white paper - aaa business systems · 2018-07-09 · for example, the ricoh pro c9100/c9110 series...

WHITE PAPERENHANCING DIGITAL PRINTFifth Colors and Expanded Substrate Options

JULY 2017

PREPARED FOR:

WHITE PAPEREnhancing Digital Print: Fifth Colors and Expanded Substrate Options

P1 | © Keypoint Intelligence



IntroductionRecent advancements in digital cut-sheet printing

technology are enabling service providers to print

on a broader range of substrates and produce

eye-catching special effects to create printed

pieces that stand out, get noticed, and drive

business results. Capabilities that started at the top

of the market with high-end digital print devices are

now migrating to more affordable devices. The

new feature sets of today’s devices offer print

providers big benefits and new application options.

In the U.S. and Western Europe, InfoTrends believes

that the market value for enhanced digital printing

is about $917 million. This value is expected to

experience a compound annual growth rate of

14%, reaching $1.3 billion in 2020. This paper

highlights the market opportunity for enhanced digital printing and explores how today’s

print providers are leveraging the new capabilities offered by digital printing devices.

Approaches to Enhancing Digital PrintThere are many innovations in digital cut-sheet devices that are enhancing production

opportunities. In addition to special effects, another important consideration in enhancing

digital printing is a device’s substrate capabilities. Let’s take a closer look at these two very

important areas.

Printing More than Four Colors The addition of a fifth printing station to digital cut-sheet printing devices has opened up a

new realm of application possibilities. Additional printing stations offer the following

benefits:

Application of specialty inks or effects. This category covers unique inks outside of the standard process or spot colors, such as metallics, foils, fluorescents, UV/IR (for security applications), and white (required for printing on clear or colored substrates).

In-line spot or flood coating. This means that the imaging unit is capable of applying a spot or flood coat of a clear matte, gloss, or satin finish. When used as a spot coating, special effects such as watermarking are possible. When used as a flood coating, some implementations (in addition to providing a matte or gloss finish) also provide a protective layer against scratching.

Figure 1: Print Samples



Applying spot colors. An additional imaging unit can apply a standard highlight color (such as red, green, blue, or yellow) or a custom color that matches a particular corporate brand or other desired color (such as a Pantone color).

Expanding color gamut. This may be through the use of a single color to expand the gamut in one direction (e.g., toward red, green, or blue), or the use of multiple colors to more extensively expand the gamut (e.g., by adding orange, violet, and green to cyan, magenta, and yellow). There is also the ability to extend the tonal range of process colors by adding a light cyan, light magenta, or a light black (gray).

Textured effects that capture attention. This feature provides a tactile, raised effect.These embossed/ debossed effects are common on applications such as book covers, labels, and greeting cards.

Table 1: The 5+ Color Categories

Category Example

Specialty Metallic, white, and fluorescent toner/inks

CoatingSpot or flood coat of a clear matte, clear, gloss, or satin

coating; can be used for watermarking and sometimes for scratch protection

Spot color Highlight colors or custom mixed colors (Pantone)

Gamut expansion Red, Green, Blue (RGB); Orange, Green, Violet (OGV); Light Cyan, Light Magenta (Lc Lm); Light Black/Gray

Textured Tactile, embossed, or debossed effect

Security MICR, UV

According to InfoTrends’ study Beyond CMYK: The Use of Special Effects in Digital Printing,

designers and print buyers understand the benefits that special effects deliver in making

their print pieces stand out and capture attention. As shown in Table 2, the print buyers

that InfoTrends interviewed believe that a number of applications will benefit from the

ability to print white, spot colors, fluorescents, and spot/flood coatings. Overall, buyers saw

the most benefit in using special effects in printed brochures, business cards, direct mail,

and greeting/invitation cards. Only a small amount of today’s production digital print is

produced using these specialty effects, but print buyers reported that significant shares of

certain applications could benefit from these effects. For example, print buyers in the study

reported that 47% of their brochures could benefit from spot or flood coating.



Table 2: Print Applications Benefiting Most from Special Effects

The top three applications are highlighted for each special effect

Which types of print applications do you feel would benefit from these enhancements?

