Edissa Furlan
Creativity is fundamental today, more than ever. Since I entered the large format area, with the equipment that prints on different substrates and offers versatility to the work, I seek to invite customers to differentiate. This is very latent and is a question of survival in all markets.
Everyone needs to differentiate and be more creative. We are seeing a gradual reopening of trade with strict signaling and spacing requirements due to Covid-19. This opens up an important range of applications that our Visual Communication customers will be able to serve.
HP launched an initiative called Printing Heroes, with stories from local and worldwide businesspeople who are doing it differently, serving small businesses, pharmacies, supermarkets, with floor stickers and other items. There is even a Brazilian company in the initiative. Examples are everywhere.
Diversification will make a difference, including in the area of decoration and online sales. Everyone had to adapt to online more than before. Everything went online. So, customers who had platforms prepared for online businesses saw growth in their activities. And even a small customer who posted a post on social media, warning that he was making stickers for commerce, received several orders.
The Brazilian makes the difference when he combines difficulty and creativity, which is where diversification enters and customers are challenging themselves. We need to sell, pay bills, have equipment that works, quality, it is a combination of factors that are taking us out of the comfort zone and entering another level of diversification. And technology is the engine of everything.
And when we talk about the combination of technology and creativity, it is essential to remember that there is no more “ink on paper”, now it is “ink on anything”: paper, glass, canvas, wood, fabric, vinyl and a multitude of media. And more: a photo of you can become a refrigerator sticker, a pillow, a bag.
When the designer understands the potential of digital printing, that world will change, because it allows you to think about the process from beginning to end. It’s challenging yourself: how do I make a lamp? It is trial and error, buying the materials, testing, making mistakes, even getting it right. Therefore, this moment is unique. Despite the difficulties, it is time to experiment.
The relevant form will never die. What is relevant will always have its role. And therein lies creativity and need. The famous façade strips, handwritten, were out of fashion. And what do we see today? Restaurants placing a large banner with delivery phone number.
To differentiate yourself, you need to understand what product you are going to offer. Will you need different media? We joke that the easiest part is printing. Conceiving, creating and finalizing are the challenges. If you are going to make a sofa, you need to have a good tapestry, the same in envelopes, decoration.
There are many products using the principle of wrapping for decoration. There are socket mirrors, appliances: make these forms and take these concepts to your company, because when your customers visit you, they will see everything possible. Also take photos and videos, post them on social media, to help materialize the possibilities.
In wallpaper, you have virtually zero waste in customization and scale. In partnership with designers and architects, product lines can be created with your signature for sale. And combine options: in a child’s room, you can also offer a printed pillow. And all on demand.
You can have your offer on your website, show these possibilities and work offline more personally developing these projects. And it goes beyond the residential: there is the decoration of a restaurant, school, hotels, maternity hospitals – like this one, with envelopes to leave a light, healthy environment, adding much to the space.
Printing with content and creativity will always be relevant. When we talk to those who are doing differently, we realize that they went that way. Test, work, sweat. You will challenge yourself and the best time is now. The new is before us. HP is always testing customers, seeing new media, testing versatility a lot, trying to push the limits.
When producing differentiated materials and on demand, the question of sustainability comes in, as it does not have waste. In the repressed demand, it will come gradually. In business, it is necessary to rethink the flow, gathering work, exploring materials, reducing waste, looking at what can be done with leftovers. It is a more rational production, without waste.
Technology allows for creativity. Challenge yourself, challenge your equipment suppliers, challenge your media suppliers, challenge your agencies, they often don’t know the potential of print.
Edissa Furlan is a Graphic Arts marketing executive at HP and will be a speaker at FESPA Digital Printing 2020, from 23 to 25 September at Expo Center Norte, in São Paulo (SP)
