Selling Digital Printing to Insurance

- Sponsored by Kodak

- Co-Sponsored by PBI

 

Welcome to this webinar archive. The live event was held on June 12, 2007, but you may still access the content with the resources below.

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Post-Webinar Q&A

Q:  What is the most painful part of web-to-print implementation?

A:  In most cases it went very well because the printing service helped set it up.

Q:  For the panelists using web-to-print, what do they perceive as the biggest value one receives by using this technology?

A:  For many simple jobs, it is a fast and effective way to enter and track them.

Q:  What are the most significant "pain points" in the print and digital print areas for the panelists?

A:  Schedule is the biggest pain point. There are mail drop deadlines, or product introduction dates, and changes being made by legal at the last minute, etc., etc.

Q:  Do your mystery insurance buyers prefer one-stop shopping when it comes to their print purchasing?

A:  They say it depends on the job. Most jobs that require mailing now go to one-stop printers. But some printers are better at signage than others, for instance.

Q:  Do they use print brokers?

A:  None of the panelists have used brokers.

Q:  Are multilingual printed products handled through the same channels as the English materials?

A:  Yes. Miss C mentioned that they were doing a large Hispanic promotion.

Q:  If your company were looking for an automated marketing platform, would you be the contact or would the CMO or Director of marketing make that call?

A:  They would be important, but communications, purchasing, IT, and others would be involved.

Q:  How hard would it be to approach your organization with a full integrated solution - web to print, database segmentation, digital/promotional products, commercial, etc. all integrated into a turnkey program rather than transaction procurement that you've already developed?

A:  If it saves money and does not compromise quality or schedule, every alternative is on the table.

Q:  What percent of digital buying is variable print and what is the ROI on that type of printing?

A:  Only Mr Z did any ROI -- and that was based on based on responses.

Q:  I have 2 questions regarding internal production, what is the main purpose for keeping production internal?
   a)  cost advantage?
   b)  service turn-around
   c)  internal security of information

A:  The in-plant printing decision is made at the highest levels. Usually, only a certain class of work is covered -- simple, quick turnaround jobs.

Q:  ALSO - Do you experience any issues with internal services?
  a) quality limitations
  b) expense
  c) other

A:  As long as the in-plant operation stays within its defined product base, it has no issues.

Q:  Do you see any value for your firm in the "transpromo" statement, combining marketing and statements in one document?

A:  There are increasing discussions in this area, but no decisions have been made.

Q:  Do you award jobs based on competitive bidding?

A:  In 90 percent of the cases -- yes. It is company policy for all of us but there are situations where the rules are bent.

Q:  In digital printing by ink jet, do you believe any market or opportunity exists for using ink jet to produce graphics or images directly on a lithographic printing plate and then place the imaged plate on a printing press to produce multiple copies?

A:  The panelists were not involved in their in-plant printing operations, if they had one. How plates are made is not something they look into.

If you have questions about this webinar, please contact Eric: eric@whattheythink.com

About Eastman Kodak Company

Kodak is the world’s foremost imaging innovator, providing leading products and services to the photographic, graphic communications, and healthcare markets.  With sales of $14.3 million in 2005, the company is committed to a digitally oriented growth strategy focused on helping people better use meaningful images and information in their life and work.  Consumers use Kodak’s system of digital and traditional image capture products and services to take, print, and share their pictures anytime, anywhere; Businesses effectively communicate with customers worldwide using Kodak’s solutions for prepress, conventional, and digital printing and document imaging; Creative professionals rely on Kodak’s technology to uniquely tell their story through moving or still images; and leading healthcare organizations rely on Kodak’s innovative products, services, and customized workflow solutions to help improve patient care and maximize efficiency and information sharing within and across their enterprises.

More information about Kodak (NYSE: EK) is available at www.kodak.com.

About WhatTheyThink.com

WhatTheyThink.com is the printing and publishing industry's leading online media organization; offering a wide range of publications delivering unbiased, real-time market intelligence, industry news, economic and trend analysis, peer-to-peer communication, and special reports on emerging technology and critical events. Serving a membership base of more than 50,000, WhatTheyThink.com also hosts webinars and live events as well as providing content through a syndication program, which delivers content directly to related websites, and through RSS.

About Frank Romano

Frank Romano is Professor Emeritus, School of Print Media, Rochester Institute of Technology. He continues to teach courses at RIT and other universities and works with students on unique research projects.

Romano’s career has spanned 44 years in the printing and publishing industries. Many know him best as the editor of the International Paper Pocket Pal, or have read one of the hundreds of articles he has written for publications from North America to Europe to the Middle East, Asia and Australia. He has also consulted for major corporations, publishers, governments and other users of digital printing and publishing technology.

The author of the majority of the books that have been written on digital printing, Romano is the author of 44 books, including the 10,000-term Encyclopedia of Graphic Communications (with Richard Romano), the standard reference in the field. His books on QuarkXPress, InDesign and PDF workflow were among the first on those topics.

Romano has founded eight publications, serving as publisher or editor, including TypeWorld, then Electronic Publishing, Computer Artist, Color Publishing, The Typographer, EP&P, and both the NCPA and PrintRIT Journals. His columns appeared monthly in the Digital Printing Report since 1993.