Reston, VA - NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies announced the release of its comprehensive study, "World-wide Market for Print: Identifying Global Opportunities for the Print Industry." A team of consultants from the Economist Intelligence Unit, the business information arm of The Economist Group and world's leading provider of country intelligence, conducted the research for NPES. PRIMIR, NPES's market research unit, along with a blue chip NPES member task force provided oversight and insights for the study.

The research evaluated key country demographics, investigated global and regional printing industry trends, and sized the global printing industry along with each of the 51 country markets for the study. Print market data for publishing, promotional/ commercial printing, transactional, display & point-of-purchase printing, as well as package printing are provided. Data about the markets for printing equipment, consumables and substrates are also quantified in the new NPES study.

According to the study, total world print revenue is projected to grow 8%, up from $584 in 2011, to $668 (U.S. $billion) in 2017, with the global economic recovery fueling consumption, to varying degrees, across all print categories and regions. The U.S. accounted for more than $132 billion of the 2011 market, followed by China, and Japan which came in at a distant third in print market revenue size. However, by 2017 at $154 billion, China is projected to be the largest print market compared to the U.S. at $141.8 billion.

An important element of the study is the identification of the fastest-growing (developing) markets with the most potential for printing industry overall growth, and for sales of printing equipment, supplies and substrates. Among others these include the Philippines, Hungary, Ukraine, and Indonesia in addition to the BRIC countries. As literacy, incomes and consumption rise, along with packaging (which is the global growth leader), many of these countries will demonstrate growth in publishing—magazines, newspapers and books. This trend is in sharp contrast to publishing trends in developed regions of the world.

Not surprisingly, package printing dominates much of the global print revenue growth. Growing to 43% of the market in 2017, from 35% in 2007, package printing will enjoy a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2% between 2012 and 2017. All subcategories of packaging printing will grow at rates of 3-5%, with corrugated print packaging enjoying the highest share of the global packaging market.

According to Ralph Nappi, President of NPES, "the EIU team used data from a prior PRIMIR 2006 study as a benchmark, revisited the assumptions and forecasts from that study, and then instituted a comprehensive primary and secondary research plan to establish new statistics and qualitative assessments taking into account industry trends that will influence the global/regional forecasts." Nappi continued, "With print markets in North America and other developed nations flat or declining, NPES member companies need to understand the markets with potential for long-term growth. This comprehensive study provides members with a roadmap to those countries that present the most opportunity for growth."

The 2013 study incorporates a fresh macroeconomic assessment for each major region of the world and provides a profile for each of the 51 countries that make up over 90% of the global print market.

The new "World-wide Market for Print" study is now available for purchase:

• Full Study: $7,500 (includes Full Study, Synopsis, and 51 Individual Country Profiles)
  (Complimentary to NPES and PRIMIR Members)
• Executive Summary: $1,500 (includes Executive Summary and Synopsis) 
  (Complimentary to NPES and PRIMIR Members)
• Country Profiles: $150 each; 10 or greater: $100 each; all 51 Country Profiles: $3,900. 
  (Complimentary to NPES and PRIMIR Members)

For more information about the "World-wide Market for Print" study contact: Greg Safko, NPES Vice President, Market Data and Research, at phone: 703/264-7200, ext. 220, or e-mail: [email protected]. For order information contact: Rekha Ratnam, Assistant Director, Market Data/Research at phone: 703/264-7200, ext. 231, e-mail:[email protected], or visit www.npes.org.