Packaging / Advertising & Office

Business, graphics, publications, packaging and label printing are all facing the fundamental challenge of adapting to the market space after Covid-19. As stated in Smithers’ new report “The Future of the Global Printing Industry by 2026”, after a highly disruptive 2020, the market has recovered in 2021, although the degree of recovery is not in all market segments. Unite.

u3000u3000 The total value of global printing in 2021 will reach 760.6 billion U.S. dollars, which is equivalent to 41.9 trillion A4 prints produced globally. This is an increase from USD 750 billion in 2020, but sales have fallen further, reducing 5.87 trillion A4 prints from 2019. This effect is most obvious in publications, some graphics, and commercial applications. Home orders led to a sharp decline in magazine and newspaper sales, only partially compensated by the short-term increase in education and leisure book orders, and many regular commercial printing and graphics jobs were cancelled. Packaging and label printing are more flexible and provide a clear strategic focus for the development of the industry in the next five years. With the steady return of the end-use market, investment in new printing and finishing will reach $15.9 billion this year.

u3000u3000 Smithers predicts that by 2026, packaging and labeling and new demand from Asian growth economies will drive moderate growth-a compound annual growth rate of (1.9% at constant prices). By 2026, the total value is expected to reach 834.3 billion US dollars. Sales growth will slow at a compound annual growth rate of 0.7% and will increase to 43.4 trillion A4 paper equivalents by 2026, but most of the sales lost in 2019-2020 will not be able to recover.

u3000u3000 Responding to the rapid changes in consumer demand, while modernizing the printing workshop and business processes will be the key to the future success of the company at all stages of the printing supply chain.

u3000u3000 Smithers’ expert analysis identified the main trends for 2021-2026:

u3000u3000·In the post-epidemic era, more and more local print supply chains will become more and more popular. Print buyers will reduce their reliance on a single supplier and on-time delivery mode. On the contrary, the demand for flexible printing services that can quickly respond to changes in market conditions will increase;

u3000u3000·The interrupted supply chain generally favors digital inkjet and electrophotographic printing, accelerating its adoption in multiple end applications. The market share of digital printing (in terms of value) will increase from 17.2% in 2021 to 21.6% in 2026, making it the main focus of research and development in the entire industry;

u3000u3000·The demand for printed e-commerce packaging will continue, and brands are keen to provide improved experiences and participation. Higher-quality digital printing will be used to take advantage of improved information delivery on packaging, promote other products, and increase a potential source of revenue for printing service providers. This is consistent with the industry trend of smaller print volumes that are closer to consumers;

u3000u3000·As the world realizes more and more electronic connections, printing equipment will adopt more Industry 4.0 and network printing concepts. This will improve uptime and order turnover, allow for better benchmarking, and allow machines to publish available capacity online in real time to attract more work.