Global printing industry market trends

In the global printing market, the packaging and printing industry is not like a sleeping giant, but it is just not fully understood by people. At the IPEX 2006 International Printing Exhibition to be held in the UK in April 2006, the booth area occupied by exhibitors in the packaging and processing industry has greatly increased, totaling more than 20,000 square meters. This shows that the global packaging printing market is recovering.

According to a report provided by Comexi, a well-known manufacturer of packaging, printing and paper product processing machinery, one-third of the annual turnover of the global printing market is created by the packaging and printing industry. This is a market with an annual turnover of US$250 billion. And it’s still growing. In comparison, the annual turnover of global book printing is only US$10 billion.

A recent research project conducted by the Printing Industry Market Information and Research Organization examined the U.S. packaging converting and packaging printing industry and its four major sectors, namely corrugated packaging, folding cartons, and flexible packaging and label making. The results show that the total value of packaging printing and processing in North America reached US$68 billion in 2004 and is expected to grow to US$83 billion by 2009. Moreover, the growth rate of these sectors will reach or exceed the growth rate of the commercial printing industry and the U.S. economy.

So it is not surprising that the world's leading printing press manufacturers are increasingly showing an interest in the packaging industry. With 80% of paper packaging boxes being printed by offset presses, Heidelberg is not only moving its offset printing press production towards fast and reliable replaceable equipment to meet the needs of paper packaging box production, but also It has merged with some packaging equipment manufacturers to expand its brand advantages. For example, it acquired Jagenberg Company, which produces cutting machines and folding gluers, two years ago.

Heidelberg Global CEO Bernhald Schreier said that in the process of their corporate reorganization, enhancing the overall corporate value of the Heidelberg Group is a major goal. Heidelberg will remain committed to its core area of ??production of sheet-fed offset presses, in which it is already a global market leader, but will also focus on packaging and label printing, a market that is experiencing strong growth. At present, Heidelberg can provide customers with a complete set of products and solutions in packaging and label printing. The series of printing machines it produces are specially developed for this field and can meet the various needs of customers.

In the past year, many paper packaging box converters have become very interested in Heidelberg's "Speedmaster XL 105" printing press after visiting Heidelberg's German test base. Designed based on the concept of cost efficiency and high quality, this printing press has greatly improved productivity. Bernhald Schreier said that series production of this machine has begun and is being delivered and installed around the world.

Gary Doman, sales director of manroland sheet-fed printing presses, also believes that the packaging market is extremely important to their company and is also their core business. Fifteen years ago, the production of packaging boxes was quite simple, but now it has become very complex, with many post-printing processes that increase added value. Manroland is already "online" in packaging processing processes and machinery. It has invested heavily in research and development, a recent example of which is its “Prindor” online foiling system.

For printing press manufacturers, another market driver is to help packaging owners reduce production costs. In this regard, profit is everything. Manroland believes that paper packaging box manufacturers cannot increase their prices, so they must save production costs. In this way, printing press manufacturers must also devote themselves to cost control in the development of new products. Manroland's "EagleEye" paper monitoring system is an example of this.

This system is based on readable information on the passing paper to monitor each paper for defects. With the help of high-speed camera equipment and instant computer analysis, it can check for any abnormalities in the feeding paper and Defective paper identified.

Another major trend in the packaging and printing market is that packaging processing equipment manufacturers continue to expand their scale to meet the needs of more market areas. The pursuit of global operations and the ability to provide a full range of equipment to customers in the packaging industry has become a goal for many equipment manufacturers today. An excellent example of this is the Swiss company Bobst, which has been world-famous for manufacturing cartons, corrugated board printing and post-press equipment for the past decade. In recent years, it first entered the flexible packaging market and began to produce gravure printing, flexo printing, coating and lamination, cutting and other equipment through the acquisition of Schiavi; then, Bobst took a big step last year. Completed the final merger transaction for Valmet Packaging and Processing Equipment Company. The latter brings some world-renowned brand products to Bobst, such as "Titan" and "Atlas" cutting and rewinding machines, "Apollo" web cutting equipment, and leadership in the fields of metal spraying and shielding. "Rotamec" and "General" gravure technology equipment.

