Working In The Industry
- The Printing Sector
- Printing Sector Jobs
- Supply and Demand
- Print Sector Qualifications and Skills Development
- Desktop Publishing (DTP) and Graphic Design Work
- Pre-Press Work
- Printing in Colour - How Colours Combine
- Machine Printing Work
- Print Finishing, Hand Binding and Manufacturing Work
- Print Administration Work
The Printing Sector
Sector Research
Print is a vital medium for companies everywhere. The UK printing industry is an exciting and essential part of the UK's economy. It serves all areas of business and leisure by producing a vast range of products that are an essential part of our everyday life. In business, print is used to help communicate information, demonstrate commercial advantage, create impact and make headlines. Print uses eyecatching designs to help companies stand out in today's competitive marketplace. As well as business, the print sector produces large amounts of material for our education system, our entertainment and other sectors, it serves every part of the UK's economy. Demand for printed products has continued to grow. This is despite predictions of a reduction, as a result of the impact of electronic media. A large part of the 2004 figure for total UK sales was from sales of advertising literature, books, brochures and leaflets. The printing industry uses the latest technology. It needs bright, creative, enthusiastic people with wide ranging skills. Print companies tend to become specialists within their field, as different types of end product each require slightly different machinery.
Research conducted by the Office of National Statistics in 2005 reported that:
The Printing industry employed over 167,000 people. Out of 12,300 companies 90% employed less than 20 employees and approximately 550 companies employed over 50 staff.There were also over 4000 "one man" print businesses across the UK.
Specialist machines are used for:
magazine printing | carton production (food and other goods containers) | stationery - such as notebooks | label production | printing on metal - a good example of this is a drinks can | catalogues | books | brochures | cards | fine art reproduction | newspapers | security printing - examples of this are bank notes and bond...
Teamwork has always been an essential part of printing. From the sales and accounts executives, who have direct contact with a customer, through order estimation, design and proof reading through to production and on to delivery of an order, every member of the team has an equally important part to play in the process. Many print companies are now expanding their services into graphic design, marketing services, web design and/or advertising. The ability to work together with other employees "efficiently" is becoming even more important with lots of companies now looking to expand their services.
The printing industry forms part of the UK's fifth largest manufacturing industry.
Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicated total UK sales in 2004 were around £15.2 billion.
The printing industry uses the latest technology.
