A Look Ahead At Hot Markets
Vincent Mallardi
"Where should you be focusing in the coming year?" That was the central question answered by Vincent Mallardi, chairman of the Printing Brokerage/Buyers Association International in his PRINTING United session, “Hot Markets: 2020 Insight and Action Plan.”
The key, he said, is knowing “where you are now and want to be 10 years from now.”
Mallardi reviewed industry statistics, noting that profits are “quite bifurcated,” as 25 printers have 80% of the market. The revenue stream — while flat — is not flat across all categories. In looking ahead to 2030, he predicted that “the volume of print will be significantly larger” than it is today.
The internet? It’s actually helped sell print, he said.
However, profit margins will remain under 5%. Why? Among the reasons are several uncontrollable factors. And as Mallardi observed, they are not exclusive of each other.
Technology will be one of the biggest contributors of change, according to Mallardi. For example, coming years will see an increase in computer power of 400 billion times. The consequences of this revolution will be more than we can imagine, he said. Some of the changes include man-machine symbiosis, more capable artificial intelligence, and assistive viewing technology.
Nano technology, he said will be commercialized. Smart packages and labels will be active and intelligent, with implications for food packaging and the pharma industries as they’ll allow monitoring of oxygen, microbial activity, and more.
Optical cloaking technology — inks that can bend light and cause objects to disappear — have applications for building wraps, among other things. Environmental factors like climate change and the rise of alternative energy, will result in more bulk shipments and reductions in OEM packaging.
