Driving Profitability by Making it Personal

Rob Brown, Senior Manager Industry Print, OKI Europe Ltd, reveals how with a relatively low investment, Print Service Providers can tap into the growing and highly lucrative personalisation market 
The past 12 months has impacted every sector in one way or another, the printing industry is no exception.  With a decline in commercial print volumes, Print Service Providers need to find alternative business to help recuperate lost revenue. As the print sector strives to recover, diversification will be key to securing and retaining customers as well as boosting profits by accessing new markets and offering new services.  
 
Understanding and keeping abreast of the latest trends will help businesses, such as Print Service Providers, to proactively adapt to meet consumer demands.  Personalisation is one trend that is growing to the point it is becoming an expectation. According to Deloitte, consumer spending is expected to shift towards customisation across a broad range of products1. Customisation includes anything from branded packaging to personalised goods or clothing and there is clearly a strong demand for this as 70% of consumers are willing to pay more for personalised products2. With personalised goods commanding a premium of up to 20%1 and the global personalised gifts market expected to reach $31.63 billion this year (2021)2, this trend clearly presents promising revenue opportunities.  
 
As orders for personalisation and customisation inevitably require shorter print runs, and with the set-up time and running costs involved, Print Service Providers must either hold on to smaller orders or not accept them at all. However, they can now tap into this growing and lucrative trend with technology that enables profitable low volume printing from a single unit to many.  
 
Whether supplying printed personalised goods for business customers to sell on, or selling personalised products directly to consumers, by having the right technology in place, Print Service Providers can quickly and easily profit from personalisation, without the need for minimum print volumes, long lead times or expensive equipment. 

Brands that add a personal touch

There are many examples of brands capitalising on customising their products. This includes Coca Cola’s memorable ‘Share a Coke’ campaign which saw its own brand name replaced with popular first names in its iconic cursive font. Both Nike and Levi’s allow customers to customise fashion items in-store, with store areas set up for shoppers to choose from a broad selection of materials, patches, logos, trinkets and other accessories. 
 
Consumers and businesses want choices and seek creative solutions in a range of colours and designs on any substrate or size at a low cost that can be produced quickly and easily.
 
OKI’s portfolio of digital production printers are a unique range of devices that complement existing litho, flexo, large format digital and screen-printing technologies, enabling Print Service Providers to accept smaller, more profitable print jobs. 
These ultra-flexible devices allow Print Service Providers to print directly onto a surprisingly diverse range of substrates, including dark and transparent media, film, gloss, transfer media, waterproof paper or to transfer intricate designs on to almost anything including clothing, textiles, wood glass and so much more. At a third of the size of a full production machine and a tenth of the cost, it’s the ideal addition enabling Print Service Providers to expand their offering into the personalisation market. 
OKI has helped a variety of businesses adapt to the personalisation trend. TeaClub responded to growing customer demand for personalised packs of tea through short-run professional label printing with OKI’s 5 Colour Label Printer. Print Service Provider, Sweet Tees and more, transformed its business by cutting costs, and enabling more on-demand fulfilment of custom clothing designs thanks to OKI’s White Toner Transfer Media Printers. 

An unmissable opportunity for Print Service Providers

With personalisation orders requiring short print runs this isn’t always possible for Print Service Providers due to their existing equipment making such orders cost or time prohibitive. However, with the right printing device in place, this is no longer a barrier. The same can be said for the size or number of devices a Print Services Provider would typically require for different types of personalisation. It’s now entirely possible to print on a wide range of different substrates in professional quality from one compact device. 
 
The latest innovations in transfer media printing allow Print Service Providers to print on various substrates, from clothing to metals, plastics and ceramics, opening up a huge variety of product types that can be personalised quickly, easily and affordably. Not only do the latest innovations in digital production printing from OKI provide these benefits, they also enable CMYK+White printing on each of these media types in short print runs, allowing print businesses to offer customers unique finishes such as dazzling white embellishments and white backing layers on clear or coloured materials to help designs truly stand out.  
Print Service Providers that overlook personalisation as a service offering will risk losing out to competitors who are already doing it. By investing in compact printers that offer unique, professional finishes on a wide range of different materials and enable short-run printing, Print Service Providers can diversify through the power of personalisation and open new revenue streams. 
 
It’s clear that personalisation is a lucrative market and while it has traditionally been difficult for Print Service Providers to support, the technology is now available to help them do this affordably and profitably with a print output that exceeds customers’ expectations. 

Find out just how accessible OKI has made on-demand personalised printing. Request a Callback to claim your free* Personalised Print Samples or find out more about OKI’s Solutions for Print Service Providers.


Request a Callback to claim your free* Personalised Print Samples or find out more about OKI’s Solutions for Print Service Providers

References

  1. The Deloitte Consumer review 
  2. Technavio Global personalised gifts market 2017-2021
 
 
*Terms & Conditions 
  1. This offer is provided by OKI Europe Limited (“OKI”) and is valid from 1 April 2021 until 31 March 2022.
  2. The offer is conditional upon you requesting and receiving a callback from an OKI Representative.
  3. This offer is limited to Print Service Providers only. A Print Service Provider is a business that provides commercial printing services.
  4. The offer is limited to 2 print samples per business or individual, on a first come first served basis, while stocks last. 
  5. To participate, your registered office (or for individuals your address) must be located in EMEA.
  6. Individuals must be at least 18 years of age to benefit from this offer.
  7. The offer is subject to the laws and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
  8. OKI reserves the right to amend, extend or terminate this offer without prior notice.
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