In the run-up to Christmas, PrintWeek asked 16 leading figures from the industry what their key takeaways were from 2013 and what their hopes and fears are for 2014 and beyond.

What business or technology trend do you think 2013 will be remembered for?

Alison Branch Printers having to get to grips with ‘cloud-based’ technology. An example of this would be the move by Adobe to only provide the Creative Suite products via their cloud portal. This year has given opportunities to us all to use technology to gain greater efficiencies.

Dave Broadway The move to mobile – tablets and phones are now driving out PC’s and laptops for many business and most home functions.

Catherine Burke After countless false dawns, 2013 was, finally, ‘Year of Mobile’.

Mark Cruise As a buyer no one thing stands out, but it was nice to have people approaching me with the augmented reality’ pitch only because I have been harping on about for two years now. And before you ask, no, we haven’t done enough of it ourselves.

Peter Jolly Print playing to its strengths. Creating the ‘wow-factor’ again with some fantastic advances in packaging, POS and book publishing for example.

Stuart Kellock LED drying.

Miles Linney Choice!

Alan Padbury I believe mobile communication technology will move on further and become easier to use. The ability to interact with customers and colleagues on the move is a critical part of modern business.

Phill Reynolds For us, we took time to change the status quo and looked at things from a different perspective.

Jacky Sidebottom The year that the first Highcon Euclid was sold (and contributed to production at Glossop), and the development and anticipation of digital carton presses.

Jon Tolley High-speed wide-format inkjet – the technology is quite remarkable and one to keep a close eye on.

Noel Warner More clients moving away from email communications and back to fully personalised, relevant and targeted direct mail – in our experience anyway! I predict this trend will continue into 2014 as well.

Kathy Woodward The fabulous innovative products that are coming out particularly in the labels and packaging sectors.

What do you think will represent the single biggest opportunity for printers in 2014 and why?

Branch Being in the right place and condition to satisfy the higher requirements of old and new customers who are, at last, increasing expenditure on printed marcomms.

Broadway For CFH, print is no longer the driver, but a value-add to the postal savings and services that we can offer our customers. The opportunity for other printers is to develop similar strategies, where print is the added value rather than core offering as far as the customer is concerned. Print is just a means of communication to most companies. The communication is most important. Print is just the messenger. We have chosen to concentrate on the delivery of the message. Other print companies may choose other aspects of the communication process.

Burke Appreciating that print is still a very important part of the marketing mix and any multichannel campaign. Print is evolving in its uses. Our collective role is to ensure clients dont forget the power of the printed medium.

Trevor Crawford I’d have to say Ipex, which is taking place at London Excel from 24 to 29 March 2014. As the biggest international print event in 2014, it provides the print community with a platform to see and hear about the solutions required to respond positively to the changing marketplace and ensure a long-term, profitable future.

Cruise Adopting technology or partnering with others that ‘can’ to offer more capability in the cross-media or data analysis arenas.

Nick Green To take advantage of the growing economy and really expand and grow while things are getting better – ride the wave!

Kellock I think mergers and acquisitions will be significant factors in 2014. With many companies still struggling in the post-recession mist and others thriving, the market seems open for M&A activity.

Linney The chance to go to the World Cup in Rio, baby!

Padbury There will be a shift in the thinking behind print buying as buyers re-evaluate their position on what is cheap and what is value for money as quality and service become a priority again.

Reynolds When opportunity knocks, take care of what you already have; don’t take anything for granted.

Sidebottom A printer’s biggest opportunity is itself. I hope printers used the Christmas break to take a good hard look at their companies, thinking about what they are good at and what they could improve. Now they should go for their goals, striving to be different and original.

Tolley Integration with other channels remains a significant opportunity as does making clients’ lives easier by creating and connecting with a global network.

Warner We’re not really a printer, but for those who are, cross-media and mobile without question.

Woodward To make hay while the pre-election sun shines. The optimism bubble will roll on during 2014. It’s our opportunity to get alongside our customers and work with them on added-value solutions that will both harness the short-term rainbow and create closer bonds if times turn tough.

What do you think will represent the single biggest threat for printers in 2014 and why?

Branch Cashflow, as customers continue to stretch credit. This will be exacerbated if sales volumes pick up and higher levels of work in progress have to be funded.

