Modern commercial printers have evolved from traditional litho offset printers offering corporate stationery and basic marketing material to total business solutions providers. Commercial printers are operating in a whole new dimension with technology the driving force behind client demand. Printing and packaging powerhouse, Colourtone Aries, a leading commercial and packaging printer, is at the forefront of this innovation.
Colourtone Aries sales and marketing team leader, Ryan Bywater, says, “Companies are faced with challenges in an increasingly competitive market. As the market takes on an international perspective, South African companies are competing with standards that are exceptionally high. It is critical to understand marketing methodologies that capture the attention of a globally targeted audience. The overall corporate identity of a business manifests in myriad applications, and nearly all require printing or packaging in some form or another. As printers we find ourselves in the spotlight as demand increases for uncompromised quality and precise consistency.”
Printers are no longer just an outsourced service provider; they are strategic partners offering tailored business solutions to complex marketing and business plans. As companies strive for that competitive edge, it is a brand’s uniqueness that consumers build a relationship with. Printing and packaging plays a critical role in ensuring consistency of branding by developing the brand’s fingerprint and maintaining its consistency throughout all applications.
Ryan says, “The complexities of print and packaging go far beyond basic printing solutions. Marketers worldwide are turning to their printers to maximise the experiential values of their brands. From packaging to promotional materials the consistency of the brand identity has to be precise every time, all the time. Such consistency can only be achieved if printers continue to invest in technologically advanced machinery. This new technology actually provides a dual benefit – Quality improves with every new advance and so too does speed of delivery to market.”
Marketers strive to deliver specific brand promises and experiences. These begin with the first interaction the consumer has with the brand and extends beyond its delivery in expertly printed packaging with accompanying marketing material, brochures and documentation. The consumer has to be impressed with the entire experience in order to build a positive relationship
Ryan concludes, “As advances are being made with brands, so too are printers increasing their investment in technology to be able to offer marketers top quality products. At the end of the day, if a marketer can think it, they will create a consumer demand for it and printers and packaging companies must be able to create a solution to deliver it to the market.”
Printers play a crucial role in a brand’s identity and in the overall positive experience a consumer has with a product. Increasingly, companies are opting to partner with printing and packaging companies rather than merely using them as an outsourced service provider. The value of a brand is too important to select a printer merely based on price rather than quality of the product.