Bobst Company has proudly claimed that they are now able to meet all the needs of large packaging companies. The company's strength now lies in its ability to synergize across different technologies and market sectors. For example, in terms of flexo printing, the ink printing process is actually the same for films, cartons, corrugated paper, etc.; and in terms of the market, such as the cigarette industry, Bobst can also provide production of cartons, outer packaging boxes and Various equipment for thin films.

Spain's Comexi company is another example. The company is currently actively expanding across packaging converting areas, but with a clear focus on flexible packaging. It claims to have sold more flexo presses globally last year than any other company, and it also has success in coating and film equipment production. Another fact that is not widely known is that it is actually the holding company of Proslit, a manufacturer of cutting and rewinding machines, and Enviroxi, a manufacturer of environmental protection equipment. It also owns the production of web cutting machines, label cutting and coating equipment. shares of the company Kmee. Comexi believes that the current trend of market globalization and concentration continues. In 2004, approximately 60% of the global flexible packaging processing market share was concentrated in the hands of 10 large companies. The only way to survive in the market is to either become a market-leading group or join another group. Comexi is obviously adopting the first strategy.

In April this year, Comexi announced a strategic alliance with the Italian company Acom and reached an agreement to include Acom's "RG PIatinum" gravure printing machine into its product series. Comexi said its goal is to be among the top three in the world in all market segments it operates.

In addition, Cerutti, a company specializing in the production of gravure printing equipment, has also shown great interest in packaging processing equipment. The gravure printing machines it produces have long occupied an important market share. Recently, it produced flexo printing machines through the acquisition of Flexotecnica, and has also achieved success in the field of packaging processing equipment.

In the past few years, as packaging and processing companies strive to compete for emerging market resources, the production structure of packaging and processing has also undergone some changes. For example, in Russia and Poland, most packaging companies have taken over or built their own green production bases. Since equipment manufacturers always try to meet the needs of their customers, that is, packaging and processing owners, the packaging and processing industry has an obvious guiding role for equipment manufacturers, forming a "follow us or lose us" situation.

What will the future world packaging market look like? What is certain is that the production scale of large-scale packaging and processing manufacturers will become larger and larger, and they will continue to swallow up those small and medium-sized counterparts that do not adapt to market demand. At the same time, some smaller professional market areas may be ignored by large enterprises, which may provide vitality for those smaller but more professional packaging and processing enterprises. For printing equipment manufacturers, the huge packaging market potential cannot be ignored.

Market development of the flexographic printing industry in mainland China

Although flexographic printing started late in our country, through continuous development in recent years, flexographic printing has already played an important role in our country. It has established a foothold in the packaging and printing market, and is still expanding its product categories and printing fields, especially in the printing market for cigarette/wine packages and self-adhesives, which currently accounts for more than 30% of the market share.

According to statistics, my country already has about 350 flexographic printing production lines, most of which are distributed in Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Shandong, Beijing, Liaoning and the west on the southeast coast. Shaanxi, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces and cities in mainland China.

The development of the flexographic printing market shows the following main characteristics:

The product variety is constantly enriched, and the printing field is constantly expanding

The fields that flexographic printing can print are very wide Widely, especially in the flexible packaging printing industry. Flexographic printing has been recognized by users in the fields of cigarette packs, wine pack printing, pharmaceutical packaging printing, food packaging printing, trademark label printing and various self-adhesive printing, and occupies a considerable market share. At the same time, flexographic printing is still expanding into other printing fields, such as computer lottery tickets, various tickets, stationery, sanitary products, corrugated box pre-printing, etc. The products of flexographic printing are constantly enriched.

