PUBLICATION CENTER

Because wide-format output is one of the few growth areas in the printing market as a whole, it’s no surprise that more print business owners want information about how to get into the business. In September, InfoTrends published a report entitled Pricing Wide-Format Output. It follows the April publication of its report on Selling Wide-Format Output.

Pricing Wide-Format Output (9 pages, $595): Although InfoTrends studies have shown that wide-format can be a very profitable area for print-service providers, this report suggests that some print service providers don’t fully understand how to effectively price their wide-format printing services to maximize their profits.

To provide insight on viable pricing strategies, InfoTrends has conducted interviews with several leading print-service providers. The resulting report provides some benchmark prices on common applications such as banners, window graphics, P-O-P displays, billboards, and textiles. The report also includes information on how market dynamics are affecting pricing as well as candid commentary from the print-service providers interviewed.

InfoTrends advises print-service providers who are just entering the wide-format market to research their local markets as much as possible to determine “the going rate” for basic wide-format printing services. While some print buyers may require the cost-per-square-foot pricing that is the norm in many markets, InfoTrends suggests that print-service providers should consider developing more of a cost-per-piece approach that factors in the cost of additional services such as file conversion and finishing.

Selling Wide-Format Output (16 pages, $99): Based on interviews with a geographically dispersed group of wide-format printing organizations, this report provides a checklist for preparing or examining a wide-format sales strategy. It also discusses some of the best practices employed by wide-format print-service providers on a worldwide basis as well as in local U.S. markets.

The report’s authors found that successful establishments in the wide-format market “are driven by entrepreneurs who constantly scan their local market and their customer base to try to recognize opportunities to grow their businesses.” The authors identified resourcefulness, creativity, and opportunism as three key success factors, along with a thorough knowledge of various products and solutions for wide-format graphics.

According to Alexis Golini, an analyst in InfoTrends’ Wide-Format Printing Consulting Service, “Speak with any experienced marketing professional and they will tell you, if you don’t know your product inside and out, you won’t make the sale. Understanding the need for thorough product knowledge is the first step to successfully marketing your wide-format business.”

InfoTrends estimates that the U.S. wide-format printing market will be worth more than $10.2 billion in 2008.