We have entered the year 2023 with mix feelings. We are happy that Covid is finally behind us (is it?) and printing industry once again is on the growth path. However, during 2022 graphic arts industry faced slew of challenges including paper shortages, labor shortages, rising inflation, supply chain disruptions, the war in Ukraine and more. These challenges most probably will stay with us throughout 2023. On the other hand, it is likely that the world economy will face recession next year as a result of the rises in interest rates in response to higher inflation. So, 2023 outlook is kind of gloomy but there is always hope. Printing is a resilient industry and printers are resilient people.
The covid and subsequently post covid challenges taught us that digitization and digitalization are key elements in surviving during tough times. They allow printing industry to perform at highest level and deliver results. During 2023 direct communications between brands and customers will increase and that means the use of smart solutions such as QR codes to facilitate this interaction will gain more traction. Another trend is the role of Gen Z in offices and production sites and also as consumers. Within working environment, the presence of Gen Z will create fresh impetus for companies to be more productive and more technology oriented. While Gen Z as customers force brands to be more transparent and more sustainable. Gen Z is all about inclusion and individuality and brands will have to adapt themselves with these new trends which in turn means more demand for personalized printed products and more eye-catching printing embellishments.
The disruptions in supply chain wreaked havoc during 2022 and most likely it will be an annoyance during 2023. To mitigate this problem brands are vying for more visibility across their supply chain. To do so they opt for state-of-the-art technology such as RFID at every step of the value chain. Meanwhile for printers and converters using cloud services will become the norm rather than exception. Cloud creates enormous opportunities for printers and their customers.
The explosion of e-commerce and online shopping during pandemic and the aftermath forced companies to move away from offline towards online ordering technologies for labels and packaging. This trend is now dominant and print production is now data-driven and automated more than ever. Commercial offset printers, on the other hand expect press manufacturers to build presses that are super-efficient. They demand that must have automated features to be included in the configuration and capabilities of offset press equipment. They want single- pass production, most likely perfecting presses that print at lower cost than a straight 8 color press.
When it comes to paper in 2022, customers rushed to order more paper that they actually needed and orders started to level off in Q4. However, it is expected that demand for paper during 2023 increases but the lead time will decrease, according to paper manufacturers.
During 2023 packaging converters will diversify into shrink sleeves and pouches using narrow web presses and flexo printing will be more in demand due to its flexibility, simplicity and lower cost.
During 2023 more people will return to office although the hybrid working model will still be more popular.
Commercial printers also need to rethink their business model in order to create more revenue streams. In 2023 more commercial printers will either diversify into other segments of printing including package printing or large format printing or alternatively they will specialize in particular segment of commercial printing. For example, using rare and high-quality papers to produce luxury promotional printed products and become the leading printing service provider in that segment.
Year 2023 could be harbinger of better times to come or even more challenges, but printing industry will grow, thanks to people and printers who have learned to survive and thrive during thick and thin.
