The UK's PrintWeek magazine has opened a New Year's Predictions column, inviting overseas printing associations and business leaders to predict global printing industry trends in 2023.

01 Acceleration of the digitalization process

Faced with the challenges of low printing demand, rising raw material costs and labor shortages, printing companies will tend to apply new technologies in the new year to cope with the increasing demand for automated processes, and accelerating digitalization will become the first choice for printing companies.

Ryan Myers, managing director of Heidelberg UK, said "In 2023, print companies are expected to invest more in digitization." In the post-epidemic era, printing demand is still at a low level and companies must seek more efficient ways to maintain profitability, accelerating digitalization and automation has become the main direction for printers in the future.

In the opinion of Stuart Rising, head of commercial printing for Canon UK & Ireland, print service providers are looking for technologies that will help reduce turnaround times, improve production levels and boost potential returns. "As the demand for automated hardware and software by print companies continues to grow due to labor shortages across the industry, accelerating digitalization will help streamline workflows, reduce waste and lower energy consumption. In these challenging times, these advantages are extremely attractive to print companies."

IPIA general manager Brendan Perring predicted that the trend toward automation will accelerate due to inflation. "Inflation is driving companies to leverage advanced software and equipment to streamline print workflows from front-end to back-end, resulting in increased throughput and productivity."

Ken Hanulec, vice president of global marketing at EFI, said the transition to digitization will be a key point of success for companies. "With solutions in automation, cloud software and artificial intelligence, printing efficiency is reaching new heights, and some companies will redefine their markets and expand into new business in 2023."

02 Specialization trend appears 

In 2023, the trend of specialization in the printing industry will also continue to emerge. Many companies focus on research and development innovation to form their own unique competitive advantages and help the printing industry to develop sustainably.

"The move towards specialization will be one of the key trends in the printing industry in 2023." Chris Awcock, UK Strategic Accounts Sales Director at Quadient, emphasizes that by 2023, print companies must find a niche and become leaders in that area. Only companies that innovate and pioneer and lead in their niche will continue to thrive.   

"In addition to finding their own niche markets, we will see more and more printers becoming strategic partners with their customers." Chris Awcock said that if only printing services are provided, they can easily be copied by other suppliers. But offering additional value-added services, such as creative design, will be difficult to replace.

The Suffolk, family-run print business’s director Rob Cross believes that the printing landscape is changing considerably as printing costs rise sharply and high-quality print products are favored by the market. 2023 will be a good time for further consolidation in the printing industry. "Currently, printing capacity is still in surplus, leading to a decline in the price of printed products. I hope the whole industry will focus on its strengths and play to its strengths, rather than just pursuing turnover."

"2023 will see an increase in consolidation within the printing sector." Ryan Myers expects that in addition to the impact of existing inflation and dealing with lower demand that will persist through 2023, printers will have to deal with extremely high energy cost increases, which will drive printers to specialize more and increase productivity.

03 Sustainability becomes the norm

Sustainability has always been a major concern in the printing industry, and in 2023, the printing industry will continue this trend.

"For the printing industry in 2023, sustainability is no longer just an idea, it will be integrated into the business development blueprint of printing companies." According to Eli Mahal, head of L&P Marketing at HP Indigo, sustainability will be on the agenda of printers and at the top of their strategic development.

In Eli Mahal's view, in order to accelerate the implementation of sustainability concepts, printing equipment manufacturers must look at their business and processes as a whole to ensure that they provide printing companies with solutions that have a low impact on the environment. "Currently, many customers have invested heavily in reducing energy costs, such as applying UV LED technology to traditional UV printing, installing solar panels, and switching from flexo to digital printing." He hopes that 2023 will see more printers actively addressing the ongoing energy crisis and implementing energy cost-saving solutions.

Kevin O’Donnell, head of marketing – Graphic Communications and Production Systems, UK, Ireland and The Nordics at Xerox, shares a similar view. "Sustainability will become a key focus for printers." Kevin O'Donnell says that more and more printers are placing high expectations on the sustainability their suppliers provide, requiring them to have clear plans to manage their carbon footprint and social impact on the communities in which they operate. As a result, sustainability is taking a very important place in the daily management of printing companies.

"2022 is a challenging year for the printing industry, with many print service providers suffering from factors such as high energy prices, resulting in rising costs, overlaid with more stringent demands for environmentally friendly, energy-efficient technologies." Stuart Rising expects the printing industry's demand for sustainable and environmentally friendly equipment, inks and substrates to increase in 2023, with remanufacturable, re-upgradable technologies and environmentally friendly processes favored by the market.

Lucy Swanston, managing director of Nuttall Creative UK, expects sustainability to be key to the growth of print businesses. "I hope that by 2023 there will be less 'greenwashing' in the industry. We must share environmental responsibility and help brands and marketers understand the importance of sustainability in the industry."