Global Trends Report from drupa: Global Investment in the Print Industry Stronger in the next 12 months as Confidence Returns

drupa will publish two report series entitled “drupa Global Trends” and “drupa Global Insights,” that will study for the first time the trends and major changes in the international print and media sector at both global and regional levels. The results will be based on answers provided by a representative panel consisting of leading executives from printers, suppliers and print purchasers from around the world, recruited primarily from the drupa 2012 visitor and exhibitor database.

drupa will publish two report series entitled “drupa Global Trends” and “drupa Global Insights,” that will study for the first time the trends and major changes in the international print and media sector at both global and regional levels. The results will be based on answers provided by a representative panel consisting of leading executives from printers, suppliers and print purchasers from around the world, recruited primarily from the drupa 2012 visitor and exhibitor database. Messe Düsseldorf, in its role as drupa organiser, has appointed two independent consulting and market research companies Printfuture (UK) and Wissler & Partner (Switzerland) to conduct these two report series. The first “drupa Global Trends” report is now published.
 

Despite reporting significant regional variations, the “drupa Global Trends” report does reveal a number of critical – and sometimes surprising – trends that are shared by all economic regions and across print segments (Publishing Packaging and Commercial). As was to be expected, the report confirmed that the global printing industry’s structural transformation is still ongoing, with increasing costs coupled with declining prices and shrinking margins. However, three other major findings of the study are more pivotal:

1. There are clear signs that economic conditions are improving. As a consequence the printing industry globally is planning increased investment over the next twelve months. Efficiency gains and the development of new services are driving investment in the industrialised countries. North America is leading the way by gearing up for major transformation with high levels of investment in printing technology, IT and new services. In the emerging countries growing demand is the main driver.

2. The printing industry is in the midst of a transition from a product-driven industry to a service-driven one. The demand for new solutions and business models that better reflect the customer needs is clear.

3. As expected, digital printing plays an increasing role in the technology mix deployed. Among print services providers, 65% produce using both conventional and digital methods and one-third of commercial printers already gain a quarter or more of their turnover from digital printing. But conventional printing (especially sheet-fed offset) continues to be an important pillar for the print sector. Planned investment reflects this point as 29% of all printers say they intend to invest in sheet-fed offset printing.
 

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“Thanks to these two report series, drupa is able to offer first-rate, representative market data and information that will enable the market players – be they providers of print services, suppliers or print purchasers – to make better strategic decisions. In addition the reports will allow variations between the world’s major economic regions to be analysed. Finally the insights gained will serve to further improve drupa’s positioning,” says Werner M. Dornscheidt, the President and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf.
 

This first drupa “Global Trends” report provides an initial assessment of the state of the global print industry In order to monitor the trends going forward, the survey will be repeated in the fourth quarter each year. In parallel drupa will publish a series of “Global Insight” reports that will offer detailed analysis into specific industry-relevant topics. An “Insights” report on “The Impact of the Internet on Print” will kick off the series in June of 2014. The objective will be to show the effects of the Internet on e-commerce, digital marketing, mass customisation and IT on the world of print and illustrate how future strategies and business models need to adapt.
 

Some 2,500 decision-makers from across the globe (119 countries) participated in the survey in the fourth quarter of 2013 and answered the extensive questionnaire. The majority (58%) came from print services providers, followed by suppliers (21%) and print purchasers (21%).
An executive summary of the survey results (in German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian and Chinese) is available as a PDF download at:
www.drupa.de/summary_2.

The complete English-language report in PDF format is now available from Messe Düsseldorf (www.drupa.de/2131) for EUR 249.00.