Pricing Competition Comes from All Sides

The Consumer Price Index of inflation for the past two years has increased by 7.7% in total. Commercial printing prices have increased only 4.5%. Print, it seems, has gotten cheaper. Lower prices should be stimulating demand. No, prices are a response to other factors in the marketplace. Paper has increased by 8.2% in that period; printing ink is up by 9%. Prices are lower, materials costs are up. How often have we heard the old industry saw that materials costs increases are just passed on to the customers? They’re not. How come?