Consider this: in 2010, imports of printed material and related products from Hong Kong and China to U.S. shores hit $2.397 billion (or nearly 45% of the category total). That is almost back to the pre-crisis level of 1998. Obviously, the outsourcing flow has not ebbed despite fervent calls for made-in-U.S.A. books. Then again, there is the slumping greenback and weak economy. For print suppliers, it is indeed the best of times and the worst of times.

Closure of big chains like Borders or small indie bookstores translates into fewer outlets for selling print books. At the same time, e-publishing, hot as it is, is still a new venture with an uncertain future. Meanwhile, the soft U.S. and European economy adds considerable pressure to both publishers and print suppliers," says executive chairman Matthew Yum of Hung Hing, pointing out that wages in China have risen around 20% per annum since 2009. "The cost of materials and energy has also gone up, and currency exchange remains volatile. In light of these tough times, consolidation within the publishing and printing industries is unavoidable. Publishers select sustainable and leading businesses as printing partners, and vice versa. But for the partnership to work and flourish, both parties have to sit down together and work things out, in addition to looking for innovative ways to add value and reduce costs." (Hint: don't expect the same prices as those quoted three or four years ago.)

One thing characterizes Hong Kong and China suppliers: their total disregard for the status quo and for the forecast of doom and gloom. They see opportunities where others do not—and they have the guts and vision to act on what they see.

When PW looks at these suppliers, we see leaders, innovators, trendsetters, and game-changers within the industry. Collectively, they have built the Hong Kong and China printing industry to what it is today. Many of them, reviewed here in reverse alphabetical order, have appeared in this report since the first issue back in 1985. And while there are many more outstanding suppliers capable of providing great quality, fantastic services, and reliable delivery, this report focuses on the feisty ones that are taking the boldest leap forward in such areas as green management, product innovation, color proofing technology, and digital printing.

Our goal is to show what is achievable and desirable in a print supplier poised to meet the new age of Amazon, Google, and iPad head-on. These suppliers' innovative and can-do spirit is what cost-conscious and deadline-driven publishers need in order to survive any downturn and reap profits during the boom time. As always, doing one's homework before selecting a supplier or signing a contract is essential.

WKT
wktco.com

"Twenty-five years ago, we were a small company, but with quite a big presence in the overseas markets that we chose to operate in. Even then, we opted to work directly with our clients, and that remains our policy to this day," says marketing director Jeremy Kuo. "Technological advances have made the business more challenging and demanding, especially in meeting client expectations. Clients now want a more complete buying experience. Responding to inquiries, solving production problems, contributing to product enhancement and creation—these are all part of our daily routine."

But putting service first does not mean always saying yes. "We believe that clients value honesty. While it hurts business sometimes to say that we cannot do certain things, we feel that it is better in the long run." Kuo considers the past three years as one big project for WKT, one that will have a huge impact on the industry. His challenge, of course, is to convince the industry that his claim about his production team's ability to match color samples by any client is not outrageous. "Firstly, there is D-Tone 5040K, our neutral-gray color bar. It answers one major question: how closely the proof matches the look of the printed page. In general, this is achieved using GRACoL and FOGRA standards, both working on the premise that if each output meets the standard, then you can be certain about what you will get on print. The problem is that while it is relatively easy to make digital proofs match these standards, it is difficult for printers to achieve the same throughout a print run. D-Tone 5040K is the solution."

Kuo is now working on providing a printed sample to clients, as well as the originating file if requested. "If the client produces a proof from a file that is based on FOGRA or GRACoL, they will find that it matches our sample. This reverse engineering will show that we can meet these standards using D-Tone, and that we are able to do the same for the whole print run. We can print without seeing the proofs—which happens for some projects—and it will match."

Secondly, there is the use of stochastic/FM screening for every job that lands in WKT. "The better contrast and the color gamut greatly enhance an image," adds Kuo.

Lastly, there are the green aspects of the business. "Our clients' concern about having products that meet environmental requirements has influenced everything that we have done companywide, and we are gaining recognition as a green factory that is focused on waste recycling and carbon footprint reduction. So, yes, we have indeed come a long way in 25 years, especially in the last few."

