FINAL REPRO PPoP INDEX (index tracking reprographics industry revenues generated from printing plans on paper)

Well, there has to be an end to everything, and, so, this is the end of the line for the Reprographics 101 Repro PPoP Index.

What we’ve been saying all along about this Index:

 - This index does not attempt to track "total sales" of A/E/C reprographers. It attempts to track only sales of "plans printed on paper”.

 - And, by "plans printed on paper", I mean A/E/C "plans", large-format, b/w and color, unbound or bound, full-size, half-size, whatever large-format size.

If you click on the link that’s immediately below, you’ll find our final “report”:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B81al4kFAU9JR1dFR1ZkVVN3Wjg/edit?usp=sharing

Blog Publisher’s comments:

The first think I’d like to mention is a clarification of sorts.  The index readings in the reports we’ve been issuing were not readings based just on prints produced at reprographer-production centers, but were readings based on large-format plan-printing wherever it took place.  In other words, at reprographer-operated production centers and at reprographer-operated OnSite (FM) locations.  I.E., the “totality” of large-format plan printing.

Observations.  Based solely on my own personal analysis of the Index readings (the numbers) we’ve reported over the past few years and the more recent index readings (the numbers) we’ve reported – it does not take a rocket science degree to understand that the bottom, literally, dropped out of the A/E/C plan printing business.  That happened sometime during 2009 for some and during 2010 for others. My SWAG (silly-wild-ass-guess) is that on an overall reprographics industry basis, revenues bottomed-out in 2010 (and, leading into 2010, 2009 was also an awful year for most), and that 2011 was another awful year.  In short, 2009, 2010 and 2011 are years that reprographers would never, ever like to see repeated.  2012 brought a slight uptick in activity, followed by fairly decent uptick in 2013.  The more recent “up-readings” in the index do not necessarily mean that reprographers are busier in their production centers.  More and more large-format plan-printing volume is finding its way to OnSite (FM) sites.  There are a lot more reprographers offering OnSite services today than ever before [in spite of the fact that many of those now offering OnSite (FM) services don’t have a good understanding as to how promote, sell, cost, price, and operate that business.]  I’m positive that every reprographer knows that the volume of printing – on a per-project basis – has declined from what it used to be and that that particular decline was not caused by the recession, but by the “further digitization” of the industry.  The trend on the A/E/C side is to find ways to print less, and they (A/E/C customers) are doing that by distributing files rather than ordering and distributing hard-copy prints.  (Well, that said, they are still printing, but not as much as used to be the case.)  That trend will continue, much to the dismay of reprographers.  The A/E/C Industry was healthier in 2013 than in 2012, and, based on how things are going, it does appear that 2014 will be even a healthier year.  Similarly, and for reasons that are obvious to most reprographers, I fully expect that 2014 will be a better year for most reprographers than 2013 was.  But, the growth in revenues from printing plans on paper, 2014 vs. 2013, will not be directly proportionate to the growth of the A/E/C Industry. 

To my reprographer friends – continue your efforts to diversify your revenues.  I do expect that 2014 will bring increased revenues from plan-printing services, but, given continuing digitization efforts going on in the A/E/C Industry, you can’t bank on that happening in a meaningful way.