Print buyers reading today’s column may be of the opinion that all printers do is Sell-Sell-Sell every chance they get. I used to think so, too. Yet I’ve learned that given an opportunity to talk candidly on topics that will help educate and inform customers, printers come through with flying (dare I say “PMS”) colors.

Recently I put together a panel of print service providers at our Print & Media Conference. Previous attendees had asked to hear from vendors, so I went ahead and gave five pros the opportunity to talk to a roomful of marketers. For details on who was there, you’re welcome to visit our speakers and sessions site page.

I moderated the 60-minute discussion, and the pros did a fantastic job tackling one key question: What should print customers know about the industry?

Lots of great ideas and insights were shared. Panelists spoke of a few game changers: measuring the effectiveness of print projects and the growth of automation in the print industry, in particular.

We heard how both inkjet and wide-format have exploded, and how much quality has improved (and continues to improve). Frank Romano said as much in his keynote on day two. And we learned that color management is what ties all of the systems together.

One panelist shared some online resources that buyers, designers and marketers should be hooked into, including www.printinthemix.org, www.piworld.com and www.whattheythink.com. The names of two key influencers came up in the discussion, including D.Eadward Tree and his blog, Dead Tree Edition, and the amazing smart guy Bo Sacks.

One speaker acknowledged that printers today are no longer “just printers.” They’re now architects, he said. And I don’t know who said this, but I love it: “Printers are perpetual entrepreneurs.” We should credit them for evolving alongside new media challenges and business communication tastes.

I look around the industry all the time to see what’s changed and what hasn’t. Judging from the growth of blogs and additional learning opportunities offered by printers, I’d say that industry leaders are on a path to success by virtue of two specific things: innovation and education. These leaders have learned that a heavy-handed sales approach won’t work today. Customers, especially marketers and seriously experience print buyers, want to learn what’s new, what can be integrated with other media, what’s now automated (and therefore more efficient for them), and how fast can they jump on the latest technology. They also want answers that educate them.

If I had to choose print providers to work with, I’d go with those who keep up with and offer the latest technology as well as provide regular educational content to customers. Whether this is done in a blog or an info session or a series of mini videos, it doesn’t really matter. It’s the enlightenment about various processes and technologies that empowers customers.

These are the printers I’d look for. How about you? Have you noticed how printers are stepping up their game, getting more social, and pulling back their sales talons?

© 2012 Margie Dana. All rights reserved. You’re free to forward this email. However, no part of this column may be reprinted without permission from the author.