Over the last 10 to 15 years, technology has drastically changed workplace attitudes and processes. Mobile devices, CRM systems, cloud computing and big data have all left their marks on the way we work, run businesses and ‘do’ marketing.

According to McKinsey, technology drives business value in four ways, by enhancing connectivity, automating manual tasks, improving decision making, and innovating products and services.

With advancements in digital printing, corporate printing can now benefit from such value creation.

Print is not dead - it’s going digital

The rise of digital printing has given marketers the ability to carry out small, targeted on-demand print runs and, as an industry, is set to grow to a mammoth $300 billion by 2024.

This is a big change from the days of mass offset printing, when marketing materials had to be produced in large quantities in order to achieve any type of cost efficiency, but there is still much change to come.

The print industry is 50 times the size of the music industry and growing rapidly thanks, in no small part, to the marketing industry, which continues to grow and evolve print alongside the plethora of established and emerging digital channels.

Print’s place in the marketing mix

Print continues to have a place in the marketing mix - because it works. Four-fifths (79%) of consumers will act on direct mail immediately compared to only 45% who say they deal with email straightaway.

Targeted directed mail boasts a 4.4% response rate, compared to email’s rate of 0.12%.

That is why online brands like Airbnb launch print magazines to reach important stakeholder, print catalogues are on the rise, 10 billion business cards are printed in the US each year and advertising print totaled $45.2 billion globally in 2013. Growth averaging 4.5% per year is predicted to continue to 2024.

“We don’t print that much”

While many business processes have been digitalized – resulting in increased efficiency – ordering prints is still a very manual process for most companies. Printing is often handled differently, with different vendors per department, office or brand.

When asked how much printed marketing their organizations produce, most people will reply “we don’t print that much.”

They might be right, but more likely is that they don’t actually know how much is being printed by their company. Printing costs are often hidden in many different budgets; marketing, sales, HR, office management - and thus not viewed as a priority for process optimization and digitalization.

Digital transformation goes beyond printing technology

Since Gutenberg, printing has been part of everyday life – but at a price. The most effective way to contribute to sustainability around printing is to reduce paper usage, to minimize transport distances and to prevent waste.

To date, paper reduction programmes have been centered around office printing. All major office printing machine and office software suppliers have introduced programs to educate about, monitor and restrict office printing.

Commercial printing (brochures, posters, flyers and more) has not been part of this innovation driven by sustainability goals. Digital printing and the services developed around it are changing things quickly.

Just-in-time delivery or on-demand printing is now possible - even if a sales event is in three days and on a different continent. There is no longer a need to produce extras for the “just in case” scenario.

Color captures attention, enhances productivity, improves communications and helps boost sales.

Research has proven that using color in business documents can have measurable results. The following examples have been selected from a variety of sources to demonstrate the power your black-and-white documents can achieve when produced in color.

Color emphasizes critical information and conveys a sense of professionalism. Your company’s first impression is the most important one. Using color demonstrates that you mean business. The decision whether to read or reject pamphlets and direct mail pieces is made by readers in just 2.5 seconds. Using color can keep your materials on the desk and out of the wastebasket.

Color increases readers’ attention spans and recall by 82%. Safety notices, warnings and vital technical information are more likely to be remembered if they stand out in color. That can help decrease costly and time-consuming errors throughout your company.

Color gains readership by 80%. Adding color to product guides can help critical information get read, helping ensure that customers understand how to operate the products they buy from you. That alone can reduce the number of unnecessary service calls and save your company time and money.

Color makes an impression that is 39% more memorable. Direct mail pieces and collateral leave a lasting impression if they’re in color. That makes follow-up calls more successful.

Telephone listings printed in color can increase response by 44%. Amidst hundreds of black-and-white listings in a telephone directory, a color entry can really stand out. This can lead to increased exposure and increased business.

People are 55% more likely to pick up a full-color piece of mail first. How do you get a customer to open mail from you quickly? Simply use color on the envelope. By capturing their attention, you are more likely to get a speedy response.

Color reduces search time by as much as 80%. Contracts, insurance policies and other lengthy documents can be made more understandable by highlighting the important information with color. Customers will spend less time tying up your customer service representatives with confusing questions, increasing your operation’s overall efficiency.

Color reduces errors by 80%. Improperly completed forms and applications can bog down data entry and customer service departments. Highlighting important information and instructions can help customers fill out forms correctly the first time.

Information can be located 70% faster if it’s in color. Executives have little time as it is. Speeding up the time it takes to locate and understand important information can significantly improve your company’s efficiency. For example, the 1.5 hours an executive spends reading black-and-white documents every week can be cut to a 0.5 hour by using color. That means less nonessential time and more billable time.

Document sorting improves by 15% when highlight color is used. Improving the ease with which documents can be identified, sorted and filed can reduce the number of people assigned to the task. That can mean real cost savings during peak seasons when temporary help is brought on board.

Highlight color improves search time by 39% compared to using different fonts. Administrative personnel can spend less time looking for information and more time performing critical tasks if the information is easier to find. Using color to highlight it can make the difference.

Color can increase payment response by up to 30%. By highlighting the amount owing and the due date with color, a sense of urgency is added to invoices. This can help make your customers pay their bills faster, thereby improving your cash flow.

People are 2.5% more likely to pay the full amount when it’s shown in color. Some companies have found that highlighting the amount due on an invoice actually causes customers to pay the full amount owing. That reduces additional invoicing and improves your business’ cash flow.

Color increases comprehension by as much as 73%. Your prospects and potential customers can understand your message faster and more clearly. That speeds sales presentations and makes the whole process run more effectively.

Color can boost survey participation by 80%. Low response on customer satisfaction surveys can be dramatically improved and repeat mailings made unnecessary by using color to grab attention

Reader comprehension has been found to be 14% better with highlight color than with bold text. Training sessions can be more effective when the presentation materials and guides are produced using highlight color, rather than using just bold type.

Color increases motivation by up to 80%. Getting response from employees can often be more difficult than getting response from customers. Using color on memos, correspondence and posted notices from payroll, human resources and personnel can help motivate your employees to respond in a timely fashion.