Business News
Canons Buzzword Buster lifts the veil on the mystery world of print jargon
Friday 15. August 2008 - Anyone who has ever ordered a print job but felt unsure of the end-result because of a lack of understanding of print terminology can be reassured that they are not alone.
Canon Europe, world leader in imaging solutions, has today announced the launch of its new Buzzword Buster website that helps to explain complex print terminology to ensure print buyers talk the same language as their supplier, and get the right print job every time.
When submitting a print job, nine-out-of-ten print buyers across Europe admits to a lack of understanding of what print suppliers are talking about
43% of buyers blame the use of jargon for bad print jobs
Canon launches new online dictionary of definitions to help print buyers understand terms: www.canon-europe.com/buzzwordbuster
The site has been launched on the back of of a comprehensive pan-European survey, commissioned by Canon, into print buyers and their understanding of the jargon used by their suppliers. The research uncovered that a staggering nine-out-of-ten managers (86%) across Europe, who have responsibility for buying print, struggle to understand the terms or jargon their printer uses.
The study showed this struggle is significantly affecting the end result, not to mention the buyer/supplier relationship, as 43% of all respondents admitted that a lack of understanding of jargon had resulted in poor quality print jobs.
The survey, commissioned by ICM, interviewed over 2,000 print buyers and found almost one-in-three had put off making a call to their printer purely because of the jargon they used – this figure rises to an alarming 53% in France. Not only that, but almost one-in-five routinely did not ask for explanations when they didnt understand the terminology.
As a result of the language gap more than half of those polled (58%) found print terminology frustrating, whilst 60% of respondents in countries such as the UK, Finland and Norway were “irritated” by the use of technical terms when liaising with their print supplier.
Mark Lawn, European Marketing Manager, Professional Solutions, Canon Europe says: “As with any profession the print industry has its own terminology that does take time to learn and understand. If terminology is affecting print jobs then this is a serious situation for both the buyer and supplier. The Buzzword Buster (www.canon-europe.com/buzzwordbuster) site aims to help print buyers learn and familiarise themselves with the language of print to ensure they get the jobs they want from their printer.”
In addition to the Buzzword site, Canon also recommends the following tips to ensure print buyers get the most from their print supplier:
Get to know what youre dealing with. Most printers are more than happy to show customers around their business and the equipment they use
Dont be afraid to ask the printer what they mean by a term. As with any industry, printers do have their own language, but love to get a chance to demonstrate their knowledge and provide explanations
Ask the printer to visit your company and give you a tutorial on print terms and types of equipment used
Finally, treat your print supplier as a business partner. They want to do the best work for you. If you are unhappy with a print job because you didnt understand what the printer was talking about, then you are losing your business money and potentially damaging your relationship with the supplier
Of all the European countries surveyed, Italy was the most confident when it came to understanding print, but even then only one-in-five buyers (19%) admitted they “completely understood” the terminology. When it comes to ways of working better with their printer, three-out-of-four respondents agreed that easier to understand print terms would make them feel more valued as customers. With better understanding, print buyers felt they would feel more confident and valued, and less frustrated.
The Buzzword Buster site is now live.