Deborah Corn Joins the '2 Regular Guys' Podcast to Talk PRINTING United, Convergence

If you're involved in garment printing or product decorating in any capacity, you may be aware of 2 Regular Guys, a podcast hosted by Terry Combs and Aaron Montgomery. If you haven't heard of them already, Combs and Montgomery invite guests on their podcast — which goes live every Friday at 11 a.m. EST — to share stories, experiences, information, and more with the garment community.

This past week, however, they expanded their focus into other printing industry segments with industry guest Deborah Corn, intergalactic ambassador to The Printerverse at Print Media Centr, to talk about the upcoming PRINTING United Expo heading to Dallas, Oct. 23-25.

Corn explained to Combs and Montgomery what value PRINTING United will bring — not only to garment printers— but to the printing industry as a whole.

"What everybody going to PRINTING United is going to be most interested in learning is how everybody on that show floor can work together to create the one-stop print shop," she said. "Whether that's finding new ways to partner with people, or whether that's finding new technology to fit into your business, I really think the opportunity is looking for the opportunity."

Corn explained that opportunities exist for commercial and other types of printers to diversify into other products and services, even if it's just as an add-on that makes sense for the business. She gives the example that, for a commercial printer printing invitations for a party for a customer, it might make sense to also offer the client bags, pillows, or some other fabric component to complement the printed invitations. Although there is still some division between garment printers and other segments of the printing industry, Corn suggested that PRINTING United is going to be the solution to help break down those barriers.

"I think, after Oct. 23-25, that is not going to be that way anymore," she said. "There will be specialty printers that really only do one thing, but I hope ... the industry becomes one industry, with people still having specialties within it."

There should be more convergence among printers, she added; the garments that are printed might need tags or signage for a retail space, so it's just a matter of printers collaborating.

"The major differentiation is what we're printing on," she said. "At the common core, everyone is a printer."

As for tips for those attending PRINTING United, Corn offered up some advice:

• Ask as many questions as possible and talk to other attendees and vendors.
• Do your research. "Don't just buy something because you think you should," Corn said.
• Check out the "outskirts" of the show floor — the smaller booths might also be showcasing interesting opportunities for your business.
• Attend educational sessions and community luncheons to enable learning opportunities and peer-to-peer networking.
• Check out the Experience Zone. Corn said the 4,000-sq.-ft. Experience Zone could be treated like your "shopping list," providing ideas and inspiration to bring back to your business.

"The real convergence comes with the exchange of ideas," she said.

And it seems like PRINTING United is going to be the one-roof-approach expo to facilitate this exchange.

To listen to the full conversation between 2 Regular Guys and Deborah Corn — including information about Project Peacock and the Project Peacock Print Fair that is currently on tour — as well as information on PRINTING United's co-located event, BRAND United — click here.