Print Trends
Confidence across all markets T
he 9th drupa Global Trends Report, that was published in November 2023, is a clear statement of increasing confi dence across almost all regions and markets. Printers and suppliers alike forecast it will be even more prosperous 2024. The fi ndings come from the 9th Global Trends in-depth survey, run this spring by Printfuture (UK) and Wissler (CH), when over 600 printers and suppliers from the drupa Expert Panel of senior decision makers. Globally 32% more printers and suppliers described their company’s economic condition as ‘good’ compared with those that reported it as ‘poor’. Amongst printers, almost all regions and markets were more buoyant than 2019, i.e. before Covid. Under the umbrella of the megatrends sustainability and digitalisation the international print and packaging sector will meet at drupa from 28 May to 7 June 2024. The world’s leading trade fair for print technologies is synonymous with inspiration, innovations, high-calibre knowledge transfer and intense networking. This is where the international top decision-makers of the industry meet and exchange ideas on current technology trends and ground-breaking developments Richard Gray, Operations Director at Printfuture, stated: “While positive forecasts might be expected from Packaging and Functional printers, what was pleasing was the increasing confi dence amongst Commercial and Publishing printers.” It would appear that commercial and publishing printers have weathered the worst of the impact of digitisation, are starting to plan ahead with more confi dence.
Higher prices bring more confidence
The source of such confi dence across all markets is clear from the fi nancial performance fi gures provided. Globally 50% more printers raised prices in 2023 than lowered them, sustaining the pattern of last year, after the previous seven years of falling prices. Better revenues and
| 62 | January 2024 An even higher
investment rate is forecast for 2024, by both printers and suppliers
margins have followed. This pattern was true across all markets, although there were regional variations.
Digital adaption is growing The resilience of Sheetfed offset print volume across all markets is remarkable, matched amongst Packaging printers by growth in Flexo. Digital toner cutsheet colour print volume remains the leader among digital print technologies. Globally the digital adoption – printers claiming more than 25% of turnover in digital – is growing from 26% in 2014 to 29% in 2023. At fi rst sight this is only a modest growth. However, various industry sources show volumes have grown signifi cantly since 2014 even though the digital adoption rate appears to be slowing down.
Good prospects for investment Capital expenditure tumbled during Covid, recovered a little last year and accelerated this year with 27% more printers investing more in 2023 than those who reduced expenditure; a better global fi gure than any year since 2017. An even higher
investment rate is forecast for 2024, by both printers and suppliers. In general print technology and fi nishing remain the most popular targets, with sheetfed offset and digital toner cutsheet colour being the most popular technologies globally, though there are signifi cant variations by market. Strong industry growth forecasts must of course be balanced by recognition of stiff economic headwinds, with the risk of recession, or at least damaging infl ation, now outweighing the impact of the pandemic and a wide variety of more specifi c regional socio-economic concerns.
Sabine Geldermann, director drupa and Global Head Print Technologies at Messe Duesseldorf, commented: “Printers and Suppliers know they must innovate to succeed in the longer term. I am confi dent that drupa 2024 will be the ideal opportunity to explore how best to achieve this objective.”
Growth from 2018
FESPA has published the headline fi ndings of its 2023 Print Census, highlighting the impact of rising sustainability demands and evolving customer requirements on business models and investment plans. Founded in 1962, FESPA is a global federation of Associations for the screen printing, digital printing and textile printing community Conducted in partnership with InfoTrends, a division of Keypoint Intelligence, this year’s Census further explored the long-term trends that emerged from the analysis of the 2018 Print Census, including revenue and industry outlook, the rise of environmental pressures, changing customer demands, future investment and purchasing plans, and business models and strategies. 1,778 printers and signmakers from over 120 countries participated in the survey, representing a 26.5% increase from the last Print Census published in May 2018. Respondents defi ned their business focus as graphics (61%), signage (26%), textile (24%) and industrial (14%).
The market outlook remains positive in line with the results from 2018, with 71% of respondents stating that they are optimistic
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The global print industry shows increasing confidence across almost all markets and regions despite economic headwinds. Both the 9th drupa Global Trends Report and the 2023 FESPA Print Trends examines these in more detail.
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