GAMIS Surveys Global Print Buying

Published: October 30, 2002, By PRESS RELEASE

ALEXANDRIA, VA, USA—The Graphic Arts Marketing Information Service (GAMIS), a special interest group of the Printing Industries of America, Inc. (PIA), reports the recent publication of its study entitled Globalization of Print Buying. GAMIS says the study specifically focuses on multinational print buyers with operations in the US and/or Canada and was completed by Raine Consulting, Glen Ellyn, IL, exclusively for GAMIS members.

According to GAMIS, for the purposes of the study, globalization of print buying is defined as: "A shift in the buying process of specifying, committing to, producing, and distributing print that migrates from a local, regional, or national model to a worldwide or global model." GAMIS reports the study revealed marked trends toward globalization of print buying; 44 percent of major print buyers surveyed believed there is a trend toward purchasing print globally. In addition, secondary research confirmed an accelerating of this trend. "The impact on printers and the print supply chain is expected to emerge within in the next two years," reports GAMIS.

"The research indicates, for the time being, pricing battles will continue. Print buyers will continue to reduce the number of printer suppliers they utilize and supplier-qualification programs will emerge for all volumes of print procurement," says Jackie Bland, GAMIS executive director. "Standardization of manufacturing platforms will become more important, and regional excellence will compete with economics of scale advantages. Buyers are looking for an optimum number of printers for each continent combined with geographically advantaged clusters of small-mid specialists rather than large print firms."

GAMIS says the study was released to all GAMIS members. Membership information is available from Jackie Bland at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or call 703/519-8179. Membership info is also available at gamis.org.