Challenges faced by the hottest printing industry

Challenges faced by the printing industry and Countermeasures (Part 2)

meanwhile, Arvato is investing 115million pounds ($207million) to build a gravure printing plant in northern Liverpool, which will eventually install 12 printing machines and employ more than 10000 employees

these companies that survived the wave of mergers will encounter the second important question I raised, that is, the impact of information and wireless communication technology on the printing industry, which is also the focus of our respondents

as mentioned above, after the printing enterprises' own product changes, digital technology is redefining new customer relationships. "Electronic paper" has brought great challenges to traditional paper printing. Relevant people predict that by 2020, 65% of traditional printed matter will be replaced by electronic paper

however, if it and wireless communication technology bring new competitors to the printing industry, it also creates new business opportunities for visionary printing enterprises

today, when all industries are moving towards digitalization, printing enterprises must also develop towards digitalization in order to play a great potential. Today's automated workflow and management information system can enable printing enterprises to combine the printing production process with enterprise management software (ERP) and customer invested logistics systems, making printing enterprises become a part of the customer supply chain

such close integration has become an indisputable fact for printing enterprises to deal with the highly competitive British retail industry. Some businesses based on timely service even require orders to be completed within 8h. In order to create a very professional and extensive participant in the field of materials, any printing enterprise related to this supply chain must choose it, because there is no other choice

of course, if you want to win orders, printing enterprises must invest in it and wireless communication infrastructure, hardware, software and application talents, which involves the prepress Department of an enterprise, because only this department can accumulate rich experience in data processing and it technology

many printing enterprises in Britain now provide value-added services for customers, such as digital printing based on variable data or database management. In the future, those enterprises that can provide high added value, production process control, it system support and data management will have broad market prospects

the third feature of the printing industry that I will emphasize is that the continuous reform triggered by the Internet is destined to be combined with information technology. Now, the impact of the Internet has spread to all corners of British industry. It not only provides a new optional medium for printed materials such as reference books and manuals, but also for printing enterprises, this "template driven printing" is also reforming the production process, sales process, market conditions and customer relations

in the UK, the development of Internet auction and other things has accelerated the "commercialization" of these prints. At first, it caused a lot of complaints and inconvenience, but it is the challenge and opportunity that people can't dodge that makes it recognized now; Although it has a certain impact on printing enterprises, it is still an important tool for printing and publishing to open up existing and future new markets. I and many other British people believe that the printing industry still has a lot to do if it wants to be more transparent to customers and consumers. But I believe that encouraging simple and direct production processes is very necessary for the prosperity of the printing industry in the future

this leads to the fourth problem I studied. A few years ago, a new type of company, printing management company, saved the British printing industry. Printing management companies basically act as intermediaries between printing buyers (usually group customers with different printing needs) and printing enterprises. They manage customers' printing needs and provide help in improving operating procedures, improving efficiency and reducing costs. Williams lea, the largest printing management company in the UK, now has a turnover of 450million pounds (more than 800 million dollars)

the idea behind printing management is not new. Of course, it has already existed in a simpler form in professional fields such as commercial form printing. But the difference now is that various technical needs and customer needs are combined, which extends this concept to other printing processes

network is very effective when combined with management information system, automatic printing production workflow and customers' recognition of electronic needs. The deeper component of the printing management process is to overcome the long-standing closeness of the industry: for group customers who do not know much about the printing process, printing management is an attractive and low-cost comprehensive service

at first, most British printing enterprises regarded printing management companies as a threat, and many enterprises still think so. But at the same time, the printing industry has gradually realized that they do represent the only way for the printing industry, and as a symbol of the times, their success points out the direction for the future of the printing industry

in order to succeed in the future, I think printing enterprises in Britain and even the world have a lot of key work to do

enterprises must support and support networks and master it technology. This is very important for the survival of enterprises, but also provides potential impetus for the further development of enterprises. As of December 2003, 24.9 million people in Britain could log on to the Internet at home, which means that 21.6 million people have not yet done so, which is a very important opportunity

at the same time, printing enterprises must understand the development path of the industry and clarify their position in it, which means that they must establish a business plan (which may be the first time for many printing enterprises) and grasp the pulse of business development after the introduction of management information system

the most important thing is that enterprises must keep close contact with consumers. They should not only understand customers' businesses well, but also invest in systems that can help them expand their businesses. First understand the needs of customers and then integrate them, so as to improve the added value of the production process

British printing enterprises should also pay great attention to environmental issues. On environmental issues, we have no choice. This is not only because we are a member of the European Union and are strictly restricted by regulations, but also because global industry has become the focus of attention in the field of environmental protection. In order to make the printing industry responsible for the environment, we need to take measures that combine compulsion and spontaneity. In recent years, the European Union has formulated a new strategy called reach, which has an important impact on all industries related to chemicals; At present, the British government and the direct mail industry have reached an agreement to increase the recovery rate of direct mail products from 30% at the end of this year to 70% in 2013

I want to say this: EU members, especially the British, often hope that the burden of regulations can be reduced, or they can share fairly with non EU members as our competitors. We have paid a lot to support it, and the highly feasible reach rule formulated by representatives of European countries is the best proof. In the UK, we are happy that the government has promised to reduce the burden of various regulations this year, and at the same time reduce the time we spend complying with these regulations

but it must be admitted that our industry is still under the strict supervision of environmental protectors, and we cannot underestimate the potential danger. The director of Hello publishing house, the largest magazine in Britain, recently commented that "if paper publications are regarded by the younger generation as pollution and waste that will ensure that the experimental machine will not be overloaded and damaged, we will be miserable."

the young generation brings me to my last topic today. In the past 20 years, the printing industry has encountered many problems, and we have gradually adapted to and continued to reform and survive tenaciously. I believe that as long as we understand our own market, we can formulate strategies leading to success

but the problem is how to attract our young people to our industry. In the UK, the average age of employees in the printing industry is 48, and there is an upward trend. We need urgent action to reverse this trend

one reason why young people don't want to engage in the printing industry is that they don't understand this industry and don't see the high-tech side of this industry. We are fully responsible for this, because we have always only looked at small parts, and we cannot escape the "closed" nature of this industry

however, I am happy to tell you that under the leadership of Picon, well-known industry organizations, media and printing enterprises have joined forces in this unprecedented large-scale battle to publicize this technology and profession to middle school students. The campaign, called print LT, targeted 15-year-old students in more than 4000 schools. This activity has been supported by the government, so that our future talents can be guaranteed

I am not only confident in the success of print LT, but also confident in the British printing industry that young people will join. Recently, Amicus GPMS, the largest trade union in the industry, the British employers' Union and the British Printing Industry Association jointly announced a new partnership agreement (the printing industry is the first industry to sign such an agreement). This agreement is an updated version of the old agreement and contains many new ideas to ensure the cooperation between these two forces and create a brilliant future for the printing industry. The addition of print LT further proves that the spirit of cooperation is the characteristic of this industry

CEO of John brazier, British Association of publishing, printing and media technology providers

source: PRINT world