TSE Worldwide Press
TSEWorldwidePress.com

With the first phase of its U.S. office remodeling completed, TSE Worldwide now has an additional digital proofer to speed up proofing and a state-of-the-art videoconferencing setup to maintain constant contact with clients. Then there is high-end furnishing and a modern decor to provide a stylish working environment. "Over in Hong Kong, we have acquired a new office right off the harbor on Kowloon's side to serve as a convenient stopover and a central meeting place for our clients—global, regional, and local," says CEO Sarah Tse, who also implemented a brand-new internal quality assurance program to ensure the highest manufacturing standards. "This eliminates the need for on-site sampling or quality testing, saving time and money."

In recent months, Tse and her team have been seeing more highly confidential projects that require considerable R&D. "Because of this rising demand, our engineers have developed new tools and guidelines for the manufacturing process to create novel printing, binding, and folding effects. Customers can bring in sketches and ideas, and our creative team will take care of the rest. Much of this growth, I believe, is due to our zealousness in protecting clients' intellectual property. As such, I'm not at liberty to reveal project details beyond saying that some have been completed and prototypes are available for viewing at our U.S., Hong Kong, and China showrooms."

In short, printing projects that combine special craftsmanship with meticulous printing are TSE Worldwide's focus. "The U.S. is still one of the biggest print buyers around. However, demand for high-quality printing from emerging markets such as Russia, the Middle East, and Brazil is growing. And that is partly because of Hong Kong print suppliers' ability to offer great value at competitive prices," adds Tse. But the need for middlemen or regional offices, she says, "is waning, as clients are directly contacting Chinese printers—thanks to technology and the Internet. However, there is ample room for creative folks like us to carve our niche in the marketplace."

When it comes to CPSIA compliance, Tse says, "We have rejected several clients who wanted to use noncompliant materials in the production process. We are all too aware of CPSIA-related concerns, as we review its legal requirements regularly and keep an eye on the latest lawsuits in this area. We are able to keep our clients up-to-date on safety guidelines and make recommendations regarding the choice of materials at their end. And that, to us, is what value-added service means."

Starlite
hkstarlite.com

A broad-based business plan has shielded Starlite from the slowing economy. Its Paris office is doing very well, with "business expected to increase 30% to 50% this year, especially for children's edutainment projects as well as DIY, craft, and hobbies titles," says chairman and CEO K.Y. Lam. "Given the higher standard of living and better work-life balance in Europe, the market for such products is set to grow even further."

Back in China, Starlite now has a new plant in Wuhan. This capital city of Hubei Province is equidistant from Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou—a fact that would help Starlite's goal to penetrate the domestic market. "We will also start our new production facility in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, this year. Wages there are about 30% lower than in Shenzhen, and it also has a sizable labor pool," adds Lam. Meanwhile, the Shaoguan facility remains Starlite's hub for hand-assembled paper products for children as well as novelty items. "Phase II of its expansion is underway. Labor is abundant, as evidenced by the many Hong Kong manufacturers that have set up shop in that area." As for the chronic labor shortage in Shenzhen, he says the company copes by "continuously improving the benefits for our skilled workers and raising their salaries. At the same time, our Starlite Innovation Center is hard at work to find ways and means to replace manual labor with all sorts of automation."

His team is also busy with bills of materials as required by both PIPS (Publishing Industry Product Safety) and New Directive 2009/48/CE on toy safety, the latter in effect on July 20. "This work involves a lot of data collection from the bills of materials for every single order. But it has to be done. The tightening EU regulation on chemical use and the revised Toy Safety Directive demand that manufacturers of books do vigorous testing for a wide range of chemicals and provide supporting documents whenever required. Internally, we are working on the same for the U.S. market based on the requirements laid out in the CPSIA. It is critical to make sure that our products are safe not just for children but for consumers of any age."

Lam is getting his fair share of FSC projects in recent months, even though they represent less than 5% of all projects at Starlite. "The price of FSC-certified paper is usually not the critical factor as it is just a little higher than that of standard paper," he says. "What makes most customers hesitate are the long purchase lead time and high minimum order quantity. However, if more people go the FSC way, then such concerns will soon be history."

Regent Publishing
RegentPublishingServices.com

"Computers and the advent of the Internet have made the printing business increasingly difficult to sustain," says managing director George Tai of Regent Publishing. "With global communication so convenient and fast compared to 15 or 25 years ago, publishers can get in touch with any supplier in any industry, and at any corner of the world, simply by pushing buttons. Comparison shopping is now as easy as A-B-C, which indirectly makes using print brokers less attractive."

