterday, when the exhibit hall
opened. I strolled in, as an exhibitor, around 9:40 am (having set up my
booth the day before), and ran smack into a wall of attendees - chomping at
the bit to get into the Hall when it opened at 10 am. It felt like the
fabled wedding gown sale at Filene's Basement!
All day long, the Hall was busy, and I met dozens of printers and print
buyers alike at our booth for Print Buyers International. Buyers were
attending the show to check out digital presses and software for PURLs, VDP
and web-to-print. Booths all around the floor seemed buzzing with interest.
I can't wait to see what happens today :).
Margie Dana
Print Buyers International
Yesterday, on the first day of On Demand I presented on a panel that included representatives from Delphax and Oce, the subject was Technology Developments in Black and White Digital Printing. I was pleasantly surprised that the turnout for the session was strong, I would say at least 50 people sat in on the session. I took from the attendance that our customers still consider black and white printing an important part of their future plans. And, that's good to hear!
My presentation showed the audience multiple components in developing a successful printing operation/business utilizing b&w production digital engines. I also spoke to applications that drive what we call the "New Business of Printing" including books and manuals, direct mail, trans/promo, and collaterals.
While the production monochrome market is in decline, there are certainly growth opportunities inside production mono especially in the value-add applications and in continuous feed, for example. Bottom-line, there's still room in this market and, based on questions from the audience in my presentation, there's still interest in tapping into this opportunity. That's all for now from On Demand.
Kevin Horey
Production Systems Group
Manager, Color Solutions Product Marketing
The way I figure out what's important to me is by listening carefully to the conversations of the smartest people I can find. The hard part is that you never know who is going to turn out to be really smart. But I think I heard (read) some smart people this morning.
Here's what I found at Some Implications of Print-on-Demand - Tools of Change for Publishing:
"This morning's Shelf Awareness includes a great conversation with Ken Arnold that is ostensibly about POD, but also touches on some important author promotion and social networking issues.
While many publishers exploring POD focus on the cost issues, the issue of returns (always a touchy subject for publishers) must also be addressed:
I see POD as simply an economical way to manufacture books without tying up limited capital in inventory. Some review media and bookstores seem to think it's a problem: the NYTBR categorically refuses to consider POD books; one local store has special policies for dealing with POD (as I assume others do). The real problem is that I will not accept returns, not POD."
I also found this at the same place:
He adds that "each book we publish is selected with the author's network capabilities in mind; in addition to asking if a book is good, we also ask if the author can help promote it through his/her networks, speaking engagements, website, readings, etc. We emphasize to authors that publishing is a partnership, even with commercial publishers (most authors just don't know that)."
The reason I think it's worth the click and the read is best expressed by phrase coined by Dr Joe Webb. The time invested to click and read will probably have a very high "ROT."
What I mean is there has been a lot of confusion in the discussions about the value of print on demand. The paradox is that everyone's words are correct, but only if you take into account each particular frame of reference.
On the one hand, lots of people think POD is the greatest thing since sliced bread. On the other hand, lots of people think POD is just one more difficult way to make money.
Vendors think POD is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Probably because it has taken such an enormous investment in time to get it where we are today. Experienced users think it's wonderful because for them it makes it easy to make money. Visionaries think it's wonderful because they usually live in the never never land of tomorrow. Everyone says they want innovative ideas, without realizing that innovative ideas come from living in the never never land of tomorrow.
Inexperienced users of POD think it's mostly a pain in the butt, because it's so hard to find an easy way to make money. Therefore the emphasis on workflow solutions at the show.
So everyone has a good reason to say what they say and hear what they hear. But it is still pretty hard to find just that thing that works for everyone.
It's sort of a "6 blind men and the elephant" problem. Everyone sees what they can see, and assumes what they see is the whole story. It's the shape of the problem that you will find at "On Demand." Everybody will have something useful to say. There will be hundreds of useful conversations. You will find them at the vendor booths and in the conference rooms.
If you don't ignore the "6 blind men and the elephant" trap, you will probably have a great conference.
Enjoy!
Michael Josefowicz
www.josefowiczassociates.com
My day job is project based team building.
On Demand... seems like everything today is moving in this direction - you have movies and TV on demand, music on demand, and even coffee on demand. Not to be outdone - the On Demand trade show brings you the latest in print on demand.
It is exciting to see the solutions that really enable print on demand to be more of a reality today than ever before. With web-to-print solutions, printers can connect with their customers 24/7 - enabling ordering of print round the clock and availability when their clients need it. Increased automation is driving business results by streamlining every step in the ordering and file preparation process, delivering "touchless" solutions that support today's short-run, fast turnaround print model with virtually no human intervention.
There is an ever-increasing interest in the coexistence of offset and digital technologies and the potential for seamless integration. Offset printers are interested in adding digital technology to their print environment, while maintaining a single streamlined workflow. Visitors to On Demand will see many solutions, including workflow, technology and business development tools and resources like those mentioned above and many others that make it easier for print providers to deliver print on demand. One thing is for sure -- visitors to On Demand will to see these solutions and more in action! Don't miss it!
Tracy Yelencsics
Vice President, Marketing Communications
Xerox Production Systems Group
Xerox @ On Demand
These are the runway trends for Spring '08. What?? I'm supposed to be writing about production printing industry trends to be seen at On Demand '08? Oops, well alright, hmmm…. I suppose those trends apply also to production printing '08.
With Fashion Week in NYC earlier this month and the upcoming finale of the reality show Project Runway, fashion is on the radar lately. Now for all of you who just zoned out, stay with me….
Volume. The runway shows consisted of short swishing skirts with lots of volume. On Demand exhibitors will present devices with increasing speeds and feeds, thus enabling higher volumes in less time (and increased ROI). High-speed DOD and CIJ de-vices would be nice to see in operation, but I think (and being a hardware junkie, I hope I'm wrong) that On Demand is probably a "bridesmaid" this year, with Drupa the "bride" - the showcase for product displays and intros.
Black & White with color. On the catwalk the spring palette was black, white, grey, with red, yellows, primaries and splashes of pastels. Did you know Pantone (yes, our Pantone) puts out a Fashion Color Report? In the production space, we've been in the monochrome world of blacks and halftones, with perhaps some spot color; and as of late are experiencing more and more color. And why not? Color sells. Color equals increased revenue. So, in the TransPromo arena, it's the way to go. Vibrant reds, blinding yellows, invigorating blues, Pantone matches, beautiful imagery on my charge bill, tailored to just me. It's a colorful world, let's see it in print! Exhibitors at On Demand will eagerly show us how.
Transparency. What lies beneath those fabrics? Fashion designers showed underthings peeking out from under the volume of layers. And at On Demand, exhibitors will be showing what lies beneath as well — software solutions, workflow software, managed services for Direct Mail Marketing, VDP services, etc. Once the battle of speeds and feeds steps out of the spotlight (but, will it ever really?), this is the area of differentiation. I expect solutions to be the major theme of the show.
Eco-friendly. Natural, organic, and even re-used fabrics were seen on the runway and 'green' is expected to be a resounding theme at On Demand. With environmental stewardship at the forefront of our industry, including recycling efforts, waste management, energy reduction, etc., 'green' should be the predominant color of the conference.
There are ever-changing trends in the fashion world, but it always comes down to focus on fit and quality. The same holds true in the printing world – there may be changes in year-to-year focus, but ultimately, users need hardware and solutions that fit their production needs and budgets, while providing quality output.
See you on the runway at On Demand!
Catherine Fiasconaro
Vice President, Operations
Director, SpencerLab Digital Color Laboratory
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