Broadway Competing on price and not developing new offerings. If you just sit back and do what you always did the world will pass you by.

Burke Each year at BMC we host a supplier forum. This year, as part of that, we conducted a survey with our strategic supply chain partners. They told us that the biggest threats are price pressure, downturn in spend, and the ability to invest. 

Graham Congreve Reduced margins – we need to stay healthy.

Crawford The biggest threat for print service providers in 2014 is complacency and not taking on board the business opportunities to become a marketing service provider. Print plays an integral role in the marketing mix, and marketing service providers are perfectly placed to deliver a campaign across multiple channels for their clients and prospective customers.

Cruise A difficult call to make as I don’t think there is one single threat that will encompass the whole industry. But in general terms, a rise in interest rates is potentially looming and could happen if the encouraging signs of economic progress are anything to go by. I don’t think consolidation has finished in the sector either, nor has the reliance on or adoption of alternate media by customers, and printers should ignore that at their peril – new media needs to be embraced, not shied away from. The insular nature of print is another threat because the public or general perception of the trade remains an issue. 

Green Negative thinking.

Jolly Standing still.

Kellock I think most would agree that we are seeing a return to better trading conditions, so I think the first and most obvious threat is that those better trading conditions could stall for some reason. We also need to be wary of the market revving up too quickly because a move from bust to boom is only good in the short term and more drawn-out steadier and more predictable recovery would be more welcome by me.

Linney Cristhian Lagos Navarro – Costa Rica centre forward.

Padbury Further consolidation in supply chain vendors and rising prices.

Reynolds I’ve seen some silly prices being quoted and the result only damages quality and/or customer perception in our sector. Remember the speed-quality-cost triangle –
you can only attain two sides of the triangle.

Sidebottom I think the threat is from under pricing. I do understand the pressures but, guys, don’t be ‘busy fools’. Look for added-value. And make sure the credit rating is good on your clients.

Tolley Focusing too much on print as a process and not enough on what the actual objective of that output is. Also, ignoring the technology that is on the horizon. I also think that there are now some major shifts in how marketers are having to work: budgets have been cut, channels have expanded and the way consumers expect to interact with marcomms has changed, and yet marketers still have to do more with less. As a result personalisation is now a must, because the cost of commercial print is already low so now we have look at other ways of making their budgets work harder.

Warner Just being a printer! Embrace the cross-media, digital and mobile revolution with both arms to stay in the game. Technology and new media is growing at an alarming rate and printers need to adapt or re-engineer their business model as media consumption through online, smartphones and tablets increases year on year. Of course, print will always have its place in the media mix, but don’t be caught on the back foot as mobile technology advances.

Woodward That we continue to price work at unsustainable levels. There is little respect for a sustainable supply chain and all of its related stakeholders. Someone might take a starring role in creating significant savings in say, a raw material price or a process improvement, only to have it given away to the customer. All that has been achieved then is reducing the investment capability within the industry.

What’s the one thing that the industry should do more of, or do better, in 2014?

Branch Focus on value, rather than price.

Broadway Get on board with energy savings. Do something real, not just an ISO 14001 tick-box. You can save 20% from your energy bills and save the planet! To us that’s a six-figure sum.  

Burke Remember that the best and most cost-effective source of growth is almost always right under your nose, in the form of existing clients.

Congreve Collaboration. 

Crawford We shouldn’t underestimate the power of networking, and must continue learning and never stop being inspired by fellow printers and vendors.

Cruise Stand up and shout about how good it is. Be more proud of itself.

Green Stop being negative and focus on the positive.

Jolly Sell the power of print as one unified industry. Putting aside competition, for the greater good of our fantastic and creative sector.

Kellock We need to stop being bullied into the commoditisation of print. As an industry we can do this by focusing on the added-value elements and enhancing these for the customers.

Linney Offer more value-added services and don’t be afraid to do so.

Padbury Shun the laughable pricing and hold to common sense.

Reynolds Combining knowledge and working together towards a common goal. Dscoop is a great example of when an industry comes together, sharing knowledge and everyone can benefit.

Sidebottom I think the print industry, whether you are in the BPIF or not, should be loud and proud. Shout about your USP, bang the drum, tell you’re clients why you are so good.

