In its latest Annual Report on Graphic Communication Markets published in November 2020, the Institut de développement et d'expertise du plurimédia (Idep) takes stock of developments in the sector based on figures for 2019, a few months before the arrival of the pandemic.
The Idep sees the same trend as in previous years over the last fifteen years, namely a decline in print volumes, a decrease in companies and an increase in foreign competition. With regard to commercial printing specifically, the Idep indicates that the structure of the sector is identical to that of previous years, with nearly 3 out of 4 companies with less than 11 employees.
Number of establishments
In 2019, there will be 2,805 commercial printers in France, down 4.8% on the previous year. There were 2945 commercial printers in 2018, 3044 in 2017, and 3154 in 2016.
Logically, the number of employees also fell by 4.9% in 2019 to 36?119 employees, compared to 37?984 employees in 2018. The regions with the biggest drop in the number of employees are the Île-de-France, Grand Est and PACA regions, the Idep points out.
Volume of printed matter
The commercial printing sector saw its printed tonnage decline by 1.4% in 2019 compared to 2018, says the IDEEP. The decline has followed a steady curve since 2010 as shown in the graph below.
Imports of printed matter account overall for about 30 percent of domestic demand, the organization says. France's main partners are Germany, Belgium, Italy and Spain.
