The Pira study predicts total
value of global print by 2011 will be US$721bn. It also predicts that digital
printing, both inkjet and toner, will account for just over a fifth of all
print produced by value in just four years time, at 21 per cent.
The emerging economies of the
world will account for the bulk of the growth in print, with India tipped to be the fastest growing print nation, Pira
says the value of print will increase by a whopping 73 per cent by 2011.
Other hotspots include Russia at 69 per cent, with China, Venezuela and the Ukraine all tipped to grow by around 60 per cent. Australia's
nearest neighbours Indonesia and Malaysia will record print growth of more than 50 per cent by
2011.
Not surprising, Pira's research
shows that the consolidation and contraction in the number of active printers
that characterised the global printing industry over the last five years will
continue to prevail. These changes will be driven by slower growth rates in
demand for print in the industrialised world, along with some significant
changes in the technology and printing processes used in the industry.
Freer trading, and the
emergence of printing companies in Asia targeting
markets in both North America and Western
Europe, will have a growing
impact on the printing industries in developed regions. Expect to see some
relocation or expansion of production facilities from developed regions to
emerging markets to capitalise on growth opportunities.
Developments in all aspects of
printing technology will help keep print competitive within the overall media
mix by enabling printers to offer targeted, high quality, innovative products
as cost-effective alternatives to non-print, electronic media. Printing
technology developments will be particularly important in developed regions,
since it is in these markets that the impact from alternative electronic media
will be most quickly, and significantly, felt.
Environmental pressures on all
printing industries will grow over the next five years, but will be more
intense in developed regions. Compliance will certainly have cost implications,
and may put printers in developed regions at a competitive disadvantage
compared to printers in the developing/emerging markets.
The future shape of the
printing industries in the emerging markets is more difficult to assess. What
is certain, however, is that the output from these industries will grow much
faster than that from those in developed regions. As literacy rates rise, and
per capita income increases in developing markets, demand for various print
products will explode.
The report also reveals that in
many developing regions, electronic displacement will lag since internet access
is far behind that of developed regions. This is a temporary advantage for
print growth in those regions.
According to the authors, in
the printing industry, as elsewhere, there are some wildcard factors. In this
marketplace, the speed of development of inkjet printing and hybrid technology,
and also the effect of environmental pressures are key. Given significantly
faster rates of development than envisioned, both these factors could
significantly change the structure of the printing industries in both developed
regions and emerging markets.
