The first results of the drupa Global Insights study into the print industry show that there is changing demand for print but strong opportunities for growth remain.
It also highlights the success of mass customisation of print, and the increasing adoption of interactive print in packaging.
Due out in October the global study ‘The Impact of the Internet on Print – The digital flood’ illustrates how many internet-enabled tools such as web-to-print, variable data printing, interactive print such as augmented reality and QR codes and smart technologies such as printed electronics, will impact on most areas of the printing industry.
The report highlight the rise and rise of ecommerce, which it says is growing in most global regions at rapid rates with printers having to play catch-up. While 51 per cent of the survey panel had web-to-print services, only 14 per cent reported it transacted more than 25 per cent of their orders.
The report also illuminated the shift to mass customization. Whether it is photo books, calendars, stationery, marketing articles or T-shirts, in small or large volumes – the customised ie personalized large-scale production of digital print articles is catching on.
Already, 72 per cent of all questioned commercial printers worldwide offer variable data printing services; in the US its proportion is even higher (87 per cent). While the proportion of variable pages remains small, 56 per cent of participants reported moderate or fast growth. Increasing numbers of commercial printers offer a wide range of print products that can be both sold on the web and personalised.
These trends are confirmed by the drupa Global Trends report published in spring 2014: 38 per cent of commercial printers and 32 per cent of publishing printers expressed their intention to invest in digital electrophotographic colour sheet printers.
The third major theme to emerge was that interactive printing is on the increase in the publishing and packaging segment as print customers are realising the power of communicating via the internet and mobile technologies directly with their target audiences on a 1-2-1 basis.
Cross-media campaigns, with data acquisition/analysis and the use of several channels (eg Purls, email, SMS), are increasingly demanded by customers. The range of applied technologies includes QR codes, other smart-print options, augmented reality and near-field communication.
One third of the drupa panel of experts already offers interactive print of one form or another, i.e. interactive response elements in publications, business communications, advertisements, packaging and outdoor advertisements. As was to be expected, there are major regional differences: in the US 44 per cent of printing companies which took part in the survey offer interactive printing, but only 3 per cent of providers in the Middle East. A substantial proportion of drupa panel members from the packaging sector also use internet-based tools. 50 per cent
use QR codes, 43 per cent use variable content, and 41 per cent of all packaging printers that took part in the survey offer personalised print.
According to drupa this first Global Insight report is based on a detailed survey covering a wide range of topics assessing the impact of the internet on print. The survey dealt with many other issues such as CRM, digital asset management and big data, as well as the automation of workflows, and the need for companies to have better IT skills.
It investigated how the increasing digitisation of communications is affecting the demand for conventional print and the demand for different print substrates (paper, board, film, metal or glass).
It concludes that printers need to accept the reality of an internet-driven multi-channel digital future, change their approach and invest accordingly.
The English version will be released in mid-October 2014 at www.drupa.de.
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