Quick Printing is the only business resource serving the quick and small commercial printing niche in North America. Quick Printing is the authoritative source for business information, emerging technologies, shop profiles and management insight.
Issue link: https://quickprinting.epubxp.com/i/361661
A u g u s t 2 0 1 4 / Q U I C K P R I N T I N G 15 w w w. M y P R I N T R e s o u r c e . c o m Now is likely one of the best times ever to look into the benefits coatings can confer. So said Elinor Midlik, president of Prime UV, a Carol Stream, IL-based firm that makes the curing equipment for UV coatings. Increased competition has rendered UV coating formulations increasingly afford- able, Midlik said. "The amount of UV coatings sold worldwide is very large, and the prices from the formulators are very cheap. In some cases, a UV coating could be pennies more than a water- based coating. Yet these coatings pro- vide many advantages, from cosmetic benefits to permanency." Differentiating finish Of course, coatings are an excellent way to differentiate your product from those of rivals. (See also "Digital, Dimen- sional Game Changer" on page 17.) As the printing industry continues to lose share to the Internet, print is evolving in its role as a mechanism of information dissemination. "One element of that evolution is in coatings," noted Joe Chiaramonte, VP with Leland, NC-based Coatings and Adhesives Corp., one of the nation's largest coating manufacturers for the graphic arts industry. Rather than mailing a flyer that is promptly thrown away by the recipient, marketers can now send a printed piece that bears an intriguing feel and texture. "That piques people's interest, and they want to look at it and find out what the message is," Chiaramonte said. "They become intimate with a piece that would normally be thrown away if it were not tactile. Texture is one way to do that. But the market trend right now is to give pieces a smooth, velvety feel. It's a differentiator. Just by touching it, people feel warm. You see a lot of this in cosmetic boxes, in upscale advertise- ments, and in phone covers." Also recognizing the potential of coat- ings and specialty finishes to provide the advantages of differentiation are the marketers at MGI in Melbourne, FL. In the printing industry, competitors once competed on quality, explained Kevin Abergel, VP of sales and market- ing for MGI. Today, they are forced in many instances to compete on price. "You take the average person on the street: Do you think he knows the dif- ference between a Heidelberg, Ricoh, or Xerox?" he asked. "How can you make money while competing on price?" On the other hand, with special coat- ings, you're not selling on price, but on sex appeal, creativity, tactile sensation, and the ability to differentiate yourself from the competition and offer some- thing no one else can, he said. As a result, instead of making four to six percent profit, which is the standard for printers today, according to the Printing Industry of America, print service provid- ers (PSPs) can make from 80 to 90 percent profit margin, Abergel argued. "That's just by putting down a 3D spot UV, or a hot-foil embossing," added MGI marketing coordinator Holly Haley. "They have to focus less on how much is printed each month, and more on the profit made on each printing job." Inline vs. Offline The question of whether to incorporate coatings and finishes as an inline process, Imagine more "We did $70,000 in printed apparel sales in the past three months. Our average margin was 68%. We say, 'Our AnaJet prints money.'" - HENRY LANDAU, LANDAU'S OF PRINCETON, NJ Run hundreds of prints daily on the fastest, most reliable direct to garment printer. Stop outsourcing printed apparel orders; keep all profits in-house. Learn more at anajet.com/wearables Booth #454 Chicago Sept 28-Oct. 1,2014 855.899.8791 For more information, visit MyPRINTResource.com/10209486