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In July 2022, Keypoint Intelligence conducted an online survey of 153 print service representatives for our 2022 Production Software Outlook study. These general print service providers (PSPs), specialized PSPs, and in-plants from 33 US states and Canadian provinces answered questions about business financials, services and applications, software adoption, automation, and market perceptions. This blog looks at a lot of the key points from this study.
The median annual revenue per employee was $177,000 for general PSPs vs. $150,000 for in-plants. This difference is primarily due to differing business models; general PSPs must make a profit while in-plants provide required communication services to their institutions at cost.
In terms of daily jobs, in-plants received an average of 105 jobs, with 42 arriving via their e-commerce/web-to-print websites. Meanwhile, general PSPs typically handled 59 jobs per day, with only 12 coming in from their e-commerce sites. For general PSPs, most jobs were onboarded through direct sales (at 24 jobs per day). Finally, specialized PSPS received a whopping 107 of their 180 daily jobs through their direct sales forces, while only 8 came from e-commerce. The specialized PSP category includes a wide variety of providers such as service bureaus, direct mailers, label printers, book printers, and wide format printers.
Services and Applications
The top narrow-format application types included brochures, marketing materials, stitched booklets, and direct mail. Meanwhile, the most popular wide format applications included banners/signs, posters/flyers, and wall graphics.
Software Adoption and Automation
Production software adoption and workflow automation are increasing—albeit slowly—in some areas. Most surveyed establishments use impositioning/makeready and variable data printing solutions. Preflighting/File conversion and color management solutions are also quite common, but the reality is that nearly every in-plant and PSP could benefit from them.
More detailed analysis shows that in-plants are more likely to use print MIS features for workflow management and fulfillment. In contrast, commercial PSPs tend to primarily use print MIS for estimating.
Concerns and Attitudes
When commercial PSPs and in-plants were asked about their top business threats, the top responses included rising costs, supply chain issues (e.g., paper availability and cost), as well as difficulty attracting/retaining employees.
In-plants and commercial PSPs apply production software solutions to address threats and achieve these benefits by improving their workflows. The top five workflow issues identified in this study include:
Keypoint Intelligence Opinion
As we move into the future, in-plants and commercial PSPs must continue to address fluctuating supply costs and availability, labor shortages, and ongoing market uncertainty. Successful PSPs will find ways to strengthen their operations and become more efficient by:
Subscribers to Keypoint Intelligence’s Production Workflow Solutions Advisory Service can access much more information on this study and related industry trends. If you’re not a subscriber, just send us an email at sales@keypointintelligence.com for more information.
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