However, the industry expects long-lasting effects of the Corona pandemic
Press manufacturer Roland DG EMEA today released its annual State of Digital Printing in Europe report. The research, which measures the business performance and business expectations of more than 1,300 printers in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, has revealed that the sector is returning to growing sales in 2021 after a difficult year.
According to the survey, around two-thirds (62 per cent) of German printers reported flat or falling sales in the 12 months from 1 January to 31 December 2021, due to the lockdowns and a drop in government Corona aid. A quarter (27 per cent) reported revenue increases for the period.
Despite the economic and geopolitical turmoil in Europe, 44 per cent of Italian printers surveyed forecast modest or significant revenue growth in 2022. Around a quarter (23 per cent) expect business volumes to remain flat and a fifth (21 per cent) to decline.
Stephen Davis, EMEA Marketing Director at Roland DG, notes, "Although the industry continues to face a difficult, complex business environment, the steady recovery of key sectors such as travel, tourism and hospitality following the Corona pandemic is clearly having a positive impact, boosting confidence in the future."
When asked about their key business objective for the next three years, 44 per cent of German printers surveyed cited exploring expansion opportunities, including increasing production capacity (16 per cent) and expanding into new markets with existing equipment (16 per cent).
Another group of printers is focusing on exploiting opportunities presented by advances in textile printing, such as DTF and DTG or UV printing (7 per cent). Encouragingly, only three per cent planned to go out of business or close down in 2022.
According to the survey, however, German printers also expect the after-effects of the Corona pandemic to be felt in the industry for a long time to come. More than a third of the businesses surveyed (38 per cent) think it could take up to three years for the printing industry to return to pre-pandemic levels, 13 per cent believe it will take five years and seven per cent think it will never recover.
Stephen Davis comments: "The printing industry has proven time and again its ability to innovate its way out of a crisis. Despite the long shadow of the pandemic, we are confident that with this fearless attitude, the industry will maintain its vitality in the decades to come."