The pandemic has clearly had a significant negative impact on the print business, but this new year, print industry players will succeed and take advantage of new opportunities and specialties.
Despite the development of digital advertising and digital publications, the high importance of mass printing capabilities hasn’t changed. The print industry is still flourishing and will continue in 2023!
Did you know?! Businesswire reported that in 2021, the global market for commercial printing reached US $750.1 billion. The market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 1% from 2022 to 2027, reaching US$ 796.3 billion.
Here are some key industry facts to know:
- The printing market is anticipated to grow significantly during the next five years despite the rise of digital technology.
- In America, there are 25,000 companies that focus on commercial printing. It generates an income of roughly $900 billion annually.
- Businesses use direct mail programs in 72% of cases.
- The cookie/privacy/retargeting issues that have taken place on digital platforms over the last two years will create an opportunity to reach hyper-targeted audiences with print marketing campaigns.
What Can You Expect to See from Solo Printing in 2023?
In 2023, our current and future customers can expect continued support with Solo’s reinvestment into our core capabilities. This will allow us to be more efficient, provide faster turnaround times as well as an exceptional final product.
It will be our mission this new year to continue listening to our partners and those in the print industry to ensure we are staying on top of our customers’ needs as well as trends in the marketplace.
What Can You Expect to See from the Print Industry in 2023?
The paper shortage that resulted from the pandemic is finally expected to bounce back in 2023! Commercial print providers, such as Solo Printing, have managed to stock up on inventory for clients. Therefore, businesses looking to print high-volume marketing collateral for their 2023-2024 campaigns should not face as much difficulty as previous years when trying to plan projects and garner specific # paper needed for these projects.
For businesses that survived the pandemic, a fresh, open environment will present better prospects. Therefore, in 2023 the print industry will concentrate on giving their products more attention and value in order to better serve businesses around the world!
Additionally, it is reported that by 2030 publishing will account for about 40% of print volume, and packaging will make up nearly two-thirds of the worldwide print business.
A huge portion of the opportunities for print providers will center around collected data from retailers and ecommerce platforms. This is due to the increased need for shipping labels, inserters, catalogs and mailers that are needed for every purchase that is shipped out.
Rise in Graphic Design and Design Services
Platforms like Canva have made it possible for companies to design products quickly and affordably. Either download and print high volumes with a local printer or use the platform directly to print. Either way, self-design platforms will add opportunities within the print industry.
On another note, businesses are expected to see a large hiring increase in graphic designers and experts in print media. Visuals and branding are a huge part of the current business culture and allow you to stand out and compete in your market. This will create the opportunity for newly branded projects, direct mail campaigns, and wide-scale print campaigns.
Specialty Finishes
Glossy and other aqueous finishing techniques are expected to make a big statement in the coming year. Make them stand apart from the rest of the page with a shimmering or even three-dimensional effect. These finished products are in high demand on brochures, mailers, calendars, admission booklets, and more.
Die-Cutting / Laser Cutting
Thinking about cutting your mailer into a specific shape? We can do that! Any stock can be accurately sliced using laser cutting to achieve the desired finishing size. Die-cutting machines have a ton of awesome capabilities. They can cut shapes out of a variety of different mediums such as paper, chipboard, and even fabric.
Even the most delicate design, like soft leaves, may be precisely outlined by printers using laser cutting, which also produces a distinctive textured look. A stunning product can be produced using laser cutting in conjunction with gold or colored foil.
In its simplest terms, die-cutting uses a die to mass-produce cutout shapes that create unique, branded print pieces. Through this process, the same shape can be created repeatedly with the same dimensions each time. This process saves time and produces professional, consistent die-cut pieces with every run.
The dies used in the die-cutting process are metal-shaped objects that are capable of sharply cutting out shape designs. Think of a cookie-cutter! The metal shape of the die is what will create the shape of your final print piece.
Dies can come in a variety of different sizes and styles. Metal dies can be basic shapes, words, delicate designs, animals, flowers, or food shapes… you name it!
Combining Direct Mail with Digital Integration
In 2023, digital marketing services paired with direct mailing campaigns will help commercial printing businesses grow their business and stay competitive.
