Is Printing in the Philippines a Dying Industry?

The latest issue of Grafika showed a decline in the number of both large and small printing and publishing companies since year 2000. Since the economy grew during that period this is an alarming trend.

Ano po yung Grafika? Magazine ba ito ng printing? Where can I get a copy?

Thanks!

Grafika is the magazine of the Philippine Printing Technical Foundation (PPTF). Call 713-2671/713-0902 to get a copy, they may require you to be a member first.

I think the decline is not specific to the printing industry. The manufacturing industry as a whole is affected by China. The only way to counter this issue is to take the easy way and cut losses or to face the matter and improve output quality and processes of production.

I believe they can match the quality here after all they can buy the same machines. Someone told me that even the DPC directories are now printed in China.

a lot of things are printed in China already. We have one client who just asks us to design their packaging. We even just send them a jpeg file and then they come back to us with the actual printed packaging.

Siguro may kinalaman din ang economy natin.

at politika

I think that the printing industry will always be alive. Printing will always be a part of any civilized society. The industry will just have to adjust or evolve to meet changing the business climate. I have visited companies which are having difficulties; but I have also seen companies that are doing well. Company managers will just have to find ways to be more efficient and offer good quality at competitive prices.

presstech wrote:

I think that the printing industry will always be alive. Printing will always be a part of any civilized society. The industry will just have to adjust or evolve to meet changing the business climate. I have visited companies which are having difficulties; but I have also seen companies that are doing well. Company managers will just have to find ways to be more efficient and offer good quality at competitive prices.

I agree with Mr. Presstech. My father started his printing shop in 1981 with only 1 minerva 10x15. All of us earned our college degree ( i have 2 brothers and 2 sisters) from the income of that machine.

Presently, my father printing shop still existing with three offset machines

I firmly believe China has done alot of damage to the Philippine Printing Market but it has done damage to nearly all markets around the world. Having been based there for six yaers I can say that some factories there employing 4000 workers, with 15 presses, ctp, laser die cutters, and every piece of equipment you can think of, do very impressive work. That is why they do so well in the Asian Print Awards.
They invest heavily in technology and are now learning about efficiency. When I first went there a four color press meant 4 people to operate, now that is two men.
Plus a serious advantage is the currency being under valued, adn tax breaks for export. These are slowly disappearing so the Philippines should be getting more competative.
PS
15 presses is by no means the biggest

Hi All

It is already soe time ago someone posted on this topic, still I would like to add a remark.
It is correct that China is doing a lot of damage to the Philippine market (although the quality often is not that good in China, I could tell some stories about that). Another maybe even more important reason is the fact that Philippine printing companies are only fighting each other, Fighting on price! Result is that companies want to reduce costs by buying cheap materials, inks, blankets, etc, etc. Therefore the quality goes down and they loose customers. Printers in the Philippines should realize that they have to cooperate in order to survive instead of trying to kill eachother for only a few bucks more.....

Hi. I am a newbie in this forum, but I had been in the printing business for close to 20 years. My kids are all graduates so I guess that qualifies me to pursue another less demanding passion.

No sir, printing is not a dying industry. On the contrary, it is very much alive with plenty of room for growth as a business. However, it is not for someone with meager capitalization because speed and quality demand expensive high tech solutions, like computer to plate technology and high-speed offset machines.

If you can start only with a Solna that runs 3000 to 4000 impressions per hour, how do you expect to compete against the competition that can print over 10000 impressions per hour? If your meager capital allows you only to purchase a Multilith then you immediately limit yourself to printing letterheads and envelops which can be done inhouse by your prospective customers using Riso and other small printing machines. Moreover, a printing start up cannot even position himself to acquire the short-run market because there are "print on demand" printers to contend with.

Furthermore, small printers will incur more operating expenses than the bigger ones because the latest printing machines use less manpower. The printing industry is definitely not dying, but it favors those printers with more financial muscle.

Some are dying some are not.

Newspaper printers are dying as circulations go down (some are closing) as TV,mobile and internet usage goes up while the economy goes down. (Gulo!)

How about Magazines? There are rumors of some closing down. So maapektuhan din ang ibang commercial printers.

Another problem is the printing cost. Grabe bagsakan ng presyo makakuha lang ng trabaho.

'Yung mahaba pisi at nakasabay sa change, sila siguro stable but the rest are sinking.

Quote :

Newspaper printers are dying as circulations go down (some are closing) as TV,mobile and internet usage goes up while the economy goes down. (Gulo!)

