Please join your PEiR’s at the SGIA Expo in Las Vegas October 13-15

This is a reminder to all PEiR Group Members that we will be hosting a Color Graphics Sales and Technology Conference in conjunction with the SGIA Expo on October 13 and 14 in Las Vegas.

"As wide-format digital printing continues to emerge, new markets and applications are being developed continually and new uses for the technology are being discovered. There is a lot to be said for adopting a technology during its emergence phase. Being early to the right markets can generate new business, and the margins are better when emerging technologies are needed." (source: American Printer)

According to a SGIA “Trends Survey” report (figure 1) several wide format imaging market segments are predicting growth, these include: government agencies, health care services, corporate branding and retail.

If you are not prepared to address these market segments with your wide format color graphics services or you want to learn how to expand your wide format color business then you will want to attend the PEiR Group Color Graphics Sales and Technology Conference along with visiting the SGIA Expo.

I am sure all of you can all find excuses why you cannot come to Las Vegas in October but, let me remind you of this very important point. Can you not afford to attend? If you want to know what your competitors are doing in wide format and where they see the opportunities you need to come to Las Vegas.

The SGIA Expo historically attracts over 22,000 attendees and every vendor who supplies anything to do with wide format output. Combining a PEIR Conference with the SGIA expo allows you to learn about sales strategies for selling your display graphics and to experience firsthand some of the new technologies and applications that your customers will be interested in knowing more about.

More reasons why you should attend:

1. We negotiated a great deal at the MGM Hotel ($100)
2. Low Conference Fee ($135 Includes access to SGIA Convention, monorail pass and dinner at the SGIA)
3. Experience the latest developments in Wide Format Color Technologies and Applications
4. Attend the largest Wide Format Print Convention in the world.
5. Learn what your competitors are doing in WF Color.
6. Selling WF Color in Vertical Markets
7. Learn How to Sell at Higher Prices

To register or to request more information about the PEiR Group Color Graphics Sales and Technology Conference or the SGIA Expo click here:

Do you have a High School Senior that is planning on attending college?

If you have a High School Senior there is a four-year scholarship program offered by Coca-Cola to 250 high school seniors. The application period is open from August 1 to October 31 — it’s a pretty tight window, but there are very few restrictions on applicants.

The application requirements are simple, and this is a merit based scholarship.
So if you have a senior in high school, the Coke program is where you should look now.

Application Information is available here:
Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation — Applications open from 8/1/2010 thru 10/31/2010
https://www.coca-colascholars.org/cokeWeb/page.jsp?navigation=15

SGIA Survey Shows Retail As Leading Market for Imagers

"The survey shows strong evidence that specialty imagers - garment decorators and graphics producers alike - are exploring new markets and opportunities as a way to bolster their businesses," said Dan Marx, SGIA's Vice President of Markets and Technologies. "Further, the survey shows how specialty imaging companies are using sales, management and production initiatives to strengthen their competitive advantage."

According to the US report, about 71 percent of imagers agree that referrals are a very effective way to attract new customers, while only about 3 percent rely on online directory listings for new business. To increase their competitive advantage in production, 37.6 percent of all imagers are adding finishing capabilities to their businesses - up from 29.1 percent in 2009.

The survey also concludes that retail (direct and indirect through ad agencies) continues to be the leading market for graphic imagers (75.7 percent). For garment decorators, educational institutions (77 percent) and corporate branding (72 percent) are among the primary markets served.

Quark Promote Update

Quark Promote — a new direction for Quark (read full article)
This is a follow-up on an eariler blog posting regarding Quark Promote. Check out the new improvements to the Quark print partners program!

Managed Print Services

Many of you have heard of Managed Print Services, or MPS but I would guess that many of you have not thought about the effect that MPS will have on your business in the near future.

As a way of providing you with a frame of reference for MPS in general, take a look at the graphic above. It’s from the research firm, Photizo Group, and helps explain important aspects of the future of MPS.

Things to keep in mind:

• First, the overall market for professional print services isn’t projected to grow that much in the coming years.
• Second, while the market isn’t likely to grow as a whole, it will be changing dramatically. Over the next four years, your customers will be aggressively converting from buying and managing their own printers, to outsourcing all print services through MPS. How aggressively is the market likely to convert? The graph above shows that $50 billion of the traditional print services market will be moving to MPS by 2013!
• Third, this means that your share of the market will come under attack from other print providers, especially equipment manufacturers and equipment resellers who will tell your customers, “Hey, we do all your other printing, why don’t we throw in your wide-format work, too?”
• Fourth, wide-format printing is only a small part of this overall market, so even though the market isn’t growing, your share of the print market can increase dramatically by pursuing MPS. Why? Because for every wide-format printer in a typical office, there are frequently 10 additional small format or multi-function devices!

The observations above go a long way in answering at least two fundamental questions about your strategic direction with regard to MPS:

Q: Why should you consider pursuing MPS?
A: The overall print services market isn’t projected to grow aggressively. As such, you need to defend the market share you have, and grow aggressively inside the overall market. You can do this by converting the FM business you have to MPS, and leveraging your strengths to capture new business through your MPS offering.
Q: Why is there such a sense of urgency on MPS?
A: The conversion of the market is happening fast — $50 billion of converted business is projected in less than four years. If you don’t capture this business, someone else will take it from you.

* At its simplest, MPS is managing hard copy device fleets (copiers, printers, multifunction devices, and fax machines) in a unified fashion. Essentially, this means a client outsources ALL of their printing resources to you – you run their on-site printing, off-site printing and document management & storage.

Thanks............Shaun