Delegates at last week’s PrintNZ centenary conference received tips about the latest print marketing success stories from Europe.
Jens Knoebl, senior manager of product management applications at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, delivered a seminar that stimulated intense interest among printers who had travelled to the conference from around the country.Knoebl presented samples, created on Heidelberg presses, which have enabled European printers to diversify their portfolios and increase profit margins. He explained some of the changes in consumer habits that have occurred in Europe over the past 20 years that were shared by New Zealanders. Outlining successful strategies that European printers have used to increase profits, Knoebl encouraged kiwi printers to consider adapting and adopting those ideas to our marketplace.
He said, “In Europe US and China, they are very innovative at the moment. So we need to look at new business models.” He presented examples of print and packaging where value was added with special effects or by printing on special surfaces. While Knoebl’s samples looked impressive, he emphasised that they could be easily imitated saying, “Everything can be done on offset.”
Knoebl’s ideas resonated with print service providers who were already practising some of the techniques he mentioned, such as lenticular printing. Grant Letfus, well-known training expert who is now with PrintNZ, echoed their sentiments. He said, “We’ve seen lenticular grow in the Pride In Print awards. It has doubled every year since they began and now it’s getting quite spectacular. It’s a big market.”
