OUTPUT

Helping one's neighbour is something we are all taught is a good thing, particularly when we are little. The Americans have turned it into a fine art, one that is used as a measure of one's good citizenship. And yet business success seems too often to be about doing the complete opposite. The idea of helping a competitor is mostly alien to printers in the sign and display business. But these days, when business is tight and lines of credit a miasma, the idea of cooperation and helpfulness deserves an airing. It might be that as an industry more cooperation and less isolation could strengthen the sector. 

In fact it isn't so strange for printers to cooperate on investments into kit, consumables purchases, or training workshops. A printer's cooperative in Sweden that we have had dealings with used to buy such things and typesetters and finishing machines collectively with each member of the cooperative entitled to a certain amount of time on the machine. It all worked rather well and was a particularly useful means of getting access to kit for which an outright purchase wasn't reasonable or justified. It also allowed smaller members of the cooperative to expand their range of service offerings with less risk.

Can such an idea work in the sign-making business? It is hard to say because some countries and cultures are much better at sharing and fairness than others. But for companies who can get over their innate paranoia, cooperation has an awful lot going for it. It is sort of an extension to the trade printing business model that seems to be going rapidly out of fashion in many other sectors, but it can only work if sign and display producers are willing to be a bit imaginative about it.

For instance if you have invested in a new 3.2m flat-bed, it is definitely worth shouting about it to your customers. But consider shouting about it to your competitors as well, offer them access to it at competitive rates, and encourage them to expand their range of services. You will benefit from the increased business in the short term and in the long term when your competitor buys a machine that outperforms your kit, you will at least have access to a service that you can in turn offer customers.