The Art of Business: Print Keeps on Truckin'

Every few months another industry article announces the contraction of the printing industry or the irrelevancy of the medium.
But the printing industry continues to gain strength, according to the latest economic indicators from both the National Association for Printing Leadership and Print Buyers Online.com.
On the Rebound
Print sales are up, and a host of other indicators, including work-on-hand and confidence, show the upturn is continuing, according to NAPL. However, the industry still faces plenty of challenges, according to Andrew Paparozzi, NAPL vice president and chief economist.
"We’re rebounding from very depressed levels," said Paparozzi. "After three years of recession, we have to make up a lot of ground. Also, costs are rising, markets are getting more competitive, and prices, although stabilizing, aren’t coming all the way back."
Among the rising indicators is the NAPL Printing Business Index (PBI), the Association’s broadest measure of print activity, which rose to 59.9 in April from 58.1 in March and 54.0 in January. It’s not much but it’s in the right direction.
The PBI has been above the critical 50.0 mark — the point at which more printers report activity is picking up than report is slowing down — for 10 consecutive months. The PBI combines input from NAPL’s Printing Business Panel about work-on-hand, current business conditions, expected business conditions (confidence), hiring plans, profitability, and other key indicators into a single measure of activity.
Print Buyers Optimistic
Meanwhile, news from the other side — from buyers — is also looking positive, according to a recent survey of 241 print buyers conducted by Print Buyers Online.com.
The survey included buyers from corporations, ad agencies, publishing houses, and graphic design firms, who buy, on average, $1.3 million worth of printing services annually.
Here are some key findings from the survey:

1. Compared to the same time last year, over the next six months do you expect that your company’s print purchases will increase, decrease, or stay the same?
   • 52% increase
   • 6% decrease
   • 42% stay about the same

   (Last year 42% expected an increase, 14% expected a decrease, and 44% expected it to stay the same.)

2. What is your greatest challenge as a print buyer?
   1. Managing client’s expectations
   2. Reduction in cycle times
   3. Being appreciated / proving value to organization
   4. Keeping up with new technologies
   5. Controlling costs
3. Over the next 12 months, do you expect the quality of your print projects to increase, decrease, or stay the same?
   • 47% expect quality to increase
   • 2% expect quality to decrease
   • 51% expect it to stay the same
4. In the past year, have you (or your company) consolidated the number of printers/print suppliers that you (your company) work with?
   • 37% consolidated in the past year
   • 63% did not consolidate or reduce number of suppliers

   (When asked why respondents consolidated, most said to save money, time, or improve quality.)

5. How would you rate your company’s success in capturing the costs of buying and producing print jobs? (i.e. the total cost of the job, using data for future purchases, etc.)
   • 30% excellent
   • 36% very good
   • 22% good
   • 8% fair
   • 3% poor
6. How often do you specify the following when working with your printers/print suppliers?
   • 72% brand of paper
   • 73% type of proofs
   • 21% brand of proofs
   • 58% quality control procedures
   • 50% color management
   • 38% workflow
   • 24% type of equipment
   • 6% brand of equipment

   (Specification in each category has increased over last year — with the most significant increase being workflow, a 9% increase from last year according to the survey publishers.)

7. What percentage of your files are sent as a PDF as the finished product to your printer?
   • 16% none
   • 40% less than 25%
   • 14% 25 to 50% of time
   • 11% 50 to 75% of time
   • 18% over 75% of time
8. How often do you use PDF files as internal proofs — for signoff and communication with your internal staff?
   • 19% always
   • 40% often
   • 32% sometimes
   • 9% never
9. How often do you receive soft proofs from your printer(s)?
   • 11% always
   • 23% often
   • 52% sometimes
   • 14% never
10. In general, how satisfied are you with the proofs that you receive from your printers?
    • 42% very satisfied
    • 51% somewhat satisfied
    • 6% somewhat dissatisfied
    • 1% very dissatisfied
11. How confident are you in predicting what you will see on press based on the proofs that you receive from your printer?
    • 44% very confident
    • 50% somewhat confident
    • 5% not confident
    • 1% I don’t know
12. Over the next 12 months, do you expect that you or your company will be conducting press checks (approving jobs on press) more often, less often, or about the same?
    • 12% more often
    • 79% about the same
    • 9% less often
13. What do you consider to be the most important issue/topic to educate yourself on over the next 12 months?
    1. New technologies
    2. Variable data and digital printing
    3. PDFs
    4. Paper
    5. Proofing
    6. Trends/efficiencies

Bottom Line
So it looks like print isn’t dead, or even dying for that matter. It’s just transforming to meet the demands of an ever-changing market.
Read more by Eric J. Adams.

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