However, Tai is not giving up. "We continue to upgrade ourselves, spending more resources on improving customer service and employing professionals to explore new markets. Our high-quality products, reliable delivery, expert staff, and competitive pricing continue to bring in new clients. With a lot of hard work and close attention to our clients, we will do as well as—if not better than—most of our counterparts. We expect another profitable year, though not as good as what we would like. At the end of the day, we have to make some money to feed the 35 people on the payroll."

The rise of e-books has hit conventional printing, Tai laments: "At the very least, it drives print runs down to a minimum. As far as I can tell, more people are turning to tablets and computers for their reading pleasure. Besides dwindling sales, bookstores are also disappearing." Despite the gloom, Tai remains convinced that publishers will continue to buy from Hong Kong and China. "The capacity, the workmanship, and, most important of all, the value of products that we provide as a collective group of suppliers, are not something that publishers can get elsewhere, such as India, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, or Malaysia. Of course, there are outstanding printers there, but nowhere else can you find a strong and proven print manufacturing hub like Hong Kong and China."

Inflation, labor supply problems, and wage increases in China are serious concerns to the industry, but Tai asserts that a balance can be found. "Clients will have to pay a little bit more, and our manufacturer friends have to find the right resources, keep costs down, and improve productivity. The printing industry has been around for a few hundred years, and we will keep on printing. Perhaps, one day, someone will come up with an idea that will bring down manufacturing costs dramatically so that we can remain competitive in the e-world!"


Regal Printing
regalprinting.com.hk

Art books, photography titles, and high-end special editions have been Regal Printing's niche segments for a long time. "Nowadays, print runs have dropped significantly, to somewhere between 500 and 3,000 copies, which is pretty low for most print suppliers, but this range is what we excel in," says managing director Maurice Kwan, who uses a GMG color management system for his projects. "The proofs we send to clients are a near-match to the final print quality—95% at least—so they can trust our production team to get it right. That does not mean we no longer have clients flying in from the U.S., our core market, to visit us. San Francisco-based designer Ron Shore, for instance, came for press checks in May, June, and July this year, and for each trip he had three or four titles done simultaneously."

And for those wanting quick turnaround for even lower print runs, Regal offers digital printing. It uses Fuji Xerox 700DCP and Color 1000 presses for color pages, and a Nuvera 100EA for black-and-white titles. "We use the digital presses for orders from one copy up to 300. Anything higher will go on the offset press. Since the digital presses only do softcover, we often incorporate standard offset binding and finishing processes such as wire-o, case-bound, and other cover treatments. We even produce products such as board games and card games using a combination of digital and offset presses. In the coming months, we will be working with a business partner to develop an easy one-stop book printing service to be offered through our revamped Web site." Finding a sustainable business model based on hybrid printing that blends digital and offset is on his to-do list.

Meanwhile, his art department is going beyond normal file tweaking or color correction. "Our team can help clients create artwork based on their briefs, or do high-end scanning of old books and redesign the pages to create new versions for them," he says. "The latter is especially helpful for clients wanting to revive out-of-print titles or repurpose existing content. I find that clients are more than happy to have us helping them in different areas instead of just printing."

Kwan is looking into expanding his range of cover treatments and exploring new materials that can be sourced quickly and cost-effectively. It is all about extending services and thinking proactively for clients, he adds. Take one recent project as an example. His team helped a client reduce material costs by substituting expensive gold paper with foil sheet. "Besides shaving 30% off the costs, the client also ended up with more choices in color and pattern. Finding alternatives to help clients keep to their budget enables them to publish and create more projects, and hopefully these projects will continue to come to us."

Midas
midasprinting.com

Nowadays, customers are more willing to accept higher prices, says deputy managing director Francis Kwok; "that has helped us to cope with mounting cost pressures." Business activity in the first half of 2011 at Midas is close to that of the same period last year. "Competition in lower-price projects remains keen with very tight margins. To complicate matters, paper cost has risen by more than 10% in the first half. We do, however, expect a price drop in the coming months. As for the labor situation, it has stabilized and, given our higher production efficiencies, we fully anticipate better months ahead." But Kwok, ever cautious, adds, "It is still too early to say that it's the end of the tunnel. Given the acquisitions and closures that have been going on in the print industry, recession is still alive."

For now, buckling down and being conservative is his approach. "Our R&D efforts in new areas have been curtailed for the time being, and are mostly focused on fine-tuning existing print manufacturing techniques. Any new R&D undertaking is only made upon customer's request. And we are happy to report that such requests are back again after a long year of silence."

