1. INTRODUCTION
Printing is a branch of industry engaged in the manufacture of printed products (as a rule, in large print runs), namely book, magazine, business, newspaper, label, and packaging products.
Today, there are various types and methods of printing:
offset
digital
digital offset
flexography
sublimation
silk screen printing
embossing
2. MARKET ANALYSIS
The main trend of the printing market is a decrease in demand for printing services against the backdrop of a fall in the book and magazine production market. Despite a number of measures taken by the state to stimulate the industry, the situation in 2015-2016. remains challenging. The print media faced a significant increase in the cost of production due to the cost of its production and distribution. Thus, a vicious circle arises: in the face of declining effective demand, printing houses are forced to compensate for losses by raising prices, which leads to a further drop in demand.
The main source of income for print media - advertising - also shows a decline in volumes. Advertisers prefer to post ads on the Internet. In this situation, some players are forced to reorganize the business, reduce costs or even leave the market.
In recent years, the printing industry has been influenced by two areas of market development:
instability of the environment (foreign policy factors), weakening of the national currency, decrease in solvent demand, increased competition
new technological trends - the active development of the Internet, an increase in the cost of production and distribution of printed materials, legislative restrictions in the field of advertising, a decrease in the share of foreign capital in advertising
In 2014-2016, with all the negative influences on the market, there was still no mass exit of players from the market. For the most part, cost reduction was expressed in the suspension of the implementation of previously planned projects, including the modernization of production facilities.
An important trend, according to experts, is the reduction in the number of state-owned printing houses and an increase in the share of small digital printing industries. The structural changes of the market are also important: the concentration of most print media in Moscow, the decision of the Moscow government to centralize the print media and their distribution system, the formation of the largest publishing holding in the Republic of Bashkortostan and the inclusion of a number of state-owned printing companies.
Despite the expectations of officials, there was no recovery in the market in 2016. Many enterprises balance on the brink of payback when profitability is at the lower acceptable threshold.
Over the past few years, Rosstat has been recording a constant decline in the output of printed materials both in physical and in monetary terms - by 5-10% per year. The growth in volumes is maintained only in the production of printed packaging and other printed products. Government agencies are preparing programs to support the industry: the Ministry of Communications is lobbying for the liberalization of legislation in the media industry, and Rospechat is developing measures to increase the availability of book and periodicals for the public. In particular, in early December 2016, the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media developed a draft law on support for bookstores, which includes benefits and the abolition of VAT. Nevertheless, it is extremely difficult to predict the further development of the situation in the industry.
The printing business is one of the most traditionally socially significant sectors of the economy, the purpose of which is to satisfy the demand of the population for printed materials. In other words, to supply the population with news, teaching aids, literature, and so on. However, a market economy is making its own adjustments to the industry. The social importance of the industry is declining amid the need to increase profitability and maximize profits. The result of the desire to increase the profitability of the business was not only the provision of services by printing houses, but also the organization of production of their own products - wallpaper, paper and film coatings for furniture production, packaging materials, advertising products (wrapping paper, bags, etc.).
Against the background of a decrease in the number of traditional and large printing houses, the number of new formats is growing - digital and “hybrid” printing houses, mini printing houses that produce promotional products and others. A characteristic feature of modern printing production is the division of the market into technological and product sectors and segments focused on a specific contingent of consumers. Such a reorientation is quite natural and due to market mechanisms, and corresponds to the situation in the developed countries of the world.
The current situation forces market players to act in two directions. Firstly, to keep track of the latest technological innovations and, if possible, to modernize production in order to maximize automation and reduce costs. Secondly, to develop and produce our own printed product (based on innovation), to promote its promotion and distribution.
Figure 1. Number of printing houses in Russia
Market experts also note the multitechnology of printing companies, that is, the simultaneous use of several printing technologies - for example, digital and offset. It is estimated that offset printing is the most popular today, followed by laser digital, inkjet digital and flexographic. In fig. Figure 2 shows the structure of the Moscow market (as the most indicative) by type of printing (one enterprise can use two or more printing methods, so the amount exceeds 100%).
Figure 2. Printing methods used at printing companies in Moscow, %
Nevertheless, with the trend of multi-technology, most digital printers use only digital printing due to the narrow focus on a specific segment of consumers and the desire to reduce costs. The number of enterprises engaged in the printing of packaging and label products, as well as relatively new areas - the printing of plastic cards and personalized printed products (the so-called direct-mail) is increasing.
Summing up, we can identify the main trends in the development of the printing market:
1. The process of mergers and acquisitions, which leads to the creation of large printing complexes
2. The introduction of information technology as a means of decentralized printing on the basis of common principles for prepress content preparation; implementation of the print-on-demand business model
3. Strengthening the interaction between small printing houses, the emergence of crisis-resistant enterprises
Denis Miroshnichenko
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08/18/2019