Printing quality continues to improve

As flexographic printing continues to develop in the Chinese market, users have increasingly higher requirements for printing quality. In order to meet the market demand for high-end packaging and printing products, many large-scale packaging and printing companies have introduced high-level foreign flexo printing machines to continuously improve the printing quality of flexographic printing products.

Combination with other printing processes

The competition in the packaging and printing industry is increasing day by day, and the quality requirements for printed matter are getting higher and higher. A single printing method can no longer meet the requirements of exquisite printing. Many printing equipment manufacturers have begun to combine printing processes such as offset printing, gravure printing, flexo printing, and silk screen printing. Especially in tobacco and alcohol packaging printing, the combined printing technology has become increasingly mature, and the characteristics and advantages of various printing methods have been fully utilized, which has greatly improved the quality of my country's tobacco and alcohol packaging printed matter.

Promote the development of related materials and equipment

The development of the domestic flexographic printing industry also drives the development of related industries. Many materials that are required for flexographic printing have begun to be produced in China. For example, water-based inks are already produced by many domestic manufacturers, and their quality is gradually improving, replacing imported inks step by step. Anilox rollers, die-cutting rollers, etc. have all been officially put into production in China. Other materials and equipment still need to be imported, and their purchasing channels and methods are much more flexible and convenient than before.

A relatively complete industrial chain has been formed

There are more than 10 equipments in China including Xi'an Heiniu, Shaanxi Beiren, Beiren Fuji, Shanghai Unisplendour, Shanxi Taihang, Qingzhou Yigaofa, etc. Manufacturing companies are able to produce flexo printing machines. At the same time, the development and production of supporting equipment such as anilox rollers, plates, and inks are also progressing hand in hand, forming a relatively complete industrial chain.

The development trend of China's printing industry market

The printing industry is one of China's important industrial categories and has maintained rapid and sustainable development. According to relevant reports, there were 82,189 printing companies in China in 2001, employing more than 3 million people, and the total output value of the national printing industry reached 144.789 billion yuan. Among them, the packaging and printing industry occupies a considerable proportion. For example, the number of enterprises is 20,409, accounting for 12.83% of the total number of printing enterprises in the country. There are more than 1 million employees, accounting for 33.33% of the total number of printing enterprises in the country. The total output value reaches more than 50 billion yuan. Accounting for 34.53% of the total output value of the national printing industry.

From the perspective of printing methods, China has transformed from a single printing method in the past to a variety of printing methods, and has gradually formed a printing industry system with a complete range of categories and certain modern technologies and equipment. For example, among packaging and printing enterprises, lithographic (offset) printing accounts for 42%, letterpress printing accounts for 25%, gravure printing accounts for 19%, there are 240 various flexo printing production lines, accounting for 7%, and other printing accounts for 7%.

Major changes in the printing industry

The printing industry has always been one of the most active industrial fields in technological transformation in China.

The continuous introduction of high-tech printing technology and equipment has brought China's printing industry as a whole closer to the technical level of developed countries. In recent years, China's printing industry has adjusted its industry structure, enterprise structure and product structure. Some gratifying changes have taken place in the printing industry, and some new characteristics and development trends have formed.

Regional printing base has become a trend

Guangdong and Shanghai continue to be in the leading position in the printing industry. In addition, regional packaging and printing bases have been formed in Wenzhou, Cangnan, Zhejiang, Zhongshan, Guangdong, Xiongxian, Hebei, Sanhe, Langfang, Dongguang, Pudong, Shanghai, and Tongcheng, Anhui, and the printing industry has become a pillar industry locally.

The private printing industry is developing rapidly

The structure of the industry dominated by state-owned enterprises is changing. The development of the printing industry dominated by private capital has achieved gratifying results. At present, Wenzhou's private printing and equipment enterprises have an annual output value of 18 billion yuan. Many private enterprises have passed the period of primitive accumulation, and their development trends cannot be ignored, such as Shanghai Jielong Group.

