"Printing works" : the heart of graphic arts industry
Printing works are the main component of graphic arts industry. They cover 80 % of employment and the bulk of the whole turnover (about 10 billion €). The domination of this field within graphic arts industry is due to the fact that these companies are capable of integrating the prepress upstream and the finishing downstream.
Companies of 20 employees or more represent three-quarter of this field. Since 1993 their number has strongly decreased. At the same time big companies restructured. These alterations, desired or endured, result from market competition, difficult to gain and even more to keep. The loss of a big contract, held for years, is a factor of imbalance for some big printing houses, particularly those of more than 100 employees, so much that they are forced to strong restructuring even cessation. Relocations explain permanent closures as well ; these are mainly conducted by some foreign groups located in Europe via France.
Their interest trends provoked their transfer towards other EC countries. Despite this decrease of companies in number, the turnover increases : up to 9.9 billion € in 2005 to 8.9 billion € in 1993 – this evolution expresses productivity gains. The number of employees which are registered in the printing industry has evolved from 103,000 in 1993 to 86,000 in 2005.
The "finishing" : a stable downstream field
The “finishing” field, located downstream in graphic arts industry, has not experienced strong restructuring. In 2005, 250 companies are specialized in finishing works, i.e. 10 more than in 1993. The weight of companies of 20 employees or more remains stable – they group together 85 % of turnover & employment. The weight of the 15 companies which have a payroll of 100 employees or more remains stable too – they generate 45 % of turnover between them.
How are the effects of competition abroad received on some printing segments ?
On a national scale, as on a worldwide one, the packaging production has been increasing for several years. This increase mainly reflects wooden & plastic packaging, whose volume grows from 10 % between 2000 and 2006. Paper & cardboard packaging doesn’t follow this trend : between 2003 and 2004, its turnover goes 2.6 % down.
The packaging printing, mainly centered paper & cardboard supports on, sees its volume going down : an average of 2,7 % per year between 2000 and 2006, because of a big increase of imports.
Printing is usually integrated within packaging plants. A part of the business escapes therefore to printing houses : printing works cover 70 % of printed packaging products. And last but not least the packaging industry is open abroad. Its national production doesn’t reflect the market. In 2005 national demand increased, although French production decreased.
