GRAPH EXPO & CONVERTING EXPO 02 -- Large-format Opportuniti

Printers seizing the opportunity can either lock in current customers or expand into a lucrative new niche, experts advise. "Such a strategy will be increasingly vital in the near future," contends Brian Crall, CEO of Progress Printing in Owensboro, KY.

Crall sees traditional commercial printers attacked at both ends of their long-standing market: by web printers taking on shorter-run jobs at the upper end, and by quick printers rolling out digital printing and other options to eat away at the low end. "You don't want to let someone just eat off your plate," Crall adds. "You need to find new ways to be competitive, either in your core business or in a new niche."