The screen- and digital-printing industry's domestic market is expected to experience flat growth this year, due to a lack of confidence in the political situation, says the new president of the Thai Screen Printing and Graphic Imaging Association.

Pirach Thampipit yesterday said businesspeople were waiting to see in which direction politics would move. In addition, many major industries that are clients of his industry - such as the shoe, textile, furniture and toy industries - are experiencing a downturn. Competition from China is another major factor.

Pirach said the industry had experienced a disappointing start to the year in the first quarter. Fortunately, many of the affected companies are small and medium-sized and can adapt to external factors quite well.

He said there was still hope that a general election for the next government might really happen late this year, in which case politicians and political parties would have to produce huge amount of posters that require screen and digital printing.

Internationally, Thai companies are still performing well, Pirach said. However, Japan and South Korea are tough competitors, because of their advanced technologies. They also have many brands that are renowned worldwide.

Pirach was elected president of the association on Thursday. He said it planned to arrange business-matching activities between screen- and digital-printing firms and corporate clients. There will also be activities for the makers to meet with suppliers, in order to learn new technologies and increase their know-how.

One activity will be the Fespa Asia-Pacific trade exhibition, which is scheduled for the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre from November 27-29. The exhibition will feature screen and wide-format digital-printing technologies from around the world.

The event is a joint effort between the association and Fespa - a not-for-profit federation of trade associations and organiser of exhibitions and conferences for the screen- and digital-printing industries worldwide. It has 28 national members from Europe and four from Asia, including Thailand. South Korea, Japan and Taiwan are set to become members soon.

Fespa Group commercial manager Marcus Timson said 200 exhibitors and 7,500 visitors were expected to attend the event.

The exhibition will cost Bt40 million to hold, said Fespa managing director Frazer Chesterman. He said that while the industry was experiencing a slow-down in Thailand, it still showed promising growth in the global arena. Significant growth in out-of-home media, such as advertising billboards and posters, is a major factor, because they require good screen- and digital-printing technologies.

Moreover, screen and digital printing is shifting from the West to Asia, with its increasing expertise and relatively low wage costs.

China seems to be the rising star in Asia, but Thai printers say the Kingdom still has advantages in terms of language and a culture they say allows for easier relations with Western companies.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation