Paramus, N.J. - With economic recovery on the way, the printing industry is poised to grow for the first time in three years, but that growth will be enjoyed only by companies that are meeting the challenges of the industry's structural change, conclude the economists of the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) Printing Economic Research Center in the just-released NAPL State of the Industry Report, eighth edition.
 
The annual report is the cornerstone of NAPL's State of the Industry Series of comprehensive surveys, studies, and flash reports, the printing industry's most definitive source for current and future industry trends. The latest State of the Industry Report, some of whose findings were previewed at the recent Print 09 show, is based, in part, on data supplied by more than 500 industry companies. It was authored by NAPL Chief Economist Andrew Paparozzi, Senior Economist Joseph Vincenzino, and Research Associate Kong Lue Wang.
 
Each NAPL Network member will receive a free copy of the 48-page report, which contains some 30 charts and graphs, including a four-page chart covering various types of structural change and how printers have responded to them. It is available to non-members for $299 at www.napl.org/store or by calling (800) 642-6275, Ext. 4.
 
"We are pleased to be able to provide our members with this important report at a critical time when most companies are striving to respond both to economic challenges and those of an industry experiencing fundamental change," said NAPL President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph P. Truncale.
 
"The insights and concrete ideas, both strategic and tactical, that it offers will provide a roadmap to help companies ensure that they remain on the growth side of the recovery."
According to NAPL Chief Economist Andrew Paparozzi, one of the report's authors, the new study begins with a recovery preparedness checklist, looks at the numbers for our industry and the economy, and considers how companies have become more valuable to their clients over the last 24 months. "Next we discuss who really is a leader in our industry, why some former leaders-the fallen leaders-lost their competitive edge, and how leaders think," he explains. "We conclude with a look at the structural change that is the reason this time it really is different."
 
The report takes an in-depth view of various examples of structural change, the reach of such change-in one NAPL study earlier this year 92.9% of participants said they were affected by structural change-and the consequences of such change, primarily making the industry more competitive than ever and forcing printers to compete "in new ways with people we've never had to compete with before."
 
"Our defining opportunity is to make clients more successful and to ensure they recognize our contributions to their success," states the report. "We have to integrate our services into a compelling value proposition that makes clients more successful for doing business with us" and "carefully measure our contributions to our clients' success."
 
"As always, the NAPL State of the Industry Report isn't about easy answers, can't-miss markets or sure things, because there aren't any," says Paparozzi. "Rather, it's about thinking, challenging, and questioning-actions that will make the difference between who participates and who is left behind by the recovery ahead."