Some 108 companies participated in the survey, with almost 90% of respondents saying that a lack of orders was the primary barrier to increasing production levels.

The results for the March 2011 quarter showed only around half of participants were operating at 70% capacity or over.

Hagop Tchamkertenian, PIAA national manager for policy and government affairs, said that performances varied in relation to business size.

“Mid-size businesses are more optimistic about business conditions than their smaller and larger counterparts,” he said.

“But when it comes to capital expenditure intentions, the larger businesses still have positive sentiments.

“In the area of employment intentions, smaller establishments are forecasting increased workforces while labour-shedding intentions seem to be concentrated amongst mid to large sized businesses” added Tchamkertenian.

The report said the most optimistic sectors of the industry were graphic reproduction and graphic arts machinery and supplies.

The report noted an improvement in business sentiment from the quarter immediately before, but added that “business sentiment is now noticeably lower than the corresponding outcome a year ago”.  

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