Digital printing industry set to grow in Vietnam

Digital printing would develop strongly in future, replacing offset printing and opening up opportunities not only for Vietnamese but also foreign firms, an industry expert told a conference in HCM City earlier this week.

Nguyen Van Dzong, chairman of the Vietnam Printing Association, told the two-day Asia-Pacific Premier Partner Annual Conference organised by Fuji Xerox that offset printing still accounted for 65 per cent of all printing done in the country while digital printing accounted for much less than 5 per cent.

Though the latter had not developed as much in Vietnam as in other countries, it would develop strongly in future, especially when orders became larger and required strict control over quality and design and rapid changes.

The biggest hurdles now were customers’ habits and the low cost of offset printing. While businesses had to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a digital printer, offset printing machines just cost in the tens of thousands.

Once customers realised the advantages it offered – like being able to print large quantities and change data quickly – and printer prices fell with volumes, digital printing would become popular.

Vietnam hoped to attract more foreign investment in this industry and was speeding up administrative reform and completing a legal framework for the purpose.

There are 3,000 printing establishments in the country earning total annual revenues of US$2 billion.

The growth of the printing industry was strongest in 1993-2005 but slowed down to 10 per cent in 2005-2008. Since then, due to the economic downturn, the industry’s growth has slowed down to 5-7 per cent.

Printing of labels and packaging account for 55 per cent of the work done in the country, newspapers and magazines for 20 per cent, books for 15 per cent, and catalogues and brochures for 10 per cent.

Every year, the country publishes some 25,000 books. But Dzong said in future, while there would be an increase in the number of book, newspaper, and magazine titles, their total circulation would decrease.

Printing of labels and packaging would continue to grow, he said.

Conference highlights

The Asia-Pacific Premier Partner Annual Conference was held for the first time in HCM City, attracting more than 250 delegates from across the Asia-Pacific region.

It sought to help the industry learn more about trends in the printing market and develop business opportunities for greater profit in the growing digital market around the world.

Fuji Xerox established the Premier Partner Program in Europe and the US in 2000, and the Xerox Global Graphic Arts Premier Partner Program has almost 800 members around the world. The programme was launched in the Asia-Pacific in 2004.

Tags: Digital printing industry