News & Trends

PRIMIR Releases ‘Future of Print’ Study

Published

8 years ago

February 11, 2016

Robin Donovan Screen Printing February 2016 Issue

PRIMIR has released a new research study from The Economist Intelligence Unit, “The Future of Print in the US – Landscape, Implications, and Opportunities.” The study predicts a “rapidly changing environment” for commercial print over the next decade with factors such as big data, mass personalization, product differentiation, and the role of social media playing a part in how content is conceived and taken in.

In a release, Steve Mattingly, PRIMIR task force co-chair and senior VP at Southern Lithoplate, points to reduced print shipments, shrinking employment, and a decline in the number of print establishments as “significant structural shifts” the industry must combat in the coming years, “through renewed dedication, adaptation and adoption through consolidation, products and services expansion, niche markets focus, and even creation of entirely new business models and partnering strategies.”

The release points out that while such outside industry forces may drive down demand for print, they also create opportunities for those willing to anticipate changes in technology and consumer behavior: “Consumers will be seeking more product differentiation, ‘experiences’ instead of material possessions and traceability, [and will] demand more value – and be better able to evaluate their choices using technology.”

The writers of the study ultimately outline their model for survival in the changing decade: “Successful printers in the future will shift their businesses away from the traditional print-based model and embrace concepts such as differentiation and specialization in a particular niche, providing new services and improving human capital … Likewise, vendors need to quickly adapt their business models and products to support the successful commercial printers.”

PRIMIR has provided an overview video on YouTube, and members can access the full study at primir.org.

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