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Last year, print professionals continued to navigate the rocky path of an economic recession. Nevertheless, overall sales figures were up from 2008. Were manufacturers able to hold on to their modest success? The answer is not so simple.
Total annual sales figures for the top 100 manufacturers took a dip from last year's $3.15 billion, coming in at $2.71 billion for the last fiscal year completed. A lower participation rate offers one explanation for this. Compared to last year, fewer manufacturers were willing to disclose annual sales figures. Though they did not offer a reason for their lack of participation, it is fair to assume they were hesitant to reveal any recessionary shortcomings in sales.
In terms of employment, more than half of the participants were forced to lay off employees in 2009. But on a positive note, most did not anticipate this course of action for the upcoming business year.
A glimmer of hope could be found in some of the individual product sectors. For instance, commercial print sales were up at $391.7 million (2009: $339.2 million); plastic products/cards reached $148.4 million (2009: $113.6 million); and promotional products soared to $313.6 million (2009: $105.1 million).
Unfortunately, the remainder of the individual product sectors did not see the same fate. Printed forms still put forth the highest showing at $683.6 million. However, this is a dramatic tumble from last year's sales of $901.2 million. Direct mail and envelopes followed printed forms' lead. Direct mail averaged $71.4 million (2009: $108.7 million), while envelopes comprised $190.1 million of sales (2009: $327.7 million).
The "other" category kept on its downward spiral with $136.3 million (2009: $472.5 million). Common responses for this sector were security paper, point purchasing rolls, engineering rolls, laser cut sheets, stamps, signage, ribbons/ink, stationery, index divider tabs, lottery roll tickets, p.o.p. printing, CDs and DVDs, checks, installation services, digital/offset book printing and decals. It is important to note that some of these entries may further skew the "other" category because the decision to consider cut sheets or checks as something miscellaneous instead of a form product, for example, boils down to the opinion of the manufacturer.
There were product categories that took a less noticeable hit. Labels and tags took second place overall, but resulted at $456.9 million (2009: $585.5 million); digital print revealed $81.2 million (2009: $90.1 million); and e-commerce came in at $25.2 million (2009: $37.2 million).
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Best Practices for Print Automation
Variable Data Printing Case Studies
