China's Digital Printing Measures Take Effect in February: 23 Articles Set Supervision and Support Path

As of February 1, China's Administrative Measures for Digital Printing (the 'Measures') took effect, bringing digital printing—an emerging segment—under the oversight of the competent industry authorities. The Measures contain 23 articles covering market-entry thresholds for digital printing companies, government supervision and support priorities, and the legal liability companies face for violations.

Interviews with department heads at selected local press and publication bureaus, executives of digital printing companies, and industry experts show that most respondents view the Measures as timely and necessary. They see the General Administration of Press and Publication issuing the Measures as a high-level administrative regulation as a signal that regulators will increase support for emerging printing sectors and focus on digital printing development. Some industry figures also say certain provisions may face implementation challenges and want regulators to further standardize and clarify them.

The Measures Come at the Right Time

Chen Yan, director of the China Printing Science and Technology Research Institute and chairman of the Digital Printing Branch of the China Printing Technology Association, described the Measures as timely, necessary, and closely aligned with current realities—arriving at exactly the right moment.

Chen sees the document as a sign that relevant departments are paying attention to fast-growing digital printing. She noted that because digital printing is an emerging industry, it can easily become marginalized in regulatory terms. In the past, member units at meetings repeatedly called for effective supervision. The Measures now give the industry clear rules to follow and include several breakthroughs.

A relevant department head at the Jiangsu Provincial Press and Publication Bureau said the Measures play a significant role in strengthening supervision, standardizing operations, and supporting development. According to the official, digital printing had been a blank spot in management; without administrative measures, it was difficult even to guide operators. The official described the Measures as highly operable and instructive, noting that they define digital printing and its scope of authority while also offering incentive policies.

A relevant department head at the Shanghai Municipal Press and Publication Bureau said the Measures define production digital printing presses and set entry thresholds for digital printing enterprises, providing a standard for customs duty exemptions and state support.

Dong Tieying, consultant to Intellectual Property Publishing House, and Yang Xinwei, general manager of China Printing Group Digital Printing Co., Ltd., both said the Measures were issued in a timely manner and had been long awaited by the industry.

Encouraging Innovation Across the Industry

'The state supports and encourages digital printing enterprises to adopt new technologies, explore new models, and provide new services.' In interviews, several respondents paid particular attention to this language in Article 4 of the Measures.

Chen Yan said this article reflects the Measures' purpose of advancing the digital printing industry by encouraging innovation and supporting growth. Dong Tieying said the spirit of the provision shows that the state encourages enterprises to explore in practice. The Jiangsu Provincial Press and Publication Bureau official said that although the sentence appears simple, companies can actually do a great deal with it.

Compared with traditional printing, digital printing is fast, short-run, personalized, and on-demand. The two differ significantly in printing processes, business models, and customer bases, prompting many digital printing companies to explore new technologies, models, and services.

On new technology, Chen Yan expects future advances in inkjet technology to bring major changes in how widely digital printing is adopted and how deeply it is applied. Dong Tieying believes inkjet technology will substantially reduce digital printing costs.

On new models and services, commemorative albums, restaurant menus, genealogies, and picture albums are among the innovative products enabled by digital printing. Many companies are trying online service delivery. Shanghai Dayi Digital Printing Co., Ltd., for example, has cooperated with Eastday.com; Shanghai Shenglong Printing Co., Ltd. handles part of its business through online submission and logistics delivery; and some companies have developed electronic album systems and new business models.

Entry Thresholds Match Current Industry Conditions

The Measures set three quantitative criteria for establishing a digital printing enterprise: a building area of at least 50 square meters; registered capital of at least 1 million yuan; and at least one production digital printing press. Digital printing chain operators must have five or more chain outlets, and the chain headquarters must have registered capital of at least 5 million yuan.

Chen Yan said the entry threshold fits the current state of the digital printing industry. Fixed investment in digital printing is not as high as in traditional printing, nor is it comparable to small typing and photocopying workshops, so the threshold is realistic. She added that most digital printing businesses are small and medium-sized enterprises, and it would be inappropriate to simply shut them out through a registered-capital requirement.

Pan Xiaodong, consultant to Shanghai Printing (Group) Co., Ltd., views the entry threshold as generally relaxed and the definition of production digital printing presses as somewhat vague, but he believes this may be intentional. He said such rules better match market demand and the industry's current development stage. If standards were too high, some companies with lower-level digital printing presses would struggle to obtain certificates. Since digital printing has only recently emerged, an excessively high threshold would clearly hinder the emerging sector.

Wang Jichun of Shenzhen Kuaiyinke E-commerce Co., Ltd., however, believes the threshold remains high for many quick printing businesses. He noted that 70% to 80% of quick printing companies have registered capital below 1 million yuan.

A Major Breakthrough for Publication Printing

Chen Yan said the Measures provide policy support for industry development by encouraging digital printing enterprises to expand into publication printing. In the past, publication printing had a relatively high threshold and required two offset presses; now one production digital printing press is sufficient. She called this a major breakthrough of the Measures.

She noted that some digital printing companies without publication printing qualifications have in fact been printing publications. The Measures now regulate this irregular practice and bring it under orderly supervision.

The Jiangsu Provincial Press and Publication Bureau official also said the Measures' incentive policies have brought many underground operators to the surface. These companies only occasionally encounter publication printing work, and genuine digital publication printing does not necessarily generate profit. Previously they operated covertly; after obtaining certificates, they can do so openly.

In addition to regulating on-demand publication printing, the Measures also address online publishing, which is closely tied to digital printing. Pan Xiaodong said the Measures help regulate online publishing. Individuals publishing books must also follow the rules, which benefits intellectual property protection and standardized publication supervision.

The Jiangsu Provincial Press and Publication Bureau official likewise said digital printing often goes hand in hand with online publishing, and authorities have investigated cases involving online book publishing. The Measures support both government management and standardized business operations by enterprises.

Some Provisions Still Need Clarification

Wang Jichun, who has studied the quick printing industry for years, told the reporter that he had recently received many calls from quick printing companies. They are unsure whether their equipment qualifies as production digital printing presses under the Measures, or whether they must complete approval procedures within 180 days. He attributed the confusion to the Measures' qualitative-only definition of production digital printing presses—'digital printing equipment with relatively high printing speed, stable printing quality, and the ability to achieve industrialized continuous and batch production'—without quantitative technical indicators.

Regarding the requirement that digital printing enterprises verify printing authorization letters when printing publications, Dong Tieying wants to consult the authorities about whether companies must verify authorization letters when libraries commission printing. He said Beijing Zhongxian Tuofang Technology Development Co., Ltd., under Intellectual Property Publishing House, often receives printing orders from libraries seeking to fill gaps in their collections. These books are mostly out-of-print titles that have become unique copies, and libraries want to print many titles, a few copies each, for lending. Because the books are past their exclusive publication period, publishing units cannot issue authorization letters.

Dong Tieying asked whether work of this kind—which delivers social benefits and involves no copyright infringement—could avoid following the original authorization-letter system in full. He also questioned whether sample books count as publications and require authorization letters. He hopes regulators will further standardize and clarify these points during implementation.

On the Measures' requirement that digital printing chain operators have five chain stores, Yang Xinwei asked, 'Isn't five a bit too many? Our chain plan is one each in the east, south, west, and north.' The company opened a flagship store in Beijing's Xicheng District in 2007, added a branch in Fengtai District last August, and plans to open one or two more branches within this year.

This article is reposted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362147.html