Is Print-on-demand Hard To Profit From? Henan Xinhua's 27 Years Of Exploration Provide The Latest Answer

On-demand printing, as a new concept and production model that integrates digitalization and intelligent technology, possesses the typical characteristics of new-quality productivity and provides new ideas and solutions for innovation and high-quality development in the publishing and printing industries. The development of on-demand printing has evolved from a question of "whether to do it" to a must-answer question of "how to do it." At the 21st "Digital Printing in China" Technology Development Forum in 2025, we invited five guests to discuss the theme "Under the new circumstances, how can on-demand printing be further promoted?" together, exploring the current status of on-demand printing, the core bottlenecks that need to be overcome, and future development prospects. Today, we will share the insights and reflections of Li Binglin, Committee Member of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager of Henan Xinhua Printing Group Co., Ltd.

Henan Xinhua entered the field of digital printing relatively early, introducing the Heidelberg Direct Imaging four-color Quattro DI46-4 digital press as early as 1998. In 2013, Henan Xinhua began a comprehensive development phase for digital printing, introducing equipment such as the HP 7600 digital press and the Founder Eagle P5200 inkjet two-color digital press, and equipped a full set of post-press book and periodical equipment from Martini. After 14 months of continuous debugging, Henan Xinhua successfully achieved digital interconnection between domestic digital presses and imported binding equipment, establishing a full-chain digital printing production line capable of "printing from a single copy with each copy being different," enabling personalized printing.

During the promotion process, we have always centered on serving publishers within our system, as well as local and nearby publishers, working together with publishing units to cultivate the market and improve the ecosystem. This gradually encouraged clients to shift from initial doubts about the quality of digital printing products to the current acceptance, effectively enhancing the regional market's reception of digital printing. To further increase service capability and market competitiveness, since 2019, Henan Xinhua has continuously promoted technological upgrades, introducing Komori color presses to expand color cover printing capabilities and meet the needs for large-format and bleed products; to expand inkjet printing capacity, we introduced the Founder Eagle P5600 inkjet digital press; we introduced the Astec digital thread sewing machine to enhance digital hardcover production, meeting the printing needs of high-end books; replaced the P5200 inkjet digital press with the latest Founder Eagle P4400HD inkjet digital press and upgraded the Martini CONNEX control system to ensure efficient and stable year-round operation of the production line; to meet the short, fast, and small-batch characteristics of digital printing, a dedicated ERP system was introduced in 2021 to strengthen order response, production scheduling, and process management efficiency, providing reliable printing service support for publishers and ensuring timely delivery of orders.

Regarding profitability in digital printing, honestly, it was indeed difficult to achieve profit initially. Henan Xinhua's digital printing development was led by Zhongyuan Publishing & Media Group, with the original intention of alleviating publishers' inventory pressure and reducing the risk of overstock and obsolescence through on-demand printing. To encourage publishers to switch to on-demand production and control inventory, the parent company provided policy support: for products printed using digital printing within the system, the parent company subsidized a certain proportion of the printing costs. Under this mechanism, we gradually turned losses into profits. With the end of equipment depreciation cycles and effective control of labor costs, the company has entered a marginal profit stage in recent years.

For digital printing equipment suppliers, we have three expectations: first, to focus on print quality, enhancing color reproduction and print clarity through higher-precision print heads and stronger software computing power to meet the needs of high-end book printing; second, to improve production efficiency, finding a balance between equipment speed and print format to ensure flexibility and efficiency; third, to strengthen the coordination between printing and binding, through clustered equipment layout or format optimization to meet production needs in different scenarios, improving overall production synergy.

Looking ahead, in the planning of the new industrial park, Henan Xinhua has reserved ample development space for digital printing business. We plan to further improve equipment configuration, including large-format inkjet printing equipment and coated paper color inkjet printing equipment, expand digital printing capacity, upgrade the perfect binding production line, enhance binding quality, and improve shortcomings in digital hardcover procedures to better meet diversified market demands, optimize production processes, and improve overall efficiency. In terms of digital management, continuous upgrades will focus on process optimization, real-time data collaboration, and full visibility of orders, further enhancing the system's support for efficient production and fast delivery of digital printing, while extending the customer service chain and improving overall service levels.