According to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Industrial Printer Tracker, a combination from all products of industrial printers in Indonesia showed significant decline in the first quarter 2020 period.
Evidently, the industrial printer market declined by 49.10% from the previous quarter and 48.23% year-on-year. The toughest time for all printing industry players was from March until June. As leasing schemes get postponed, printing demand has decreased more than 70%, according to IDC. Consequently, some print service providers decided to close their business and lay off their employees.
“COVID-19 has impacted all sectors including printing business. But there are some opportunities that can be explored during this crisis time to flatten the curve and avoid bigger impact of recession,” said Muhammad Faris Latief, Market Analyst for IPDS at IDC Indonesia.
During this crisis, there are also emerging opportunities in the printing business, especially from label-packaging (L&P), sublimation printer, and the use of online print hubs. These new opportunities might not pump the numbers of installation of shipments, but it can be the “oasis” to keep the printing business survive in this period, IDC said.
Some companies stated that print jobs and numbers of labels that needs to be printed grew by about 200-300% from March to June. Big companies of F&B and pharmaceuticals need to print their new SKU’s as soon as possible, but the conventional label converter limits their activity.
Digital L&P is the only reasonable choice to get their mid-run printing jobs to be done, as digitalization could simplify the workflow and the process of label – printing faster than flexo or rotogravure. It gave momentum to digital L&P to show their capabilities during this pandemic.
IDC said that another opportunity comes from sublimation printers which show significant increase even if the general market has plunged in the past quarter. Presently, the demands for jersey, clothing and home decor has been shrinking. However, the demand for mask with polyester fabric base remains high – especially the scuba mask. This kind of order might be the alternative income during this crisis, and allows more cashflow for print service providers and commercial print to keep on “breathing”, according to the latest research by IDC.
Currently, people who want to print choose to use the print hub or online print shops to keep their order being printed. Current popular platforms are Uprint & Printerous in Indonesia, according IDC. These platforms provide details of products, free consultation, and web feature with drop file option for quick response. The results or printing products will be sent out directly to their customer using third party logistic services.
“These online platforms should determine the next normal behaviour of the printing industry. Collaborating digital-analogue technology and being aware to the current trends and demands are the keys to survive & strive in the Next Normal,” ends Latief.