Newspapers, magazines, and other publications come and go depending on the economic situation. When times are good, then we can reasonably expect for more publications to appear in the streets because there are more advertisers. When times are bad, then we can likewise reasonably expect for companies to minimize their expenses, including advertisements. So, it's really a cycle and not because printing is a dying industry. But like I said in my previous post, the printing business is not for the faint of heart with low bank account. But I agree with Jedi, the learned one, that the printing business is not an exclusive domain for people with printing equipment. The industry needs writers and graphic artists whose capital is their brains and some inexpensive computer equipment. And, yes, an entrepreneur who can pull together labor and capital to make things happen.

Hello Kofi,

Welcome on the forum. Reading your post, I definitely agree with you. Starting a printing business with only a small 1 color press is useless and probably doomed to fail. Starting in the industry will involve a big capital to be able to compete with the existing players in the market. I only want to add something to your post:
Besides capital, starting in the industry also requires more and more knowledge. Technology is changing fast and the knowledge of 10 years ago (or even more) is outdated. When you are not aware of the new technology and know how to use it, investments in this technology will not give you the profits you are aiming for. Investment in technology and in the people working with the technology are going hand in hand

Textbooks say that there are three factors of production -- land, labor, and capital. Lately, some have added the entrepreneurs. Now, we should also include knowledge or technology. Yes, APC, I agree with you 100 percent that technology is a crucial factor in printing production.

Textbooks have the problem that they are written in a certain timeframe. Since times are changing, textbooks will have to change with it. For the reader of the books it is important to make the right choice so that the information which is written relects the actual timeframe.
Glad to hear that you agree

Please allow me to continue this thread. Philippine printing is in a shambles but not necessarily dying. The big print buyers have started looking elsewhere outside the country because few Filipino printers can deliver good quality print jobs at competitive prices. With our economy on a downtrend, then the industry will have to brace for the worse in the coming months.

But I do not understand why the industry, through PIAP and PPTF, is not seeking assistance from the government to bring down the cost of printing supplies, particularly paper. The two associations should also be seeking government intervention for tax subsidies and other incentives in behalf of their members.

It looks like PIAP and PPTF are only good at holding free laureate dinners and other short-term pakulo rather looking into the long-term needs of their members. I have personal knowledge that DTI and BOI had once requested the two associations for an industry "road map" prior to the preparation of a package of incentives.

I meant no offense. Just wondering why our industry representatives are not taking any action on the matter to save it from the menacing challenge of China and give it a fighting chance against an impending global economic meltdown.

Asian Printmedia Consultancy Group, Inc.,
Epson Philippines Corp.
Express Coat Enterprises, Inc.
Globis Inc.
Image World Graphic Sales, Inc.
MAN Ferrostaal Philippines Inc.

Invites you to a seminar dubbed as
"THERE IS MORE THAN PRINTING"

When: 27 February 2009 (8:00am to 6:00pm)

Where: Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino
1 Salinas Drive
Lahug, Cebu City
Cebu

REGISTRATION STARTS @ 8:00 AM

TOPIC INCLUDES:

MANAGING COLOR
WORKFLOW IN PRINT PRODUCTION
MAKING THE CTP DECISION
IMPORTANCE OF PROCESS STANDARDIZATION
RECIPE OF A PRECISE COLOR PROOFING SYSTEM
IMPORTANCE OF KNOWLEDGE IMPROVEMENTS
DIGITAL PRINTING - THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Good luck, guys! Hope you have a colorful week ahead.

theovercomer wrote:

I don't believe that china is the reason for decline of printing industry here in the Philippines...

One BIG reason is that Small scale and medium printers cannot cope up with the DEMAND in the market in terms of QUALITY Printing. I'm telling this out of experience. We experience this kind of dilemna for the past years... Some Private companies does not demand a large amount of projects,
Let me put it this way... In my experience,in printing a full color projects, Low price means low quality of printing, (e.g. using low quality of plates, low end inks, bad color sep/film aka nog-nog) this is one of many reasons of rejection and and they look for another printer or supplier to fit their taste.

*For me, color separation is bottom line for quality printing (while it depends to others, in my behalf my press machine is always "alaga", that's why color separation for me is one variable to dealth with).

Just my two cents ^_~

The above scenario is very true... as long as the customer will opt for a cheaper cheaper cost... the printer will always find ways to fit in with the budget without minding the sacrificed quality.

I agree, there is always a way to fit within a budget but don't expect that the quality will be on the same level. When you buy a Volkswagen Beetle you cannot expect to drive in a Mercedes SLK. Price and quality go side by side. Printers often want to save on short term instead of looking at the long term. Short term savings often turn out to be more costly on long term. Long term savings through standardisation and efficiency improvement will lead to better margins without sacrifying quality. Unfortunately many Filipino printers don't see that and just save by using cheaper inks and other materials.
There is still a long way to go....... Luckely some companies, like Basic Graphics in Cebu take up the challenge. They invested in people and systems and got ISO 12647-2 certified a few weeks ago. High quality agains acceptable prices...... That's the way to go. I hope more printers will follow.