Are You Ready for Digital Production Specialty Inks?

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Those print providers with capabilities to produce high-quality CMYK plus fluorescent, white, gold, silver inks over the next 12 to 18 months will have a significant opportunity to capture increased margins and new business.

 As we continue to transition out of a Covid economy, printers are looking to expand their offerings. Adding specialty inks has allowed print providers to move more short-run projects from offset to digital.

 As always, the challenge is educating and marketing new capabilities to new and existing accounts. Many buyers and influencers currently do not know about the value of specialty inks.

 Those print suppliers who are engaging customers now will reap the rewards of a fast-growing market segment. Some of the samples and applications of special ink printing with an expanding complement of substrates we have seen are sensational. 

 Like any other new game-changing capability in printing, there is always a start-up curve.

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We have identified 19 readiness self-assessment areas for print providers who want to enter this market.  

 Organizational Readiness

  1. Documented Marketing Plan Created

  2.  Specialty Ink Opportunities Identified

  3.  Organization Adaptability

  4.  Ability to Execute

  5.  Growth Strategy

  6.  Organizational Alignment

  7.  Pricing

     Creative & Marketing Support Readiness

  8. Can Demonstrate Creativity and Innovation

  9. Cross Media and Variable Data Capabilities

  10. Creative Capabilities

  11. Specialty Ink Press Capabilities

  12. Operator Skills

  13. Specialty Ink Workflow Readiness

     Sales/Customer Service Readiness

  14. Sales Training

  15. Customer Communications Plan Developed

  16. Specialty Ink Value Proposition Developed

  17. Ability to Manage Customer Expectation

  18. Strategy to Influence Creatives

  19. Sales Compensation Aligned

 If you are planning to invest in digital equipment with specialty inks or are having start-up issues, feel free to let us know. We have a full range of training and Agency resources to support you.  Just send a note to Frank Kanonik at fkanonik@intellectives.com.