Does Packaging Provide an Opportunity for Commercial Printers?

The above-trend growth in commercial printing of the 1990s has come to a screeching halt. Whether the difficulties of the last few years are cyclical, or the portent of something longer-term, it is clear that it will be some time before printing will again be presented with the positive environment provided by the growth in color, desktop publishing, and spending associated with the "bubble" of the fin de siècle. As a result, commercial printers are looking to other markets.

One of those purported growth opportunities is packaging. Package printing continues to do well, certainly compared with the difficulties facing many commercial printers, and thus appears to offer a way to growth and riches - scarce commodities in an increasingly challenging business.

Packaging is a large and dynamic market - in excess of $120 billion a year, comparable to that of commercial printing - and appears to offer many crossover opportunities for commercial printers.

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WhatTheyThink is the global printing industry's go-to information source with both print and digital offerings, including WhatTheyThink.com, WhatTheyThink Email Newsletters, and the WhatTheyThink magazine. Our mission is to inform, educate, and inspire the industry. We provide cogent news and analysis about trends, technologies, operations, and events in all the markets that comprise today's printing and sign industries including commercial, in-plant, mailing, finishing, sign, display, textile, industrial, finishing, labels, packaging, marketing technology, software and workflow.

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