Asia-Pacific market review | 71“The impact of the pandemic on business has been a mixed bag, varying by segment and country. In general, we saw a rise in demand in the tag and label sector and fexible packaging”fast-rising energy costs, supply chain issues and lack of highly Driving the cost curve of fexographic printing down compared skilled staff making life diffcult for fexo converters,’ says Schoettle. to other printing technologies, such as gravure or digital printing, is Material prices have been increasing substantially throughout one of the most signifcant opportunities for the industry, according 2022. Additionally, companies are hit with higher power, logistics to Roy Schoettle of XSYS. and staffng costs. Consequently, there is a great deal of cost ‘This can be achieved by increased machine automation resulting pressure across the entire value chain. in higher productivity and waste reduction while enhancing HP lists rising costs as the biggest challenge in the region. These quality through a more consistent plate production process,’ says costs are going up to the highest prices for decades and has lead to Schoettle. ‘Our ThermoFlexX Catena plate processing systems, in infation forecasts on a macro level. combination with our extensive plate portfolio, are driving this ‘In addition, a challenge we learned to plan for is shortages trend with a strong focus on sustainability.’of parts, substrates and raw materials. With only a few new Many countries in the Asia-Pacifc region share similar heritage offset workers being trained, any shortage in labor in print can and are geographically close to China; therefore, they also share a be an enduring crisis,’ says HP’s Goldman. ‘Customers that have glass-half-full culture and prefer to focus on opportunities rather adopted digital as part of their business strategy are coming on than challenges. top of those challenges as they react and change faster. We see This approach is apparent in a comment from Carrie Duan, increased demand for automation in production and a move to international sales director of vision inspection expert Luster: more automated workfows. Successful PSPs are shifting to focus ‘We are glad to see APAC regions recover from the pandemic, on customer experience and diversifying their products offering and so manufacturing orders are fushing back to their new peak. services fexibility with digital print on HP.’ Companies are busy with new orders, expanding their production Mark Andy’s Chmielewska-Bontron adds that the challenge now, and inventing in new machines. China’s technology and and going forward is fnding the right people with the technical manufacturing level has grown fast in the past 10 years, and know-how and ability to operate a printing press and be responsible more local companies feel confdent about Chinese machines and for production. technologies. Its great ROI level attracts them.’‘This is especially an issue for the fexo sector and is, perhaps, According to Teemu Ainasoja, sales director of Voyantic, smart one of the reasons for the growth of digital printing – the presses label manufacturing is also an ample opportunity in the region with are easier to learn and operate,’ notes Chmielewska-Bontron. ‘The the demand for smart labels, especially RAIN RFID labels, growing shortage of printing skills is a global issue facing all converters, faster than traditional label demand. irrespective of where they are in the world or which sector they ‘The post-pandemic trends show the world embracing more work in. For many major markets, the looming crisis in energy costs digital tools. In print and packaging, we are seeing this integration will become a critical concern. So strange as it may seem, now is a of the best of the physical and digital world for a fuller experience,’ good time to invest in the latest and most agrees HP’s Goldman. ‘There is the adoption of physical dimension effcient technology.’ products and services being offered following increased attention and customers online.’Balancing digital, fexo and hybridThe latest Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence report confrms that digital printing is anticipated to grow signifcantly in the region and outpace any other printing technology. According to HP, as print continues to grow and evolve, so are customer expectations and demands changing. Successful PSPs are now increasing their focus on growth drivers and progressing their digital acceleration. Oct - Dec 2022