---
title: "Dialogue with HP Indigo's Xu Shun'an: Mining for Gold in the \"Low Penetration\" Zone of the 15 Trillion Market"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/278382532.md"
description: "As digital printing rapidly develops, market competition is also becoming increasingly fierce"
datetime: "2026-03-09T11:29:09.000Z"
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---

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# Dialogue with HP Indigo's Xu Shun'an: Mining for Gold in the "Low Penetration" Zone of the 15 Trillion Market

HP Inc. Indigo/PWI Digital Printing Division General Manager for Greater China Xu Shun'an

Author | Huang Yu

The current printing industry is at a very delicate crossroads: on one hand, there is the profit squeeze caused by the continuous rise in labor costs and raw material prices, and on the other hand, there is the huge explosive potential behind the low penetration rate of digital printing.

Recently, during the 32nd South China International Printing Industry Exhibition, Xu Shun'an, General Manager for Greater China of HP Inc. Indigo/PWI Digital Printing Division, and Arnon Goldman, General Manager of HP Inc. Indigo Digital Printing for the Asia-Pacific region, stated in a deep dialogue with Wall Street Insights that digitalization, intelligent automation, and sustainable development are becoming the core driving forces for the transformation and upgrading of the printing industry.

Xu Shun'an admitted that the development trend of the printing industry has been very clear in recent years, with the most prominent feature being the continuous rise in operating costs, forcing the industry to consider transformation and upgrading.

At the same time, changes in consumer habits are reshaping the entire industrial structure. The younger generation represented by those born in the 1990s and 2000s is no longer satisfied with uniform products; whether it is daily beverages or consumer goods, they pursue high levels of personalization and customization.

For example, some tea brands have launched "blind box cup sleeves," each printed with different styles of illustrations and "meme culture" slogans, attracting consumers to collect and share pictures on social platforms, making packaging a "social currency" that generates topics. This has also led brands to continuously innovate and iterate on product packaging design.

This demand for "small quantities and diverse options" has been transmitted to the production end, giving rise to a large number of small batch orders, posing a huge challenge to the traditional printing model of scale, while also providing a natural development opportunity for digital printing.

"Digital printing is very suitable for small batch, personalized, and customized production, with fast delivery speed and short time to market. This is a very clear trend on the consumer side," Xu Shun'an said.

Digital printing refers to a printing method that does not require plate making, directly printing electronic files onto substrates using digital devices, with quick startup, one piece at a time, and flexible variability, responding faster and with lower costs for small batches compared to traditional offset printing.

However, an undeniable fact is that despite the digital wave having advanced for many years, the penetration rate of the digital printing market in China remains low. According to industry associations and third-party research data, the penetration rate of digital printing in the European and American markets has exceeded 20%, while in China, it is still less than 3% based on output.

In Xu Shun'an's view, this huge gap precisely indicates an undervalued blue ocean market worth hundreds of billions.

He pointed out that two to three years ago, the domestic digital printing penetration rate was only about 1%. Although it seems to have only increased by two percentage points, considering that the overall market size of printing in China has exceeded 1.5 trillion yuan, every percentage point increase corresponds to a market increment of over 10 billion yuan.

The currently low penetration rate is primarily due to the "fixed mindset" and "cost misconceptions" of printing enterprises Xu Shun'an stated to Wall Street Insights that many traditional enterprises are still accustomed to serving a small number of large brand merchants, and when calculating costs, they only compare single prices, ignoring the waste caused by high startup costs in traditional printing such as plate making and machine adjustment, as well as the core advantages of digital printing in achieving "zero inventory" and "fast delivery."

Of course, the core target market for digital printing is small-batch, customized, and personalized scenarios, while large-scale production is still primarily based on traditional printing.

"After all, for large orders, the unit cost is diluted, and currently, digital printing still struggles to reach that level," Xu Shun'an said. He noted that while the cost of digital printing has significantly decreased over the past decade, it is still difficult to predict when it will reach parity with traditional printing.

From the perspective of the domestic market, although the overall proportion of digital printing is not high, its market share is rapidly increasing, showing vigorous development in commercial printing, label printing, personalized printing, and packaging.

Xu Shun'an also introduced that HP holds a dominant position in the domestic digital printing market: with a market share of 30%-40% in commercial printing, about 70% in the label sector, nearly 100% in flexible packaging, and over 60% in the folding carton market.

As digital printing develops rapidly, market competition is also becoming increasingly fierce.