Capital operations in the printing industry started

The printing industry used to rely solely on product competition to occupy the market and expand the company's influence. Nowadays, capital operations have surfaced. For example, in early 2002, the two major domestic printing machinery manufacturing enterprises - Beiren Printing Machinery Co., Ltd. and Shaanxi Huanggong Group Printing Machinery Co., Ltd. were reorganized into the new Shaanxi Beiren Printing Machinery Co., Ltd. , the new company will give full play to Beiren's financial and technological advantages to achieve complementary advantages, resist risks and promote development.

Foreign printing industry giants have settled in China

After joining the WTO, foreign printing manufacturers have further accelerated their pace of settling in China. For example, the Donnelley Printing Company in the United States has cooperated with the Shanghai Press and Publication Bureau affiliated The company reached a cooperation agreement and invested US$29.5 million in the first phase to set up a printing company in Qingpu Industrial Zone. In addition, the China Business Web Printing Center invested and constructed by China Business United Printing (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. in Chunhu Industrial Zone, Pinghu Town, Shenzhen has also been fully launched. The printing center has the largest production scale in China. Three machines are turned on at the same time and can print 10 tons of coated paper per hour, which can reach 50,000 tons per year.

Great development has occurred in the exhibition economy

In recent years, China has held a large number of exhibitions related to printing and equipment every year. Now the exhibition has developed from a comprehensive exhibition to a professional exhibition, such as exhibitions of specialized printing machinery, screen printing, rapid printing, and printing equipment. In addition, in the past, exhibitions were concentrated in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other places, but now they are developing towards regionalization, such as regional exhibitions in Xi'an, Chongqing and other places. There are also some exhibitions held in printing bases, such as Wenzhou and Xiongxian Packaging and Printing Exhibitions.

Small businesses have begun to take the road of great unity

Facing the accession to the WTO and the comprehensive entry of major printing countries into the Chinese market, a group of far-sighted small and medium-sized enterprises have strengthened their ability to resist risks. Ability, has begun to take the road of unity. For example, four companies, Jingdezhen Printing Machine, Weihai Printing Machine, Changchun Printing Machine, and Yutian Printing and Packaging, formed a joint company. These printing machine factories are all medium-sized enterprises and their products are highly complementary.

Other industries are actively investing in the printing industry

For example, China Aviation Technology Import and Export Corporation and People's Fine Arts Printing Factory jointly established Beijing American Airlines Express Printing Company; COSCO Industry, a subsidiary of China Ocean Shipping Company The company and COSCO (Hong Kong) Industry and Trade Holdings Co., Ltd. jointly invested in the establishment of Yuanyi Printing Co., Ltd.

The development of major printing equipment

Printing equipment in national sub-statistics mainly includes seven categories: press, publication, printing and writing paper, ink, PS plate, anodized aluminum, and printing photosensitive film , printing blankets and printing rubber rollers, etc. At present, China's seven major printing equipment are all in a steady development stage.

Press, publication, printing and writing paper

In recent years, China's paper and cardboard production has been ranked second in the world, but per capita consumption is only 28 kilograms, far behind developed countries.

China's exports of coated paper and lightweight coated paper have shown an upward trend in the past two years. Currently, among the domestically produced paper, medium and high-end products account for 45%, and low-end products account for 55%. The "10th Five-Year Plan" for China's paper industry focuses on the development of medium and high-grade products and famous brand products. The expected goal is that in 2005, the proportion of medium- and high-grade products will reach 60%, and the share of low-grade products will be relegated to 40%. The export volume will also be There has been an increase.

