It feels like there is an incessant stream of price increases for plates, inks, energy, and paper (if one can get any). Tracking the consequences these price rises have on print pricing is a bit more challenging, however, as price increases by printing companies are rarely widely announced.

Some companies and industry experts do provide good insight. Zipcon and its founder and owner Bernd Zipper have been analyzing and supporting the online print market in the German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) for years, supplying market data and tracking prices. Since 2020, the company has been publishing the Zipcon Onlineprint Price Index (ZOPI), in which prices for a set of print products offered by the largest online print providers in Germany are being tracked. The index has June 2020 as a basis and all price changes are tracked as deviation from that level. This cuts out the most immediate effects of the pandemic.

The latest Zipcon online print price index shows an increase, which is no surprise. Actually, prices started rising since fall 2020 after being stable for quite a while. The most recent months show even more increases as online printing companies pass increases in raw materials and energy onto their customers.