Wi-Fi Direct

The Wi-Fi Alliance announced today that it is preparing a new standard for what it calls 'Wi-Fi Direct' which will be implemented in 2010.

'Wi-Fi devices will soon be able to connect in a new way that makes it more simple and convenient than ever to do things like print, share and display. The Wi-Fi Alliance is nearing completion of a new specification to enable Wi-Fi devices to connect to one another without joining a traditional home, office, or hotspot network. The Wi-Fi Alliance expects to begin certification for this new specification in mid-2010, and products which achieve the certification will be designated Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-Fi Direct.

The specification, previously code-named "Wi-Fi peer-to-peer," can be implemented in any Wi-Fi device, from mobile phones, cameras, printers, and notebook computers, to human interface devices such as keyboards and headphones. Significantly, devices that have been certified to the new specification will also be able to create connections with hundreds of millions of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED legacy devices already in use. Devices will be able to make a one-to-one connection, or a group of several devices can connect simultaneously.

"Wi-Fi Direct represents a leap forward for our industry. Wi-Fi users worldwide will benefit from a single-technology solution to transfer content and share applications quickly and easily among devices, even when a Wi-Fi access point isn't available," said Wi-Fi Alliance executive director Edgar Figueroa. "The impact is that Wi-Fi will become even more pervasive and useful for consumers and across the enterprise."

So, photos and documents will be easier to access across multiple devices and locations than ever before. Needless to say this will create opportunities for some in the Printing industry, but problems for others. One thing's for sure, now is the time to take your Printing business online!

www.w2p.co.uk

W2P at Print 09

It never ceases to amaze me how few Europeans visit the US trade shows like Print 09, despite the fact that, particularly for residents of the UK, the cost of travel and accommodation is relatively low. Having said that, there weren't that many American visitors in evidence either, although I suspect that was more because companies only sent one representative instead of the usual 2, 3 or 4 people. I was there on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, the latter being the busiest day.

What made the trip extremely worthwhile from my perspective was the opportunity to spend time with the movers and shakers of the Web-to-Print world. These are the people who are helping to shape the future of the Printing Industry as it moves inexorably into the brave new world of multi-channel communications. There are some Printing businesses out there that are doing great things with W2P and making very good money but they are not telling the rest of the Printing Industry what they are doing. Why should they? If you hit on a rich seam of profitability would you tell everybody where it was? Of course not! The W2P vendors know who's doing what with their applications and whilst they're probably not allowed to say exactly, they have amassed a huge knowledge base of how and why certain markets, applications and methodologies work better than others. This isn't stuff you can put in a brochure or a webinar, this is deep stuff that requires detailed discussion and analysis; the sort you can only do face to face. When this kind of intimate knowledge is available in one place, from all the key vendors and in an environment which lends itself so well to this sort of research, the Printing Industry has no excuse if it misses this particular boat.

The next big global exhibition is Ipex in May 2010 in Birmingham, UK. Hopefully, by then, any green shoots of recovery will have taken proper root and Printers with a realistic business plan will be able to raise money once again. I, for one, do not believe that any business plan would be complete without some form of online strategy. I know that this view is also shared by many of the lenders. It isn't rocket science to realise that the world of communication media is changing rapidly and that that change is taking place online. Print has its place in the mix but unless you can demonstrate where that place is now, and how it might change over time, it's unlikely anyone is going to invest in your operation. Recognising that long-run general commercial litho is in trouble (I heard a marketer say 'brochures often don't work any more') I have a phrase I use to describe the current state of play:

'Print is not dead, nor is it dying; it's use, however, is evolving in more ways, and more quickly, than the Printing Industry anticipated'

It's such a shame that when events like Print 09 offer such a great opportunity to learn, those that need it most stay away in their droves.

Now is the time to take your business online.

www.w2p.co.uk

Video-in-Print - Remember 8 track tape anyone?

I was intrigued to learn of the 'Video-in-Print' tie-up between CBS and Entertainment Weekly Magazine, supported by advertising from PepsiCo. This 'new technology' puts a small mobile phone sized thin film LCD display which is 2.7mm thick into a printed carrier that can play 40 minutes of video at 320 x 240 resolution (CBS TV previews and Pepsi adverts). The battery lasts for 70 minutes but can be recharged via a mini-USB and new content downloaded the same way. Take a look at this YouTube clip of the product in action.

Now, I'm normally the one who waxes lyrical at anything new that helps Print to reposition itself in this multi-channel communication world we live in but I just can't get excited about this development. In fact, I think it might do the image of print some harm. Firstly, however, let me congratulate the parties concerned for some innovative thinking and some brave execution. Presumably, because of production and distribution costs, only those living in Los Angeles and New York will get their copy of Entertainment Weekly with this 'state-of-the-art' Video-in-Print technology bound into the magazine on the 18th September (just after Print 09 finishes). Americhip, the creator, has trademarked the term 'Multisensorizing'; they are responsible for such things as singing greetings cards and other inserts that talk, sing, pop-up, smell, spin, twist and light-up. They do this for some serious global players and have been doing so for some time.