One segment that has been growing steadily at Midas despite the sluggish economy is box printing. "We print on plain paper, special paper, or even those surfaces treated with laminate, varnish, UV, hot stamping, embossing, etc. We also use materials such as leather, cloth, PVC, and PET." Aside from conventional boxes, Midas excels in producing high-end handmade boxes for gifts, toys, jewelry, cosmetics, food, and so on. Book-plus projects, another of its specialties, have also been growing despite industry speculations that publishers are abandoning bells and whistles for basic paper and board. "We are also seeing longer print runs for photography titles, followed by periodic reprints. This segment remains our bread and butter." For materials, more clients are going for FSC-certified paper. Although such projects represent a very small percentage, Kwok is confident that this trend will pick up slowly and steadily.

His plan to vacate the Changan plant and consolidate all production in Yuanzhou is nearing completion, while construction of the new Shatian facility will commence later this year. "More resources will also be dedicated to mainland China to boost our sales there, especially in the book and product packaging areas," Kwok says. Given the appreciation of the yuan and the booming domestic market, his strategy makes perfect sense.

Magnum Offset
magnumoffset.com.hk

"I have been hearing more complaints from new clients about getting subpar services from their previous suppliers—most probably a side effect of cost-cutting measures. But the reality is, unless we move to a cheaper country, rising cost is something we all have to face and accept," says business development manager Anita Lam, who still remains optimistic about the print manufacturing industry. "It would be a lie to say that we do not make any profit. On the positive side, we still get far better margins than car makers do. However, given the fundamental problems roiling our industry, sustainability is a concern. Still, cutthroat price competition is not the solution. The key is to grow gradually by maintaining good and creative service to earn clients' loyalty." At Magnum Offset, the present focus is on staff training and software upgrades, especially on color management systems, to improve accuracy and efficiency. "We have long accepted the fact that both print runs and demand will keep shrinking—two factors that have prompted many suppliers to move into packaging and digital printing."

Production-wise, buyers are going for simplicity and creativity, caused no doubt by the slow economy and budget constraints. "Instead of utilizing complex production techniques, designers are spending more time creating unique products using greener materials," adds Lam, whose team advocates upcycling. "We use waste or surplus cover paper to make paper bags as a value-added option. It is a pretty simple concept that is great for marketing while promoting upcycling. It is quite popular among design houses since it allows them to create unique bags to promote their brands at minimal cost." Naturally, saving energy, minimizing wastage, and upcycling are the top priorities at Magnum Offset. Last year, it joined the WWF's Low-carbon Office Operations Program (LOOP) to monitor and further reduce its carbon footprint.

Unfortunately, clients are not always willing to pay for greener materials. In fact, anything that costs 10% more will put them off. "FSC-certified paper is more popular among clients whose core business is not publishing. In 2010, around 10% of our projects used FSC materials, but these were from banks and property developers. Of course, there were exceptions, especially when a book publisher opted for very small print runs." So Lam and her team go about upping the green factor in a roundabout way. "Let's say we have a client with an odd-size book that would incur more wastage than usual. We would suggest adding in other items—stationery items, bookmarks, promotional materials, etc.—that can be printed alongside the main product without additional costs. This way, the client spends less for more while indirectly cutting waste to protect the environment."

Locomotive
locomotive.com.hk

The way orders arrive at Locomotive reflects the ups and downs of the global economy in the past few years. "Orders seem to come in like buses—either lots all together or none at all. It makes production planning tougher than before. Some of this we attribute to market adjustments to the continuous rise in wages and material costs in China. Clients are reluctant to place orders until they really need to," says director Sarah Shrimplin, adding that backlist titles present more difficulty. "For publishers, raising the selling price of old titles is hard to justify, but rising production costs make it necessary. This has led to an increase in new titles, which are often old titles revamped with subtle twists in the layout to lower production costs. The novelty book market, on the other hand, is returning to true novelty publishing with one-time printing."

Speaking of escalating costs, Locomotive has finally bought its own office premises. "Hong Kong's love affair with property is well documented. To avoid ever-rising rentals, we plunged in and bought an office in the same district where we had been renting. According to our real estate agent, our property's value has risen almost 50% in one year. If only we could achieve the same margin in our day-to-day business!" adds Shrimplin, who has also revamped the company Web site to give it a fresh and energetic look. "No idle time for us while waiting for the next busloads of orders to arrive."

