Australian catalogue printing tops half a billion dollars
According to a report by industry analyst, Brian Stafford (pictured) in this month’s Pulp & Paper Edge (industryedge), catalogue print costs rose from $490M three years ago to $545M in 2004, an annual average growth rate of 3.4 per cent pa. This is slower than the overall growth in total industry value over the same period (5.0 per cent pa). Stafford suggests that advertisers are seeking and receiving increasingly competitive quotes, or that printers are installing equipment that allows them to get their costs down, or some combination of both.
This is backed up by reports of a massive surge in heatset web press capacity in recent years. The situation is likely to become even more competitive with over half a billon dollars worth of web presses due for installation over the next 18 months.
In a wide-ranging survey of this vital sector of the printing industry Stafford makes the point that 6.7 catalogues per week are delivered for every individual in Australia, making us one of the top consumers of the media in the world (UK residents receive 0.4 catalogues per person per week).
Figures from the Australian Catalogue Association (ACA) show that advertisers spent $1.8 billion on catalogues in 2004, which accounts for approximately 16.3 per cent of the entire advertising spend in Australia. This is topped in print by newspapers at $3.4 billion (30.7 per cent). Television attracts an estimated $3.0 billion (27.7 per cent).
The importance of the catalogue sector is emphasized by the fact that it uses 350,000 tonnes of various grades of paper representing 43 per cent of all publication grade paper. The rest is divided between magazine and general commercial printing.
The big winners out of the increase in catalogues are the distribution channels, according to Stafford, which have garnered rises of 5.6 per cent. He cautions that if distribution costs continue to rise at these rates it will only serve to promote alternative forms of advertising distribution.
According to a report by industry analyst, Brian Stafford (pictured) in this month’s Pulp & Paper Edge (industryedge), catalogue print costs rose from $490M three years ago to $545M in 2004, an annual average growth rate of 3.4 per cent pa. This is slower than the overall growth in total industry value over the same period (5.0 per cent pa). Stafford suggests that advertisers are seeking and receiving increasingly competitive quotes, or that printers are installing equipment that allows them to get their costs down, or some combination of both.