For anyone who has read The Cannata Report for any length of time or attended Frank G. Cannata’s presentations on production print at industry events, allow me to set the record straight.
Yes, we are strong advocates of production print. Yes, we believe more dealers should leverage this opportunity, particularly if they are aligned with an OEM with a strong production print line.
But no, this opportunity is not for every dealer.
I feel compelled to make this statement because some dealers are under the impression that Frank and The Cannata Report are advocating for production print for all.
We understand that it’s not cheap to get into production print. It requires financial resources, specialized expertise, and the right kinds of opportunities in your market. For a small dealer, with revenues well under $10 million, launching a production print business is rife with challenges.
Yet, for dealers with the financial resources and commitment, it can be a wise move. I think you’ll find our virtual visit to Marco in St. Paul, Minnesota—our cover story and most recent CR-CONNECT Dealer Tour feature— illuminating, as Steve Gau and Clint Dorgan recap Marco’s entry into the production print space a decade ago and how that segment of the business has grown.
I know, I know, Marco is a large dealer, and pretty much everything it touches turns to gold. Still, I guarantee you’ll find the company’s model for entering the production print space somewhat unique and a potential model to be emulated at one’s own risk.
Writing about Marco’s production print odyssey for this issue awakened me to this segment’s potential more so than ever before. And believe me, hardly a week goes by here at The Cannata Report where Frank isn’t spouting superlatives about production print.
In addition to the Marco story, this issue casts a wide net across the production print segment with articles on wide-format, workflow software, book publishing, applications-oriented production print sales, and a company that has been successful selling Kyocera’s new cut-sheet inkjet production machine. Even though it’s an important product segment, it’s also a misleading production category because light production is not production print. You’ll find some interesting observations from Marco about light production in the dealer tour story as well.
And mark your calendars for August 10 at 2:30 p.m. EST. We are hosting a production print webinar that will address key questions related to dealers looking to enter and achieve success in this space. The panel will feature some of the brightest minds in the production space from Canon, EFI, Konica Minolta, and Ricoh.
If you are sitting on the fence about production and industrial print, you’ll find insight and inspiration in this issue. It still might not be the right thing for your dealership because production print isn’t for everyone, but it is a segment of our industry poised for growth. So, whether you’re in it or not, an understanding of production print can still be an asset.
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