IT TAKES one part technology, one part creativity, lots of late nights and bad coffee...but the biggest ingredient is YOU!
This is not a place where in-depth media exposes are created, nor is it a place for super-spun press releases. This is the place for good old-fashioned, non-varnished watercooler talk about specialty printers. I can't promise you that we'll always have the answers, but our intent is to pool together all of the knowledge in this business in a really open format. There's no hidden agenda.
Now who are we to ask you to join our community? Good question! We are a group of problem-solvers who have skill sets in the specialized world of target marketing. We work with our clients to help them get a handle on the market they serve. At Catenate, we sell mailing lists, customer location maps, and lots of demographics by the pound at Catosphere: Data on Demand. We're an ever-evolving group, generally about 10 of us scattered across the country -- linked by cell phones, the internet, email and sometimes, telepathy (!) (Not really, of course, but its amazing how often "great minds" think alike...or so we delude ourselves!!)
In this case, we've been working with a very special group within Hewlett-Packard -- the Specialty Printing Systems division. It's been four years now since we first braved the world of specialty printing..
Our task initially was to determine who is using mail addressing printers, how long they were in production each day, and what kinds of inks were being used. Since HP doesn't actually make these printers (really! they don't) they have OEMS (original equipment manufacturers) build their Thermal Inkjet Technology into their own branded printers. (Like Pitney Bowes, and Rena, and Buskro, and Hasler, MCS, etc.)
Not all OEMS sell direct to end users, they work with dealers and distributors to sell these printers in addition to other equipment. So...HP doesn't actually know much about their end customers, and often, neither does the printer manufacturer. There are hundreds of distributors and thousands of dealers in the US alone....and when you add in the market for used equipment ? Well! You get the picture!
And then there are all the other wonderful printers out there -- cd/dvd printers, transactional printers, barcoders, packaging printers. Some machines designed for one task are used for completely different purposes. And we have to design surveys to capture it all.... (bring on the coffee and the excedrin!)
So, here we are.
We're marketers and researchers. And what we found over the years in doing this work is that people just like you, people who lived to put ink on stuff (!) liked to discuss ink, substrates, media and printers with each other -- but didn't really have any one place to go. Any one manufacturer could have done this, but it wouldn't be as powerful....so we looked around and realized that it had to be us!
So...we created thINK Plaza. Yes, we still do work with HP...and their partner manufacturers -- but we have a deal. We collect the information and keep the personal information confidential. They get to see the trends and comments that help them improve their processes. And, you get to share in the analysis too...and as long as we're contacting you all, we might as well start passing out the beer and making the introductions!
So, in that spirit, we ask you -- help us make this work for you and us. Please post! Make suggestions! Create a poll! Respond to a blog! Do something to help us grow this little idea into a great, thriving community. My email box is always open!
With the greatest respect,
Wendy
This is not a place where in-depth media exposes are created, nor is it a place for super-spun press releases. This is the place for good old-fashioned, non-varnished watercooler talk about specialty printers. I can't promise you that we'll always have the answers, but our intent is to pool together all of the knowledge in this business in a really open format. There's no hidden agenda.
Now who are we to ask you to join our community? Good question! We are a group of problem-solvers who have skill sets in the specialized world of target marketing. We work with our clients to help them get a handle on the market they serve. At Catenate, we sell mailing lists, customer location maps, and lots of demographics by the pound at Catosphere: Data on Demand. We're an ever-evolving group, generally about 10 of us scattered across the country -- linked by cell phones, the internet, email and sometimes, telepathy (!) (Not really, of course, but its amazing how often "great minds" think alike...or so we delude ourselves!!)
In this case, we've been working with a very special group within Hewlett-Packard -- the Specialty Printing Systems division. It's been four years now since we first braved the world of specialty printing..
Our task initially was to determine who is using mail addressing printers, how long they were in production each day, and what kinds of inks were being used. Since HP doesn't actually make these printers (really! they don't) they have OEMS (original equipment manufacturers) build their Thermal Inkjet Technology into their own branded printers. (Like Pitney Bowes, and Rena, and Buskro, and Hasler, MCS, etc.)
Not all OEMS sell direct to end users, they work with dealers and distributors to sell these printers in addition to other equipment. So...HP doesn't actually know much about their end customers, and often, neither does the printer manufacturer. There are hundreds of distributors and thousands of dealers in the US alone....and when you add in the market for used equipment ? Well! You get the picture!
And then there are all the other wonderful printers out there -- cd/dvd printers, transactional printers, barcoders, packaging printers. Some machines designed for one task are used for completely different purposes. And we have to design surveys to capture it all.... (bring on the coffee and the excedrin!)
So, here we are.
We're marketers and researchers. And what we found over the years in doing this work is that people just like you, people who lived to put ink on stuff (!) liked to discuss ink, substrates, media and printers with each other -- but didn't really have any one place to go. Any one manufacturer could have done this, but it wouldn't be as powerful....so we looked around and realized that it had to be us!
So...we created thINK Plaza. Yes, we still do work with HP...and their partner manufacturers -- but we have a deal. We collect the information and keep the personal information confidential. They get to see the trends and comments that help them improve their processes. And, you get to share in the analysis too...and as long as we're contacting you all, we might as well start passing out the beer and making the introductions!
So, in that spirit, we ask you -- help us make this work for you and us. Please post! Make suggestions! Create a poll! Respond to a blog! Do something to help us grow this little idea into a great, thriving community. My email box is always open!
With the greatest respect,
Wendy
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