Printing in the eyes of the hottest Singapore prin

Printing in the eyes of Singapore printers

I once heard a story to the effect that in ancient times, in order to teach ten children the importance of unity, an old man called ten children who often competed for power and profit, each breaking an arrow. Ten children easily broke the arrow. The old man then tied ten arrows together and made them fold, but the children could not fold them no matter how hard they tried. This story of "one arrow is easy to break, ten arrows are difficult to break" is to convey the spirit of "great unity and strength"

this spirit, used today, is equally appropriate in different pull ranges. A group of traditional industry operators gathered a few people to make breakthroughs, and walked out of a different path, injecting new atmosphere into the old industry and creating a new spring for the sunset industry

the printing industry has a long history in this area and is a highly mature industry. Printing itself actually includes many different levels, from pre press services such as plate making, film, printing, to post press services such as bronzing and binding

the printing and Media Industry Association celebrated its 70th anniversary in August

according to the data provided by the Bureau of information and technology, there are more than 920 enterprises in this industry, with different sizes, and 98% of the local printing companies are small and medium-sized enterprises. It is understood that more than 100 of them are concentrated in JTC factories in the Kallang basin, while others are scattered in Jurong, Hongshan and other eastern regions. The printing industry employs about 17000 people, accounting for about 0.7% of GDP, with a value-added of 1.3 billion yuan. According to the industry classification of the government, the printing industry supports industries such as publishing and advertising. Some common printed materials include books, magazines, periodicals, newspapers, brochures, calendars, advertisements, business cards, greeting cards and prospectuses

the printing and media industry association will celebrate its 70th anniversary in August this year, but this industry association has a relatively young president, 35 year old Yan jiahuang

Yan jiahuang believes that although this industry is highly mature, it is not a sunset industry

he said, "20 years ago, printing brightly colored leaflets was very expensive and required a lot of manpower and material resources. Today, with technology, we can make beautiful color printing products, and the price is relatively cheap. In the past, there were not so many beautifully printed magazines and books. Today, consumers have more choices, and the size of bookstores is growing. I think the whole industry is actually more dynamic."

technology also helps to avoid the impact and dust entering the enterprise, achieve the goal of faster efficiency and better quality, reduce the dependence on skilled staff, and cushion the pressure of rising raw material and machine costs

but does the developed network culture lead to the lack of interest in printed matter

Yan jiahuang believes that collaterals may play an auxiliary role, but they cannot replace traditional leaflets and product catalogs, because many people still like to read tangible leaflets or newspapers and magazines

but he did not shy away from saying that this industry is facing major challenges such as technology, lack of successors, lack of technical staff, and these challenges seem to be linked

due to the progress of science and technology, some jobs that traditionally require special skills have been replaced by computer technology, and employees who can master technology are competent. However, the busy printing business often leads to the boss and employees having no time to train and still operate in the traditional manual way. Because the young successors of some enterprises know how to operate computers, the scientific and technological challenges they face are not so arduous

however, the impression that the printing industry is busy and always associated with ink is still deeply rooted in the minds of young people, which makes them shy away from this industry. Therefore, it is not easy to attract skilled employees or managers

some operators joke that when children are young, they are struggling, and children have little chance to see them. In their minds, children naturally think that this industry is very hard. Otherwise, why are parents often not at home

fengmurong, director of the enterprise development department of the Bureau of standardization and information technology, also felt the same. "The common misconception among locals is that Singapore's printing industry has no future, so it is difficult to attract local talents to join," he said

Yan jiahuang believes that the training of management and employees will help to enhance the professional image of the whole industry. However, most of this industry is handed down by experienced novices. Since 1993, baharudin vocational school closed its printing related courses, there has been a lack of local schools teaching formal printing courses

therefore, he hopes that the Singapore International Printing Technology School, which opened last month, can help fill this gap

Feng Murong believes that the local market is small and tends to be saturated. Therefore, he suggests that enterprises consider seeking overseas business opportunities, such as participating in some international trade exhibitions, such as the Frankfurt Book Fair, in order to display their works and win overseas business. Operators can also consider setting up offices overseas to directly contact overseas customers

but he also pointed out that in terms of price and quality, Singapore also faces competition from other Asian countries with lower costs in the region (such as China, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea)

Yan jiahuang believes that the practice of some large enterprises is to relocate part of their businesses to countries with lower costs, such as China, in order to reduce the pressure of costs and staff shortages. Some enterprises choose to provide more diversified services to win customers

the printing industry is facing difficulties: there is a lack of successors and cannot keep up with the development of science and technology.