Xu Shun'an believes that current market competition mainly manifests in several dimensions: first is the most direct price war, with hardware and ink prices being lowered, and even models emerging that offer zero down payment for equipment; second is the competition in technology and equipment quality, which is a healthy competition as companies strive to improve product quality.

"In addition, competition among digital printing customers is also intense. For example, in flexible packaging, about 90% of customers are concentrated in Guangdong, many of whom undertake overseas orders, leading to fierce competition among them. This is something the entire industry should consider, how to avoid falling into a vicious price war."

Xu Shun'an stated that for HP, the main competitors are still international big brands, while also noting the rapid rise of domestic digital printing manufacturers. "They have advantages such as lower costs and better localized services, and they are gradually entering the Southeast Asian and European and American markets."

In the face of the rapid rise of domestic manufacturers and fierce price competition, HP still insists on a high-end positioning and an "end-to-end" solution strategy.

Xu Shun'an pointed out that HP sells not just equipment, but also a closed-loop ecosystem that connects brand merchants, designers, and production ends. As sustainable development shifts from being an "optional choice" to a "mandatory question," the inherent environmental attributes of digital printing are becoming a compliance necessity for long-term corporate development.

It is reported that HP's latest generation of equipment has reduced energy consumption by about 24% to 26% compared to the previous generation, while also significantly reducing ink and consumable waste.

In addition, Xu Shun'an mentioned that another core advantage of HP is its continuous innovation capability. "We launch new products and solutions quickly, with new models iterated in just a few years. New technologies are also rapidly applied to products, bringing value to customers. I believe this is something many competitors, especially domestic manufacturers, find difficult to catch up with, as it requires a deep technical accumulation."

**The following is the full dialogue between Wall Street Insights and Xu Shun'an, General Manager of HP's Indigo/PWI Digital Printing Division for Greater China, and Arnon Goldman, General Manager of HP's Indigo Digital Printing for the Asia-Pacific region (edited):** Question 1: Can you discuss the characteristics of the printing industry’s development over the past year from an industry perspective?

Xu Shun'an: In recent years, the development trends and characteristics of the printing industry have been quite evident. Specifically in China, domestic labor costs have been continuously rising, and various operational costs are also increasing, which is a clear trend. This is why our industry is experiencing significant internal competition; one reason is the noticeable rise in costs, and the prices of raw materials are also increasing, leading to a gradual decline in profit margins.

When profits decline, competition among clients becomes more intense. This forces many clients to think about how to transform, upgrade, and make changes. This is a very obvious characteristic, with all operational costs on the rise.

The second aspect is related to consumer trends. Changes on the consumer side, in turn, affect our industry. The most evident trend on the consumer side is the increasing demand for small batches, personalization, and customization. Nowadays, young people, particularly those born in the 90s and 00s, have consumption habits that are completely different from our generation. They tend to be more individualistic, wanting many things to have their personal characteristics and not wanting to be the same as others. Even when drinking a cup of coffee, they hope it is unique, and this applies to other types of consumption as well.

This has led to a surge in demand for small batches, which poses significant challenges for our printing industry in how to quickly respond to the rapidly changing, small-batch demands from brands or consumers.

Of course, while this is a challenge, it presents a great opportunity for digital printing. Digital printing is very suitable for small batch, personalized, and customized production, with fast delivery speeds and short market cycles. This is a very clear trend on the consumer side.

Additionally, digital printing requires a certain period of market cultivation. Chinese printing companies, especially some leading printing firms, have been exposed to digital printing for a long time, but truly committing to the transition from traditional printing to digital printing is still quite difficult. This involves not only the impact of significant investments but also changes in production habits and thinking.

Moreover, the profit model is something many companies may not have considered very clearly. Digital printing and traditional printing are actually completely different directions of thinking; one cannot use past thinking to consider the development direction of today or even the future of digital printing.

Another point that aligns well with the theme of this South China Printing Exhibition is the continuous advancement of digitization and intelligence, as well as sustainable development. In fact, sustainable development in China, whether in the printing industry or other sectors, is no longer an option but a mandatory question that must be addressed, and it has even become a compliance requirement for enterprises and a matter that must be considered for long-term development.

Furthermore, sustainable development is not just about using environmentally friendly inks and materials or achieving lower energy consumption; it is also related to business models. For example, digital printing does not require plate-making, resulting in less waste; small batch and on-demand production do not lead to large inventory backlogs, nor does it result in unsold inventory becoming waste. It is on-demand printing, which has almost no waste in this regard, and this is actually the greatest advantage of digital printing in terms of sustainability.

