The Future of Printing Industry: About Imaging Technology

Jeff Jacoson, CEO of Kodak Poly Lighting Group



In 1987, joined Paula Light Company



In 1993, he was promoted to Director of Human Resources of Poly Light Corporation.



In 1994, Ren Baoguang General Manager of Canada Branch



In 1995, he served as East America Manager



In 1996, he was appointed as the vice president of sales and sales of Paula Optic Americas.



In March 2000, he took office as Chief Executive Officer of Kodak Polystar Graphics Group. Prior to that, he was the president and head of the senior vice president of Kodak PolyGraphics USA Group. As the founding management member of the company, since the joint venture was established in January 1998, Kodak Polyray Optical Graphic Arts Group began to participate in the creation and decision-making of the company.



Jeff Jacobson is also a member of the Board of Directors of the American Printing Foundation (GATF) and is a member of New York University's Image Arts Management and Technology. Member of the C Advisory Committee. In July 2000, Mr. Jacobson was elected to the Board of Directors of the American Printing and Publishing Technology Suppliers Association (NPES).



I am very grateful to the Seventh Printing Conference Organizing Committee and the China Printing Equipment and Equipment Industry Association for providing me with this opportunity to meet with the elites of the printing industry.



I am very honored to be able to come to Beijing and share the common business ties and get together for the printing industry. From China, my hometown to the United States, it can be said that the feeling of being with everyone is as cordial as at home.



I think you are very interested in the status quo and future prospects of the global printing industry. Before letting me briefly introduce our company, Kodak Polystar Photographic Group. Knowing our products and what we do will help you better understand my views on the printing industry.



Kodak PolyStar Group is the world's leading pre-press supplier product including KODAK brand printing film, traditional printing plate, thermal plate and CTP program. We are also the world's leading supplier of digital proofing products supporting the evolving digital printing technology.



We are a truly global company with over 130,000 users in more than 85 countries, including growing users in China. We have production bases in North America, Europe and Asia, and distribution networks in all six countries on six continents. There are four research and development centers in the world.



We are a relatively new company but we have a long history to trace back. In 1998, Eastman Kodak and Sun Chemical Company established the Kodak Polystar Optical Graphic Group, a Taiwan-funded company specializing in the printing industry. One of our concerns today is that we have integrated the resources and expertise of two great companies.



When speaking with you about the future of the printing industry, I would like to express my views on the following three aspects:



1. Analysis of the current scale and application of the global printing industry



2. Review the important factors affecting the continuous transformation of the printing industry



3. Look to the future to see the opportunities and challenges that the printing industry will face in the next five years.



It is no exaggeration to compare the printing industry to a giant. The global scale and application of the printing industry are well known. The U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that in 2000 the global printing industry had more than $800 billion in output value and had an annual growth of 1% to 3%; the printing and publishing industry had exceeded 67.7%. 50,000 companies have at least 4 million employees. The basic trend in the world is that the total number of companies is decreasing while printing companies have grown steadily over the past five years. This situation will continue in the next five years;



In the printing process, most companies still use lithographic offset printing as their main industry output value of 46%;



The rapid rise of digital printing in the on-demand printing and short-run market is now estimated to have accounted for 7% of the industry's total output value;



Flexographic printing has grown rapidly due to strong global demand for the packaging market;



The proportion of gravure and offset printing in the entire output value decreased slightly. However, the absolute value of offset printing in the next five years still increases because the total output value increases by 1% to 3%.



Light-printing, which is still in its infancy stage as the end product, only accounts for 3% of output value, but it is also growing.



The precondition and foundation for the healthy development of the printing market is the economic growth and its impact on advertising printing under the market economy. In the past 10 years, our country has taken a global approach to the path of market economy and self-trading. It will be conducive to the printing industry in the new century. Although many regions are now faced with the pains and challenges of economic restructuring.



At the beginning of the new century, despite the global economic difficulties, the world economy as a whole remains stable.



According to the forecast of Wharton Economic Forecasting Association (WEFA). The annual GDP growth of the global economy in the next five years is only 1% to 3%. The facts also prove that this point in the world economic growth began to slow down at the end of 2000.



However, the entire value chain of the printing process - from the creative development of prepress processing to the final printing itself - is undergoing tremendous changes and will accelerate.



Because of its large scale and wide range of applications, the printing industry is affected by many powerful and important factors such as technological change, global economy, regional political and economic development strategies, and consumer behavior patterns.



In order to survive and develop printing companies and their suppliers, they need to be aware of the new market situation;



Globalization - reputable multinational companies such as McDonald's increase their brand value by printing simultaneously in different countries and regions and insisting on using uniform logos and styles;



Further integration of printing and other media methods;



Trends towards personalization, short-run printing and rapid printing.



