At present, the prevention and control of the epidemic cannot be ignored, and the pressure of the external environment has had a certain impact on the development of the digital printing industry. This article mainly introduces the general situation of the digital printing industry during the epidemic, hoping to get a glimpse of the leopard, give some inspiration to colleagues in the digital printing industry, and find a better development direction from it.

Data Overview

According to the data provided by the website of the Smithers Peel Institute and the National Press and Publication Administration, the total output value of global printing reached 806.2 billion US dollars in 2010 and 834.2 billion US dollars in 2026, with little change; the corresponding domestic printing output value is 111.3 billion USD and USD 217.7 billion, basically doubling with a huge increase.

Among them, digital printing accounts for the proportion, and the global digital printing market share will increase from 17.2% in 2021 to 21.6% in 2026. By comparing the data of China and the United States, digital printing in the United States will account for 14% in 2020. China has no unified data for the time being, but from a comprehensive perspective, the pessimistic point accounts for 2%, and the optimistic point accounts for 7%, which is only half of the United States.

Overall, the compound annual growth rate of global digital printing from 2013 to 2018 was 7.4%; the compound annual growth rate during China's 13th Five-Year Plan period was 30%. 

According to the research report of Keyin Media in recent years, from the installed capacity of single-fed high-end color machines from 2012 to 2021, and the situation of high-speed inkjet printing equipment in the Chinese market from 2015 to 2021, we can see the following features with domestic digital printing companies and domestic and foreign equipment suppliers:

1. Commercial graphics still takes up over half of the quantity ;

2. When high-end electrostatic equipment is cold, high-speed inkjet + mid-end entry-level electrostatic is the mainstream;

3. Suppliers accelerate their layout and innovate sales and service models;

4. Inkjet printing technology is recognized as a "future technology" in the industry, and domestic inkjet printing equipment suppliers are growing rapidly.

Industry Status

In my opinion, the three major application areas of digital printing, commercial printing, on-demand publishing, and packaging labels, have reached the "Nuggets Point", "Critical Point" and "Burst Point" respectively.

In commercial printing: fast printing industry, fine division of labor, separation of shops and factories, continuous improvement of small batch service capabilities; combined printing, adding running, more commercial application products; image output has gradually become an important business, high-frequency consumption, high added value , replacing photo prints.

In on-demand publishing: On the one hand, destocking, making up for shortcomings, and informatization. In the past 10 years, the average print run of published books has dropped from 28,000 to 18,000; 3,000 volumes; JD.com has more than 5 million clicks on out-of-print books, involving 300,000 books; the publishing house has strengthened informatization and has the environment and conditions for on-demand printing. On the other hand, high quality, cost reduction, short delivery, and the development of digital technology have significantly improved the quality of black and white and color printing; the critical point of printing costs between traditional printing and digital printing is 1,000 to 2,000 copies; printing and post-press technology are intelligent , The development of logistics has gradually shortened the delivery time.

In the field of packaging labels: traditional label companies such as Guangzhou Avery and Guangzhou Tianyi are developing steadily; in the field of flexible packaging, Shandong Green Love has emerged; in the field of folding cartons, enterprises such as Chongqing Youse have also appeared to explore.

In short, with the support of policies, digital printing, such as the "14th Five-Year Plan" goal of the printing industry: green, digital, intelligent, and integration, accelerates integration with traditional markets, such as combined editions, fast printing, etc.; driven by technological upgrading , such as the development of new equipment, improvement of equipment performance, supporting process, etc., the application is constantly innovating, new needs are discovered, new products are developed, and new models are explored. Under the general direction of digitalization and on the basis of technological development, the digital printing industry must have great development.