I was delighted to here the announcement both here and worldwide of Datamail NZ to install twin HP Indigo Presses. Capable of 3600 A3 impressions per hour, this is serious hardware for full variable colour digital.

This development took me back to an article I wrote for a trade mag back in 2002 (download here), predicting the rise of mailing houses into the full colour marketplace. Although I expected this type of development much sooner, it's clear that mailing houses (at least the major ones), have their sights on full colour mailings, especially transpromo*. No more overprinting on pre-printed offset shells, but straight from blank paper to final output. 

It's clear why this is necessary. Firstly, it's a matter of survival. With the rise and rise of the net and email, mail volumes are down, everywhere. Offshore, the introduction of smarter variable printing tools has stemmed the tide, allowing businesses to create highly targeted, personalised campaigns. The most notable success stories have come out of retail marketing space, where some targeted direct mail is actually replacing TV and unaddressed junk mail campaigns, which won't please most Ad agencies. (read more here) 

Done right, the ROIs for both business owner and print service provider can be exceptional. What's also an important lesson is that it's not really about the net vs print either. We live in a multi-media world and the most successful print campaigns will have an online component. How well Datamail appreciates this element, only time will tell. Unfortunately for many in the trade, the net is still seen as the enemy...

* P.S. Youtube has a video on the new HP Press. (click here ).

For those that want to see the future of print, check out the even faster HP Web Press.(click here )

For more on transpromo developments visit my sister website digitalmarketing I've also a superb 30min introductory video on the topic. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for the youtube link.