Despite Rising Costs, Print Marches On

If you’ve been to the gas station or the grocery store lately, you’ve probably noticed that the prices of pretty much everything have gone up. A few years ago, paying $3 per gallon at the pump was unimaginable. Welcome to 2006. These days, anything that needs to be transported or manufactured is likely to be subject to price hikes because of ever-rising fuel costs.

Obviously, the printing industry is not immune from the rising cost of energy because printing is a form of manufacturing. It is more expensive to operate a printing plant than ever before. However, the printing industry faces other special challenges because, as we all know, printing involves ink on paper. Costs for these raw materials are rising dramatically.

Paper manufacturers are facing unprecedented hikes in energy costs and increasing pressure from imports. A few mill closures are also reducing the available supply, leading to increased paper costs for their customers, that is the printer you want to print your job.

Ink is another vital raw material that costs far more than it used to, largely because it’s a petroleum product. According to the magazine Newspaper & Technology, the price of crude oil has increased nearly 90 percent since 2003, and in the last 12 months isopropyl alcohol (a solvent) rose 75 percent, hydrochloric acid increased 56 percent and heat-set solvents rose more than 60 percent. Even water-based inks are not immune. Propylene, which is used in water-based inks, has gone up 50 percent.

The bad news is that it doesn’t look like costs are going to go back down. However, the reports aren’t all bad. Some manufacturers are optimistic that prices will level out, albeit at a higher rate than before. Plus, most suppliers are not passing along all of their cost increases to printers because the marketplace can’t handle it. Profit margins are being squeezed at every point in the supply chain.

Even though it might sometimes be necessary for us to raise prices to compensate for these escalating costs of our materials, it doesn’t mean that all is lost. Technology marches on, and that means more options exist than ever before. Businesses of almost any size can get their print projects produced easily and affordably. Creative solutions do still exist to accommodate almost every budget. Please give us a call if you have questions.

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