The 2020 COVID-19 health pandemic induced a sharp drop in print volume
Smithers, a leading provider of testing, consulting, information, and compliance services, has released a report on The Future of Print to 2030. The report takes into account the disruptions that the Covid-19 pandemic caused in 2020.
Download the full infographic.
Here are my take-aways:
According to the report, the global print industry was worth $743.4 billion in 2020. This was down 13.4% compared to 2019. Publication, advertising, and graphic applications suffered the greatest impact, while packaging and label markets proved more resilient.
A revival of normal business activity in 2021 will see the print market rebound slightly to reach $752.8 billion. Value growth will return to push the market to $846 billion in 2030.
Smithers analysts believe that the coronavirus crisis will continue to accelerate the trends that were already in the market. These trends will lead to profound changes in print markets by 2030.
Here are a few changes underway:
The importance of publications work will diminish, pushing print businesses toward packaging print. Much of the graphics print volume lost in 2020 will not return. The volume of graphic papers used will fall. The use of packaging materials with heavier basis weights will rise.
The total volume of print substrates will fall from 1.95 trillion square meters in 2019 to 1.85 trillion square meters by 2030.
Due to the increased use of heavier packaging materials, overall tonnage of print substrates will increase from 251.7 million tonnes in 2020 to 264.4 million tonnes in 2030.
The economic shock of the pandemic will lead to a significant fall in the number of print-service providers (PSPs) due to bankruptcies, acquisitions, and mergers. Companies that survive will have to adjust to a new marketplace to remain competitive. This will place a new premium on cost, responsiveness, and digitization.
PSPs are looking to broaden the range of products and services they provide. In 2020, this included providing social distancing signage and personal protective equipment (PPE). This trend will expand with more PSPs moving into industrial and functional decoration.
Print buyers will favor agility and faster time-to-market for many products. Improvements in response will take place as print companies adjust to the “Amazon Effect” and expectations for same-day or next-day delivery. Rush jobs will be the new normal.
In labels and packaging, some brands will take production in-house, or invite partners to cooperate via through-the-wall operations.
Print-service providers (PSPs) will implement smart, more digitized, short-run printing. The demands for agility and faster service will create further impetus to incorporate more digital and Industry 4.0 concepts in the print room and beyond.
PSPs will use workflow and automation to simplify artwork generation and print production and embrace online specification and ordering.
Interest in new techniques, such as serial manufacturing, will support the wider use of digital presses, particularly inkjet presses.
By 2030, print jobs will contain process information that will allow jobs to be automatically directed to PSPs based on time, cost, location, or other criteria. This trend will benefit larger, digitally integrated print suppliers.
Multiple manual production and administration tasks will be handled by robots, with vision systems controlling quality. Automation on analog and digital print lines is already accelerating. By 2030, machine learning will be built into automated equipment, allowing machines to make more decisions about print or finishing quality.
Artificial intelligence will be more prevalent in print from creation to delivery. In administration, artificial intelligence will minimize waste and environmental impact.
These changes will ultimately lead to the hyper-autonomous press. By the end of the decade, equipment builds will be highly autonomous. Operator involvement will be required primarily for specific problem-solving actions.
Download the full infographic.
About Smithers Future of Print Report
The Smithers Future of Print to 2030 report combines an authoritative assessment of the impact of Covid-19 in 2020 with analysis of emergent technology and business trends that will shape the next decade for printing. The insight is quantified in definitive market data and forecasts for 2015-2030, segmented by all key parameters, including: print process, substrate, end-use application, and geographic market. More than 170 tables and figures are included.
For information, visit:
https://www.smithers.com/en-gb/services/market-reports/printing/the-future-of-print-to-2030
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