The future of print: Turning challenges into opportunities

It has never been as difficult to make money in the commercial print industry as it is today. Challenges printers face include finding and retaining qualified labor; rising labor costs; and unpredictable changes in immigration policy, inflation, tariffs, and taxes, coupled with high interest rates.

At Kodak, we have made a strategic priority of turning those challenges into opportunities by enabling commercial printers to become more efficient, more productive and more profitable through innovations in offset plates, CTP devices, workflow software, and inkjet printing.

Among the biggest current challenges is managing labor and labor costs. All of the labor trends are stacked against the commercial print industry. I can guarantee that in the coming years there will be even less qualified labor available, and it will be more expensive. Combined with rising paper costs, these shifts will accelerate the transition of print from being a commodity business to being a luxury business.

The changes in immigration policy, inflation, interest rates, tariffs, and taxes are unpredictable. But I can predict that ultimately, the end result will be a lower volume but more valuable print market for those printers who are prepared. As we shift from a commodity to luxury product industry, it means we need more automation, less waste, and greater productivity. That is exactly what we're focused on helping our customers achieve.

Our nearly 140-year history of chemistry and coating expertise has helped make our SONORA Process Free Plates the industry's most efficient and environmentally friendly plates, offering superior stability, high image quality, and significant savings in prepress and the press room. Our CTP technology sets the standard for labor-saving automation and speed. Our PRINERGY workflow software is designed to help serious high-volume commercial printers to seamlessly manage offset and digital printing. And our inkjet technology has a 50+ year track record of innovation. In fact, Kodak was the first to enable variable data printing for direct mailers. Today our fastest PROSPER production inkjet printers can print up to 34,000 B-2 sheets per hour, twice the speed of typical sheet offset presses.

We know the challenges commercial printers face. We also know that there are profits to be made, provided you have the right equipment, supplies, and software partner. We continue to innovate in each of these areas.

We've focused our entire company on supporting the most productive and efficient print providers in the commercial print market. With our relentless focus on productivity and quality, Kodak products are not for every commercial printer. But for those who want to adapt to meet today's challenges and grow their businesses, Kodak is the ideal partner.

Read the next blog in this series:
Mitigating the impact of rising wages