A new study by smithers & peer, the international market research institute, shows that there are still huge opportunities in the global printing market, especially in the packaging market and areas where printing services can be provided with higher added value.

Packaging market: upgrading consumption structure promotes industrial prosperity

The report's research data shows the global print market as a whole was $48.8 trillion in 2017. The global printing industry will remain in the stage of industrial transformation and upgrading in the next five years, and the overall volume is expected to decline slightly to $48.1 trillion by 2022, according to the report. In addition, the report showed that the output value of the global printing industry will increase by 0.8 percent year-on-year in the next five years, compared with $785 billion in 2017, and is expected to increase to $814.5 billion by 2022, indicating that the value-added potential of the industry remains.

The packaging market, an important part of the printing industry, has entered a boom phase in the past few years and will remain so in 2018. The global packaging industry is expected to be worth $1 trillion by 2021, according to a separate report, "top 10 disruptive forces in the packaging and printing industry 2017-2027" released by smithers & peel research institute.

The phenomenal growth of the global packaging market has a number of reasons, including technological development, rising cost per unit, sustainability initiatives and, most importantly, the growth of the consumer class in asia-pacific, eastern Europe, and south and Central America. The development of the industry is also driven by various trends, which depend on different factors in different geographical regions.

For emerging economies such as China, India, Brazil and Russia, growing urbanization, housing and construction investment, the development of retail chains and the emerging healthcare and cosmetics industries are important forces driving packaging demand. The improvement of living standards and the increase of personal disposable income in these areas have promoted the consumption of all kinds of products and thus the growth of packaging demand for these products.

And in terms of economic developed markets, in recent years, some key social and market trends for the development of packaging has a significant effect, such as the trend of the "nuclear family" : with the increase of demand for smaller packaging, consumers growing demand for the convenience of product, the increase of male beauty products for health investment, these requirements are promoted the prosperity of the packaging market. In the next 10 years, the development of packaging industry will also follow the principles of consumer orientation, increasing product added value, building brand strength and integrating development with the Internet, according to the report.

In the field of digital packaging, the boom in this market has driven the development of packaging industry and even the whole printing industry. The future of packaging and digital printing in 2018 notes that consumer demand for digital packaging continues to rise as the population grows and consumer income grows in industrialized regions. In more developed regions, the average household size is declining, the average printing amount is decreasing, and the advantages of digital packaging are better reflected and played. Variable data function of digital printing machine allows for version control, which can meet the personalized requirements of consumers.

At the same time, label market is the most rapidly developing digital packaging market segment. The smithers & peel research shows that the digital packaging and label market has shown impressive growth trends in the last five years. In 2013, the label industry accounted for most of the market, worth $6 billion, or 89.6 percent of all digital packaging. The study also compared the increase in digital packaging and digital production materials between 2008 and 2018, with a 28 percent increase in digital packaging within 10 years and a 375 percent increase in digital production materials. This apparent difference in growth rates effectively explains why many equipment vendors are developing digital devices for the mainstream packaging market.

Digital printing market: leading the forefront of the industry

According to smithers & peel's analysis of the digital printing market, the industry was worth only $131.5 billion in 2013 and is expected to grow to $187.7 billion in 2018, a compound annual growth rate of 7.4%. The rapid development of digital printing has determined its rise in the overall print market share, which is expected to increase to 20.6 percent in 2018 from 9.8 percent in 2008.

Global offset printing declined between 2008 and 2017, with a total decline of 10.2% expected in 2018, while digital printing is expected to grow by 68.1%. In 2018, digital printing will continue to lead the industry's cutting-edge footsteps through market innovation, cutting-edge technology, industry dynamics and digital printing trends, the report analysis said.

On the development of digital printing equipment. The print industry's new equipment market has grown to more than $17.9 billion in 2017, and the industry will continue to grow slowly over the next few years, growing 1.5 percent to $18.4 billion by 2021, according to smithers & peel research. Digital equipment is growing more slowly than the rest of the industry because while investment in emerging markets and packaging and printing machinery continues to grow, growth in digital equipment is slowing as demand for printing continues to falter.

As demand for digital printing equipment changes and printers' business models continue to change, more and more printers are looking to boost their strength in new areas through smart investments in the latest and most advanced equipment. Therefore, it can be predicted that although the increase is small, the digital printing equipment market will continue to maintain a good upward trend, laying a foundation for the long-term development of the entire digital printing industry. As a result, digital printing equipment will continue to dominate the digital printing sector, creating new value-added opportunities for equipment suppliers and printers.