Over 700 printers and nearly 250 suppliers participated in the 5th drupa Global Trends Report conducted by Printfuture and Wissler & Partner; to be released the end of April 2018.
Printers & suppliers from the majority of market sectors reported growing confidence in their companies’ economic performance. Globally, this is the 4th year of increasing confidence reported by suppliers. Noticeable is the increase in sales of core equipment/software/materials (+29% net total).
Packaging remains the most dynamic market where there has been a steady improvement over 5 years, while book printers face the most challenging conditions despite a reduced threat from E-books. Globally, printers report that pressure on prices & margins continues and is best coped with by increasing capacity & utilization to hold costs as steady as possible.
North America reported some price increases, while Australia/Oceania reported a clear drop in pricing. Packaging prices are holding globally while publishing & commercial printing prices continue to decline.
Globally, 42% increased capital expenditures compared to the previous year while 9% reported a decline. North America performed best with a net increase of 51%, while Australia/Oceania lagged with a net increase of 18%. Finishing is the most popular focus for investment for the 2nd year in a row, followed by print technology and prepress/workflow/MIS. Noticeable is that only 27% of all printers operate a web to print /storefront installation, up just 2% from 2014.
The full report in English can be purchased online at www.drupa.com, with the executive summary available in German, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian and Chinese free of charge.
Printers & suppliers from the majority of market sectors reported growing confidence in their companies’ economic performance. Globally, this is the 4th year of increasing confidence reported by suppliers. Noticeable is the increase in sales of core equipment/software/materials (+29% net total).
Packaging remains the most dynamic market where there has been a steady improvement over 5 years, while book printers face the most challenging conditions despite a reduced threat from E-books. Globally, printers report that pressure on prices & margins continues and is best coped with by increasing capacity & utilization to hold costs as steady as possible.
North America reported some price increases, while Australia/Oceania reported a clear drop in pricing. Packaging prices are holding globally while publishing & commercial printing prices continue to decline.
Globally, 42% increased capital expenditures compared to the previous year while 9% reported a decline. North America performed best with a net increase of 51%, while Australia/Oceania lagged with a net increase of 18%. Finishing is the most popular focus for investment for the 2nd year in a row, followed by print technology and prepress/workflow/MIS. Noticeable is that only 27% of all printers operate a web to print /storefront installation, up just 2% from 2014.
The full report in English can be purchased online at www.drupa.com, with the executive summary available in German, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian and Chinese free of charge.
