Plate prices are going up, driven by continuing rises in the price of aluminium. Fujifilm is the first major manufacturer to declare its hand with an increase of up to 10% on orders from 1 September. As Kodak and Agfa must also buy the same raw material, they are subject to the same price pressures.
However, the decline in demand as the litho print market shrinks may encourage these to hold off price increases for as long as possible. Kodak has put this shrinkage at 3% over the last year.
Takashi Yanagawa, senior vice president of Fujifilm Europe, explains: “Fujifilm has absorbed the rising cost of raw materials for the last 12 months to try and avoid passing on price increases to our customers, but unfortunately this situation is unsustainable.”
Forward pricing on the metal is now reaching $2,100 a tonne. This compares to $1,800 at tonne at the start of this year and $1,600 in August 2016. The current price is around $1,900 a tonne.
The exact increase that printers will pay will vary according to market. As the UK has also suffered from the decline in the value of the pound over the last 12 months, printers here can be expected to be paying at the upper end of the range.
The increase will apply across the board, says Fujifilm Graphic Systems UK general manager Chris Broadhurst. “Costs have been rising on all products coming into the UK from the Eurozone. Printers are having to adapt to these changes and review their plans and strategies.
“Businesses are having to mitigate against many cost increases, not just in the case of plates. With the increase in aluminium however the cost of the scrap has also increased and that will go a long way to offsetting the increase in plate cost.”
Fujifilm has explained that the price increase is necessary for it to maintain the quality of the product and the very high level of service and support that its customers have come to expect.
Fujifilm says that rising aluminium prices over the last year have left it no choice but to increase the price charged for plates having tried to absorb the increases. It will increase prices by around 10% this week.
