Ningbo DSS Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd , https://www.dssking.com
The annual turnover of European image communication industry is about 107 billion US dollars, including the cost of raw materials. The packaging market (including materials) was slightly larger, at US$113 billion. In large part due to historical and linguistic reasons, the entire European market consists mainly of strong national markets, with only a few multinational companies. The countries with the largest printing companies are Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain (the top five), which account for 72% of the total. Western Europe has a population of about 380 million, an increase of only 1%, and the average population has an increasing trend. Many countries maintain high levels of unemployment (greater than 10%) and high social costs, which is detrimental to growth. However, in the next five years, the EU’s GDP growth is expected to be 2.6%.
The European printing industry has a large number of companies (a total of 44,000 companies in the top five countries), and most of them are less than 10 people. On the other hand, relatively few large companies produce products that account for 60%-80% of the total. Medium-sized companies are under great pressure, and there is a possibility that they may collapse or be merged, and the numbers are getting less and less. Mergers are a clear trend in the printing and packaging industries. This not only reflects the pressure of costs and capital investment, but also reflects similarities in their client companies, such as publishing, food, and household goods industries. Merger efforts. The two main drivers of mergers are cost reduction and time savings. Both have caused fundamental changes in the market and business structure. People carefully monitor and analyze the supply chain and value chain, and reduce the number and the number of unnecessary suppliers and processors. This is a great opportunity for a printing company to develop into a large company. It can develop more experts for traditional customer services beyond paper printing and develop a large number of value-added services. If you do not do this, companies outside the image communications field will replace them and the consequences will be very serious.
As in other parts of the world, all the changes taking place in Europe are actually directly related to the use of digital data and the growing use of computers, and the limited production capacity is becoming less and less relevant. The rapid development of the telecommunications industry means that businesses and individuals can contact each other at any time and handle work services across the time zone in 24 hours.
In order to reduce costs, shorten the time to market, and to bear the cost of increased technology investment, working 24 hours a day becomes a normal phenomenon. The ever-increasing level of automation (such as the automation provided by the CIP3 software) has led to fewer and fewer skilled workers, and it requires workers who can learn different techniques from the application, resulting in various social problems. In the new technology era, the skill level of operating a new type of machine may not be as high as that required to run a conventional printing press, but people who wish to operate the equipment can quickly grasp the new technology and its performance, be able to handle complex software and hardware combinations, and produce A satisfactory product.
Efficient workflows are important for the future success of European printing organizations. However, there is no single workflow that can completely combine the various processes required in the market. Non-integrated workflows require human intervention to make data transfer between systems seamless and provide erroneous confirmation through rigorous preflighting. The entire workflow requires proofs. The company will install programs that manage color and use the ICC color profile to achieve consistent color for all output links on the data chain.
Throughout the world, more and more jobs need to exist in standard data formats to simplify the flow of data between systems and organizational structures. PDF files are the most widely used transmission system. In addition, if you want to use workflows to successfully manage the work from input to output, you also need to extend the PDF, such as JDF (Job Description Format), which provides further information.
The current market share of various types of printing in Europe: lithographic printing 62%; gravure printing 22%; desktop publishing 5%; digital printing 4%; other 7%.
In the next five years, although it is predicted that the entire European market will show a growing trend, the market share of offset and gravure will decline, and digital printing and desktop publishing will increase to 6% and 7% respectively. With the reduction in the number of long-length publications, the emergence of market branch specialization will make the number of pure gravure printing significantly lower.
In the packaging field where flexographic printing dominates the process, it is expected that market share will continue to grow.
Digital printing is a small part of the entire European printing market and it is still in its infancy. According to market research, it is expected that the output will increase by a factor of two in five years. It seems to ignore the point that the machine will become bigger, faster, and more reliable. Therefore, digital printing is expected to be three times the current size or even more. More is not without reason. Now most of the work is brand new, but as the digital printing capacity will continue to increase in five years, its quality and speed will be comparable to today's lithography, and it will undoubtedly take away some of the traditional printing business.
Digital printing provides opportunities for books, newspapers, and on-demand printing of packaging, various short-run printing, and continuous variable printing. No longer need to print at a centralized location and then re-dispatch to the whole country. Simply send the data to a remote place and print it on demand. Today, "issuance and printing" is more discussed in the theoretical field than in the practical field. This is mainly because there are not enough exports to handle digital work locally. And in Europe, there is little or no difference in cost and time when transferring from a central location to the entire country. However, this gives printers an opportunity to establish joint ventures and alliance networks to provide local equipment to provide customers with more value-added services.
The on-demand printing of books brings many advantages. It eliminates the number of prints, establishes virtual warehouses, stores data rather than prints or materials, and makes inventory books or print books bring wealth. It brings new investment and revenue possibilities for publishers and printers. It also presents opportunities for others who want to enter the supply chain at the price of the printer.
On-demand newspapers provide relevant news coverage for readers outside the region and outside the country, which is difficult to do with traditional distribution. On-demand packaging enables the timely provision of orders while conducting market surveys, which avoids a large inventory of raw materials and finished goods.
Variable data printing brings new market opportunities for companies that have a database structure, clear routing and detailed customer information. Digital printing can provide a variety of variable full-color images and data, combining low-cost long-run printing with the individual benefits that can be provided to individual customers. Post-press processing has always been a slow and labor-intensive process, but due to the installation of automated machines, the establishment of assembly lines, the reduction of processing procedures, and the improvement of work efficiency, this situation has greatly improved. Maximize the use of equipment and reduce waste. Flexibility is the key to handling jobs of all lengths and can even produce only one order.
The image communication industry in Europe cannot mention the internet. This kind of technology has both a favorable and a negative side to printing. Some people predict that traditional prints such as books, magazines and newspapers will disappear. They forget that printing is a broad market, not only including the market branches mentioned above. Since the 19th century, per capita paper consumption in Europe has increased by 40% despite the appearance of movies, radio, television, telephone, fax and internet. In the short term, the Internet cannot change this situation. The network only provides another publishing medium, bringing huge opportunities for interaction to businesses of all sizes. As people rely more on and accept electronic transmission systems, although some print types will be reduced such as stationery and contract printing, the entire printing industry cannot be greatly affected. The Internet is more likely to supplement the print media of Shi Jie, and it may not completely replace it. It also provides an invaluable tool for the easy transfer of data between suppliers and customers to complete quotations, workflows, schedules, progress, delivery notifications, and payments.
Printing Prospects The printing industry in Europe is very promising. Digital technology has improved the traditional process, on the one hand, by improving the workflow, reducing rework and waste, and secondly, using CTP to provide a seamless data flow from the beginning to the printing process. The digital printing system offers customers the possibility of personalized, short-run, on-demand printing. Whether it is desktop publishing or local on-demand printing, advanced technology brings products closer to customers. Automation will further improve the workflow and reduce production time.
What can be achieved is digital data, high-level computer capabilities and high-speed telecommunications. Power is to minimize costs, reduce time, and customize customer needs. As a result, printing is generally beneficial. The European printing and graphic communications industry will undergo great changes in terms of business structure, employment patterns, and skills. Adapting to environmental pressures, improving work standards in work processes, data transfer levels, and attracting skilled and well-trained employees, paying attention to this will make the future more colorful.
Like the rest of the world in Europe, the European printing and graphic communication industry reflects the economic development of the region, and it also reflects the vitality and vitality of technology, as well as the efforts of local people.
December 23, 2023