From the Editor: Survey Says ...

As a publication serving the needs and interests of our evolving industry, here at packagePRINTING, we strive to learn as much as we can about what our readers encounter in the field on a daily basis. For decades, we’ve done that by conducting interviews and reporting our findings in articles in this magazine.

But just like package printers and converters, we’re also constantly searching for ways we can improve on our mission by offering something new. That’s why I am particularly proud to announce that we are completing our first research report, conducted in conjunction with NAPCO Research, the research arm of our parent company NAPCO Media, and sponsored by SGIA.

For this initial endeavor into the world of research, we decided to take a high-level approach in a survey asking about the top business challenges printers and converters from all packaging segments are facing. Additionally, we wanted to hear what companies are doing to address these challenges. While some of our results were consistent with trends we’ve been hearing about for years, others were rather surprising.

For example, it was not shocking to see that many respondents stated the trend of increasing short runs and SKU proliferation is expected to have a significant impact on their business. As such, it made sense that more than half of our respondents indicated they either have invested or are considering investing in digital printing to help mitigate challenges on the production floor.

But what surprised me the most about these survey results were the answers we received to questions about staffing challenges. Respondents indicated that two of their top staffing concerns were difficulties in bringing new, young employees into the industry, and that many of their production employees are approaching retirement age.

Though this challenge has been discussed at length in recent years, the real surprise came in the lack of local outreach printers and converters are conducting to attract young people to the industry. More than half of the respondents (56%, 87 respondents) indicated they have not conducted outreach to local high schools or colleges to inform students about
opportunities in printing and packaging.

This stood out as a red flag for me. As a constant observer of the industry, I’m well aware of the incredible career opportunities in packaging that offer growth and the chance to utilize creative skills. But I’m concerned that the members of the future workforce have a misconception of what the industry has to offer — especially on the heels of last year’s FTA Forum. That event devoted an entire session to “The Press Crew Crisis,” featuring speakers who described how high school students often think of printing as an old-school manufacturing process.

Those of us in the industry know that perception is not entirely accurate, and printing and packaging offer opportunities to use exciting, high-tech equipment, put creativity to use and create products that impact millions of people.

The exercise of completing this survey made it clear that printers and converters are well aware of the internal challenges they face and the technology out there that can help. But to ensure packaging remains an industry of strength and stability, extending a hand to the local community and sharing our success stories is vital.