The printing industry should not blindly follow the trend, perspective is the key

      In recent years, due to the impact of the economic crisis, the development of the printing industry has been hindered, whether it is printing equipment manufacturing enterprises, printing plants or related enterprises have appeared potential "crisis". In the first half of 2012, print advertising lost $798 million compared with the same period in 2011, slightly offset by digital advertising revenue of just $32 million, according to the latest advertising data released by the Newspaper Association of America. The ratio of losses to revenues was 25 to 1. The report released by Japan shows that the sales of digital printing presses in Japan and the world in 2012 decreased slightly from 2011.

      In addition, according to the United States Donnelly Group reported that the fourth quarter of the 2012 fiscal year, the company's loss widened, mainly due to the increase in impairment expenses, as well as a sharp decline in revenue, but the adjusted profit was better than market expectations; Kodak's net loss for the fourth quarter of 2012 more than tripled to $402 million from $117 million in the same period in 2011, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. A few days ago, Beiren Printing had issued a surplus warning, expected 2012 annual loss of 160 million to 180 million yuan.

     The above printing giants are not in the annual report or other reports "talk" of the "bitter" in 2012, and these enterprises will be mostly attributed to: the traditional printing machinery industry as a whole is not good, production costs continue to rise, the company is facing operating difficulties, the main business income decreased compared with last year; During the period, the company carried out major asset restructuring, and the restructuring cost reduced the profit; In addition, during the period, the company set aside more employee dismissal benefits than the previous year.

      In fact, in the author's opinion, in the scope of the global printing enterprises, the continuous loss of enterprises are mostly some large printing enterprises or giant printing enterprises, because these enterprises are mostly "big undertakings", and the investment in technology is far greater than ordinary printing enterprises. In the same profit situation, large enterprises are often in a state of loss. In addition, a series of factors such as the rising prices of raw materials and the increase in workers' wages have led to the appearance of "false losses" in profits.

This evaluation of the relationship between traditional printing and digital printing: "Digital printing has long surpassed traditional printing technology, there is no doubt. Traditional printing will be replaced by digital printing will become an indisputable fact!" Another expert said: "Digital printing will sooner or later replace the traditional offset printing industry to become the 'hegemon'." But is this really the case? I think not.

     Printing experts believe that digital printing will supplement offset printing, screen printing and flexo printing, and compete with it to become one of the main "contributors" to promote the development of the printing industry. According to the relevant agency forecast that by 2014, the global digital printing market share will double, accounting for 27.4% of the total market. Although traditional offset printing has tended to the "sunset", digital printing can never replace it. This is mainly due to their functional characteristics. Digital printing is simple, fast, fast and flexible, while traditional offset printing is "stable", and the end result of the development of the two should be complementary rather than "swallowing". This has created an illusion for some printers that digital printing should replace traditional offset printing and become the "main trend" of the development of the industry. Just like the H7N9 bird flu epidemic, the reason why it can make people "panic" is not because of its "incidence", but because of the tension caused by continuous media reports.

     The printing industry is affected by the global economy, in the industry, whether it is the printing market itself or printing raw materials, costs and even plant rents, are constantly rising, especially in recent years, the development of new technologies, forcing the printing industry can not keep up with the development of The Times, making the entire industry affected. In China, printing companies are undergoing changes, the printing industry is hazy, forcing many printing companies to transform, especially those small and medium-sized printing companies, as long as the industry is slightly difficult, it is facing the risk of bankruptcy and transformation. As a result, "printing enterprise transformation" has become the hottest topic in the printing industry in 2012.

     On April 18, 2012, Fuji Xerox Co., LTD. (China company) announced a new strategy that they will shift from production and sales to development. By strengthening the design, development, production and sales of products rooted in the Chinese market, Fuji Xerox will truly realize the goal of designed in China, open in China, made in China and sold to the world. This is another new manifestation of Fuji Xerox's investment in China.

     Komori, too, seems to be following in the footsteps of its compatriot Fujifilm, quietly pursuing its own. At drupa2012, Komori introduced its new Impremia series of inkjet presses. The press marked Komori's entry into digital printing.

      The transformation of an enterprise must be that its "profit" is damaged and its "market" becomes smaller. However, the transformation of some printing enterprises in China is not caused by the above reasons. They are just "possessed" by the printing transformation wind, and the excessive blind transformation has brought negative effects on the development of the printing industry, resulting in the development of China's printing industry, "bad phenomenon", it seems that there is a situation that will be eliminated without transformation. In fact, whether it is printing companies, or other companies, often when the transformation, the most vulnerable to be hit, so as to remain depressed.