COVID-19: Impact On Print Job Orders And What Can You Do About It? - Part I

The print industry has shapeshifted. While some printed a lot others ceased to exist. Brick-and-mortar companies walked away while online companies thrived. Global distribution channels were disrupted and demand remained the same and even grew somewhere. Print companies were in hot water as they were unable to print and deliver cost-effectively.

How can print companies streamline job orders at a time like this?

Experts agree that print companies would have to act as a reliable resource for customers to “trust them for print”. Gaining insights into customer print ordering - knowing what devices they prefer to order? How often do they order? What additional services do they seek for an online print order? Identifying ordering pain areas and studying your customers can make a huge difference in the way print jobs are perceived, processed and delivered.

Current Outlook on Job Orders

Data from Printing Outlook 2021 special report states that print businesses expect print industry jobs/orders to rebound +9.0% from 2020 to 2021.¹

This is because.

Increase in Demand for Print Products

Cloudprinter.com reports that significant growth has been seen for Personal products such as photos (46.81%) on canvas, forex or similar, photo books (37.57%) and posters (2.07%) together accounted for 86.45% of all orders during the pandemic.² The reason being that customers, being at home, had more time to organize their memories and order photo books. Spending more time at home allowed customers to focus on interior decoration. And being at home for most of the time, online shopping was the only way customers could order products.

Rise in Order Quantities

Homebuyers, be they corporate or non-corporate ordered print products online such as souvenirs and gifts during the holiday season. When print companies began printing more - the order value decreased as they could offer better competitive pricing. For the entire period, the trend towards a decline in average order value is visible - starting at €16.96 in March 2020 and ending at €8.15 in January 2021.

Improved Job Monitoring & Control

During the lockdown, customers were extremely insistent on print job orders that offer real-time status updates and tracking. Delivery and shipping have been critical factors when customers choose to order online. With more online job orders the print companies are eagerly investing in web-to-print to streamline their Order Management.

To know “what this means for print businesses?” lookout for Part II of this blog post.

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• cloudprinter