China Flag Makers Blog

By product. Here are the printed product categories that have shown significant increases in foreign production over the last few years: Books are by far the most import-threatened product category. The largest sales categories are in children’s picture/coloring books, technical and scientific books, and textbooks. The second most threatened print category is miscellaneous printed materials such as basically general commercial printed materials such as  advertising flags and banners , posters, calendars, etc. Labels are the third largest category of printed imports. Another category with a lower weight-to-value ratios and longer shelf life is greeting cards. By run lengths. Which print run lengths may be most suitable for offshore production? Conventional wisdom suggests that mid-run lengths may be the most likely candidates. Short run lengths are more likely printed for “just-in-time” distribution so may be more easily produced domestically. This is especi...

Future directions: outlook for offshore production of U.S. print consumption As demonstration above, the U.S. print market is primarily a domestic industry with relatively small components of imports and exports. What about the future? Will print remain primarily a domestic-based industry? Let’s look at some underlying factors that influence domestic versus offshore production. One factor is the weight-to-value ratio. Products with relatively high weight compared to the values are somewhat less conducive for shipping over long distances. Printing is typically a manufactured product with a relatively high weight to value ratio, so this factor supports domestic production. Another factor supporting domestic production is the production cycle and “time to customer.” The nature of most print (but not all) is such that it has a relatively short production and distribution cycle, so this factor again supports domestic production at least for much of print. Excluded i...