Aussie printers claw back offshore print

According to the latest edition of Paper2Paper Edge, the statistics could be interpreted to show that local printers have been successful in attracting work back to Australia that was previously printed overseas.

ABS statistics show that during the 1990/91 financial year, $740 million out of the $1.22 bilion of total paper products imported, or 61 percent, was comprised of printed material. By the 2002/03 financial year however, ABS statistics shows this proportion has fallen to 50%. “It would appear that Australian printers have succeeded in pulling back work previously printed offshore,” Paper2Paper Edge claims.

Robert Eastmant from Industry Edge claims these changes have significant ramifications for the Australian printing industry. “For all intents and purposes, it suggests that Australian printers are gaining a bigger foothold in the market,” he says. “With that said, there is still a lot of room for printers to recover work printed offshore.”

Paper2Paper Edge is a new bi-monthly publication released by industry Edge, and the latest edition can be downloaded from the website at www.industryedge.com.au.