Ink

China’s annual production capacity of ink is 250,000 tons, ranking fourth in the world. There are more than 300 professional ink manufacturers, including nearly 40 Sino-foreign joint ventures and Sino-foreign cooperative enterprises. In recent years, the introduction of foreign investment, advanced technology, equipment and management experience has promoted the development of China's ink industry and narrowed the gap with developed countries. Product output has increased and quality has improved. However, compared with the international advanced level, There is still a gap. One of China's ink industry development goals is to achieve annual actual output of 240,000 tons, exports of 40,000 tons, and foreign exchange earnings of US$120 million by the end of the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" period.

PS version

China-made PS version is a mid- to low-end product in the international market. Over the years, the first export market for domestic PS versions has been Asia. At present, Asia's PS version market share accounts for about 25% of the world's total sales. World-renowned brands are sold in Asia, with Japanese products accounting for the largest share. Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and the Middle East are the countries and regions that use a large number of PS versions in Asia. What deserves attention is the Russian market. Russia currently mainly uses European PS versions and is believed to become a potential market for the export of Chinese PS versions.

Electrochemical aluminum

Domestic electrochemical aluminum is mostly medium and low-end products. In recent years, some domestic manufacturers have also introduced a complete set of foreign advanced equipment, adopted foreign advanced technology, and used imported materials to produce some medium and high-end products. The main export destinations for anodized aluminum products are the United States, Western Europe, Australia, Malaysia, India, the Middle East and other countries and regions.

Printing photosensitive film

Printing photosensitive offset plate is a product with high technical content. For many years, the international market has been monopolized by Kodak, Agfa and Fujifilm. In recent years, Chinese products have been able to be exported, which is the result of the efforts of manufacturers. As the largest scientific research and production base for printing photosensitive materials in China, the Second Offset Factory has been adhering to the combination of scientific research and development and technological transformation for many years. It has been able to produce various types of printing films with continuous improvement in quality. The quality of some products can be compared with similar foreign products. Comparable.

Printing blanket

The offset printing blanket is the most widely used printing blanket. Printing blankets produced in China are also exported, most of which are air-cushion blankets, accounting for 93.3% of total exports.

Printing rubber rollers

The production of printing rubber rollers in China is currently dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises, and most of them are medium and low-end products. Recently, Shanghai Seal Chi Chunlei Rubber Co., Ltd. has used rubber materials from the American Joe Mike Company and introduced advanced Japanese manufacturing technology to produce multiple series of high-end printing rubber rollers. This will undoubtedly increase the share of Chinese printing rubber rollers in the international market. competitiveness.

The development direction of printing technology

The rapid development of high and new technologies such as contemporary information technology, network technology, digital technology and automation technology not only fundamentally and powerfully transforms, broadens and develops It has not only revolutionized printing technology, but also profoundly changed the traditional printing industry, strongly promoted and broadened the progress and development of the entire printing industry, and even profoundly changed the traditional management methods and concepts.

In countries and regions with relatively developed printing industries, the traditional printing industry has undergone major changes and qualitative leaps under the impact of contemporary digital technology and computer network technology. The general development trend is: the printing industry It is transforming into a unique industry with the duality of soft and hard parts of "manufacturing industry" and "information industry", and is constantly strengthening the image of "information exchange industry". Along with this change, the printing industry is not only limited to the information processing industry, but also expands to the information intermediary industry, information publishing industry and other fields.

In the few years from now to 2010, China's printing industry will vigorously develop direct plate making and direct printing, and gradually develop towards digital printing technology while improving the quality of traditional printed matter.

Develop digital prepress technology

In the next ten years or so, with the continuous development of electronic computers and information communication technology, the prepress field (including color desktop systems, computers to The digital processing and transmission technology of printing plates, computers to printing presses, computers to paper, computer digital proofing, etc. will develop rapidly.

The specific development goals are: the promotion and application of high-precision, high-performance digital cameras and input scanners; the preliminary promotion and application of direct plate making; the popularization and promotion of digital proofing technology and equipment; the improvement and satisfaction of hardware Equipment system integration, openness, compatibility and flexible upgrade requirements.