Woodward Promoting our integrated innovative capabilities – to do it really effectively we have to work as a skilled consortium. We have it all within our industry’s skillset: data management, process flows, design, fantastic products capable of brilliant targeting. We just have to believe in ourselves and get together to stimulate the market. It’s all about knowledge transfer and networking.

What was your highlight of 2013?

Branch An important customer telling me that the reason she uses Park is the value we place on the customer, and the absolute confidence she has that Park will give her the product she wants, on time and to budget.

Broadway Winning the new Navtech contract at our Print for Business subsidiary. A great win for our new acquisition. 

Burke On a personal level, the birth of my third son, Joshua.  He is an absolute angel! For the business, BMC being recognised in the IAOP ‘The Global Outsourcing 100’ list for the first time, and the (much-needed!) revamp of the BMC website earlier this year, of which we are hugely proud.

Cruise Without wishing to sound too cheesy the amazing support we have received throughout the year from our suppliers.

Green Launching our wedding collection product.

Kellock Being awarded the PrintWeek Label Printer of the Year Award was great. Also, although we did not win it, being nominated for our work on employee engagement at the CIPD awards was pretty special, and
coming second behind Marks & Spencer isn’t too slovenly given the size difference.

Linney I swam two lengths underwater at the swimming pool in Italy. I cracked it on the last day.

Padbury The highlight of 2013 was winning two prestigious PrintWeek Awards – well deserved by the people here involved.

Reynolds Seeing our hard work and planning paying off. It’s true what they say: make a plan, stick to it, don’t deviate and things happen all by themselves.

Sidebottom The packaging innovation show in February 2013. We had a blast – it was so good. An awesome experience.   

Tolley Winning the PrintWeek SME of the Year was a major highlight (I know I’m creeping, but it really did come as a complete surprise) and completing the move into our purpose-built production facility.

Warner Winning PrintWeek Company of the Year for the second time! Absolutely amazing!

Woodward Absolutely the £1m plus Graduate Management Programme bid win and launch. To have 200-plus young managers working together has been just brilliant.

What are your hopes for 2014?

Branch A more clement economic environment.

Broadway I am looking forward to rolling out our own postal deliveries in Edinburgh. We are also hoping to shortly sign another major contract that will drive yet more investment and growth. 2013 was something of a development year where we have been working on bringing in new contracts, and spending money without the revenue having kicked in. 2014 should see the fruits of that work, so I am looking forward to that!

Burke That companies will stop merely talking the talk about customer focus being their top priority and start walking the walk. The emergence of customer experience as a discipline in its own right, gives me some grounds for optimism.

Cruise Further stability within the market and to see those shoots of progress really flourish and develop.

Green To double the size of the business – again.

Kellock That we can further reduce the pressure placed on the team at Label Apeel and create an even happier place to work.

Linney World peace and a fantastic Ipex with lots of great ideas to follow up on.

Padbury I hope that the investments made in new people, workflow, presses and bindery equipment continue to keep Westdale at the front of the pack for quality and service.

Reynolds I hope the economy continues to improve so that SMEs like ourselves can seek out new opportunities. We’ll continue with our plan and hope our passion continues to pay off.

Sidebottom That my company can carry on innovating and that we get the opportunity of a suitable digital carton press. 

Tolley Continued growth and seeing the strategy we have laid out for the coming years come to fruition.

Warner To continue what we’re doing – but even better!

Woodward That we can launch a level-seven programme to faciltate industry development looking at strategic business development, alternative financing models and inter-industry cooperation. Watch this space!

What was the most important thing that you learned in 2013?

Branch How important it is to make time to listen.

Broadway Everything takes longer than you want it to.

Burke That multichannel marketing has arrived, which is good news for print, in that this new approach is forcing marketers to review all print and digital channels. And that social media marketing is here to stay. It’s no longer an option for companies to sit on the sidelines thinking that the hype will eventually blow itself out.

Congreve Keep on keeping on. 

Crawford Get the strategy right, work hard and never stop believing in yourself, your team and your product portfolio.

Cruise Print technology is still moving and changing at a pace so there is nothing I want that can’t be fulfilled by most of the print suppliers we use.

Green Keep our business small but smart.

Jolly To talk to our customers, rather than spend hours in the boardroom talking internally. They normally have the right answer and a lot of time can be saved. 

Kellock That happiness always brings success, but success does not always bring happiness.