I hate to admit it but I remember 8 track tape in the late 60s and early 70s (my Dad had a system in the car - it was the iPod of it's day). However, unlike the iPod, it was a large, cumbersome device. There was very little choice of music recorded on this format. The tapes were hard to get hold of and took up too much space. Even then, it was pretty obvious that there would be other technologies that would replace it fairly soon. There is a lively trade for 8 track now as a retro novelty item!

Notwithstanding the first mover advantage and the PR generated because of the novelty factor (73,000 YouTube hits together with numerous tweets, blogs and forums), I do think this will go the same way as 8 Track. When we consider how many cell phones have both cameras and internet access now, and how many there will be in a few short years (according to the latest industry stats, by 2012, one third of the world's population will have a camera phone), the simple addition of a printed 2d barcode from one of the many vendors will render the 'Video-in-Print' approach obsolete. For those of you not familiar with this current technology (used extensively in Japan), your cell phone camera 'scans' a special barcode on the printed piece (or billboard or TV screen). The code sends your cell phone online to whatever video, website, rich text file or personalised landing page that was held within the code. This destination and content can be changed at will by the publisher and can also recognise in real-time (through GPS on the phone) where the consumer is and what information he or she is looking at. Assuming permission is granted, content and location-specific advertising can then be pushed, again in real-time, directly to the cell phone.
An alternative to 2d barcodes would be printed RFID tags which could interact with other wireless devices in what is known as the 'Internet of Things', coming soon to household appliances, cars, clothing, food and goodness knows what else!

There are other reasons I think 'Video-in-Print' will be short-lived:

• Cost of production and distribution
• Static content unless user 'pulls' new content
• Batteries will discharge over a short time-frame
• Nightmare to recycle
• Poor carbon footprint
• Limited image quality compared to HD coming on iPhone
• Limited versioning and no personalisation capability
• Unlikely you'd take it to the pub with you to show your mates
• It's too big and it's not even interactive
• Harry Potter's 'Daily Prophet' is more likely to happen on an e-reader

The danger to Print is that this will be perceived as yet another reason why Print is not eco-friendly. Some commentators, I'm sure, especially in online marketing companies competing for budget, will point to this as another reason to say that the printed page is losing the plot. I don't think this is the kind of exposure Print needs right now.

So I think Americhip will make some money on it in the short term, and I certainly want to get my hands on a magazine with this technology inserted. I'll keep it in pristine condition and advertise it on ebay in around 2013

Now is the time to take your printing business online.

www.w2p.co.uk

Web-to-Print is #1 at Print 09

It shouldn't come as a much of a surprise to anyone that Web-to-Print (W2P) has been voted as a #1 application that must be seen at the forthcoming Print 09 show in Chicago in September.

Together with IT and MIS, W2P was rated joint top of a list of core essentials for the profitable survival of Printing businesses in what the organisers of the show, GASC (Graphic Arts Show Company), call the 'Must See'Ems'. A panel of 21 international analysts, consultants, educators and editors voted for the ten most important elements that would help Printers to come through the recession. This is the full list:

1. IT
1. W2P
1. MIS
4. Variable Digital Printing
5. Workflow
6. Colour Management
6. Cross Media Production
8. Automated Equipment
9. Customer Relationship Management
10. PreFlighting

The group of judges stated that Printing has become 'Computer-Centric', meaning that Print buyers are increasingly purchasing online, any communication with a Printer is increasingly happening online and that content management is increasingly taking place online. They went on to say that the computer skills of most Printers, however, are limited to estimating and pre-press. There is a distinct lack of skill when it comes to IT and e-commerce.

Print 09 is being billed as a 'Software Show'. There will, of course, be plenty of interesting bits of shiny metal on show that could help your business but these days, if you don't have an effective and efficient online customer interface, there's not going to be much point in being 'Lean and Mean'.
I know it's going to be hard for many to find the time to visit Print 09 in the current climate but, it would be very beneficial for most to talk to all the W2P vendors. Some of these companies are introducing programs to help Printers understand the complexities of trading online. These courses will fill up very quickly.

Now is the time to take your business online.

www.w2p.co.uk

Web-to-Print..... is this the right term?

Cary Sherbourne has just published an article on Whattheythink.com saying that we need a new term for 'Web-to-Print', as it doesn't adequately describe the multi-channel nature of what most systems can do today. She says:

'Most printing companies today have a web site and most accept electronic files in one way or another. But accepting files via email or FTP, while more convenient than the old deliver-the-disk method, leaves much to be desired in terms of both customer convenience and workflow efficiency for the printer. Web-to-print solutions, on the other hand, were designed to offer a more formalized and more fully featured method of getting files from the buyer to the seller and into the production process.'

She goes on to say:

'These days, however, what we were calling “Web-to-print” has morphed into something much more sophisticated and we really need a new name. Most notably, the digital assets that are being submitted through these systems don’t always go to print, so “Web-to-print” is much too limiting. Some assets are available for download electronically and might never be printed.'