Develop efficient multi-color printing presses

"Multi-color" refers to offset printing, flexo printing, gravure printing and other printing presses that should focus on the development of multi-color machines.

"Efficient" refers to high productivity and high efficiency while meeting quality requirements.

Improving the quality of post-press equipment

Exquisite post-press automation refers to improving the quality of post-press processing equipment and developing large-format, high-speed, high-precision, multi-functional, fully-automatic post-press Processing equipment, exquisite post-press processing products. Although domestic post-press processing equipment has made significant progress in the past ten years, there is still a large gap compared with the world's advanced level. The main manifestations are that the post-press processing technology is relatively simple, and the working performance and automation of the equipment need to be improved; the automatic detection and automatic control technology of equipment stability, reliability and quality are basically blank.

Develop serial printing equipment

Although China's printing equipment industry is developing rapidly, most printing equipment can basically meet the development needs of the printing industry in terms of variety and quantity. However, compared with developed countries, Compared with other products, there are still obvious gaps in quality and stability. Therefore, the development direction and focus in the next ten years is to improve quality and increase variety (serialization) to adapt to the needs of printing technology advancement.

Changing trends in the printing market

The printing market is also changing. Reducing printing batches and shortening delivery cycles will be the mainstream of future development of the printing industry. Digital printing will also affect traditional printing methods in many aspects.

Changes in the book and periodical printing market

There are more and more varieties of books and periodicals, and the number of printed books is getting smaller and smaller. The focus of book and periodical sales is shifting faster and faster, requiring book and periodical printing. The cycle is getting shorter and shorter. In the next few years, short-run jobs in China's book and periodical printing will account for 60% of the entire book and periodical printing. This change makes it possible to use digital printing equipment and technology to achieve on-demand printing. The promotion of on-demand printing will also significantly reduce the inventory of publishing houses and further accelerate the publishing cycle.

Changes in the bill printing market

With the deepening of reform, various bills in China have shown an increasingly personalized tendency. The potential of the personalized printing market in telecommunications, postal services, banks, securities, insurance, various types of tickets, and public utilities is very great. Digital printers and technologies that can achieve personalized and variable data printing will be very popular.

Changes in the anti-counterfeiting printing market

In anti-counterfeiting printing, many need to be realized with variable data methods such as three-dimensional barcodes, and variable data must use digital printing technology and equipment to complete. Digital printing also has great potential in the anti-counterfeiting printing market.

Changes in the commercial printing market

In recent years, the proportion of commercial printing in the entire printing industry has been increasing year by year, and short-run printing, personalized printing, and ultra-short-run commercial printing and variable data printing, etc., and their proportion in commercial printing is also increasing. For example, exhibition samples, color business cards, various recipes, various certificates and other products are very suitable for printing with digital printing equipment, especially suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises engaged in commercial printing.

Changes in the packaging and printing market

Digital printing has been used in packaging and label design and production systems, specializing in producing product labels for various brands of alcoholic products, food, beverages and other products . Digital technology is also playing an increasing role in flexible packaging printing. Digital technology enables packaging label printers to use computer-to-plate printing, eliminating film in prepress processing. As digital printing technology continues to develop and integrate with converting capabilities, printing plates will also be eliminated from inline label production along with film.

Changes in the rapid printing market

The rapid development of digital technology will provide a huge market for rapid printing. Digital printing and digital proofing equipment and technology will likely first replace traditional small offset printing in the high-speed printing industry. Using network transmission technology and digital printing presses, documents will greatly improve office efficiency. Digital printing will soon extend its reach to on-demand printing and short-run, fast printing in the fields of commerce and publishing.

Overall, the future development of China's printing industry will be based on market needs, focusing on specialized operations and large-scale production, improving labor productivity and equipment utilization, and preventing small but comprehensive and low-level duplication and production. The update of the original version allows enterprises to improve their market competitiveness with a high-tech starting point, high-grade quality, high-efficiency speed, and high value-added content.