Digital printing has changed what is possible in printing. It is continuing to transform the industry; revolutionizing the customization and personalization that printing houses can offer. This radical technology has made small-run professional printing quicker, more convenient and more economical.
 
It has truly changed printed goods into a highly dynamic medium.
 
Thanks to its flexibility and dynamism, digital printing has allowed manufacturers, marketers, retailers and even shipping companies to fulfill their customers’ continuing preference for personalization in the physical realm. In doing so, they are bringing extra delight to their customers, and their customers’ loved ones, during the holidays. 
 
Here are four festive ways that we see digital printing help people and companies add the personal touch this holiday season.
 
Merrier Greeting Cards
 
Digital printing has changed the nature of greeting cards. Not long ago, most people would mail off large batches of identical cards, all featuring the same imagery and inscriptions. With digital printing – and particularly variable-data printing – custom printed holiday cards have become cost effective and easy to produce.
 
Through new services like Postable and Shutterfly, consumers can design greeting cards from scratch, complete with their own images, messages and preferred color schemes. The customization takes place on a slick online portal, but the real innovation can be found in the behind-the-scenes printing, which has turned greeting cards into a meaningful, thoughtful gift.
 
A Gift from the Heart
 
The confluence of digital printing and the continued demand for personalization, has cultivated an all-new genre of present: the digitally-personalized gift.
 
Through incorporating their own pictures, gift-givers can customize a growing variety of products; from more traditional coffee mugs and calendars, to more luxuriant options like pillowcases and smartphone chargers. This customization can turn everyday trinkets into a beloved keepsake. For example, an ordinary set of coasters can be printed into a collage of cherished family memories.
 
The demand for personalized gifts will only continue to grow.
 
In fact, analysts at Technavio have forecast the global personalized gifts market to grow at a healthy CAGR of 9 percent until 2021. The growth will be partly driven by the premium that consumers place on bespoke products. A survey by craft website Etsy found that 70 percent of millennials were willing to spend more on personalized gifts. Clearly, customization just doesn’t mean good gifts; it also means good business.
 
In addition to printed image being incorporate into gifts, they are also increasingly becoming a gift of their own.
 
As we have come accustomed to viewing images on screens, printed photos have taken on a new meaningfulness and significance. The development of handheld and portable printers, which fully utilize the technologies of digital printing, has increased the access to pictures.
 
A colleague of mine recently shared a story about how she decorated her mother’s hospital room with family pictures, using a handheld printer. Stories like this truly speak to the year-round cheer that printing can bring.
 
Personalized Packaging and Advertising
 
Digital printing isn’t just changing the gifts we receive during the holidays, it’s changing how they are packaged when shipped.
 
As the gift-giving season heralds a blizzard of parcels and packages, a few companies are coming to realize the merits of this pervasive and relatively underutilized visual platform. One notable example is Amazon. The online shopping and services company recently began skinning its packages to look like footballs to promote its online screenings of the NFL’s Thursday Night Football.
 
Beyond the purpose of marketing, digital printing will allow distributors and manufacturers the option to add personalized design and messages to their packaging and shipping materials. The use of stylistic, targeted packaging conveys a sense of thoughtfulness that makes customers feel valued.  
 
While still in its infancy, this newly identified channel will grow quickly in its popularity. And digital printing will be the tool that allows it to be explored and employed.
 
The preference for personalization is here to stay. In satisfying this preference, digital printing is helping many companies delight their customers with thoughtful customizations. It’s an important market for businesses that – thanks to digital printing – will only continue to grow.
 
Christoph Ruef is, GM Americas Print Business for HP Inc.

Source: HP Inc.