First, the globalization of media competition has led to the globalization of printing. We have now made printing a "giant" in the global industry. Now printers everywhere are being asked to meet their worldwide needs. The development of the Internet has made the earth smaller. This has a deep impact on the printing industry. More and more organizations are seeking to globalize their business. They are pursuing a seamless production, packaging, logistics and distribution process. The printer must adapt to this demand.



This new competitive environment requires human, financial, and material resources that span the globe. Of course, small and medium-sized printing companies and even many large printing companies may not be able to create such conditions. Therefore, the establishment of joint and strategic partnerships between printing companies and their suppliers has become very important and far-reaching. An extremely successful example is the Star Alliance.



The second printing is no longer a completely independent entity. Digital files are used for printing the Internet, multimedia applications, etc. These files sometimes also contain digitized audio information. The same image is not only printed on the cover of the product information but also on the website's web page and CD-ROMS.



This is an era of convergence of electronics and printing. The top commercial and media schools in the world are teaching this theory to the next generation of marketing managers and advertising directors. Successful printing companies will act as "comprehensive communication service providers."



The third printing cycle and print volume have been reduced with the advancement of more advanced digital technologies and the advent of personalized printing. In this fashionable age, personalized products are constantly increasing to express different consumption and lifestyles. This is a global trend.



For consumer products manufacturers and other products, use more personalized products to cater to the increasingly narrow consumer market. These individualized features are not only reflected in the product but also in the product packaging design style and delivery method. What impact will these trends have on the printing industry?



When the important regional differences will always exist, the following three key factors are the experience of the vast majority of the world;



Direct mail advertising business and the growth of orders for specific requirements;



As packaging becomes a brand asset and distinguishing sign. Therefore, the product packaging flourishes with the large use of color;



Short print with specific materials.



The fourth, of course, is the driving force behind all these trends—the increasing renewal of technology. In fact, if there is no astounding technological development in the dissemination and printing industry, the impact of globalization, such as the impact of globalization, the aggregation of printed and electronic media, and personalized products cannot be realized.



Therefore, one of the biggest challenges faced by printing companies in the next few years is to make the right decisions no matter where you work or make technical investment decisions. Usually the global technological change is to go the same way. The only difference lies in the speed difference. Technological development can use "jumping" means that the same goal can still be achieved without intermediate steps. For example, the United States from analog color separation to digital photo film. It took a long process to get to the CTP step. In some parts of the world, printing companies can directly skip photographs and enter the CTP in China, some printing companies can directly jump from analog color separation to direct plate-making, and even a variety of direct printing or imaging technologies.



Before concluding my speech, I will share with you our predictions for the printing industry in the next five years.



I noticed that the global printing industry is not able to cover the same trend as other countries in the world because of a variety of factors affecting the printing industry to adopt future trends. The Chinese printing industry will be specific to its own market drivers. The growth rate advances this includes



Technologies that can create this trend;



The diversity of market demand varies by region;



Global and regional economic environment;



A country or region that has been prepared for the success of globalization of information technology.



Based on the above points of view, I will summarize some of the recent development trends:



Nowadays, the printing industry all over the world is still dependent on workers. They are experts in highly skilled printing techniques. However, with the progress of technology, more and more processes have realized digital control, and printing has gradually moved toward the stage of large-scale industrial production. Skilled workers are still needed, but their skills will be different, especially in IT.



Not long ago, the massive copying of printing was a popular business that served thousands of users. Now, as we have just discussed, everything is in the process of development. The printing industry must prepare for personalized and characteristic printing trends.



The need to adapt to high-quality print is now four or five. Six-color printing is already commonplace. There are some demanding businesses, especially some of the job requirements for packaging printing, which may be printed in ten, eleven, or twelve colors.



At the beginning of the new century, the printing industry was mostly composed of local and regional suppliers and printing companies. With the acceleration of globalization, Taiwan will bring more global suppliers and printing companies.



Now people in the industry see digital printing as a threat to their business. In the future, we will eliminate this hostile and successful printers will use digital technology to gain new added value in their traditional business and prepare for the growing digital business in the future.



Some things will not be changed in the next five years. Printing as the core of communication and information dissemination will continue. The various branches of printing will continue to grow in business in the coming years. Of course, for the entire media market, the market share of printing will fall due to the growth of electronic and wireless media business.



In the United States, the saying that the printing industry is a sunset industry has recently risen. Some people think that digital media will soon replace the printing business. The printing industry will withdraw from the stage of history. With these