12 minute read
Category Update
The print industry has taken a massive hit during the pandemic, but the sector is adapting quickly to minimise disruption to all involved – by David Holes
Adapt and survive seems to have been the collective mantra of the print industry as it grappled with the immense turmoil caused by COVID-19. With business premises and schools shut down, and employees forced to work remotely, the category had to make rapid changes to how it serviced its customers and find new operating approaches in a very different landscape.
SWINGS AND ROUNDABOUTS
Different parts of the printing and supplies sector got hit in various ways when COVID struck, but it was the hurried and widespread shift to homeworking that was the biggest single factor affecting them all.
“It had a dramatic effect on the MPS and imaging supplies categories,” says Tony Wills, Country Director of Document Solutions for Canon in the UK & Ireland. “Unsurprisingly, as staff migrated to work from home, we saw a decline in office print requirements, and this continued throughout the pandemic period.”
Sales of A3 devices, large multifunction devices and anything associated with centralised print room facilities plummeted. Simultaneously, there was a surge in the purchase of inkjet printers as businesses scrambled to get their employees set up domestically, according to Marc Pinner, Marketing Director at print supplies specialist Data Direct. “However, in the rush, they often settled for low-ticket items,” he reveals, “only to belatedly realise the true costs and inconvenience of keeping these running reliably.”
ECI’s Elise McFarlane
ECI Software Solutions, for example, saw a noticeable increase in the deployment of printing devices in the first half of last year. The company’s Global Product Portfolio Manager Elise McFarlane says that, thankfully, its hosted printing service allowed businesses to make their network printers available to home workers.
Additionally, ECI’s ability to install its data collection agent software in any type of environment, helped many customers as it could be updated, configured and troubleshot remotely, removing the need for teams to be working on-site.
For Epson UK, its ink subscription service ReadyPrint has become increasingly popular during the crisis due to its compatibility with
many home printing devices. Peter Silcock, Business Manager for Business Print, adds that the company’s range of home EcoTank models has also been in high demand. “They offer ‘fit-and-forget’ benefits for those working from home as they come with up to three years’ worth of ink included in the box, with one set of bottles lasting as long as 72 traditional printer cartridges.”
HP Inc, meanwhile, said demand for its Instant Ink subscription service has grown substantially during the pandemic. It now has over ten million subscribers, more than double the count pre-COVID, with the OEM citing the rise in homeworking as the primary driver.
SUPPLY CHAIN WOES
The disruptive effect COVID is having on global supply chains across industries is well documented, and the printing and imaging supplies sector has been no exception. “It’s had a massive impact over the past 18 months,” admits Pinner. “Costs have spiralled, plus we have had increased lead times due to the reduced frequency of shipping vessels. This perfect storm meant we now plan much further ahead and our stockholding has vastly increased to ensure uninterrupted service for our dealers.”
At US MPS specialist Distribution Management, VP of Services and Solutions Sarah Custer reports that at first, there was little disruption in the supply chain with plenty of inventory available and less demand due to reduced print
volumes. “Unfortunately, we are now seeing the exact opposite of that, with significant inventory shortages across the entire category, combined with volumes picking back up again.”
She adds: “Especially in the back-to-school season, this has created real challenges. Our product team has worked diligently to minimise the impact but, in reality, these problems aren’t going away anytime soon.”
Those with manufacturing facilities close to home, such as remanufacturer Clover Imaging Group in the US, seem to have fared comparatively well. “While we have had to deal with a few shortages,” says President Eric Martin, “we have been in a much better situation than some of our counterparts that are 100% dependent on Asian products and components.
“But supply chain issues will dominate well into 2022. You can’t escape them – every part of the industry is affected and you can’t sell product you don’t have. And as the cost of labour, raw materials and freight increases, companies are being squeezed for profitability and looking for areas to make back these losses. We see this as a great time for dealers to review customer accounts for OEM conversion opportunities.”