Yan jiahuang began to enter the family printing business (GPS printing media) 20 years ago, and bought the first computer for the company in 1995 and 1996, which made the company embark on the road of computerization

before Yan jiahuang joined, GPS actually specifically reflected the two difficulties faced by the traditional printing industry: the lack of successors and the inability to keep up with the pace of technological development

GPS, which Yan jiahuang served as the managing director, has a history of 30 years and was founded by his parents. It is understood that many printers, founded decades ago, were mostly founded by couples or several brothers and sisters. They are industries that attach great importance to handicrafts and technology

up to now, science and technology are changing with each passing day, and some traditional parts made by hand can gradually be replaced by science and technology. In the past, the work of sending and retrieving manuscripts required special personnel to do it. Now, they can be sent or received by email, saving operating costs to some extent

however, this has also brought new cost pressures to traditional enterprises: first, buy computers and large multi-function printing machines, and then learn how to operate all kinds of software, learn computer design, etc. After learning, perhaps technology has improved, and we have to adapt and learn new versions of software and make new investments

coupled with fierce competition among peers, customers rush for goods, and sometimes they don't pay back their debts, traditional printers can't help but sigh that business is difficult to do. If the children have no intention to take over, the enterprise will also face the problem of no successor and no one to inherit the hard-earned land

therefore, if an enterprise wants to transform and introduce new technology, the presence or absence of a successor is often an important factor for the enterprise to consider

Yan jiahuang pointed out that the outside world is colorful, and local people mostly choose to enter the "white-collar industry", such as the financial industry. Therefore, the printing industry with "full ink" is generally not the first choice for young people

but after his military service, he chose a family business, because he believed that the printing industry might not earn as much as the financial industry, but it was relatively stable. Even in the economic downturn, the industry continued to operate

he said, "from the 1970s to the early 1990s, the printing industry developed vigorously, but today it is not as brilliant as in the past. I think it is mainly to correct the problem of thinking, rather than blindly indulge in the glory of the past."

for family businesses, he made drastic reforms, developing the traditional manual operation of printing accounting books and typesetting with letter blocks into a printing enterprise that today has more than 20 computers and employees, focuses on design and technology, and provides a series of services

the strategic alliance of industry groups provides one-stop services

in the printing industry, competition is not the only rule of the game, and the alliance can also open new business opportunities

the "UE print media center" (UE print media hub), which will be completed next season, has become a new platform for businesses to work together because people are increasingly worried about flooding in urban areas. A group of small and medium-sized enterprises spontaneously form a strategic alliance to provide one-stop printing services, which is cost-effective

12 enterprises with different majors moved into the new center

CAI Qisheng, chairman and managing director of Dehua Industrial Holdings, successfully persuaded 12 enterprises with different printing majors to move to the new printing media center together after a few years of hard talking

caiqisheng said that at the beginning, the main concern of these companies was that they were afraid of entering this "customized" center for the printing industry, and the rent and cost would be much higher. But he also believes that enterprises should not use past experience to explore the future direction, but to see what new business strategies are needed in the new environment, and the challenge should be how to strive for better benefits to overcome the rise in rent

Cai Qisheng, who rented a unit in the center and is also the former president of the printing and Media Industry Association, said, "I have a large plant on the west coast, and it is still under expansion. But I believe in this concept, because the next competition is no longer a single fight, but a group of friends and a strategic alliance to negotiate terms and leases with the development."

the victory color printing of printed books and periodicals, Procomp printset for printing and designing outdoor advertisements and posters, Grenadier printing to assist other printing businesses, pixel Tech in charge of instant printing and Haosheng printing of bound hardcover books are among the five companies that responded to the call

the industry believes that under the same roof, resources and information can be shared, the "clustering effect" can be played, and raw materials, transportation and logistics costs can be saved

5 the company promised to buy more than ten million yuan of machines

procomp managing director Lin Liangnan said for example, "for some infrastructure, such as computer plate making machines, we used to buy one more as a backup. After moving there, because it can be shared, as long as we make a commercial loan, we don't need to buy a backup." Linronghua, managing director of Grenadier printing company, also felt the same way

at present, the factories of these five enterprises are concentrated in the jialeng basin and are facing the fate of being "moved"

chenyonghan, director of Shengli color printing, said, "I take this opportunity to purchase some larger machines. The printing media center provides enough space for us to purchase larger machines to improve productivity." Chen Yonghan believes that the output will increase, and the preliminary calculation is that the turnover will increase by 20 to 30%

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