Business Management – Market Research

Printing industry profits increased slightly over the past year according to the 2006 PIA/GATF Ratios Survey. The average printer’s before-tax profit on sales was 2.7 percent over this past year. While this was an increase compared to 2.5 percent for 2005, it is still below the 3.0–3.4 percent range experienced from 1995–2001. Meanwhile, The Industry Measure (formerly TrendWatch Graphic Arts), in its “Printing Forecast 2007” report, says three out of 10 graphic design and production establishments expect business conditions in the next 12 months to be “excellent,” an assessment shared by 29 percent of commercial printers. Among those same printers, 22 percent said business

Two models from Océ Imagistics have won Buyers Laboratory’s Fall “Pick of the Year” awards in the fax-centric multifunctional category. The Océ Imagistics fx2080 was deemed “outstanding” in the high-volume category, and the Océ Imagistics fx3000 received the same honor in the mid-volume category. To merit winning a BLI “Pick” award, a product must be a superior performer in BLI’s battery of lab tests, during which BLI evaluates all critical performance areas, including reliability, image quality, multitasking capabilities, productivity, print drivers, ease of use, toner yield and much more.

CAMBRIDGE, UK—03 November 2006—The premier event in printed electronics is pleased to announce an exciting roster of thought provoking speakers and topics. Covering all aspects of printed electronics, from technical to financial, Printed Electronics USA 2006, is being held in Phoenix, Arizona December 5-6th. Delegates will hear from companies looking to the promise of this nascent technology to solve real world problems and open entirely new markets. For example, given that situational information is mission critical for military applications, delegates will hear from Dr. Darrel Hopper of the US Air Force Research Laboratory and the diverse opportunities the USAF sees for the

A new IPG survey of in-plants in the manufacturing sector has yielded some interesting results: • The most common items printed are business forms (75% print them), tags/labels (72%) and brochures (69%). • Though slightly more (72%) offer offset printing than digital printing (69%), an impressive 54% handle CD/DCD production. • Less than half (45%) handle variable data printing. • Insourcing is done by 61%, with 40% of this work coming from local businesses. See the full report in our September issue.

NAPL’s Printing Business Index, the graphic communications industry trade association’s broadest measure of print activity, rose to 59.1 in March 2006 from 56.5 in February and 55.9 in January. (A reading above 50.0 means more printers report activity is picking up than report activity is slowing down; a reading below 50.0 means the opposite.) Gains in pricing, work-on-hand, hiring, and hiring plans account for the increase. Commercial printing industry sales also increased in the first months of 2006, up 8.5% in February and 5.9% in January, compared to year-earlier levels.