The More Inks, the Merrier

Last year, 60 percent of respondents said they use a single supplier for all of their ink needs, while this year that number has changed dramatically. An overwhelming 84 percent now use multiple ink vendors, more than double the amount that did as recently as 12 months ago.

"My first thought is that they all have different reasons for the switch, but I think the main reason is just a case of people not wanting to put all of their eggs in one basket," says Sericol Inc. (Kansas City, Mo.) Marketing Manager Diane Demmel. "Customers want to make sure they stay competitive in terms of continuously adding new applications, so they are looking at more ink options to do that. At the same time they probably maintain one main ink supplier for the majority of their work."