For Shrimplin, 2011 was off to a more robust start than the past couple of years. "We are hopeful that this trend carries into the latter part of the year despite concerns about Europe's new safety rules that took effect in July." One of her clients, for instance, has had to reclassify around 70% of its books as "toys" following the new ruling. She says, "They will probably need to redesign many of their products to meet the safety rules. Obviously, we have to wait until all related uncertainties are resolved before we have a better picture of this market."

But this is nothing new to Shrimplin: "We have seen a whole cycle of boom, during which many publishers either expanded or developed their line of baby books, followed by bust induced by economic downturn and tightening safety regulations. Having joined Locomotive in its infancy in 1999 from the former SNP Excel, also a children's books specialist, I definitely feel like an old China hand in all these."

Leo Paper Group
leo.com.hk

Leo Paper is not short on recognition and certification for its ecofriendly manufacturing practices. It won the gold at the 2010 Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence for outstanding environmental performance in philosophy, culture, and management. It was accredited as a Marks & Spencer Eco Factory, the first print supplier to be thus recognized by the British retailer. It is also the first Chinese printer to achieve the PAS 2050 Product Carbon Footprint standard. Last year, it was certified ISO 14064 for assessing and reducing greenhouse gas, and awarded the gold label by WWF's Low-carbon Office Operation Program.

"We have participated in the development of more than eight standards that lead the industry toward a greener future," says sales director Kelly Fok, whose team publishes the Green Harmony Environmental Report annually to share its green progress with stakeholders. "Aside from continuous improvement on energy saving and efficiency plans, we have embarked on a program of green purchasing. It means exerting control right at the source itself to reduce VOC emissions. Examples include heavy metal testing on all printing inks, the use of more water-based ink (around 15% of total usage in 2010), and a complete shift from solvent-based lamination to water-based. On top of these, we are monitoring our supply chain to reduce the use of energy, paper, transport, and space." At the same time, Leo Paper's purchase of FSC- and PEFC-certified paper has increased 130% and 400% respectively between 2009 and 2010. Plans are underway to obtain the ISO 50001 Energy Management System certification in 2012.

Over at its subsidiary Leovation, ARIUX (Augmented Reality Interactive User Experience) projects are picking up steam. "We have done around 150 projects so far, and we have upped the ante on its complexity and user experience," says general manager Alvin Lai. "One recent project for Sejer/Editions Nathan, for instance, allows kids to interact with the book's main character, Dokeo, by just showing different learning cards to the Web camera. It boosts the reading experience and promotes a proactive reading habit. We have also combined AR with motion tracking instead of printed materials, thus greatly enhancing user experience."

But one of the most important initiatives at Leo Paper in recent months is to provide e-content delivery. "By moving into the digital space, we become a full-service physical book and e-book provider, offering a total solution to our clients. Aside from our knowledge and experience in the publishing and printing industries, we have the capabilities to help clients tap the Chinese market," adds Lai, pointing out that China is now one of the fastest developing markets in the digital space. "We believe in a holistic and integrated approach in delivering physical and e-book formats. We are content enablers, preparing content for different platforms in which physical and digital formats coexist and augment one another."

Hung Hing
hhop.com.hk

It has been 22 years since the last renovation was carried out at Hung Hing's Tai Po headquarters in the New Territories. Today, it gleams with a new decor and modernist atmosphere. Not only that, the whole makeover was steeped in environmental consciousness. "We wanted a more energy-efficient workplace along with greater workflow efficiencies," says executive chairman Matthew Yum, citing the change to T5 fluorescent lighting, which slashes energy consumption by 45% without sacrificing brightness. "Lighting control is also partitioned by functional area and passage so that we can switch off those not in use to further reduce energy usage. The same is designed for the air-conditioning system."

Over at its various production facilities, a number of environmental initiatives have seen further progress. "We converted our boiler system in Zhongshan from heavy oil to biomass fuel, while the one in Shenzhen is now using natural gas. We have also successfully obtained the China Environmental Label for our Heshan plant," adds Yum, whose Fuyong facility is aiming for the same certification. "In the meantime, we are looking into different ways of reducing energy consumption, especially for air-conditioning, and lowering VOC [volatile organic compound] emissions from our printing presses."

