The trade body has partnered with HP, which says it has experienced a 40% growth in the number of digital pages printed in the last year.
"In parallel we are seeing growing evidence of agencies using digital print techniques integrating with other digital media to enhance the performance of campaigns," says HP's market development manager Simon Addinall.
Scott Knox, the MCCA's managing director explains: "There's been a lot of really clever digital print technology over the past few years, both for CRM and customer retention, and also to provide savings for brands and agencies. The aim is to get member agencies more conversant with this type of technology.
"But there are also some bad, really cheap ways of using digital print. We're saying, ‘Do this properly boys and girls!
"The programme rolls out around February time. We'll be offering training seminars to showcase the technology, and we'll be looking at cost efficiencies, and what consumers expect in terms of personalisation. Planning is important with digital print and we'll also have sessions on how it can impact creative. I want our member agencies to work with good printers."
The idea came about, says Knox, after discussions between himself, Gary Brine, chairman of the MCCA and former global chief executive of Gyro International, and HP's Addinall.
"Gary believes this type of technology is more cost-effective than traditional litho print," says Knox, "We saw more and more case studies cropping up in our awards, particularly when combined with online activity and really rich data. And we thought, ‘Agencies need to know about this.'"
Adds Fraser Church, business development director, dsicmm: "Digital print is one of the growth areas in the print industry, particularly when combining data with print to produce fully variable output. Some of the latest print technology allows clients to print on substrates previously not possible, such as heavier paperstocks and plastics. This provides a range of new creative opportunities.
"As a business we are trying to help educate clients to increase their knowledge. Any support provided by industry bodies in training individuals can only be beneficial in growing awareness about the capabilities of this exciting growth area in the print and communication market."
The IDM has said it will also be running training in digital print alongside Lorien Unique. "The course looks at integrating digital print with the rest of a campaign. That's how it works best. There's so much more around now, which is why we're putting this course together," explains Juliet Hilditch, PR and communications manager at the IDM.
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