Currently, new requirements are being imposed on our printing industry, such as the carbon tariffs in the EU, the ban on mineral oils in France, and the PFAS-Free requirements in the European and American markets, which stipulate that all materials must not contain fluorine components, and everyone must face these challenges Digital printing precisely meets the requirements for environmental sustainability. The above outlines the general development trends in the industry.

These trends have actually existed before, but they have developed rapidly in recent years. To be honest, there were previous industry trends, but in the past few years, even in the past year or a few months, these trends have become particularly evident.

Question 2: What characteristics do you think this year's exhibitors have in showcasing their key content compared to last year's exhibition?

Xu Shun'an: AI is now a hot topic that everyone is discussing. Especially at HP Indigo, AI has been deeply integrated into our equipment, and we even provide AI assistants for our customers. Each of our devices has an AI assistant, which brings great convenience to customers, from front-end design to production management and various other aspects, all utilizing AI. This is a very obvious trend.

Additionally, I see many booths discussing sustainable development and cost reduction while increasing efficiency, hoping to reduce manual intervention and minimize labor usage. It is currently difficult to recruit workers, especially since young people are reluctant to enter the printing industry. Therefore, this is also a very obvious change—everyone is looking to attract new young labor into the printing industry by enhancing the automation level of their equipment.

Question 3: What do you think the competitive trends in the industry will be moving forward? In what areas will there be significant initiatives?

Xu Shun'an: Speaking of competition, this market has always had competition, whether in traditional printing or digital printing. Digital printing is developing rapidly now, but competition is becoming increasingly fierce. As a global leader in digital printing, HP Indigo can genuinely feel some pressure from market competition. Of course, pressure is a good thing; it encourages us to invest more in research and development and continuously promote technological innovation and iteration.

For HP, our competitors are generally international big brands competing on the same stage, and we welcome such competition. At the same time, we also see domestic digital printing manufacturers rising rapidly. They have their advantages, such as lower costs and better localized services. They are also gradually advancing into Southeast Asia and even the European and American markets, which has a very positive impact on Chinese digital printing companies.

We also hope to see more competitors participating. In fact, our relationships are not just competitive; we are also jointly cultivating the digital printing market. Only by providing more choices for customers and allowing them to see the future of digital printing more clearly can we accelerate the transition from traditional printing to digital printing.

Question 4: Regarding the increasingly fierce competition in the industry, can you elaborate on where you feel this intensity is reflected?

Xu Shun'an: This intensity can be viewed from several dimensions: the first and most direct is the price war. Everyone is crazily lowering prices, from hardware equipment to the inks used in inkjet devices, and there are even zero down payments, directly providing equipment to customers. This is the most direct competition in terms of price, which still revolves around pricing.

On the other hand, there is also competition in technology and equipment quality. This is a healthy competition where everyone is striving to improve their quality without lowering quality standards. This is certainly a more positive form of competition, and the competition is indeed becoming increasingly intense In addition, the competition among our digital printing customers is also very fierce. As mentioned earlier, 90% of the customers engaged in flexible packaging are in Guangdong, and they are currently taking orders from abroad, but they are also constantly competing with each other. In fact, this situation is worth more consideration from our entire industry on how to avoid falling into a vicious price war.

Question 5: The penetration rate of the digital printing market in China is relatively low compared to other mature markets. According to the latest data you have, what is the penetration rate in Europe and the United States, and what is it in China?

Xu Shun'an: According to third-party research data, the market penetration rate in Europe and the United States has exceeded 20%, or even higher. However, China's rate is still quite low. From the data released by our industry association or media, the market share of digital printing in China is less than 3%. Of course, this is calculated based on output. However, because the selling price of digital printing is relatively high, if calculated based on output value or sales revenue, its actual proportion is definitely much higher than this 3%. Because we know that the selling price of digital printing samples is far higher than that of traditional printing.

Question 6: Has the current 3% penetration rate improved compared to the past two years?

Xu Shun'an: There has actually been a significant improvement. About two or three years ago, the penetration rate of digital printing in China was only a little over 1%. Although it seems to have only increased by 1% or 2%, considering that the entire printing market in China has exceeded 1.5 trillion, this one percentage point corresponds to a market scale of over 10 billion.

Question 7: Given the low penetration rate of digital printing in China, what do you think is the core reason?

Xu Shun'an: From the customer's perspective, they actually have some concerns. Because China is currently in a typical process of transitioning from traditional printing to digital, most traditional printing companies find it difficult to change their mindset and still adhere to traditional thinking. This includes their operational methods; for example, in the order-taking process, they are still accustomed to the traditional model of receiving orders from brand owners or other channels, which is actually different from the digital printing model.