The past 24 months also saw 13 presses of various sizes and functions commissioned. The Heshan plant now has eight presses, including a new five-color Heidelberg, and around 4,000 workers. "Besides being more efficient and environmental-friendly, these new machines allow us to offer clients new value additions and features." As for paper, FSC-certified products accounted for less than 5% of the company's total paper consumption in 2010. "However, this figure is already double that of the previous year. For sure, clients in North America and Europe are now more keen to learn about the paper used and to make sure that the materials come from sustainable sources."

Business-wise, the climate remains tough. "There are simply no short-term fixes to the rising cost of labor, materials, and energy, or to fluctuations in currency exchange," says CEO David Eitemiller. "Just look at China's toy manufacturing industry. It has shrunk from 20,000 to the present 8,000 companies within the last few years due to these challenges. Any cost-cutting measures need to be carefully considered so as not to affect delivery schedules or quality standards. Support and understanding from both sides of the supply-demand equation is key if we're to ride out this difficult period."

CTPS
ctps.com.hk

Four months after installing an HP T300 inkjet web press, project testing with various base weights and trim sizes has picked up steam at the Dongguan facility of CTPS. "Integrating the complex software of T300 with the Muller-Martini SigmaLine takes time. Even with leading edge technology and multiple upgrades, going ‘live' is not going to happen for a while longer," says global business director John Currie, who is encouraged by the positive reception to the company's digital printing initiative. "Continuous installation of inkjet web presses within the printing industry and increasing adoption by American and European higher-ed publishers have assisted CTPS in converting traditional print clients and gaining their acceptance." Getting regional publishers to embrace digital book production is his focus for the next 12 months. "I should be able to talk more about our progress by mid-2012."

To accommodate the new digital line, CTPS converted its huge packing/warehousing area into a clean room. An HP Indigo 7500 sheetfed press is also placed in this self-contained unit together with the newly relocated prepress/CTP department. "Extensive retrofitting was done to create the stable environment that the technology requires," adds Currie, noting that the timing of the T300 installation coincided with the Beijing Print Bureau's renewed push for green initiatives in the industry.

Assigned to head the digital operation is the prepress/CTP manager, a decision that makes perfect sense to Currie. "The inkjet printing process is heavily dependent on its software, so getting someone who understands the workflow and has a similar process-related mindset is crucial. Internally, we view the digital line and the CTP department as extensions of each other. We found from our visits to various T300 and T350 sites for our technology evaluation study that the best personnel to operate the digital line do not necessarily have to come from the production floor."

CEO Peter Tse's stance on traditional print production remains unchanged despite the T300. "Our offset printing services continue to evolve to meet new demands such as minimum inventory and rapid replenishment. In the past 12 months, we have focused on retooling our print solutions based on these demands. This way, we can maintain that printing in China remains viable. Embracing inkjet technology is just one of our practical solutions to the changing publishing proposition that emphasizes short, rapid runs." As a matter of fact, a plot of land adjacent to the existing facility is being developed to house new offset presses this coming quarter.

Colorcraft
colorcraft.com.hk

While there are still uncertainties in the economy, business for the industry has been consolidating, says CEO Fraser McFadzean: "Growth remains on the conservative side. But that is the good news: there is still growth."

Cost containment without lowering quality, he adds, is the goal, "but achieving that has its challenges. Some publishers may look to repackage existing materials rather than take the risk of launching new and untested products, or to cut their lists and focus on successful lines instead of diversifying. In the prevailing climate of cost consciousness, there is a discernible shift away from FSC-certified paper. However, sustainability has not lost its allure. I'm sure when times improve, there will be renewed effort to engage with all things green and eco-friendly. For now, the rules of the game are pragmatism and practicality."

Digital printing, which Colorcraft offers, is "enjoying increasing popularity particularly in the U.K. and U.S. Other markets have been slower to embrace this new platform. We have to remember that the print manufacturing industry never stands still. It has adapted to every technological change with gusto, from embellished manuscripts and Gutenberg to the present sophisticated technology." E-book is another of the changes faced by the industry, and it is here to stay, says McFadzean. "E-books are popular with road warriors, who are keen to lighten their luggage while still wanting to enjoy the pleasure of reading books, and their lean and mean iPads, Kindles, and similar tablets offer them this convenience. Thus, predictions of the demise of printed books have been grossly exaggerated. Printed books have a loyal and expanding market, and will be part of the mix. Newspapers, after all, have not been killed off by the Internet as predicted. They have just had to adapt their model to new market dynamics."

