As an industry, we’ve been scratching our heads for decades, trying to figure our what the print shop of the future is. In many ways, we are already operating the print shop of the future, filled with prepress and press automation, remote order entry, JDF and XML instructions, and other technological processes.
But the print shop of the future will also rely on things not technological. It will depend on changes in our society, on new roles of the customer, and changes in the workplace.
Furthermore, many industries, not just ours, will be shaped by how people want to interact with each other — how they learn, communicate, and share ideas.
> Will future communication be more thoughtful, collaborative and observational? Or will it be an extension of what we are seeing now — non-stop information, continuous feeds, contrivances of stories where none really should exist — simply to feed the voracious hunger of the “consumers.”
> What does this mean for the printing industry, which has its roots in craftsmanship and custom production while being classified as a manufacturing sector?
> Will the customers of the future value hand crafted printing? Or will they continue to demand assembly line prices? Will companies still choose to do business with other companies the way they do now?
I hope we can explore these questions together, because the future of the printing industry depends on all of us.
From its beginning, Print Media Centr has brought you information about how printing is evolving and how our industry can not only continue to be relevant but to break new ground. I am honored to join this talented team and to share my perspective on print’s future.
Sandy Hubbard is Print Futurist for Print Media Centr. She has decades of leadership and management experience in the print, publishing, media and email marketing industries, working directly with clients who are in growth mode. She helps clients look at the big picture of their marketing and sales processes so they can achieve quicker results.
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