A recent study, ‘Redefinition of the Digital Printer’ sponsored by Canon and conducted by Professor Emeritus, Frank Romano, provides a snapshot at the state of the printing industry under the impact of the current economic climate, with the final analysis due to be published in May 2010.
The key insights demonstrate how important the adoption of digital printing has been to the survival of professional printers and how those that can emerge from the recession are likely to be in a better position to exploit future opportunities and overcome challenges.
Romano found that in the last quarter of 2008, as marketers slashed print budgets, printers were forced to re-think every aspect of their businesses and to implement improved production methods to streamline staffing and reduce costs. As print runs became much shorter, and demand tailed off, those companies which had implemented digital printing systems were much better prepared for the shift. Those businesses with offset presses and particularly those with older offset presses weren’t prepared and were therefore unable to meet changing demands. As printers acted to adapt, sales of digital machines dramatically outstripped those of other printers over 2009. The survey in fact reveals, that while sales of offset lithographic output declined by 18.1% in Western Europe during 2009, revenues from digital output increased by a total of 27.2%.
And it appears that wide format printers within the ‘digital output’ category have been faring particularly well during the economic downturn. 86% of Professor Romano’s respondents said that display printing on wide format printers had helped them to survive the straightened times.
One of the key elements for weathering the turbulent economic times has undoubtedly been leadership. Those companies leading the recovery demonstrated that by focusing on selected markets (where they could add value) and by providing multi media services (to differentiate themselves from the competition)
Despite earlier more pessimistic outlooks, by the end of 2009, print service providers were reporting some clear optimism about 2010 and the future. That optimism could have been built upon the fact that more than half the companies with a digital printing capability increased their revenue and profit in 2009 when compared with 2008.
‘Redefinition of the Digital Printer’ is the third report of its kind to be sponsored by Canon Europe and to be conducted by Frank Romano and a team of print media graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology in the USA. For this latest survey, Professor Romano’s team interviewed the largest sample to date, a total of 840 printers, 65.5% of whom were based in Western Europe.
Trevor Dodsworth, Head of Marketing, Canon Business Solutions at Canon UK commented.
The research clearly shows that companies who are embracing digital print technology to deliver added value services to their customers are now better positioned to take advantage of an evolving market.
As with the previous surveys, Canon’s sponsorship of this latest study reflects our ongoing commitment to the development of long-term relationships with our customers, helping them to make informed decisions about their future.