The way McFadzean sees it, "We will all have to adapt to changing circumstances, whether they are within or beyond our control. And we will have to be nimble about it. Whatever the situation, Colorcraft's objective is to steer our customers through the shoals, providing them with timely advice based on our reading of market trends together with our proven experience."

C&C Offset
candcprinting.com

The introduction of bamboo paper and mineral paper, besides FSC- and PEFC-certified paper, at C&C indicates growing eco-consciousness among clients. And it says a lot about the company's stance on green manufacturing. In fact, the number of titles using FSC-certified paper grew threefold between 2009 and 2010, according to marketing development manager Vicon Wong. One domestic client, Ping An Insurance Group, went so far as using mineral paper as the cover material for its 2011 diary, of which 200,000 copies were printed. "The demand for bamboo paper is expected to grow steadily as concern about global warming and sustainability increases among the international community. Bamboo, a fast-growing plant with a higher fiber yield, is easier to harvest and transport, which significantly reduces the carbon footprint. For all these reasons, C&C now offers bamboo paper for book production with grades ranging from 70 gsm to 300 gsm."

Green initiatives continue to gather momentum at C&C. "Clients can now opt to use paper pallets, which significantly lowers transport costs since paper pallets are some 40% lighter than wooden ones. At the same time, paper pallets are easier to recycle and do not require disinfection treatment for export," says deputy general manager Ivy Lam, who has made ecofriendly facility management her focus for 2011 and the first half of next year. "We are looking into obtaining ISO 14064 certification, which is aimed at controlling greenhouse gas emissions," she says. "This certification would allow us to take part in emissions trading schemes, further enhancing our commitment to sustainability and environmental protection." Last year, C&C was named a green medalist by the Hang Seng Pearl River Delta Environmental Awards, a program that recognizes environmental performance in the manufacturing sector.

Lam and her team are promoting PUR (polyurethane reactive) binding for both hardcover and softcover to export clients. "We have also started offering digital printing services to export clients in the educational and trade book segments. On average, our digital presses process about 100 projects every month," adds Wong. Two units of Canon Image Press C7000VP were installed last November, boosting the company's green initiatives and its ability to meet client demand for zero inventory and faster delivery.

Another development is the launch of Microland, C&C's own line of stationery and paper products. "This house brand, currently available only in mainland China, is targeted at professionals and students who want higher quality and more stylish products," adds Wong.

Asia Pacific Offset
asiapacificoffset.com

Small to medium-size customers who were less active in the past two years are cropping up again, and both new titles and reprints are going strong, says president Andrew Clarke of Asia Pacific Offset. The continued strength of the euro, making printing in Hong Kong more attractive than ever, has resulted in further growth in its Continental European business. "We have continued to see strong growth in high-end museum-quality projects."

These days, customers think globally in terms of manufacturing, adds Clarke, and they go to whoever can offer the best quality at the most competitive price. "I don't think our customers make their decisions based on location—whether domestic, near-shore, or offshore—but, rather, what is best for them from a service, quality, and pricing point of view. They do not print in Hong Kong or China only because of price, but also because of reliable, consistent quality and responsive service." And while costs have escalated over the years, Clarke says, "Customers have always been concerned about Chinese workers' wages and working conditions. The recent minimum wage law and workers' welfare regulations have raised industrial workers' standard of living—and that has to be a good thing."

What was not good was Japan's earthquake in March, which resulted in paper shortages and price hikes. "It's something we don't need while coming out of recession. But, as usual, things worked out and we got the job done. It seems to me that there is a global crisis every other year in the first quarter."

Clarke is seeing more publishers thoughtfully developing their own environmental policies and standards. "Different clients have differing environmental policies. We find that more publishers are going the ecofriendly route because it is the right thing to do rather than seeing it as a marketing ploy. But getting a 100% certified product can be a challenge when cover materials, boards, and other additions are involved in the making of a book. However, materials with internationally recognized chain-of-custody standards are getting more common with each passing month, and customers are encouraged by the growing number of options available to them in Asia."

Asked about his take on the rise of e-books in the U.S., he says, "It is inevitable and should be embraced rather than feared. There are still many books and formats that may never be attractive in e-book format. Illustrated titles, for instance, offer a very different and enduring experience. A coffee-table book on Kindle does not quite have the same impact."