One of the most common types of advertising used today is digital marketing. Millions of prospects can be reached with one campaign; however, this form of advertising can be oversaturated in the market. Social media advertisements are a terrific example of a looping piece that can continuously reach certain viewers. Website hosting services and a wide range of other items are also included in digital marketing services. A printing company’s revenue can increase significantly in 2023 if it also provides services like podcast production and email marketing. Luckily, Solo Printing already does this!
SP Direct
SP Direct is Solo Printing’s direct mail digital integration platform that will provide our partners with the ability to pair standalone marketing services with their direct mail campaigns.
This marketing-based solution:
- Tracks the effectiveness of our customers’ direct mail campaigns.
- Provides solutions for the challenges that center around direct mail as an offline marketing channel.
- Increases the results of our customers’ direct mail campaigns by 23-46%!
All of this is done by integrating digital platforms such as Google, Facebook, and Instagram with your direct mail campaign and target audience. Digital integration combined with a direct mail campaign aims to add an additional 8 to 16 touches to each direct mail recipient – increasing your results by multitudes.
By partnering the power of direct mail with an aligned marketing strategy, an omnichannel campaign will allow your marketing team to increase your company’s ROI by growing your brand visibility and attracting new prospects across all their personal devices.
The Rise of Direct Mail Campaigns as Digital Advertising Faces Privacy Policies and Disruptions
Direct mail marketing is one of the most used forms of advertising and that will continue in 2023 and beyond!
Direct mail marketing continues to be one of the most effective ways to draw in new customers. This is because it is one of the only methods of marketing that allows brands to specifically target prospects through location, names, and important, descriptive demographics – including interests! Brands can generate lists that allow them to reach their audience directly at home or their office with a marketing message that impresses.
About 50% of companies report using direct mail in their marketing strategies, this is expected to continue in 2023 and beyond. That means there is still a lot of room to have your message seen by recipients, in comparison to digital marketing, which about 84% of companies use.
Direct mail is a popular channel among marketers because of its proven ability to generate repeat business and increase customer retention.
On average, repeat customers spend 33% more than new customers. Direct mail is also capable of helping your business turn new, one-time purchasers into loyal customers who not only consistently buy from your business but also provide word-of-mouth referrals.
Direct mail gets noticed: 70% is opened and 79% read for one minute or more. Because direct mail stays in the house for weeks, it’s a more effective way to get your message in front of new customers.
It can also be used in omni-channel marketing which can drive social media, web traffic, and online marketing. Call to actions placed on the designs of direct mail help to encourage users to visit the brand’s website and socials.
***
In 2023, the print industry is expected to see growth as a result of the privacy concerns and oversaturation that digital platforms face.
In 2019, businesses began experiencing drastic changes in Facebook’s digital advertising capabilities due to the changes to Apple’s privacy policies. Articles, such as this Bloomberg post linked here, discusses the Apple iOS 14 update which has allowed iPhone users to opt out of tracking.
Well, when someone opts out of tracking it means that they can no longer be retargeted or tracked by your business for future advertising. This is a major data setback for marketers and advertisers alike who use Facebook to convert new customers.
The privacy issue critically affects Facebook’s business model, which focuses on data-targeted ads and algorithmically optimized content.
No data = no retargeting.
With direct mail, you don’t face the limitations you might experience with Facebook.
Email is also a powerful tool, however, it’s incredibly crowded. On average, the typical customer receives 121 emails per day. This oversaturation makes it hard for customers to distinguish spam/sales emails from real ones.
In comparison to direct mail, which has a brand recall of 75%, the average lifespan of an email is about 2 seconds, with only 44% for the brand recall of a digital ad immediately after viewing. (Source: Direct Marketing Association).
As the effectiveness of email begins to decline, let’s see how the growth of direct mail can be used to support it.
EDDM Mailing / Mailing Lists
Customizing mailing lists according to variable demographics is now simpler than ever. In 2023, as businesses continue to include data collection as a means of contacting customers it will provide an easier route for data retargeting.
