Digital Embellishments

The print industry is ever evolving and adapting as a communication channel. New technologies, like digital embellishment, allows printers to embrace the power of touch by creating enhanced, desirable, memorable and valuable brand experiences. And when there is perceived value, there is a willingness to pay a premium. Yet many printers continue to treat print as a commodity, selling primarily on price, and boasting about equipment features, speeds and feeds.

While the print industry can be resistant to change, the pandemic became a catalyst to invest in equipment, optimize workflows, build W2P/e-commerce portals, and seek out new, lucrative revenue streams.

PSPs who have yet to embrace newer digital solutions are missing out on opportunities that have become money-makers over the course of the pandemic.

Food delivery and e-commerce – particularly retail e-commerce – exploded, significantly increasing the demand for packaging as a result. However, a study conducted by Taktiful, the digital embellishment sales and marketing specialists, showed only 5% of brands consider packaging as a growth enabler, despite the fact that digitally-printed packaging is proven to be the second most effective media channel – only after video.

Here are three opportunities for PSPs to add value – and profitability – with digital embellishments.

Capitalize on the Science of Touch

Humans like to touch things. It can spark and influence emotion and is proven to provide the strongest sensory recall. So it should come as no surprise that enhancing print with elements that make people want to touch it even more, can even further strengthen the effectiveness of packaging and labels.

The big brands get it, recognizing how enhanced packaging and print can heighten the sense of a product’s luxuriousness and thus value. They are witnessing more brand connection and recall thanks to the power of touch and aesthetics. And they are observing enhanced print sell between 24% and 89% more than non-enhanced print.

The pandemic’s effect of moving most of the buying journey online has accelerated the shift away from "informational" print – which can easily be migrated online – to "impactful" or memorable print, that provides a distinguishing value-add for brands looking to stand out and be remembered.

Presently, the prevalent applications for digital embellishments focus on the feel of sexy, luxurious print to create a lasting brand impression and experience in consumers’ minds. In particular, 3D varnishes, braille and gold and holographic foils are what’s hot today.

The trends driving demand for digital embellishments empowers print to be positioned as the high-value, touch-oriented communications channel it is – and empowers PSPs to sell that added value.

“We are no longer in the printing industry," said Jeff Hernandez, VP of Classic Color. "We are in the visual communications business, and our goal is to provide outstanding value to our customers.”

One of the earliest digital embellishment techniques, sleeking involves heating up black toner and using pressure to adhere foil to it, creating a gloss, matte or metallic finish. It can even replicate spot UV. While this technique isn’t the most efficient, it’s relatively inexpensive, making it a good fit for printers who want to dip their toes into the world of digital embellishment without breaking the bank.

Extend Industry Boundaries

Do you have clients in the automotive industry? A recent white paper from the Foil and Specialty Effects Association (FSEA) showcases an embellished direct mail campaign created for Jeep. Knowing that the target market for Jeeps tend to be the outdoorsy type, the company produced 250,000 mailers that optimized its use of embellishments to make it look and feel like a camper’s backpack - including the zipper.

The relatively new cannabis industry has lit up with embellished packaging – be it gold debossing or holographic foil – as a way to exude a premium look to consumers, as well as enable micro-brands to capitalize on their share of shelf space.

One such company that has taken advantage of this trend is DMS Color, with their Gold Leaf Packaging e-commerce storefront, dedicated to the production of premium, enhanced collateral, packaging and branding for cannabis products.

The decreased costs of creating digital prototypes is especially appealing to micro-brands, start-ups and established brands testing new products and markets.

For example, Virtual Packaging is a company that creates digital 3D packaging renders so that you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars between the initial printed prototype and the final one that makes the client happy. Instead, printers can digitally render them for a fraction of the price, as well as control costs and inventory.

Invest Wisely

To determine the digital embellishment solution that suits where you are today – as well as where you plan to be – you need to know who you’ll be selling to, what it is that you’re selling, and the value that it brings them.

Comb through your CRM with your sales reps, CSRs and account managers, for opportunities to have value-based, customer conversations around prototyping, shelf appeal, brand recall – and the unboxing experience. Once you know which markets you’ll be servicing, you’ll be in a good position to start researching what equipment is right for you. Further, you can determine whether an in-line or stand-alone press makes most sense for your business.

In addition to add-on finishing equipment, the popularity of “all-in-one” presses is on the rise to tackle a variety of different applications in one pass. Once reserved for a handful of players including MGI, Scodix and Konica Minolta, today’s manufacturers have one goal in common – getting printers to recognize the value in selling the science of touch. A digital enhancement press can cost as low as US$80,000 to hundreds of thousands, depending on what applications, sheet sizes, materials, substrates and functionalities are desired. The cost of consumables, like foils, varnish, special inks etc., needs to be budgeted as well.

Once you’ve decided on the equipment, then it’s time to invest in your sales and marketing – with a go-to-market plan, as well as training – not just on how to use the equipment, but how to sell it. After all, when it costs you 5 cents per sheet, and your clients are willing to pay a dollar, the profitability comes from your margins, not volume. Price accordingly.

About Joanne Gore

Joanne Gore, president of Joanne Gore Communications (JGC), is a B2B marketer who’s passionate about print, and has spent more than 25 years helping software, hardware, print and manufacturing companies around the world stretch their marketing dollars with programs that generate awareness, engagement and growth. Follow Joanne on LinkedIn (or: email: [email protected])