The article talks about there being in excess of 34 online solutions on show at Print 09, highlighting just how important this whole field is. So what term will all these suppliers use to describe the genre? Well it can't be 'web-to-print' for a start because the term is trademarked in the US. A company called Belmark Inc, of DePere, Wisconsin successfully registered the term in September 2001. They have sent out 'Cease and Desist' letters to those using the term in the public domain. This, in turn, led to the global adoption of the acronym 'W2P'

Now I have to declare a vested interest here: my business is called W2P Ltd, my domain names all have 'W2P' in them, my logo incorporates the letters 'W2P' and I market my business as a 'W2P' Consultancy!

So why did I call my business W2P? Well yes, it does stand for web-to-print, but to me it was a term that could always adapt itself to the changing landscape of communications. It also stands for:

Web-to-Paper
Web-to-Press
Web-to-People
Web-to-Phone
Web-to-Publish
Web-to-Pretty much any other new technology that comes along!

If we want a new term that best describes what Printers can do once they have adopted a 'W2P' solution, then it should probably be 'Web-to-Publish', as this term can be used for any media channel.

Of course, this is just semantics to those who have not yet taken the plunge and invested in W2P. First and foremost, Printers need to generate cash from existing operations and that means feeding those hungry lumps of tin. So for now, it's still 'Web-to-Print' and will continue to be for the vast majority for some time to come.

Now is the time to take your business online.

www.w2p.co.uk

Web-to-Print........Walmart Style!

Well, it's finally happened. It was inevitable really; like an octopus but with a thousand tentacles they search out every interesting looking nook and cranny of commerce until they find one that they like the taste of then devour it whole while it's still alive.

Walmart is now offering 'small business printing' in Canada, in association with PNI. You can take a look here: http://bit.ly/kxpyy

They are promoting marketing materials, business stationery and promotional gifts, including the option to upload your own logos and images. You can use their templates online or you can download Word or InDesign templates to customise your own artwork then upload a PDF.

On the one hand, congratulations go to PNI for expanding into a potentially massive distribution channel with a truly global potential. On the other hand, are we going to witness more price erosion and further commoditisation of the printed piece? We all know Walmart's reputation for tough deals with suppliers, which in turn lead to low prices in the stores. However, $44 dollars for a pack of 500 business cards is a reasonable price, and it suggests to me that these will not be printed digitally. Now I appreciate that this has only recently launched and, as with all new things, I'm sure it will only get better and better, but I'm afraid to say that both the designs and the application itself are not very inspiring or intuitive. Put it this way, if their fresh fruit and vegetables looked like this they'd be throwing a lot of it away!

I'm not sure Vistaprint or Mimeo will be quaking in their boots just yet. However, the mere fact that Walmart has decided to test this market should make the rest of the printing industry sit up and take notice. Look what the supermarkets did to the small shopkeepers, and what is the average printing business to the supermarkets if not an equivalent small shopkeeper?

If Walmart do succeed (and why not just buy VistaPrint?)then you can be sure other supermarkets will want a piece of the action. Any printer who can should be planning to work with their key clients to understand the benefits of Web-to-Print, Walmart's involvement might actually help to promote the concept. I can't see many small businesses asking the teenager on the checkout for advice on multi-channel marketing, can you?

Yet another reason why now is the time to take your business online.

www.w2p.co.uk

The ICE Web

According to Jerry Bautista, Intel's Director of Technology Management, there is another Web coming that will take us beyond Web 2.0 and 3.0, this is the 'Immersive Connective Experience' (ICE) web where devices will 'overlay the digital world onto reality.'

He said that applications like Second Life were merely the first generation of virtual worlds and the situation was going to get more immersive. Intel has been using software modelling techniques to render 3D more effectively, including making computer generated environments obey physical laws of movement and building in behavioural intelligence. He pointed out that there were plenty of virtual worlds bigger than Second Life, (15 million users, with 88,000 users online simultaneously) with teen site Poptropica pulling in 21 million users and Neopets getting over 45 million. Over 50 per cent of all virtual world users are aged between 4 and 12 and as they grow up the idea of interacting in virtual worlds would be normal and natural.
Intel’s laboratories have also invested in researching visual computing, using computers in conjunction with cameras and GPS in a smartphone. For example, users could take a picture of a sign on their smartphones and the handset would check GPS to see what country the users was in, get a translation of its meaning and give directions from a mapping application overlaid. He estimated that the techniques of using the camera to produce visual searches for data of photographed object would come online in 2010, with information overlay on camera views by 2012 and a 2D and 3D visual overlay available by 2014.

This would also open another door for location based advertising, on the basis that someone has to pay for all this wizardry.

I'm a great believer of this 'free content in return for advertising' model, as it will ultimately create opportunities for customised printing. When we have that level of data granularity, we will be able to target so precisely that print, particularly in conjunction with QR codes and the like, might come back into its own as 'message clutter' on a mobile device will render some forms of messaging ineffective.

BUT 'you have to be in it to win it'

Another reason why now is the time to take your printing business online.

www.w2p.co.uk