In the first part of this article, we discussed the differences between the apparent Chinese trade show model and that practiced here in North America. This makes it more efficient to sell to the Chinese printing community and portends well for further sales of capital equipment into that market - to the continued detriment of domestic printing here. But that is only part of the price we pay for open international trade. The second part reflects the costs associated with printing, currently in China's favor, but changing rapidly. In today's installment, we take a look at the rise in wages and the impact this may have on the domestic printing business.

Success Breeds Wage Inflation

According to Business Week, "A labor shortage has pay soaring. That is sure to send ripples around the globe." With all the population in China, you would think that finding good labor would not be that hard. And yet, Business Week described China's labor conditions in terms reminiscent of Silicon Valley before the dot.com bubble burst. In those heady days, programmers who hadn't changed jobs for significant salary increases were considered somehow bad risks for employment, not very good performers, or they wouldn't stay put.