White Spot Color Fluorescent Coating (Spot or Flood)

Books, book covers 8% 6% 2% 6%

Brochures 39%(1)

51%(1)

28%(1)

47%(1)

Business cards 25%(3)

24%(2)

12%(2)

31%(2)

Catalogues 2% 4% 4% 10%

Direct mail postcards/ letters 16% 12% 10% 18%(3)

Greeting card/ invitations 27%(2)

12% 4% 18%(3)

Labels 6% 4% -- 6%

Packaging 6% 4% 2% 6%

Photobooks, calendars 4% 6% -- 6%

Point-of-purchase signage 12% 14%(3)

12%(2)

14%

Statements/bills -- 4% -- 2%

N=51 Print BuyersSource : Beyond CMYK: The Use of Special Effects in Digital Printing, InfoTrends 2016

The opportunity for print providers to produce special effects on digital devices is growing

as equipment vendors are expanding features and capabilities on lower cost devices.

While additional printing units were first introduced on higher end cut-sheet devices, these

features are now migrating downstream. When Ricoh launched its Pro C7100X series, a

production cut-sheet device that features a fifth color station, the device was positioned

as a game-changer because its lower price point enabled more print providers to offer

special effects and stand out from competitors. The device was introduced with the ability

to print white or clear, and the company recently added neon yellow.



Expanded Substrates and Sheet SizesAnother important enhancement is the ability to print on a wider variety of materials.

Today’s digital print engines are capable of supporting an increasing array of substrates,

including heavier stocks and synthetic materials. This brings great flexibility to print buyers in

terms of the jobs they can produce.

Digital presses can print on new high-value substrates that include rugged synthetics;

pressure sensitive stocks; pre-scored, ready-to-print dimensional stock; and photo media.

Printing on specialty media can expose you to new market opportunities by offering

unique solutions that meet your customers’ needs, especially when combined with special

effects. This can enable you to capture more high-margin work, retain your existing

customers, and grow your customer base.

In addition, newer digital printing devices are removing the traditional limitations on format

sizes. The 12” x 18” format of many light and mid-production digital printing products has

been a significant limitation. While not all digital print devices offer the ability to print long

sheets, some system vendors are adding these capabilities. For example, the Ricoh Pro

C9100/C9110 Series and Pro C7100/C7100X Series accommodate oversize sheets up to

27.5” long. This is very important because it means that the devices are capable of

producing applications like multi-panel brochures, wrap-around book covers, and point-

of-purchase graphics.

Figure 2: Oversized Tri-Fold Brochure with Clear Toner



A Big Market OpportunityEnhancing digital print with special effects offers print providers a substantial opportunity to

grow their businesses. According to InfoTrends’ study Beyond CMYK: The Use of Special

Effects in Digital Printing, about 30% of printed color pages (less than 10% of digital printing

volume uses a fifth color at this time) in the U.S. and Western Europe currently receive some

type of special effects. Marketers, graphic designers, and print buyers are exploring the

use of special effects to make their customer communications stand out. A key reason for

the low use of special effects is that many designers and buyers don’t know that digital

devices offer the ability to produce affordable, short-run, personalized pieces that include

special effects. Print providers that educate customers on the value that special effects

add to digitally printed work will be able to stand out from the competition and capture

more work.

Special effects printing can be a profitable endeavor. InfoTrends’ research found that print

buyers will pay premiums in the range of 24% to 89% for digital print enhancements over

CMYK only work. Interestingly, many buyers expressed a willingness to pay a higher

premium for special effects than printers believed they would pay (Figure 3). Overall, print

buyers reported that they are willing to pay more for nearly all special effects studied,

except for spot colors. Buyers probably expect to pay a lower premium for spot colors

because they are comfortable with a process color reproduction of a corporate color

(digital systems can accurately reproduce many custom colors).

Figure 3: Buyers’ and Printers’ Expectations about Paying Premiums for Print Enhancements



Implementation is Easy… Selling is the Challenge!According to the print providers that InfoTrends surveyed, implementing the systems to

produce special effects is relatively simple. The challenges reside in understanding the best

practices to optimize the system, promote these capabilities to customers, and price these

jobs. Although selling customers on the value can be challenging, savvy providers are

overcoming that challenge by showing buyers well-designed, attention-grabbing print

samples.

Ricoh developed a special sample kit to help owners of its Pro C7100X series sell the new

capabilities. The kit offers the following components:

File Preparation Guide

Sales Tip Guide

Spiral-bound Sample Book

5th Color Toner Instruction Guide

Application Print Samples

Figure 4: Ricoh’s 5th Color Kit

In addition to the sample kit, Ricoh hosted free workshops in over 60 cities for Ricoh Pro

C7100X customers to brainstorm on application and strategy ideas and drive awareness

on the value of fifth color printing and revenue growth.



