NEW EDSF STUDY
IDENTIFIES CURRENT AND FUTURE TRENDS IN PRINT-FOR-PAY SERVICES MARKET
Researchers
InfoTrends/CAP Ventures and
ROLLING HILLS,
Calif., U.S.A. (Jan. 18, 2006) --- The Electronic Document Systems Foundation (EDSF), the
non-profit organization dedicated to the document management and communications
industry, announced the publication of an insightful co-branded research paper
on industry trends in the print-for-pay services market. The study was designed
to gain an understanding of the current state of business, evaluate future
trends, establish perceptions of customer expectations, and to identify and
understand any gaps in perception between print providers and the vendors who
supply them. “Supplier and Service Provider Priorities: 2005 Survey
Results” is a collaboration between
InfoTrends/CAP Ventures (www.capv.com), the leading worldwide market
research and strategic consulting firm for the digital imaging and document
solutions industry based in Weymouth, Mass., and the
Graphic Communication Program at Clemson University in Clemson, S.C.
"This
important study examines the requirements of print-for-pay service providers
and the vendors who work with them,” explained Charlie Corr, group director,
InfoTrends/CAP Ventures. “It provides critical
information on both the current state and future direction of our industry. We
are pleased to have worked on this critical study with EDSF and our research
partner,
According to the study, print providers and vendors share a
common market. Factors that benefit print providers indirectly benefit vendors,
as printers will buy more. Print providers also benefit from the technical
knowledge and expertise vendors can provide to them. In some cases, providers
and vendors have common perceptions of the market; in other cases they do not.
In many areas, significant gaps in beliefs are evident between print providers
and vendors. To benefit the industry as a whole, vendors should work more
closely with print providers to understand the trends and beliefs of print
providers in order to provide the advice and counsel expected of them, as well
as make more accurate sales forecasts.
Looking to the future, the study suggests that print providers focus on
aligning investment plans with strategic intent. Achieving “super efficiency”
requires investments in software and services that many print providers are not
planning to make. If this gap persists, it will lead to many print providers
exiting a competitive landscape, predict the authors.
Highlights of “Supplier and Service Provider Priorities: 2005 Survey
Results” include:
---Both groups were optimistic about print revenue moving forward with the
strongest growth over the next two years expected to come from variable data
printing and digital full color printing.
---Print providers and suppliers have different views of the future. Print
providers forecast growth for offset printing, fulfillment and kitting, and
facilities management. Suppliers, on the other hand, forecast a decline in
offset print revenue and are less optimistic about growth in fulfillment and
kitting and facilities.
---Among the print providers surveyed, Adobe has an enviable position.
Providers identified PostScript as the most common print language, PDF as the
most popular file format, and had a high level of use and interest in a
PDF-enabled workflow.
---Vendors and print providers have very different views on technology
adoption. Forty-four percent of the print providers described themselves as
early adopters of new technology, 40% as mainstream adopters, and 16% as
laggards. Vendors had a much different view, believing that 25% of print
providers were early adopters of new technology, 45% were mainstream,
and 30% were laggards.
“Sponsoring research that has significant value in today’s workplace is very
important to EDSF,” said EDSF Vice Chair of Research Kenneth M. Morris, Ph.D.,
CEO of Lightbulb Press. ”We’re proud to provide on-target information such as
this study through the hard work and expertise of InfoTrends/CAP
Ventures and Clemson University.”
“Supplier
and Service Provider Priorities: 2005 Survey Results” is available as a free download at www.edsf.org.
About EDSF
EDSF (www.edsf.org) is a charitable
foundation dedicated to building the next generation of professionals. EDSF
supports the industry’s future by granting scholarships to students in support
of their academic careers, by providing research grants to colleges and
universities, by building awareness about industry careers, and by recognizing
innovative educators and educational programs. EDSF serves vendors and users
who design and implement document solutions for business applications. For more
information about The Electronic Document Systems Foundation, call
+1-310-265-5510, write info@edsf.org,
or visit the EDSF website at www.edsf.org.
# #
#
Media Contacts:
Aaron Kiel/ Jennifer Beaver
ak PR Group
562-983-8113/ 562-983-8117
akiel@akprgroup.com/
jbeaver@akprgroup.com
EDSF Contact:
Jeanne Mowlds
Executive Director
+1-310-265-5510
jmowlds@edsf.org