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The Eagle is experiencing an eerie sense of deja vu as it investigates the growing force of Chinese printers upon the North American printing industry. The developments bear an uncanny resemblance to reactions 20 years ago – which both Eagle editors were active parties to – as European and Japanese (offshore, as they were called) suppliers began to effectively sell equipment and supplies into North America. The similarity includes:

The arrival of China as a formidable competitor to North American printers is a force potentially equal to the other large determinants of viability in the printing industry over the last 50 years that include staying in sync with the national and regional economy and transitioning to digital technology. The China factor has the power to wipe out those who are caught unaware, who make no adjustment or who deny its reality. Nevertheless, there is evidence of broad denial and resistance to this new reality as well as difficulties in getting reliable information about this new force.