drupa Report (4): Printers continue to be hindered by digitalization

It continues to be difficult for print shops to improve turnover. Finding new clients seems to be the biggest hurdle.  Graphic companies try, mostly by a combination of fewer employees/higher productivity and new print technology, to stay ahead of competition. All print shops, in their own way, seem to be hindered by digitalisation.

Digitalization
Digitalization is both a threat (lower quantities) and an opportunity (new applications). Nearly all types of print shops are affected by digitalisation. Commercial printers try to add value by offering more service. However, drupa says that only 18% of print shops worldwide really offer multi-channel/cross media solutions.
Publishing printers are the ones who are the most affected. Because of the rise of online their paper turnover declines. But, says drupa, the loss of of the number of paper titles by online only publications is not that bad. New solutions such as personalisation and variable content are only slowly growing and only a few print shops in this segment know how to market these services.
Packaging printers are the least affected, but they only profit slightly from the new opportunities brought by digitalisation, such as interactive packaging solutions.

All this from the 4th drupa Global Trends report 2017. A number of graphic print companies were surveyed: 839 print shops of which 525 from Europe, and 331 suppliers of which 220 from Europe. The complete report is available online for 249€.
Source: drupa