Examining the Competitive Landscape of the Commercial Printing Industry
The commercial printing industry consists of over 35,000 companies throughout the country. The largest fifty companies only comprise thirty percent of the market, which means the competitiveness that exists within the industry is high. Examining the competitive landscape of the commercial printing industry requires that we look further into what makes this industry tick.
Commercial printing is generally reserved for companies or organizations that require a bulk printings of their products. Magazines, newspaper inserts, brochures, catalogs, manuals and the like are common items that are ordered through commercial printers. Since these items are often reproduced at regular intervals throughout the fiscal year, many commercial printing companies offer extended services to accommodate their clients, enticing them to maintain their relationship with them. Some of these services include having an in-house graphic designer to help create unique products, offering finishings to the products such as binding, folding and cutting, as well as fulfillment, which includes packaging and shipping the products to their distribution destinations. Since not all printers offer these additional services, they are one way to increase the competitive edge over the next company. Many local printing companies also offer better local service to their customers in order to stand up to larger companies.
With the shift to digital technology for many printed projects, the competitive nature of the industry has increased even further. Digital printing allows for quality printing to be done at a lower cost. Because of this, digital color printing is more affordable than offset printing prices for customers. Printing technology continues to shift and advance at a rapid rate but, unfortunately, digital technology does not come at a low price. It may be able to create printed projects at lower cost in the end, but the initial investment in the machinery needed can often be too much for small printing companies. Companies that have not made the switch to digital systems risk losing customers to their competitors with lower prices.
Most commercial printing companies offer their services online. Some companies are strictly online, which allows them to offer lower prices because they do not have a brick and mortar store to run in addition to their printing press. This reduced overhead cost allows them to offer many of their services at a discount. This creates competition for commercial printers who have a storefront to maintain. Oftentimes local printing companies have a store that their customers can frequent for more personalized attention for their printing needs. This personal touch can be the difference in helping local printing companies maintain their competitive edge.
