Printers and Peppered Moths - Part One

It's survival of the fittest and companies who fail to adapt to their ever-changing environments and ever-demanding customers, simply won't survive. One industry that knows how to respond is the "print" industry...

An example of one such "Peppered Moth" company is Creda, one of South Africa's leading graphic communication houses who have extended their print offering up and down the value chain to include everything from design to fulfilment, to the point where approximately only 60% of their business comes from actual printing. Creda firmly believes that while print is their history, their future is in taking their customers' ideas and transforming them into end user tangibles. This graphic communication house offers 7 services: Creative, Origination, Content Conversion, Digital Library, Print, Finishing and Fulfilment.

Using Creda as a case study, let's take a journey through graphic communications...

Creative

Creativity is redundant without intelligence. Through conceptualization and design, the Creative department gives life to an idea. Your graphic communication partner should ideally be included in these very first steps of your campaign - helping you to conceptualize and shape your idea according to your project objectives, into something tangible. This is very often a stage that is conceptualized in isolation with an agency. The design departments of graphic communication houses at this level however, are so skilled and experienced that some of their clients use them solely for creative design, making the agency...and their high fees redundant.

Origination

The traditional route executing origination processes (scanning, page layout, pre-flight, film origination, proofing and image manipulation) was originally facilitated by the agency who would send the disks to a repro house to get the files 'print ready'. The role of the repro house has been largely replaced by modern graphic communication companies, who offer film origination and other traditional repro services and, through Computer-to-plate (CTP) negate the need for film altogether. In addition, sophisticated analysis software cuts down errors in the prepress stage. You can further minimize waste by including your graphic communication partner right from the start. Clear communication, comprehensive briefing and mutual understanding of deadlines and objectives will curtail mistakes.

Content Conversion

Xyvision, a gift to marketers, is an advanced scanning software package that allows one to handle and format text simply, quickly and on a massive scale. This software is most often used for large copy documents such as dictionaries or diaries. Using Xyvision, it might take 3 days to initially programme the software for that document, say diaries, but this is a once off exercise. Thereafter to make changes such as to modify a 2004 diary for 2005 - changing dates and holidays etc would take less than a few hours. Consider annual reports. Using Xyvision, the design, typesetting and layout is fixed and the document is programmed to accept new copy and figures, insert it into the correct place and all without needing to adjust any of the layout. The savings in time and make ready costs are astronomical.

Many graphic communication partners also offer proofreading and translation services - translations from or into any language that you require - allowing you to extend beyond one market. Be sure to ask your graphic communication partner about these services.

Digital Library

Imagine the convenience of being able to store and access your company images, documents and past jobs from anywhere in the world at anytime. To explain with an example: let's imagine that you are at a conference in Australia and you run out of brochures and product cards. Its 11am in Sydney, its 2am in South Africa. No-one is in the office to riffle through files. You need to print now. The digital library allows you to access your materials online and go to any graphic communication house with the correct file. The digital library, a repository for all your marketing materials, pictures and templates, also allows your graphic communication partner back home to easily handle additions to your files, repeat jobs or to make up regularly scheduled promotional pieces very quickly.

Advances in graphic communications have made the production and reproduction of marketing materials vastly easier and less expensive. Print really is the most accessible medium.

Find out about Print, Finishing and Fulfilment in Part 2 of
Printers and Peppered Moths.