Drupa is publishing two reports called ‘Drupa Global Trends’ and ‘Drupa Global Insights’ that look at the major changes in the international print and media sector at both global and regional levels.
The results will be based on research with a representative panel comprising printers, suppliers and print buyers from around the world, but 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 and Partner (Switzerland) - to conduct these reports. The first, ‘Drupa Global Trends’, is now available. The complete English-language report in PDF format is now available for 249 Euros.
The reports shows 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.
It also shows that 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.
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.
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. ‘The Impact of the Internet on Print’ will kick off the series in June of 2014.