Printing Is A Commodity?...Not My Offering.

I recently read an interesting quote regarding printing being a commodity, that I assume was intended to encapsulate the entire industry. While I agree that there are a great deal of commodity printers (a majority of the industry) who compete solely upon how they can operate as efficiently as possible (often making sacrifices that adversely affect their clients' work), in many cases, I disagree with this claim.

In fact, the most vital trait of the printing industry is by no means a commodity: intellectual property. And what differentiates "Printer A" from "Printer B" is the amount of intellectual property that they have in each operational-field (e.g. sales, estimating, customer-service, pre-press, scheduling, press, bindery, etc.).

Intellectual property is the reason why a client flies or drives by tens…hundreds…perhaps thousands of commercial printers to attend a press-check; intellectual property is the piece-of-mind that a client experiences in not having to attend a press-check, while expecting (and receiving), the color and quality that they anticipate; intellectual property is a production team who’s primary concern is making a client’s project work, regardless of the after-hours they have to put in; intellectual property is the fine-tooth comb that production and pre-press use to groom a project before it goes to press, so that at completion, the project exceeds a client’s expectations.

Surprisingly, I often meet people in the graphic arts community who ask and expect that I offer in-house die-cutting, foil-stamping, embossing, and other trade finishing/bindery functions. It doesn’t surprise me that they expect that; it surprises me that there are other print-reps whose elevator pitch revolves around a piece of equipment that their competitor doesn’t have. And while other printers make small capital investments in equipment, I believe that the most important trait of a printing organization is the tradition, reputation, expertise, and…well…intellectual property that they bring to their clients.

So while some may choose to consider printing a commodity; I do not. Instead I expect that I, and my organization, continue to deliver upon the utmost premium intellectual property.