Hotcards, Full Color Printing In The Nation

But what about our customers?

A grim little news piece on WhatTheyThink reports today that printers have made the list of the top ten most bankruptcy-prone industries. Research firm Sageworks, inc. compiled the list based on the debt-to-equity ratios of various industries over the last 12 months.

On the upside, printers snuck in at the very bottom of the list. Unfortunately, that put nine industries, most of which use print collateral heavily, ahead of us. It's no surprise that printers would be hit hard when industries that buy print – like automotive, real estate, hospitality, and hobby industries – are being so affected.

When any business (or family, or person) is struggling, it's easy to overlook the fact that others are also having trouble, but like the Sageworks' data shows, not only is the printing industry better off than others, the success of all is interconnected.

Many printers are managing to survive and thrive still thanks to the continued strength of industries like IT, education, and health. So instead of bemoaning our fate (as some seem to do incessantly in the WhatTheyThink comment threads), at Hotcards, we believe that our industry should be thinking: what can we do to help out?

Why don't you tell us? As a printer, as your printer, what can we do to make your job easier? How can we make your business strong?

The core of a printer's job is to create materials that spread information, news, and help to promote business. We can begin to do this by providing a high-quality service at a cost that's manageable for struggling businesses. We can take our game to the next level with simple ordering and shipping solutions, and we can really contribute something substantial, I believe, by helping customers out with design, distribution, and cross-promotions.

Many printers are still scoffing at transitioning to "marketing communications providers," but for Hotcards, this is not a matter of becoming something we're not, but rather, seeing where our customers need help, and filling out our services in those areas.

Essentially, printing is a supportive, helpful industry. It's our pleasure to fulfill this role during a recession by working on strategies that we can use to help others grow their business. We want to get YOU, and not just ourselves, off that stupid bankruptcy-prone list, and that's what our focus needs to be.