Full-Color, Variable-Data Printing: A Nice Niche in an Exciting, Growing Market

摘要

Whether your company already offers digital printing services or you are just eyeing the technology and potential market, it's hard to pick up a trade publication or attend an industry event without hearing something about full-color, variable-data printing (VDP). If you're a scarred and grizzly VDP survivor, you already know that a lot of what you hear is nonsense and hype. But, you also might be thinking, "Where there's smoke, there's fire" and wondering about the opportunities that are out there. Full-color VDP dates back to the early-to mid-1990s. That's not a very long time, and the state of the market reflects that immaturity. Adoption is sporadic, many of the vendors in this space have struggled to turn a profit or even stay in business, and plenty of VDP projects and businesses have gone down in flames. So, there are more than enough reasons to steer clear. On the other hand, you would be hard pressed to find a better niche. In fact, many of the printing company executives with whom I've spoken who operate full-color VDP shops are quietly reveling in VDP's challenges because they keep away competitors and add value to the services they are offering.