This mid-year update report looks at the latest industry economic data, macroeconomic trends, drupa, the forthcoming Presidential election, and Brexit. Report is authored by Dr. Joe Webb and Richard Romano. 

WhatTheyThink is pleased to announce the immediate availability of 2016 Mid-Year Report and 2017 Preview now available at the WhatTheyThink Store.  

The executive report was prepared by Dr. Joe Webb and Richard Romano and serves as a follow-up to last December’s 2016 Forecast. What's happened since that report? The commercial printing industry ended a 22-month run of positive comparisons to previous years, the Fed and the White House cut their economic forecasts, the UK voted to exit the EU, the two US political parties selected their candidates, and there were the product introductions at drupa. What's all of it mean? The report sorts out these issues and offers perspectives that you might not see elsewhere, including Dr. Webb’s US printing industry forecast to 2021.

Print business owners will find the report helpful in their planning to put the marketplace and their strategic actions in realistic perspective. Industry suppliers will benefit from the insights into printer decision-making processes and the foundation of new industry demographic data that debuts in this report. Non-economic trends also offer ideas for what to pay attention to during the upcoming US “trade show season” as we head into Graph Expo, the SGIA Expo, and more. 

“There are plenty of reasons to feel confused about the economy and print,” said Dr. Joe Webb. “Our report aims to give insights can help set priorities for decision-making.”

“It may not be 1998 again, but neither is it 2011 again,” said Richard Romano. “All the benefits that digital printing brought to general commercial printing are expanding to virtually every other type of printing, and are offering new and exciting opportunities for those who can take advantage of them.” 

The report is available for $249. Buyers who use the discount code ERC16MY will receive a $100 discount. Site licenses for multinational and multidivisional companies can purchase the report for $449 and use the same code for a $100 discount. 

The report is available at:

https://store.whattheythink.com/products/2016-mid-year-report-and-2017-preview

About the authors

Dr. Joe Webb is one of the graphic arts industry’s best known consultants, forecasters, and commentators. He is the director of WhatTheyThink’s Economics and Research Center. A 37-year veteran of the graphic arts industries, his “Mondays with Dr. Joe” well-known to WhatTheyThink members. He is a Ph.D. graduate of the NYU Center for Graphic Communications Management and Technology (1987), and has authored key industry books including Disrupting the Future and This Point Forward.

Richard Romano is senior analyst for WhatTheyThink.com, the leading news and information portal for the graphic arts industry, for which he curates the Wide-Format special topic page. He also contributes to many other industry publications. He is the co-author, with Dr. Webb, of This Point Forward: The New Start the Marketplace Demands, and Disrupting the Future: Uncommon Wisdom for Navigating Print’s Challenging Marketplace.