Digital printing is more about receiving orders online. I have a platform where my customers, consumers, and some small brands can place orders directly. Those large-scale traditional printing companies, especially the very large ones, only need to serve a few large brand owners. However, the needs of brand owners are also constantly changing; they hope to achieve zero inventory, print on demand, and deliver faster. For example, if they have a new design, they want it to be on the market within a week and quickly on the shelves, which is very difficult for traditional printing to achieve.

Another reason is cost. Many of our printing industry customers have always believed that digital printing costs are very high. Of course, their comparison methods may differ. They believe that using traditional methods to print a paper box or a sheet of paper may only cost a few cents. However, digital printing may cost several dimes, resulting in a tenfold difference. In this comparison, digital printing does seem to have a high cost. But if the customer only needs to print 100 sheets, the situation is different Because traditional printing inevitably requires plate making, trial runs, and adjustments, these startup costs can amount to several thousand RMB. If only 100 copies are ordered, the cost per copy may be 10, 20, or 30 RMB. In contrast, digital printing can start with just one copy, costing only a few dimes per piece, and even ten copies still cost about the same. Therefore, it really depends on how to compare them. This requires a shift in customer perception, whether it's our HP Indigo or some of our peers who are continuously working to change our customers' understanding.

Question 8: What is HP's market share in China's digital printing market?

Xu Shun'an: If we look solely at the digital printing sector, HP holds an absolute dominant position in various sub-markets. For instance, in the business market, it may be around 30% to 40%. In the label sector, our share of equipment in China has reached about 60% to 70%. In the flexible packaging field, we have nearly 100% market share. Up to now, the only truly mature solution for digital flexible packaging is HP Indigo. As for folding cartons, which we refer to as paper packaging, although digital printing's share in the overall folding carton market is quite low, it is a huge market. All products we see daily require such packaging, and in this area, HP also holds an absolute dominant position. Although current applications are still limited, our share has basically exceeded 60%.

Question 9: It seems that digital printing is more suitable for small batches and flexible production needs. Is it difficult to promote transformation for traditional large-scale production?

Xu Shun'an: Yes. The target market for digital printing is indeed small batches, customization, and personalization. You can start with one copy, and each can be different, which is the core competitive advantage of digital printing. For large-scale production, traditional printing is still the first choice. After all, it has a large volume, and the cost per piece is lower, which digital printing, at least for now, has not yet reached.

Question 10: When will the cost of digital printing be able to drop to the same level as traditional printing?

Xu Shun'an: It's hard to say. However, if we look at a longer timeline, the cost of digital printing has significantly decreased over the past decade. This includes the costs that HP Indigo provides to customers, which have also been greatly reduced. Why? Because we are continuously innovating. Digital printing itself is a digital and intelligent product that requires ongoing investment in research and development, including the development of new materials. Therefore, the equipment we provide to customers is getting better with each iteration, and the cost of ownership, which we refer to as Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), is also decreasing.

Where does this cost reduction come from? On one hand, the energy consumption of the equipment has decreased. For example, our latest HP Indigo 6K+ digital printing machine and HP Indigo 18K HD digital printing machine have reduced energy consumption by about 24% to 26% compared to our previous generation products. On the other hand, printing costs have also decreased, and the cost of the eco-friendly inks we use is lower, making our prices more affordable for customers. So, in reality, all participants in digital printing, including our customers, can clearly feel that the cost has decreased significantly compared to ten years ago If we look to the future, it is quite difficult to estimate when we can continuously reduce to a level comparable to traditional printing; this difficulty is certainly significant.

Question 11: You mentioned earlier that HP's main competitors are still several major international brands. However, we must also acknowledge that domestic manufacturers are rising. What is the core advantage that allows HP to maintain its dominant position in the domestic market?

Xu Shun'an: Our core advantage is closely related to HP's continuous innovation. We launch new products or new solutions at a very rapid pace, possibly introducing a new model every few years. Once there is new technology, we will definitely apply it to new products to benefit our customers. I believe this is something that some of our competitors, especially domestic ones, will find difficult to keep up with, as it requires a significant accumulation of technology.

There are also other reasons. For example, HP does not just sell a machine; we have been saying for many years that we do not sell machines, we sell solutions. Even now, we provide customers with end-to-end complete solutions, covering everything from front-end design to connecting with brand owners. HP has always had this tradition; we hope to link brand owners with our customers, essentially helping customers drive sales. We tell brand owners how HP's equipment and technology can help them realize certain ideas and accomplish specific tasks. They are very receptive to this new concept because it can help their sales.

