by Jonathan McGrew, edp
Looking in the rear view mirror is most times not advised; people will tell you it doesn’t lead to forward looking vision and facilitates being stuck on what has already happened. In the case of GRAPH EXPO, we look back to reflect on the innovations, people and opportunities to move each and every attendees’ (and exhibitors’) business forward. In this year’s reflection I can’t help but tie back to the previous articles I have shared with the Printerverse; what really unites all of the hardware, software, composition, post-composition and mailing vendors?
Customer Communications.
I am not sure GRAPH EXPO hangs their hats on Customer Communications directly, but the reality is that if you look at everything we are trying to accomplish at GRAPH EXPO, it is about the creation, production, delivery and consumption of media that contain information—or customer communications. At this year’s show we saw innovation in 3D printing, including a new publication from the OutputLinks Group of companies focusing on it. 3D, along with packaging and packaging presses are continuing to drive new opportunities for print shops and savvy owners looking to expand their business in new directions.
Of course, as many of you know, I come from what we lovingly refer to as transactional print or High-Volume Transactional Output (HVTO). At Crawford Technologies, our innovations are mainly software, but we also do PRINT! Our print is highly targeted at a specific audience that needs alternative formats for their bills, statements, invoices, and other regulated material; it comes in the form of braille and Large Print. Our software unlocks the power of your customer communications by adding value and extending capabilities—ultimately providing better customer engagement and service.
GRAPH EXPO may be the only show left that joins a significant portion of the print world together. Indeed, it may be the intersection (or roundabout for our European friends) of physical print, multichannel/multimedia and the middleware to make it all happen.
Some say these shows are dying, but I begin to wonder. We are seeing a shift in size of the show for sure, but the equipment has gotten smaller and the capabilities greater. We don’t complain that electronic shows are less footprint per device… I mean I kind of appreciate my slim 15” laptop as opposed to the 30 pound luggage case-sized one my mother had in 1990. Print is not dead and it isn’t dying—it is evolving.
So what did GRAPH EXPO 14 bring us? The ability to evolve our customer communications, capitalize on new markets and learn from other areas of the printing world so we can leverage the same ideas in our own niche part of the print industry.
Join me through this year here at the Printerverse as I continue to explore the methods and ideas being used in print and how they can give you, in whatever area of print you are in, the ability to consider and leverage new print potential. And, make sure you make your plans to come to GRAPH EXPO and the Printerverse booth next year at GRAPH EXPO 15.
Jonathan McGrew
spent his formative years being exposed toXplor and the Enterprise Output Management & Customer Communications Management (CCM) industries (read high-volume transactional printing). Today, Jonathan is Marketing Communications Manager at Crawford Technologies and responsible for Worldwide marketing. His experience spans data management, branding, print (hardware, software & design), graphic design and marketing communications with specialization in Business to Business (B2B). Jonathan completed his MS in Marketing from the University of Colorado at Denver in December 2013 and was awarded his EDP certification at the Xplor Conference 2013. Connect with Jonathan on Twitter: @JEMcGrew
