Canon-commissioned study predicts industry shake-up Year 2020 to see end in decline of print runs Renaissance for the small printer due to innovations in workflow and technology Diminishing print runs forcing print industry to expand value-add services
Drupa 2008, DUSSELDORF, May 30, 2008 – Canon Europe, world leader in digital imaging technology, has today launched its “Insight Report: Digital Printing Directions”, an independent study into the future of Professional Print. Commissioned by Canon, the report was researched and written by Professor emeritus at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Frank Romano, and a team of graduate students. The report interviewed 600 printers globally, and looked at the professional print marketplace now, and in the future. A key finding was that
digital printing looks set to lead the market by 2020, as it suits the continuing trend towards short-run volumes and print-on-demand. In addition, the report predicts good news for small print businesses, as they will undergo a renaissance due to advances in workflow and technology including an increased acceptance of web-to-print technologies and hybrid workflows. Not only that, but new, easy-to-operate machinery , investment in IT training and infrastructure, as well as hybrid workflow will lead to a mini revolution in the way that printers approach their craft. Copy shops and quick printers will, as a result, evolve their range of services to adapt to a new digital age, according to the key findings. Not only is the year 2020 the era of digital, it is also significant as the year that print runs finally finish declining. This will settle as threats posed by global competition and electronic media, including the internet, finally reach an end. Professional printers will see a stabilisation of the market, as the print volumes that can be substituted electronically will have been replaced by 2020. To date, some Western print companies have seen a decline of up to 40% in print volumes in less than five years, due to global competition and “new media” substitution that has eaten away at their traditional customer base. Professor Romano says: “Not since the 1950s, when letterpress was first threatened by offset printing, has the industry faced such as radical shift in workflow processes and the traditional skills base. In 1951, an article in a British magazine said that offset lithography was ‘only good for quick and dirty printing’. There were plenty of articles published in the 1990s that echo this sentiment when digital printing was first introduced. Now, a little more than 10 years later, there is an awful lot more respect being shown for the technology.” The report also highlights that as many as one-in-five print jobs will be for run lengths as low as one copy, again by the year 2020. More than half of all print jobs today are for less than 2,000 copies. David Preskett, European Marketing Director, Professional Solutions, Canon Europe says: With the changing dynamics of the modern working environment, printers have been forced to rethink their positioning in the Professional Print market. Whilst many printers report rising revenues, their costs are rising even faster. In a market where resources are becoming scarcer, they will have limited control on how to reduce their overheads. The Insight Report finds that the new landscape demands a new way of working. As printers make less money from ink on paper they, of necessity, are adopting new revenue opportunities, primarily in digital printing, finishing and fulfilment.” The report is being launched at drupa. To pick up a copy of the Insight Report please visit the Canon stand B46 in Hall 8A or go to
http://www.canon-europe.com/About_Us/News/Solutions_Business_News/index.asp
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