Four years at RIT have flown by and with a diploma in hand, I am ready to tackle the world of print full-time. Being able to share my perspective of the industry while a student has been a joy and I hope you have enjoyed following my journey. The only thing that stands between me starting my new job is the month-long Europe backpacking trip that I am currently on. While on trains, I have countless hours to think about the state of the industry that I am entering into and what my career aspirations are.
I am no stranger when it comes to facing the reality of change that the printing industry has and continues to go through. Those who say "print is dead" and "print is alive and better than ever" are both right when it comes to certain areas. However, to even generalize our industry as a whole with one of the above statements is quite difficult to do. There is an entire globe out there with countries at completely different stages of economic development whose media consumption habits and printing technology used is completely unique.
With all opinions and arguments set aside, at the end of the day we just want to find ourselves on the growth side, right? This may sound obvious, but it's not always easy to do. After all, this is the million and sometimes billion dollar question that companies search for an answer to every day.
I enter the printing industry with a "glass half full" mentality and think there couldn't be a more exciting time to be involved. Are there challenges with growing media channels becoming a competing—and in certain instances—a more effective option? Yes. But there are also opportunities and good business to be done if you can find where those growth areas exist that incorporate and still drive print. I have seen the industry become more accepting to the reality that print is one slice of content when it comes to an ever growing pizza of communication channels. Those businesses that fail to realize this are clearly limiting any opportunity to expand and grow.
When I return to the United States, I will start my role with Mimeo as product manager of integrated solutions. Utilizing disruptive technologies in order to only further drive print is the name of the game and as an innovator of online digital printing, Mimeo has done just that. I look forward to continue blogging and sharing my view of the industry from a new perspective. Thanks again for your support over the years and I wish everyone the best of luck.
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