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Printing Market Report 2003
Key Note Publications Ltd, Feb 2003
The UK printing market is of great importance in the UK economy. The British Printing Industries Federation (Bpif) has often referred to printing as the bellwether of the economy, as its performance usually reflects the state of the economy as a whole. The products of printing are everywhere, from the magazines, newspapers and books that we read to the packaging that seems to cover everything we purchase. We estimate that the UK market for sales of printed products in 2002 was £12.52bn at manufacturers' selling prices (msp), excluding the sales of bookbinding, composition, finishing and platemaking.
The printers of the UK provide a service to the following sectors: book, magazine and newspaper publishing advertising brochures catalogues labels packaging commercial stationery business forms diaries cards and calendars.
While the market was indeed difficult for printers in 2002, this should not obscure the fact that demand in many sectors was strong. The strongest sectors in the market were advertising material, catalogues and security printing.
The UK printing industry consists of thousands of small- and medium-sized companies. Despite all the mergers of the last few years, there are said to be more small companies in the UK industry than in any other country in Europe. Only four UK companies have a turnover of £500m or more. However, as the industry's profitability figures show, the larger companies tend to have lower profits than most of their smaller rivals. This has been true for years and is still the case in 2003.
The poor profitability in the industry has not stopped it from investing in new technology: companies are increasingly installing computer-to-plate (CTP) systems, and the demand for digital printing is growing gradually. However, experts' opinions differ as to whether the UK printing industry is investing enough. Continental printers are becoming a source of some concern, as they are able to offer prices below those of their UK competitors, helped by the weakness of the euro. In addition, some print purchasers believe such companies are able to offer better quality and service, partly because they have invested more than is the case in the UK. These are contentious claims, which are impossible to substantiate with any accuracy. However, there is undoubtedly some disquiet in the industry at the loss of some important contracts to German, Italian or French printers in 2002. On a more positive note, the UK still has a healthy balance of trade in printing, despite it being less impressive than it once was.
We forecast that the printing market will increase by 1.2% in 2003, to £12.55bn, and by an additional 1.5% in 2004. Thereafter, the market is likely to be rising at around 1.8% a year until 2007.
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