What’s Hype, What’s Real?

By Pete Basiliere, Research Director, Gartner

Print is far from a static technology. Indeed, hardware and software technology providers are ensuring print remains a key to dynamic communications by complementing and extending other media. New hardware and software enable the targeted, relevant printing of business documents and marketing materials.

So, how do you know what technology is right for your HVTO operation and when to make an investment? Gartner introduced the idea of the Hype Cycle in 1995 as a commentary on the typical pattern of human response to technology. Hype Cycles characterize the typical progression of an emerging technology, from initial over-enthusiasm through a period of disillusionment to an eventual acceptance of the technology's relevance and role in a market.

Our 2008 Print Markets and Management Hype Cycle was recently released. Among the findings are:

§         Production printing involves core business processes, such as billing, that are already closely managed, often with an unfortunate overemphasis on costs while neglecting their potential to generate incremental revenue. Organizations that isolate the production printing function from overall customer communications find themselves losing ground to more agile competitors.

§         Trans-promo and CRM printing is steadily progressing from a dream of print technology providers and pundits into a viable, revenue-generating strategy. Boosted by the latest digital hardware and software tools, the convergence of transactional, marketing and publishing functions is happening. If you ignore the advances in production color printing, the basic black-and-white device you choose will be obsolete before it is paid for. Astute operations managers understand how marketing communicates with customers and then position the production print department as an integral part of multimedia campaigns.

§         Office printing has matured into a commodity item, but organizations that think they no longer need to monitor office print devices are woefully mistaken. These organizations will be surprised to see their costs climb as they make the wrong technology investments and ignore sound office printing practices that drive up costs and have a negative environmental impact.

Several specific technologies were evaluated by Gartner analysts. We considered the degree to which they will transform the industry and how soon they will reach maturity. Among the highly transformative technologies that will reach maturity within the next 5 years are:

§         Within less than 2 years: Digital Color Short-Run Printing, Print-on-Demand Publishing, Scan to E-Mail and Scan to Workflow, Variable Data Printing

§         Between 2 and 5 years: Electronic Paper, High-Speed Color Inkjet Printing, Liquid Electrophotographic Printing, Print/Mail Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery

Mature and competitive products provide you with great value in terms of low cost, appropriate print quality, environmental sensitivity and document security. By understanding a technology’s position on the Gartner Hype Cycle you are able to align your organization’s print capabilities with the proper multimedia communication mix.