How Digital Print is Moving Beyond CMYK

By Mohammed Amer, Vice President and Regional Manager at Xerox MEA

In a challenging economic climate where the pandemic stimulated digital innovation and accelerated companies’ digital transformation efforts, businesses are prioritizing investments in personalizing and powering up a flexible and adaptable workforce. This is reflected in the Future of Work survey results, where 56 per cent of businesses surveyed are expanding their tech and IT budgets to account for the technological advancements employees need when working from home.

Helping print companies reinvigorate themselves by offering their customers more features, better quality, and greater flexibility at lower costs is key during the pandemic. In this article, we look at ways that the printing industry is moving beyond CMYK along with its added benefits to its users.

Times are changing, and standard print is not sufficient anymore. Digital enhancement of print is projected to be a $25 billion market, but access to that opportunity usually requires a capital investment in a new press with the ability to print beyond CMYK.  New printing features provide the ability to simply swap out toners to print colors and enhancements that increase profitability and deliver higher margins without needing a new press.

As expectations for digital print are changing, specialty printing has become one of the fastest growing digital segments, with many expecting the value of this sector to reach a massive $182 billion by 2024. This means that designers and printers need to expand the possibilities of print in order to keep up with this ever-expanding market.

For example, the CMYK+ Adaptive Kit from Xerox delivers what print providers need – the ability to provide higher value offerings without major investment. According to Keypoint Intelligence, print providers can increase profit margins on digital enhancements between 50 and 400 per cent versus ordinary print. Also, promotional printing such as marketing collateral, brochures, business cards, and signage is the most common application category for embellishments.

Adaptive CMYK Plus Technology doubles design freedom, enabling users to add four new high-end CMYK plus enhancements using a Xerox® Color C60/C70 printer. Moreover, by adding this dynamic accessory to printers, users can get the power of 2 printers in 1 through augmenting traditional CMYK print offering with stunning new colors.

Benefits of Adaptive CMYK Technology

• Designers can have more freedom to explore beyond the limits of traditional CMYK processes by expanding beyond commodity printing with vivid, eye-catching, ROI-boosting enhancements.
• Employees can meet the demands of the day with swap-and-go simplicity by targeting high-value opportunities with inspiring digital embellishments, on a wide variety of media including silks, polyester, and dark colored substrates.
• People can realize new profit potential from existing C60/C70 investment, with an affordable entry-point for high-value print enhancements.

That means more opportunity to bring ideas to life and more ways to get printed pieces noticed. Opening the door to the fast growing, high margin specialty beyond CMYK printing market and setting you apart from the competition.

It’s time to move beyond CMYK

With benefits like these, the case for moving beyond CMYK is clear. These are features that buyers are more than willing to pay for, with printing companies indicating a willingness to pay a premium of between 24 and 89 per cent over CMYK. With COVID-19 accelerating the digital transformations, investing in a CYMK printer for work from home employees is definitely worth it.

Additionally, in a COVID-impacted world, technological investments and advancements are irreplaceable for a stable and sustainable remote work environment. The future of work in a post-COVID era is certainly challenging, but by adopting and investing in a CYMK printer for the businesses that need it, employees can pick up the momentum more easily and achieve business continuity successfully.

If the switch to digital print is accompanied by greater automation, we could also see advances in creativity, with craft and automation proving complimentary forces. User-friendly technology has sparked a process of democratization, and creative automation is becoming more accessible to print professionals every day. Predicted growth and the potential for printing companies result in an opportunity that’s simply too good to miss.