Linney Bankers will never get the mood of the nation.

Padbury Take roundabouts in Paris anti-clockwise.

Reynolds If you don’t have trust inside your company, then you can’t transfer it to your customers.

Sidebottom Even though we are a medium-sized business, it does not stop us being a world leader.

Tolley That the banking model has fundamentally changed in recent years and that relationship banking is dead.

Warner Trust no one!

Woodward You have to be bold and go for it.

What will you do differently in 2014?

Branch Look to see how we can facilitate a wider staff involvement in our improvement programme.

Broadway Continue to do more of what we do. Our strategy and direction are good, and we are winning business as a result. Where we aren’t already excellent we have plans and processes in place to improve that. So, more of the same – but better!

Burke From a business point of view, nothing – it’s working! From a personal point of view, try to get the work-life balance a bit more balanced! When my oldest son came home from school the other day and said that his friends asked ‘do you actually have a mummy, Alex?’ that did tug at the heart strings.

Congreve To partner and encourage both staff and customers even more.

Cruise To try to involve suppliers at a much earlier stage and aim to get them more involved with our business so they understand where we are coming from and what is driving us. That should mean they can develop suitable offerings to hit our cost and delivery needs. In fact, I would like to invite them to come in and show our marketing teams what print can offer beyond just ink on paper.

Kellock I have the most amazing management team and in 2014 I am going to stop interfering with their fantastic work, as all I appear to achieve is to slow them down.

Linney Book a hotel with a smaller swimming pool!

Padbury Laugh more and enjoy the good times!

Reynolds Nothing, our aim is to continue with what works for us and improve what doesn’t.

Sidebottom I will try to relax more, and to take my holiday entitlement. Being a workaholic is not good!

Tolley Change who we bank with! Can anyone recommend a new bank?

Warner Not drink so much after winning a top industry award!

Woodward Lots!

What does the industry need to do differently in 2014?

Branch It needs to spend more time asking what customers are trying to achieve with their communications, and then advising them how our services can better achieve these aims.

Broadway Get over itself. Print is not a guaranteed lifetime product. It will change, sometimes rapidly. What was a much-needed document today will no longer be needed tomorrow. You need to stay ahead of that curve and be building ‘the next thing’. You should be trying to destroy every product you have with your next and newest product. If you aren’t, you can be damned sure somebody else is.

Burke Think like a client and focus on ROI. Don’t sell on price. Focus more on ideas about how print can be used effectively in campaigns to deliver exceptional and measureable results. 

Congreve Celebrate the relevance of print, and be positive.

Cruise Focus on what the customer needs, meeting those needs, advising where they can’t be met rather than simply trying to adopt it to your presses. Good advice will be rewarded – at least by the customers that will be worth keeping or winning.

Jolly Share best practice.

Kellock Education, education, education! Leicester School of Print has got rid of most of its kit and I am led to believe this is the same up and down the country. They are now trying to teach printing without a press. Am I alone in thinking this madness? If we want tomorrow’s print professionals to drive the industry and our pensions upwards we need to give them good sound skills now.

Linney To remain open-minded and broaden its range of products and services.

Padbury Build on its strengths. Now that most of the weak businesses are gone, the remaining companies can work together to ensure that customers who deserve the best receive it!

Reynolds The print landscape has changed dramatically over the past couple of years, people have to adapt to change or at least recognise it. Fighting it is a waste of other peoples time and energy.

Sidebottom The print industry in the UK needs to believe in itself more and communicate to clients that hard copy is good, exciting and does have a place in this digital world – print is here to stay!

Tolley Understanding what exactly it is that they do for their customers.

Are you making any new year’s resolutions? If so, what?

Broadway I suppose I should resolve not to keep getting on my soapbox… 

Cruise No way, it is too dangerous and usually forgotten by the 6 January. It is a pointless exercise when it comes to me as I enjoy the only two vices left in my life (food and drink) too much.

Jolly To keep my office tidy. I will continue to make this resolution every year until it happens.

Kellock To be nicer. Sometimes, when you are running a business it is a bit too easy to become the grouchy hermit who lives in the corner and only raises his head to growl a bit.

Padbury More customer focus, more efficiency, more positive development and investment.

Warner I know it’s a bit of a cliché, but work on the business and not in the business. It’s easier said than done in a growing business though!