If You Can Print It, Why Aren’t You Living It?

Most print companies can produce incredible work. You just wouldn’t know it from walking into many of their buildings.

When people enter your print business, they step into your world. They see the entryway, the lobby, the walls, the hallways, the production and employee areas, the breakroom, and yes, even the bathrooms. And too often, what they see is drab and outdated. It does not reflect what your company ‘claims’ it can produce.

Your print business should be your most powerful case study, in full view. Not a dated certificate wall or a sample rack tucked into a corner, but a living portfolio that surrounds people the moment they step onto your property, and through your door.

Many print businesses do showcase their work, but those samples often stay in place for years. Graphics fade, edges curl, and messaging becomes dated. What was once impressive fades into the background. Displays of your capabilities are a valuable asset, and what you choose to show off matters.

A potential customer sitting in a vibrant waiting area will start to see print possibilities they can explore. Someone dropping off a package or walking by may remember ‘that cool print shop’ and refer someone as a customer, or a candidate. You won’t know if you don’t put in the effort to find out.

Before you get started, consider taking it a step further and making your space interactive. Print is a digital bridge. Use it to connect and educate.

Add QR codes to the graphics throughout your business so people can scan and learn more about what they are seeing, what the application is called, what substrate was used, what press produced it, and how it was finished. Pair that with a short video from someone in your shop explaining the project and how it came together. Now your walls are not just showing work, they are showing how it comes to life from idea to execution, and the people making it happen.

These videos can also be shared across your channels, and include a simple way to sign up for weekly/monthly “How we made this” content, AND a link to open positions. Don’t underestimate the sharing power of a cool how-to video. Your next account or account manager could be on the receiving end.

And although you may not have considered this before, every person who walks into your business is a potential recruiter. The customers. The UPS driver. The paper rep. The equipment technician. A student touring your facility, a family member stopping by. If they walk in and see something impressive, unexpected, and creative, they will tell someone… “You should see what they make in there.”

That is how perception shifts. One conversation at a time.

You cannot position print as creative, fast-paced, and technology-driven while inviting people into a space that feels outdated or neglected. The environment has to reflect the magic of what is possible with print, everywhere someone walks, not just where clients sit.

When a print business showcases its work, you can feel the pride, and it’s enticing.

Your space is already talking. The question is whether it is saying what you want it to say.

Walk your experience. Start outside. If you control your parking area, that is part of your canvas. Then move through the entry, the hallways, employee areas, meeting spaces, the production floor, the conference room table, the breakroom, and the bathrooms, often the most overlooked.

Look at every surface that could tell your story.

What would you update? What would you replace? What would you showcase differently?

If you can print it, live it!

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions. Artificial Intelligence may have been used in part to create or edit this content.