The Dichotomies of the Global Printing Industry
September 2007
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By Frank Romano, USA
We are currently experiencing a period of significant change as technology, transportation, and global competitive forces combine to challenge all printing companies no matter where they are on this planet. These opposing statements may help to describe the global printing industry:
1. All printing is local, except when it is global.
2. All printing is monochrome, except when it is in color.
3. All printing is conventional, except when it is digital.
4. All printers are printers, except when they are in-house or office retailers.
5. All printing is placing a substance on a substrate, except when it is ancillary services.
6. All printing is based on a page, except when it is something else.
7. All printing is done in weeks, except when it is done in days and hours.
8. All printing revenue is from the pressroom, except when look at the big picture.
9. All printers are small, except when they are very large.
10. All workflows are for printing, except those e-publishing.
1. All printing is local, except when it is global
In 1980, 70 percent of all print products were purchased from a printing company within 100 miles of the customer. Today, it is 45 percent and dropping. The ability to send files electronically and collaborate on-line on document changes and proofing, has made the physical location of the printing company less important. Thus, printers in the United States are doing business in many states beyond their own and are capable of producing print products for customers outside the country. Usually, U.S. print buyers purchase print products in Canada, the UK and the Far East.
The same is true in Western Europe where print buyers purchase print products from Estonia, Poland, and other Eastern European countries. It is said that the reason involves labour costs. Considering that paper and labour costs have the biggest share in the cost of a printed job, any printer in any country that has an advantage in these two areas, has an advantage on a global level, in addition to access to a local market.
Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing market. In Asia, publication and commercial printing is a growing business fuelled by developing markets such as China and India. Printing in Asia is ready for a period of dynamic growth, driven partially by high-end packaging applications, especially in Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia.
The one technology that profoundly changed the printing industry was the electronic delivery of files. In the past, the originator delivered a manuscript for conversion to type and then saw proofs; later he or she delivered mechanicals and then saw proofs. The printer controlled the prepress process and then desktop publishing became mainstream and the printer lost that control. This loss coincided with the evolution of the personal computer, “shrink-wrapped” software, and the standardized page description language. Jobs could be designed and produced by the originator and then sent to any printing service - or, to an in-house printing device. In the past, the printer controlled the metal and later the film: the printer essentially “owned” the job. Today, the customer owns the job and they can send it to any printer, anywhere on the planet.
We are currently experiencing a period of significant change as technology, transportation, and global competitive forces combine to challenge all printing companies no matter where they are on this planet. These opposing statements may help to describe the global printing industry:
1. All printing is local, except when it is global.
2. All printing is monochrome, except when it is in color.
3. All printing is conventional, except when it is digital.
4. All printers are printers, except when they are in-house or office retailers.
5. All printing is placing a substance on a substrate, except when it is ancillary services.
6. All printing is based on a page, except when it is something else.
7. All printing is done in weeks, except when it is done in days and hours.
8. All printing revenue is from the pressroom, except when look at the big picture.
9. All printers are small, except when they are very large.
10. All workflows are for printing, except those e-publishing.
1. All printing is local, except when it is global
In 1980, 70 percent of all print products were purchased from a printing company within 100 miles of the customer. Today, it is 45 percent and dropping. The ability to send files electronically and collaborate on-line on document changes and proofing, has made the physical location of the printing company less important. Thus, printers in the United States are doing business in many states beyond their own and are capable of producing print products for customers outside the country. Usually, U.S. print buyers purchase print products in Canada, the UK and the Far East.
The same is true in Western Europe where print buyers purchase print products from Estonia, Poland, and other Eastern European countries. It is said that the reason involves labour costs. Considering that paper and labour costs have the biggest share in the cost of a printed job, any printer in any country that has an advantage in these two areas, has an advantage on a global level, in addition to access to a local market.
Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing market. In Asia, publication and commercial printing is a growing business fuelled by developing markets such as China and India. Printing in Asia is ready for a period of dynamic growth, driven partially by high-end packaging applications, especially in Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia.
The one technology that profoundly changed the printing industry was the electronic delivery of files. In the past, the originator delivered a manuscript for conversion to type and then saw proofs; later he or she delivered mechanicals and then saw proofs. The printer controlled the prepress process and then desktop publishing became mainstream and the printer lost that control. This loss coincided with the evolution of the personal computer, “shrink-wrapped” software, and the standardized page description language. Jobs could be designed and produced by the originator and then sent to any printing service - or, to an in-house printing device. In the past, the printer controlled the metal and later the film: the printer essentially “owned” the job. Today, the customer owns the job and they can send it to any printer, anywhere on the planet.
Companies Mentioned:
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