Industry once “raked in fat profits” notes a number of printing firms charge only half of what they did in 2007.
Business news site the Economist has speculated on the future of the 
struggling print industry, referred to as “once raked in fat profits”, that is seeing declination due to decreasing circulation of newspapers and magazines, “wobbly” economics and competition from new media sources.
Noting that “printing firms can now charge only around half what they did five years ago”, the news site states that circumstances are particularly gloomy for print companies. As media companies are able to utilise new media by introducing digital and online editions of print publications, print firms lack such options to engage in market trends.
Trends within print publications also seems to be shifting, with Media Economist Robert Picard remarking that advertisers are now keener to run advertisement in magazines on high-quality glossy paper rather than newspapers. Although a number of companies may be able to react to this development, newspapers and magazine require different print equipment and thus makes the switchover costly.
Meanwhile, printers including Rupert Murdoch’s News International have begun to pursue contracts from competitors: News International having recently won a contract to print the Evening Standard.
Somewhat prescient with the proliferation of Clover Group, a number of print companies have begun branching out into other areas of business, with the Economist noting: “Over the past 18 months, [RR Donnelley, a large America printer] has bought nine companies including an online self-publishing site, a financial-data firm and one with a technology that newspapers can license for an online-payment system.
“If you can’t print them, join them.”