Spicers are not in the manufacturing business. They are a...

Spicers are not in the manufacturing business. They are a reseller. Mill prices may be increasing but Spicers customers, printers, find it increasingly difficult to extract price increases from their customers. Marketing & communications are increasingly moving to cheaper, innovative digital channels. Print will remain in the multichannel communications mix but it's share of wallet will decline. Spicers customer base, in print at least, shrinks every year. Printers of all sizes shut their doors or merge every week. The constant increase in the cost of inputs such as paper, electricity, ink etc. means this industry is in decline. Putting ink on paper is not an attractive business to be in.