The printing industry, combined with the internet, will become even more closely integrated and deeply intertwined.

　　In recent years, several leading companies in the industry have launched relatively comprehensive plans for smart new factories. These enterprises are at the forefront of intelligent upgrades and have already achieved promising interim results. However, overall, the printing industry still has a long way to go in its journey toward full-scale智能化 transformation.

　　As industries enter the "stock era," how printing companies can strike the right balance between cost reduction and efficiency gains—by streamlining their upstream and downstream supply chains to boost productivity and drive transformation—has become a critical challenge for the printing industry.

　　Through digital transformation, costs can be controlled across various aspects such as raw materials, printing processes, labor, and machinery wear and tear. To ensure the smooth implementation and efficient advancement of digital transformation, it is also essential to digitize both management systems and equipment.

　　01 Platform-Based Design

　　Platform-based design—here, the central entity is the internet platform. Printing companies leverage the platform to connect suppliers and demanders, as well as design resources, enabling them to adopt crowd-sourced innovation, collaborative design, and other agile approaches for integrated, lightweight, coordinated, and fast-paced design processes. Additionally, through an order management system, they aggregate orders before efficiently distributing them to various production units.

　　Now, many printing companies are also starting to experiment with building their own platforms, offering integrated features such as online quoting, design services, and order management. By leveraging the internet and other digital channels, these companies are showcasing their combined strengths—like design expertise and advanced printing technologies—to deliver comprehensive, one-stop printing solutions to clients.

　　02 Intelligent Manufacturing

　　Intelligent manufacturing involves enabling smart decision-making and dynamic optimization—from individual machines all the way up to production lines, workshops, and even entire factories—thereby boosting overall production efficiency, enhancing quality, and reducing costs. The construction of a smart printing factory is a complex systems engineering project rooted in advanced printing technologies and lean production management, with hardware and software development serving as its core components. At the heart of this transformation are printing and packaging enterprises, while software and equipment providers play a crucial role by offering comprehensive support—from hardware solutions to integrated system upgrades—that help these companies successfully achieve their intelligent transformation goals.

　　In recent years, several outstanding companies in the industry have embarked on relatively comprehensive plans for smart new factories. These enterprises are leading the charge in intelligent upgrades and have already achieved promising interim results. However, overall, the printing industry still has a long way to go in its journey toward full-scale智能化 (intelligent) transformation.

　　03 Personalized Customization

　　As consumer groups' spending habits evolve, diversity, personalization, and customization continue to remain key consumption trends. Businesses leverage the internet to gain insights into users' personalized needs, enabling them to deliver low-cost, large-scale customized products through flexible and agile organizational structures, manufacturing resources, and production processes.

　　This is a business model that primarily targets consumer-facing (C-end) users, initially centered around print-based internet platforms. In recent years, the industry has seen a rise in small-batch, customized services aimed at businesses and brands (B-end), with an increasing number of scalable orders and higher repurchase rates—driving significantly more substantial profits. Moreover, the rapid growth of digital printing has fueled the explosive expansion of the personalized customization market. Looking ahead, it’s clear that more printing and packaging companies will likely enter this competitive space in the future.

　　04 Networked Collaboration

　　Enterprises leverage networked platforms to integrate dispersed production, supply chain, and sales resources, enabling cross-departmental and cross-level business connectivity and collaborative division of labor. This transformation shifts production models from linear, chain-based systems toward networked, collaborative approaches, ultimately fostering greater resource sharing, business optimization, and enhanced operational efficiency across the organization.

　　In this direction, internet companies were initially exploring the front end, while printing and packaging firms provided high-quality production capacity on the manufacturing side, continuously improving product quality, shortening production cycles, and enabling rapid delivery. Now, some printing companies are also starting to build new online platforms that connect suppliers, outsourcing partners, and customers, fostering collaboration across order management, production planning, delivery coordination, and logistics integration.

　　05 Service-Oriented Extension

　　In terms of service-oriented expansion, the platform leverages big data technology to extend its reach from the manufacturing end directly to the user end. By using products as service deliverables and data as the connecting medium, it continuously uncovers user needs throughout the product usage process. Both manufacturers and printing companies are steadily exploring and implementing service-driven strategies in this area.

　　For instance, by enabling real-time monitoring of product operations, companies can offer a range of services such as remote maintenance, predictive fault detection, and performance optimization—while also providing feedback that helps refine product design, ultimately driving the company’s transformation toward a service-oriented model. This approach is particularly relevant for equipment and software enterprises. In the closed-loop ecosystem where industry and the internet converge, these companies play a critical role, delivering both the technological foundation and practical tools needed to fuel this integrated growth.

　　More and more printing companies are enhancing their level of digitalization by developing client-side information systems that allow them to showcase product designs to customers. Once the designs are approved, production kicks off immediately. Customers can use these systems to track the real-time progress and location of their orders, significantly improving their overall service experience. Additionally, some printing firms are leveraging technologies like RFID, AR/VR, and others in packaging applications. Through these platforms, they help clients execute precision marketing campaigns, offer promotional incentives and rebates, and even enable anti-counterfeiting measures with product traceability. This not only provides consumers with detailed insights into their purchasing behavior and preferences but also boosts opportunities for secondary product sales. All of these advanced services are becoming increasingly common as value-added offerings within the printing and packaging industry.

　　06 Digital Management

　　The main actors in digital management are printing and packaging companies, which leverage the mining and utilization of data generated during production and operations. By digitally transforming their business processes, these companies can better present, optimize, and manage their operations—providing valuable guidance for strategic decision-making, operational management, and market services.

　　More and more printing companies are actively pursuing digital transformation, responding to the growing demand for digitizing their business operations and processes, and driving changes in both production and management. Some companies have already achieved closed-loop production management by implementing advanced systems such as ERP, MES, WMS, and APS, significantly enhancing the digitalization and transparency of their manufacturing processes—and enabling real-time connectivity of production data flows.