Ricoh’s website also offers step-by-step video tutorials showing how to set up files so users

can extract the greatest benefits from using the devices to print clear or white toner.

GAM Harnesses the Special Effects OpportunitySterling, VA-based Graphics and Marketing (GAM) is reaping the benefits of offering its

customers special effects printing. The company is entering new markets, generating new

revenues, and increasing the value it delivers to customers. Over the past four years, GAM

has transitioned from a traditional offset printing operation to a 100% digital provider. With

nearly 20 employees, GAM is a full-service communications design company specializing

in graphics, marketing, digital printing, and mail services. The company’s equipment

arsenal includes 4 black & white printing devices, production color equipment (2 RICOH

Pro C9110 and 2 RICOH Pro C7100X devices), and 2 wide-format devices.

GAM Owner Nathaniel Grant continually evaluates and invests in new technologies to

help set his company apart from the competition. When the company set its sights on

serving the high-end retail, customized promotions, packaging, restaurant, and hospitality

markets, it began seeking a digital printing device that could accommodate the

requirements of those customers. After years of searching for reasonably priced device,

GAM was offered the opportunity to beta test the RICOH Pro C7100X.

Three months into the beta test, Grant decided to purchase the device. He elaborates,

“The Pro C7100X leveled the playing field for us. Instead of watching jobs for decals, short-

run book jacket covers, oversized brochures, and loyalty cards walk right out the door

because we didn’t have the in-house capabilities, we were suddenly able to keep those

dollars in-house and grow.”

Developing New Product CategoriesThe device’s ability to handle an oversized sheet opened up a new product category

where the company can affordably produce short run tri-fold brochures for customers.

According to Grant, “This capability opened a lot of doors for me with customers that are

looking to produce short-run newsletters and other innovative applications.”

GAM invested in a second Pro C7110X to accommodate production volume and add

neon effects to its offering. Grant says that one of the devices is dedicated to printing

clear coatings, while the other alternates between printing white ink and neon colors.



Figure 5: GAM Purchases a Second Pro C7110X to Add Neon Effects

Source: Source: GAM Graphics and Marketing

According to Grant, the ability to print a clear coating has been a key competitive

differentiator. Many of his customers are excited about putting a coating on top of images

in their materials that looks like a spot UV coating.

Figure 6: Clear Coating Makes Print Stand Out



Another popular effect among customers is the ability to print white ink on color paper.

Grant elaborates, “This is a huge asset and many of our customers are using this feature to

print invitations that stand out.”

In addition, the ability to print white has enabled GAM to print work that it had previously

outsourced. The company now prints white on static cling to produce consecutively

numbered parking passes for a homeowner’s association; previously the passes needed to

be printed via flexography.

Customer Education is the Biggest HurdleOne of GAM’s biggest challenges in selling special effects is educating customers on how

they can use and benefit from it. The company takes advantage of the various

educational and sales tools that Ricoh provides, and it also has in-house design staff

members that work with customers to maximize the value of special effects. Grant

explains, “We will design in our new features, even if the job wasn’t sold that way. After we

show it to them, they love it and are willing to pay the extra cost because it creates a

whole different look.”

InfoTrends’ OpinionExpanding the application set for users of production digital print is important for many

reasons. First, it helps them differentiate from competitors by offering a broader set of

capabilities. Even more importantly, it helps them better serve their customers. Fifth color

capabilities are effective, eye-catching, and profitable. Support for larger formats and

broader substrate types enable additional applications to come into play. The two

capabilities can also be leveraged together for compelling results, for example printing

white on colored or metallic stocks.

When combined with other digital print advantages such as short runs, quick turnarounds,

personalized print, and just-in-time manufacturing, these enhanced capabilities open up

an entirely new world for production digital print.



Jim Hamilton is Group Director responsible for InfoTrends’

Production Hardware consulting services in the areas of

production copying and digital printing, wide format, and labels

& packaging. Mr. Hamilton is responsible for market research,

providing forecast analysis, supporting the consulting service,

and creating analysis reports.

Lisa Cross is the Associate Director for InfoTrends’ Business

Development Strategies service. She is responsible for

conducting market research, advising customers on

communication strategy, overseeing content creation, and

managing custom consulting projects.

white paper - aaa business systems · 2018-07-09 · for example, the ricoh pro c9100/c9110 series...

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