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Our new landscape; graphic

Our new print landscape

In a period with the most dramatic change we have seen in decades the print industry, like many have seen demand drop. As retail shut their doors, restaurants and bars close and events stay cancelled the need for traditional print such as tickets, menus or exhibition pamphlets, plus not to mentions brand’s budgets, all decline.

But where challenges rise change always brings new opportunities. With a bit of resilience and adaptability there are some hidden gems amongst the turbulence which will transform the print industry to thrive.

Increased demand for packaging, labels and sticker

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Our new landscape; packaging

Online shopping is in accelerated growth. International lockdowns have caused retail closures and as people are staying home as much as possible many retailers have been forced to go online, or those already online to up their game.

As we all become savvy online shoppers’ brands must deliver; do they have the labelling and packaging acquired for delivery logistics, meet customer expectations for packaging, plus have enough of these to meet the growing demand. Additionally, if brands want to make that extra impact and deliver an experience when their product arrives, they’ll need their packaging to work even harder.

A sustainable source, paper replaces plastic 

Customer expectation for sustainability has heightened, leading brands to turn to paper. Paper is one of the few truly sustainable products, created from wood, it doesn’t get any more natural than that. For brands looking to eliminate one use plastics and non-compostable materials, paper is their perfect renewable solution.

What does this mean for the print industry? New and growing demands for paper or card packaging, labels and non-coated print marketing such as flyers, brochures or business cards, all recyclable, all fitting with their sustainability ethos.

Access to more without leaving our homes

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Our new landscape; food parcel

Stay at home orders have left us wanting more and more delivered to our doorstop without stepping out the comfort of our homes. Subscription boxes have seen a huge rise, whether that be monthly beauty box subscriptions, recipe box subscriptions such as Hello Fresh, or getting a small wine fix whilst the pubs are closed with subscriptions such as nakedwines.com.

This trend is growing and making a huge revenue opportunity as these companies seek packaging that elevates their brands and delivers an experience that will keep their customers subscribing.

A stronger sense of community

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Our new landscape; flower delivery

Another growing market born out of isolation; bringing a whole new appreciation for our friends and family, gratitude for those working extra hard or empathy for those who have it toughest right now is the greetings card and gift delivery market.

For some time now we have not been able to pop into our local card store or local floristry then drop by for a friends Birthday. This has seen companies like Moon Pig, eFlorist and many more soar.

All of whom are in need of greetings cards, gift tags, packaging and much more, creating demand for, you guessed it- the print industry!

Home is the new office

We have all become used to working from home, and have all evolved to be able to do it successfully, even the print industry! We will start to see technology take a large role in keeping print shops running during periods of lockdowns, when staff are ill or quarantining and whilst social distancing. With automation software such as Ultimate Impostrip printers can have less manual touch points, a streamlined production and create job tickets remotely allowing printers to maintain efficiency.

Whether it's our online growth driving us to crave tangible experiences, online deliveries’ being the only option, or just convenience, it looks like the pandemic has changed the way consumers behave, and therefore changed our print landscape for good.

Get in touch to talk to us about how we could help you with the opportunities the new print landscape has brought.

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