It used to be that offset press printers competed with one another and quick printers - those using analog and digital copiers - competed with one another. This is no longer the case. While each type of printer has its advantages, both are now vying for the same business. This is primarily driven by two forces: market demand and technology.

Today's customer demands various sized orders from smaller runs of less than 2,000 pieces up to direct mail campaigns of 20,000 pieces or more. Furthermore, increasingly the expectation is to have the job completed in 2- 3 days. Not too long ago an offset printer would send this customer to a quick printer for fast turn-around especially for, say a 2,000 piece four color job. Well today, that same offset press printer will most likely accept that job and turn it around in the time demanded. Because more and more customers were requesting this type of service, offset printers have had to adjust.

This is where technology enters the picture. Because the speed and quality of digital copiers has greatly increased while prices have continued to decline, printers are able to acquire more capability at modest investments. Thereby allowing them to compete head to head with quick printers and accept much more of the work they used to turn away.

While this all sounds great for customers and offset press operators, where does it leave the traditional quick printer? Well, the short answer is worse off. It is no secret that quick printers can purchase and invest in higher-end equipment that can compete head to head with the offset press, but the fundamental problem with that is that quick printers are quick printers because they made a decision to be such, meaning they chose not to be in the offset printing business and really have no desire to do so. This is especially true given the high cost of equipment and skilled labor. So how do quick printers compete? They compete by partnering or forming alliances with offset printers, especially those that exclusive serve the print trade industry, in order to satisfy the quick print customer base and gain some financial benefit. And by partnering, I mean quick printers continue to pass larger jobs on to their offset partners but retain ownership of the customer, thereby gaining the ability to extract some of the margin. In the end this model is not ideal because the quick printer has little control over the production process and the pricing model. Additionally, this is a much lower margin business model that cannot sustain as a primary source of revenue in the long term.

At the other end of the spectrum for quick printers, very short runs, the news is not much better. Customers are gaining the ability to produce this work themselves for the very same reasons noted above with technology being the key factor. It is not unusual to find the same production-quality equipment found in a quick print shop in corporate offices. These corporate customers still demand finishing services such as binding but the core printing service is increasing being done in-house.

Because quick printers are being squeezed at both ends, they will need to offer services that others cannot or are not willing to offer such as end-to-end customized solutions. These types of offerings provide value to the customer by allowing them to focus on their core business and these offerings are less sensitive to price competition. The future for quick printers is one of change and discovering new ways to bring value to customers.