Advertisers can easily access the contact information if they wish to target a certain age group, income level, or lifestyle preference. However, if companies do not have access to data for some reason or want to create an EDDM mailing plan, commercial printers can offer their own mailing lists for clients which will cut costs and boost profits. EDDM is expected to increase in 2023. Through EDDM direct mail marketing, local franchises, eateries, gyms, and retail stores provide locals with advantages and coupons.
Solo’s data processing services makes it easy to streamline and organize your direct mail campaign for even better results. With a database management system, you can segment and customize mailing lists, identify recipients, and eliminate undeliverable addresses and redundancies. The bottom line? Better response rates, improved deliverability, and optimal performance while saving time and money.
USPS Promotions
USPS Promotions empower advertisers, printers, and mailers to test out cutting-edge print and marketing strategies that boost consumer engagement and response rates as well as direct mail’s return on investment. The Postal Service is promoting the use of these technologies through discounts, raising the value of direct mail and assuring its continuous presence in the contemporary communications and marketing environment!
Businesses won’t want to miss out on this in 2023.
Digital Printing
Inkjet will propel the latest printing technology because of its affordable pricing and run speed. Inkjet printers have proven to be faster compared to traditional printers. Moreover, these printers can be roll-fed or sheet-fed, which is revolutionary.
There are several noteworthy print innovations, but inkjet retains the most advanced print technology.
Leading printing businesses are also using cutting-edge practices and digital printing technologies for personalization, also known as Variable Data Processing.
Variable Data / Specialization
As the name suggests, variable printing is where you customize each piece of marketing material, so it fits the bill for the recipient. For example, if you’re sending out postcards to prospective customers, with traditional marketing, you’d put a generic message on the postcards, so it applies to everyone who receives it. With variable printing, you can tweak the features and messages of each postcard so even if you’re ordering 1,000 postcards from us, each one can potentially have different messages, stamps, artwork, and more.
The whole point of marketing is to grab prospects and convert them into customers. By investing the time into researching and crafting specific messages to your target audiences, you’ll increase the chances of successful marketing significantly. Plus, you can create truly unique pieces that will generate interest in your brand.
As with other types of digital printing, variable printing is done with a digital printing press. Although you may be worried about the speed of variable printing, modern technology has become so advanced that printing companies can handle variations in printing on materials without experiencing any slowdown in the process. At Solo Printing, we’ve invested in a brand new Xerox 1000i digital press that employs the use of Dry Ink technology to produce high-quality pieces at an expedited pace.
Sustainable Printing
Many printing facilities will increase their recycling efforts in 2023 and include in-house recycling centers that decrease waste. Liquid inks, toner cartridges, and other printing byproducts are also being recycled to prevent excess waste.
In 2023, businesses around the nation are looking to make improvements in their company strategies. This includes working with vendors that are doing their best in every facet of business!
Fortunately, there are many ways for commercial print providers to give back to the environment in 2023. For example, we’ve partnered with One Tree Planted to plant a tree for every job sold!
Solo Printing is a socially responsible “green” printer. The company and its employees are committed to the promotion of sustainable forestry practices. It understands that the health, biodiversity and regeneration of our planet’s forests depend on the ethical harvesting of precious natural resources. Solo Printing recognizes that no one wants to live in a world degraded by pollution, chaotic noise, dead oceans, and suffocating heat. The print industry can have multiple impacts on the environment: it consumes forestry products by printing on paper. Its printing emits dust, noise, heat, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from inks, solvents and other chemicals. Solo Printing reduces or eliminates these negative impacts by investing in and using the best available technologies. Solo Printing:
- Purchases and operates energy-efficient equipment
- Imposes operating standards that are safe and healthy for both humans and the environment
- Is committed to and certified for the highest of forestry standards
- Uses products and processes that reduce or eliminate the emission of VOCs
- Recycles and disposes of waste products in ways that do not harm the earth
Overall
Direct marketing efforts, promotional materials, brochures, catalogs, and other printed materials are still used by businesses. Print is now considered a higher-quality, more tactile, and more professional option to its online alternatives. And, its essential for a successful marketing channel.
The printing sector will remain robust and relevant in 2023 by adopting new technologies, new practices, streamlining consumer needs, and delivering various products and services.
Interested in running a print campaign in 2023? Solo Printing is here to help! Reach out.
