DS Printech China fair to be held from 28 – 30 October 2020

Rising demand for screen and digital printing equipment

82
The expo will be held in Shenzhen
The expo will be held in Shenzhen

In response to the rising demand for screen and digital printing equipment, Messe Frankfurt’s new DS Printech China fair, to be held from 28 – 30 October 2020, will offer industry practitioners an invaluable opportunity to explore this market further. Furthermore, the fair will be relocated to a brand-new exhibition venue in Shenzhen, where a digital printing hub is located in nearby cities.

Since booth registration opened in early January, nearly 60 companies have confirmed their participation, including leading players Brother, Stahl’s, Flora, Zhongyi, Print Pretty, Aolite, Lancer Group, ATMA Champ and Techway Technology. Around 600 exhibitors are expected to present their latest products and technology across a 40,000 square metre space in Hall 17 at the brand-new Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center.

DS Printech China, is a rebranding of the existing CSGIA fair, in existence for 30-plus years, and the concurrent Textile Digital Printing China. The fair will relocate from Guangzhou to Shenzhen.

Currently, over 10,000 printing and packaging companies form a digital printing hub in the Greater Bay Area cities of Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Foshan, Dongguan, Jiangmen and Huizhou, and contribute to one-sixth of the country’s production value. Leveraging the strengths and resources of each city, the fair is an ideal entry point for international brands to maximize their exposure in China.

Increased investment in machinery

The digital printing and screen printing markets in China have seen robust growth in recent years. In 2019, the import value of screen printing equipment and other printing equipment increased by 42.4% to USD 86.71 million and 44.1% to USD 31.45 million respectively, revealing the rising demand for overseas products. Suppliers from around the world can take advantage of this potential and gain access to this growing market in the fair’s International Zone.

Meanwhile, in a 2019 online survey in which 9,368 Chinese printers took part, 31% said that they had digital printing equipment in place at their factories, an 8% increase from the previous year. When it comes to production of accessories, clothing and industrial fabrics, over 60% of the companies surveyed in these sectors reported they had already installed digital printing equipment, while another 30% planned to do so in the near feature.

2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India

Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.

The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry. While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.

The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.

Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.

Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.

Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.

– Naresh Khanna

Subscribe Now

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here