Ricoh’s Digital Literacy Program Means “Business”

“If printers aren’t willing to get out of their comfort zones, their opportunities will be limited. Our goal is to give them the education, tools, and resources they need to get out of those comfort zones.” This is the assessment of Annette McCrary, director of strategic marketing programs, production printing business group, for Ricoh Americas, opening her strategy session at the Skills USA booth (#570) on Monday.

While there are training opportunities on technology and applications, McCrary said, on their own, they are not enough. “But there is no real program to teach you how to run a print business,” she said. “There are options for print and design, but if you don’t have the necessary business planning and strategy to go along with them, by themselves, they won’t get you where you need to go.”

Too many printers are paralyzed by the level of change required to adapt to industry transformation, so Ricoh wants to help them get over the fear factor. About four years ago, it partnered with Cal Poly to craft the Ricoh Digital Literacy program, a modular educational curriculum designed to help people consider a career in digital printing.

Ricoh’s program contains six modules, including fundamental principles of design for digital media, best practices for using type basics of color, database management, personalized printing, and building an effective presentation. A business planning module is in development.

“The business planning module will include everything from floor space planning to business ethics, inventory management, credit management, billing, vendor relationships, marketing, sales — all of the things you need to understand to run the business side,” says McCrary.

The program is available as a two-day mini-course, an instructor-led course using the full curriculum, and a five-day, Ricoh-led “train the trainer” option.

The mini-course will be of special interest to independent print shops and franchises (such as those hiring new employees or migrating from offset to digital). The full curriculum is going into vocational programs and high schools to prepare new, skilled operators to enter the industry. The full curriculum is also being used in correctional institutions, both juvenile and adult, to provide viable new career paths to those making a life transition and help the industry tap into this deep pool of new talent.