Offshore Print Evolution
American and European publishers and corporate print buyers have been developing viable print production relationships offshore since hot metal typesetting gave way to manuscripts sent by telephonic transmission. Broadband capabilities and associated electronic prepress software systems have allowed ever more complex and sophisticated graphics projects to be produced in lower labor costs regions of the world.
As rising educational standards in many developing countries have elevated the English speaking communication capabilities of these new vendors, old line publishers and globally minded buyers have gained confidence in moving less time sensitive but more labor intensive printing projects half way around the world. Technology has certainly contributed to "flattening the world" as the book of a similar name, i.e., The World is Flat, has alluded.
However, this new paradigm can be attributed to other cultural factors as well. For example, many native print entrepreneurs in these evolving economies have received their higher education in Canada, United States, or Europe. From this entrée they have put together business plans and aggressive sales programs targeting the export market. At the same time business development policies and laws in these countries have contributed to fueling this engine by streamlining the importing of new technologies that will be producing these exports. Governmental leanings toward democracy and free market economics have helped this export initiative as well.
The west's traditional corporate tendency toward mergers and acquisitions in exchange for the infusion of financial and intellectual technical capital has met with resistance in many far eastern countries. Legislative compromise has resulted in minority equity positions, but rarely majority or total ownership. Keep in mind that the universal priority guiding federal legislation for both acquiring new technologies and local corporate ownership control has not been the export carrot alone but the over arching desire to build the country's internal economy and standard of living.
Package printing has logically stayed with the origin of the product being manufactured. Hence, toys manufactured in China have had virtually all of their packaging and assembly instructions printed there as well. With this single product exception virtually all other printed products have encountered two primary limiting factors to offshore production; shipping costs across vast oceans and the resulting elongated time to reach the U.S. market. With ever quicker project turn around times being provided by printers in North America and Europe these two limitations are not expected to be eliminated.
Despite labor unions in the old line, free world economies bemoaning the "exporting of jobs" from the time of the very first offshore outsourcing, most manufacturing stays in the country of origin and intended sale. The United States continues to manufacture 80% of what it consumes. It manufactures well over 90% of the printing that it consumes. Hence, offshore printing has been and is expected to continue to be a niche resource. And for certain graphics and printed projects this resource will provide distinct value for the globally minded publisher and/or corporate print buyer. This article will discuss the current dynamics of offshore print production including actual case studies. Statistics, strengths, weaknesses, along with interesting advancements and innovations of these foreign vendors will be described.
