Luba’s Global Printing Trends Report shows strong signs of recovery
The latest eighth Drubal Global Print Trends Report is out. The report shows that since the release of the seventh report in spring 2020, the global situation has changed, with the COVID-19 pandemic, difficulties in global supply chains, rising inflation… In this context, in a survey of more than 500 senior decision makers from global printing service providers and equipment manufacturers and suppliers, data showed that in 2022, 34% of printers worldwide said their company’s economic situation was “good”, while only 16% said it was “poor”, reflecting a strong recovery trend in the global printing industry. Global printers are generally more confident about the industry than they were in 2019 and looking forward to 2023.
The trend towards a better confidence
A significant change in optimism can be seen in the net difference between the percentage of optimism and pessimism in the Druba Printers Economic Information Index for 2022. Among them, South American, Central American and Asian printers chose optimistic, while European printers chose cautious. Meanwhile, according to market data, package printers are growing more confident, publishing printers are recovering from poor results in 2019, and commercial printers, though slightly down, are expected to recover in 2023.
“The availability of raw materials, rising inflation, rising product prices, falling profit margins, and price wars among competitors will be factors that will affect the next 12 months,” said a commercial printer from Germany. Costa Rican suppliers are confident, “Taking advantage of the post-pandemic economic growth, we will introduce new value-added products to new customers and markets.”
According to the data, the global printing market is expected to grow at a net rate of 34% in 2022, and the European printing market is also expected to grow at a net rate of 34% in 2023. While printers are more cautious about the commercial and publishing markets in 2022, where growth is down 4% to 5% from 2019, there are strong positive forecasts for all markets in 2023, with net positive differentials of +36% for publishing, +38% for commercial printing, +48% for packaging, and +51% for functional printing.
Between 2013 and 2019, paper and base material prices kept rising, and many printers chose to cut prices, 12 percent more than those who increased prices. But in 2022, printers that chose to raise prices rather than lower them enjoyed an unprecedented net positive margin of +61%. The pattern is global, with the trend occurring in most regions and markets. It’s important to note that almost all companies are under pressure on margins.
The price increases were also felt by suppliers, with a net 60 percent increase in prices, compared with the previous peak of 18 percent in 2018. Clearly, a fundamental change in pricing behaviour from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic will have an impact on inflation if it plays out in other sectors.
Strong willingness to invest
By looking at the printers’ operating indicators data since 2014, we can see that the commercial market has seen a significant decline in sheet offset printing, which is almost equal to the growth of the packaging market. It is worth noting that the commercial print market first saw a net negative difference in 2018, and has since been smaller. Other areas that stand out are digital toner single-page pigment and digital ink-jet web pigment, which are driven by the substantial growth of flexographic packaging business.
According to the report, the proportion of digital printing in total turnover has increased, and this trend is expected to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic. But between 2019 and 2022, the development of digital printing on a global scale appears to have stalled, apart from the slow growth of commercial printing.
In addition, the data showed that the percentage of printers operating web-based and digital print storefronts continued to decline, from a peak of just 27 percent in 2017 to 23 percent in 2019 and 20 percent in 2022. The proportion for commercial printers fell from 38 percent in 2017 to 26 percent in 2022, while for publishing printers it grew to 33 percent and for packaging printers it fell from 15 percent in 2019 to 7 percent in 2022.
For printers with web-based printing devices, the COVID-19 pandemic has seen a sharp increase in sales through the channel. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, turnover in this sector was essentially stagnant globally between 2014 and 2019, with no significant growth, with only 17% of web printers reporting 25% growth. But since the pandemic, that proportion has risen to 26 per cent, with the increase spread across all markets.
Capex in all global printing markets has fallen since 2019, but the outlook for 2023 and beyond shows relative optimism. Regionally, all regions are forecast to grow next year, except for Europe, where the forecast is flat. Post-press processing equipment and printing technology are popular areas of investment.
In terms of printing technology, the clear winner in 2023 will be single-sheet offset printing with 31%, followed by digital toner single-page colour (18%) and digital inkjet wide-format and flexo printing (17%). Sheet-fed offset printing will remain the most popular investment in 2023. Despite significant declines in printing volumes in some markets, the use of sheet-fed offset printing will reduce Labour and waste and increase productivity for some printers.
When asked about investment plans over the next five years, digital printing continues to top the list (62 per cent), followed by automation (52 per cent), with traditional printing also listed as the third most important investment (32 per cent).
By market segment, the report says the net positive difference in printers’ investment spending is +15% in 2022 and +31% in 2023. In 2023, investment forecasts for commercial and publishing are more moderate, with strong investment intentions for packaging and functional printing.
Supply chain problems but optimistic outlook
Given the emerging challenges, both printers and suppliers are struggling with supply chain difficulties, including printing paper, base and consumables, and raw materials for suppliers, which are expected to continue until 2023. Labor shortages were also cited by 41 percent of printers and 33 percent of suppliers, with wage and salary increases likely to be an important expense. Environmental and social governance factors are increasingly important to printers, suppliers and their customers.
Given the short-term constraints in the global printing market, issues such as intense competition and falling demand will remain dominant: package printers put more emphasis on the former and commercial printers on the latter. Looking ahead five years, both printers and suppliers highlighted the impact of digital media, followed by a lack of expertise and industry overcapacity.
Overall, the report shows that printers and suppliers are generally optimistic about the outlook for 2022 and 2023. Perhaps the most striking finding of the Drubal Report survey is that confidence in the global economy is slightly higher in 2022 than it was in 2019, before the outbreak of COVID-19, with most regions and markets predicting better global growth in 2023. It is clear that businesses are taking time to recover as investment falls during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, both printers and suppliers say they are determined to increase their operations from 2023 and invest if necessary.Gift boxes, such as tea boxes, wine boxes, chocolate boxes will gradually show an upward trend.
Post time: Feb-09-2023
