No longer is print just for reading. It has become a sophisticated communication transfer medium. How so?

• Image recognition technology via smart phone (and smart tablet) cameras connects print to the digital world.
• Electronic circuits printed on a traditional printing press (screen, flexography, offset and gravure) not only connect us to the digital world but also allows for human interaction with the substrate itself.

Here are a few interactive print solutions we are aware of. They have different capabilities and permutations and some overlap each other. We have taken the liberty of inventing new-to-the-world terms in an attempt to clarify the classifications.

 Print-to-web – here a camera scans an image and image recognition software connects the device to the digital world. Three categories of print-to-web are:

• mobile bar codes or 2D codes.
• scannable stand-alone printed images (as opposed to QR codes™ and tags .)
• print-to-device touch systems.

QR codes™ and Microsoft tags are examples of mobile bar codes. Scannable stand-alone solutions are Blippar, Digimarc and Documobi. Touchcode is a print-to-device application. An electronic circuit is actually printed on the substrate and is activated when the printed piece touches the screen.

Print-to-us – is a “human touch” application. Novalia, a solution from the U.K. enables electronic devices such as sensors, lights, speakers, printed batteries and various communication devices to be activated when the printed piece is touched.

How do we compete with these entrenched agencies? We digital printers (aka marketing services providers) have never had so many new-to-the-world products and services that can help our customers succeed. However, in order to use them effectively,  we need to think differently. We need to become creative. We need to “imagineer”.

Some  excellent answers on how to become a creative and innovative organization  can be found in the book “Borrowing Brilliance” by David Kord Murray. It presents the six steps to business innovation by building on the ideas of others. Frankly, it’s the best business book I’ve ever read, and I heartily recommend it to every sales and marketing manager and every rep in the industry.

Referencing “Borrowing Brilliance” is my first contribution to what I hope becomes an active exchange of suggestions as to how we can transform ourselves into becoming an innovative, creative, exciting and profitable industry.

What are your ideas on how to convert from printer to marketing services provider?

Jim Olsen