Question 12: In the wave of AI, what are the key directions for our continuous innovation?

Xu Shun'an: In fact, our ongoing R&D investment and innovation directions are all based on market demand, and we also anticipate future market developments. When will the cost of digital printing drop to the same level as traditional printing? This is actually an important direction for us. We cannot say that we will reach that level within ten years, but this direction is certainly determined; we must create value for our customers, reduce their operating costs, and provide some additional value. For example, we will develop the next generation of inks and consumables to make them more compliant with future regulations and environmental requirements.

As we have already posted at this exhibition, we will introduce our latest materials to China around May or June of this year. These new materials can reduce customer waste, such as significantly lowering the frequency of consumable replacements, reducing energy consumption, and decreasing ink usage by about 16%. As a result, customers will spend less time maintaining equipment and replacing consumables, allowing more time for production. Using less ink also means a smaller environmental impact. These are all our future innovation directions.

Question 13: Do you have any practical cases of AI applications?

Xu Shun'an: We have many AI implementation solutions. This may be attributed to HP being a technology company from Silicon Valley, so many AI technologies are applied to our Indigo devices. For example, in our HP laptop business, the AI PC we launched is also an AI product. Specifically, regarding the AI on our printing machines, we have many AI applications in the front-end design phase, helping designers complete tasks that were previously difficult to accomplish In addition, when our machines are producing on the front end, AI can automatically identify and select the appropriate production mode. For example, when a product comes in, AI will quickly analyze whether it is suitable for three-color or four-color production. For instance, if this is a colored box, AI quickly analyzes that it only needs CMY three colors to print a very beautiful product, which can save one black ink. This can reduce costs by 25% for customers, as one color is used less. Moreover, its printing speed will also be faster and more efficient, as the printing speeds of different colors vary.

AI is also applied in our production management, including monitoring product quality. Just like our own AAA or CCC testing, this is an AI module that can monitor the quality of printed materials in real-time. For managers, each machine has an HP AI assistant, which we have specifically named Leo, and it currently only supports text input. For example, as a printing manager, I want to understand the production situation of the two shifts (day shift and night shift) yesterday, which shift had better OEE (Overall Equipment Efficiency), which shift had higher output, and less waste. Since all production data has been entered into the system, AI will automatically analyze and generate a production report; I just need to input this text, and it will immediately provide the answer.

Question 14: As a global leader in digital printing, what core strategies will HP Indigo adopt to further consolidate its leadership position in the digital printing market?

 Arnon Goldman, General Manager of HP Indigo Digital Printing for the Asia-Pacific region

Arnon Goldman: We are able to maintain our leading position in the industry thanks to our comprehensive product portfolio, continuous innovation, and leading quality technology, as well as the high productivity, multifunctionality, and durability of our equipment—these all align with the core values expected by customers. Our product coverage has unique advantages. To my knowledge, no other company can provide such a rich array of application scenarios. This brings high flexibility to customers: they can rely on the same set of equipment to adapt to market demands and keep up with current mainstream trends—including environmentally friendly solutions, customization, personalization, and small-batch production. As long as we continue to introduce AI and automation technologies to meet both explicit and potential customer needs, I believe we will continue to maintain a strong competitive advantage in the future.

Question 15: What are your development expectations for the Asia-Pacific market and the Chinese market in 2026?

Arnon Goldman: In my view, the Chinese market has always been at the forefront in terms of growth speed, technological penetration, and innovation capability. The market environment in China is always full of innovative vitality. We bring core technologies to China, while the real innovation in the market is driven by customers. They continuously develop new applications, keep up with trends, and even lead trends I have great respect for this vibrant business ecosystem, which inspires the best state of ourselves and the entire industry. Therefore, I am very optimistic about 2026 and the future of the Chinese market. From a broader perspective, the Asia-Pacific region is a highly diverse area: on one side are mature economies like Japan and South Korea, while on the other side is the Southeast Asian market, with China being particularly unique.

Some industries have relatively traditional models, where our advantages such as high quality and performance comparable to offset printing play a key role. Other markets are developing towards digitalization and e-commerce-driven directions, emphasizing customization, faster delivery, small batches, and even single-piece production. This trend is continuing to strengthen and will play an important role in many markets, including China and Japan.

Each economy and industry has its own characteristics, and I believe we can serve all markets well in Asia. Moreover, compared to Europe and the United States, these economies are growing faster, and the urbanization process is accelerating. As economic development and the consumption of packaging products increase, the entire industry will benefit — not only HP but also the value we bring to the market and the value that customers create for their end markets

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