THE CLOUD AND CYBERSECURITY
COVID has been a game changer for everyone, according to Nicola De Blasi, CEO of print management software specialist MPS Monitor in Italy. What were previously trends have now become vital to all stakeholders. The need to move applications and processes to the cloud is one of them, he explains.
“The shift to hybrid working has accelerated this hugely. But for operators that previously had their platforms entirely sited within business premises, this progression to the cloud can be a major challenge.
“Security requirements have also changed dramatically as the pandemic has opened a new world of opportunities to cybercriminals,” he adds. “With employees working outside the company perimeter, it has introduced a layer of risk which is difficult to mitigate, with more target devices and less capacity available to keep them controlled and secured.
“Additionally, changing working patterns are causing headaches. Companies previously going through a fleet consolidation process to concentrate on fewer – but better performing and more cost-effective – devices, are now facing the challenge of having multiple users printing at home on a variety of products.
Sarah Custer
For more industry feedback on topics such as innovations in print and imaging supplies, and customer expectations around MPS, see Xtra content in the November/ December issue on opi.net
“All this creates a lot of uncertainty as to how things will pan out over the coming year. It presents a strong case for organisations with an effective analytics software package so they can monitor key operational metrics and keep an eye on this highly dynamic situation.”
Canon’s Wills agrees. With employees now moving seamlessly between workplaces, ensuring high-quality remote working standards is crucial. Having key applications in the cloud offers the possibility of mirroring information access, print services and technology across several working environments.
He says: “The importance of cybersecurity is paramount. With IT professionals needing to manage hundreds of different devices and networks across multiple locations, having a robust digital roof is essential to ensuring employee and company data is safe, wherever they are based. The benefits of cloud-based document management systems are undeniable – their implementation has grown exponentially in recent months and they will continue to be a powerful tool for the future.”
According to ECI’s McFarlane, cloud-based MPS solutions can be extremely effective in helping to facilitate a hybrid working situation, as they allow employees to carry out printing tasks with ease, from any location.
“The ability to add jobs to a print queue at home and then get hard copies when next in the office is an increasingly sought after feature. Businesses also want the functionality to assign every employee their own unique PIN which they can link with project codes and set cost limits associated with their account. We expect features like this to become a priority for many companies moving forward.”
RETURN TO NORMALITY?
As we emerge from the pandemic and there’s more of a transition back to the office, it’s becoming clear that some things have altered permanently for the category.
“Our monitoring software has shown a steady reopening of print devices, with a significant surge in October, but several changes which have occurred will be irreversible,” explains Pinner. “Many companies are adopting a 40% hybrid homeworking regime, and this will impact ongoing print volumes.
The younger generation in particular is much more averse to printed documents. There will still be a requirement for quality output, but transactional document printing will disappear in favour of digital alternatives.”
Clover’s Martin, meanwhile, still anticipates continued demand for lower cost, SOHO inkjet printers and the consumables to service them. That being said, current global microchip shortages are causing some OEMs to temporarily shift manufacturing volume to more profitable, higher-cost products. But in the longer term, Martin predicts increased inkjet penetration among business users.
Ultimately and overall, De Blasi believes the category needs to rethink its strategy. “There is no long-term future for disconnected solutions and technologies. The entire sector will need to embrace the concept of an integrated ecosystem. Customers will favour companies doing this and penalise those trying to shield themselves from the rest of the pack.
“Once the majority of processes and applications are cloud-based, this trend will be accepted by everyone. It seems a long way to go at the moment, but I’m very optimistic. The market will drive this transformation – as it already has in other industries – and new solutions will take over from legacy technologies.”
Nicola De Blasi
Environmental concerns are finally taking centre stage within the print and imaging supplies sector, with all key executives OPI spoke to keen to highlight the measures they are implementing. But while there’s general agreement something must be done, there is not always consensus on the best approach to take. Unsurprisingly, individual views vary depending on the side of the industry they advocate for.
DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW
Peter Silcock is Business Manager for Business Print at Epson UK – a company which now exclusively sells inkjet printers. Silcock urges that switching away from traditional laser printers to inkjets would make a huge difference environmentally if we did this en masse: “Choosing business inkjet printers reduces the energy consumed by up to 83%, and their high-yield ink means an overall reduction in consumables of 96%.
“Making the simple switch to heat-free inkjet technology could save European businesses enough energy annually to power 800,000 electric cars, cut €152 million ($176 million) in costs and lower CO2 emissions by 410,000 tonnes. We’re working with our partners to replace large volumes of laser printer fleets with inkjet alternatives once customers understand the high environmental impact of laser devices.”
Interestingly, HP is moving in the opposite direction following the company’s recent announcement it’s discontinuing its A4 and A3 PageWide business inkjet products. HP’s reasoning is that its LaserJet products – which use energy-saving, lower melting point toner – now match inkjet products for environmental performance, reliability and cost per page.
As such, HP maintains there is no longer a compelling need to have inkjet products in the office space, though it will still continue to supply them for the SOHO market.
In the remanufacturing segment of the market, Bob Reynolds, Sales Director at Armor Group, says giving a second life to OEM cartridges is a highly sustainable approach. He argues: “With 80% of CO2 emissions coming from the initial cartridge production phase, it’s clear that using remanufactured supplies is the most effective way of tackling this issue in our industry.
“Of course we still need new product in the mix, but this should be around 50:50, not the 10:90 we typically see today. The goal is to help our partners and customers get there.
“Additionally, within the Our Way to Act [OWA – see top right] brand, we have completely eradicated all single-use plastics and reduced the packaging. We’ve also recently added a range of reconditioned multifunction printers, which fit perfectly with our brand philosophy and the requirements of consumers today.
As Reynolds adds, yes, printing is in decline generally, but the market is still huge. “In many European countries, it’s also compulsory that a proportion of the consumables used in the public sector are fully recyclable. Consequently, we see demand for remanufactured printer consumables growing over the coming years. This is despite OEMs employing increasingly sophisticated electronic chips on their cartridges to force customers to use brand new products.”
THE IMPORTANCE OF MPS
Distribution Management VP of Services and Solutions Sarah Custer explains that MPS provides an important part of the overall sustainability jigsaw puzzle.
“A successful MPS solution minimises waste, while delivering superior customer experience and better value,” she says. “More often than not, users replace print supplies too early, leaving an average of 15-20% of toner still in the cartridge. Our latest predictive analytics replenishment programme brings this down to 6% – a significant improvement.
“Another key area is shipment aggregation. It’s not uncommon for an unsophisticated program to get a low-supply alert and trigger the shipping of a single print cartridge – a tremendous waste of resources. Our platform analyses the entire environment for all A3 and A4 devices and then aggregates the shipment. Obviously, this is better for the environment as it minimises packaging and transportation, but it delivers a big cost saving to boot.”
Expectations have clearly been heightened during the pandemic, with consumers demanding action on both the products sold and the packaging they come with. Marc Pinner, Marketing Director at Data Direct, says: “We’re aligning ourselves with those innovating in this area. For example, we are now master distributors for Pelikan’s Bio-based cartridge range – an excellent example of a truly green product.”
At remanufacturer Clover Imaging Group in the US, President Eric Martin also sees this shift in public perception, citing a recent survey which revealed 60% of consumers are willing to pay more for products and services from companies with a positive environmental impact. “You now see tangible examples of a new mindset at both state and federal levels. We’re excited by the opportunities this will provide as awareness gathers momentum across the globe.”
When questioned by OPI, several organisations also mentioned their adoption of the PrintReleaf certification system and software platform. “This enables businesses to reforest an area of their choice according to the amount of paper they use – one new tree is planted for every 8,333 printed pages,” explains Custer. “We apply it to our own print environment and provide it as an optional service to our customers. In total, they have planted over 2.5 million trees so far. Clearly, this is something we can all feel good about.”
