Blog Publisher’s comments on the survey
results:
We announced
the survey on November 30th and left it open until this afternoon.
In spite of
the fact that the survey post received 744 page-views – and, people, that’s a huge number of page-views for a post on
Reprographics 101 – only 24 people took the time to participate in the
survey.
Here are some specific comments about the
survey results:
* Evidently, HP
has done a very thorough job getting the word out, in and around the
reprographics industry, about its PageWide wide-format printing
technology. 100% reported knowing about
HP PageWide wide-format. [Note that HP
recently showed HP PageWide at the AutoDesk event that took place in Vegas a
couple of weeks ago – first time showing PageWide at an event that end-user
customers (A/E firms) go to.]
* 92% of
respondents feel that HP PageWide wide-format printers will cause a serious or
moderate reduction in sales of B&W toner-based wide-format printers. My take:
if HP’s claims prove to be true, the reduction will be dramatic, not
just serious or moderate.
* 50% of
respondents indicating that, since HP’s PageWide announcement in June, they've
held back on acquisitions of new technical document wide-format systems.
* But, only
around 44% of respondents have held back on acquisitions of black & white
wide-format printers. That’s totally
surprising to me, unless the acquisitions HAD to be made and could not be held
off.
* And, 50% of
respondents have held back on acquisitions of color wide-format printers. I would have guessed that this number would
be lower than the B&W number.
* It was
nearly unanimous that reprographers feel that, over time, HP’s PageWide
wide-format printers will cause a reduction in the prices reprographers get for
printing large-format technical documents in color.
* And, a very
substantial majority of respondents feel that both A&E firms and GC’s will
want more and technical documents (plans, drawings) printed in color if pricing
for that sort of printing goes lower.
* 20 out of 24
respondents indicated that they will, or that it’s likely that they will,
acquire HP PageWide wide-format equipment.
Comment: Not sure what the 4 who said “probably not” are
thinking!!! Do they really want to be
the ones who fall behind technology-wise?
The
full/complete results of the Survey can be accessed at this link: (give the
file time to load, please):
Posts
Joel,
ReplyDeleteThis has certainly stirred conversations in the repro community. My take is from a repro shop perspective ( I own one) and the true belief of the future of our involvement in the AEC industry.
I am not convinced the market is there in everyday printing of AEC information. Printing something faster in color on paper seems to be a shrinking space. The use in poster graphics has a shelf life as well, here's why.
The iPad is being adapted at an enormous rate with great success. The use of wide-format monitors is gaining acceptance at a 2x clip and smartphone phablets round out the offerings.
The softwares to drive this adaptation started out weak but are coming on very strong and by the end of 2015 will number in the dozens. The same scenario of using printed material is not only slower but much less accurate, your reading yesterdays paper today. This has always created risk, and everyday wrong or outdated information is being printed, distributed and used with performance, financial and schedule impacts.
If signage is the savior of high-speed wide format color it too will be dominated by digital signage monitors. This will be especially true as technical users get older and expect this technology.
The only thing keeping paper alive in any substantial manner are old habits and fear of new technology. These are not business reasons but personal ones. Larger end users are demanding their employees change and it is working.
I first saw Memjet technology over 6 years ago, pre-tablet explosion, it had a market then, I really don't think it does now. It has come late to market in an area that has moved to newer technologies, just like newspapers, magazines and other paper based information delivery vehicles. Your blog is a prime example, ten years ago this is a printed and mailed piece, today it is an instant information provider.
Our role as reprographers rests in providing information services and unique viewing workstations. I am not saying this to support our companies products, just the opposite is true, we provide these new solutions as a result of reacting to the clients needs.