Tariff uncertainty is the new normal. But for Hong Kong companies, there is no staying in limbo or incessant worry. They are forging ahead, planning for every contingency and possibility, and plying their trade diligently. PW talks with six export-based print players to get the lowdown on the industry and their respective companies.
“It has been a bit of a wild ride this year dealing with the seemingly ever-changing tariffs,” says Howard Musk, president and CEO of print management firm Imago. “Our industry is fortunate in that most books and printed materials are exempt under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). However, there are several products that we manufacture—card decks, games, and journals, for instance—that are affected by tariffs. While Imago is able to utilize our multicountry supplier network to mitigate some tariffs, the many changes in country-specific tariffs, as well as the differing costs across these countries, make it challenging and confusing.”
Uncertainties remain with ongoing trade negotiations as well as legal challenges to the use of the IEEPA to impose the tariffs. “The process is now moving through the courts with the appeals process expected to end up in the Supreme Court,” Musk says.
Since the beginning of this year, what is certain is economic volatility. Things change so quickly that businesses must remain agile and adapt just as quickly, says executive chairman Matthew Yum of Hung Hing, whose company is adopting the agile/adapt mindset.
The 90-day tariff extension in April for both China and Vietnam offered some respite in those uncertainties, Yum says. “During this window, export clients placed new and rush orders—that is, front-loading—to preempt any tariff changes. Now that the U.S. and Vietnam have come to an agreement on the tariff rate, it provides more certainty for clients to commence their order planning.” Yum adds that his company’s capital investment, including those in Vietnam, can thus proceed as planned. “With the U.S.-China tariff truce extended for another 90 days, we expect some clients to start placing orders again during this period,” he says. “However, they may remain conservative on the economic outlook, with the unpredictability making long-term planning difficult.”
Keeping a keen eye on the geopolitical shifts and tariff news, especially after the U.S. election of 2024, is par for the course, says Mae Zhao, SVP of marketing and head of international sales at Toppan Leefung Printing Limited. “Children’s books, narrowly defined as pictures—instead of words—that tell a story, continue to be duty-free, as are information-based printed materials.”
Tariffs on trade and other printed materials from Donald Trump’s first administration stand unchanged. “We can use specific IEEPA codes to clear U.S. ports without tariffs,” Zhao says. “With tariffs imposed on dozens of U.S. trade partners—15% on the EU, Japan, and Korea, 35% on Canada, a whopping 50% on India, 20% on Vietnam with transshipments at 40%, and 19% on Malaysia, for instance—China now has an opportunity to recapture some lost ground on the print manufacturing of journals and gift items.”
The tariffs do not affect Bibles and most book categories. “As such, Wai Man Book Binding—which remains our official name despite our move into printing and other finishing services decades ago—is focused on Bible and book production, which are our specialty segments and core strengths,” says managing director Nathan Lui, whose parents founded the company in 1973, as Legend Book Binding, in Hong Kong. It was widely known in the print manufacturing circle for its binding expertise.
Tariff concerns and opportunities
Tariff-wise, there is now some certainty, at least for Vietnam, Yum says. “However, despite the reached deal, there are still gray areas and unknowns, such as the 40% transshipment tariff from China and its definition. As for China, we await a trade deal.”
For Hung Hing, Vietnam is still a very good alternative location to China, largely due to its geographical proximity and labor pool. “It is inevitable that U.S. companies will find additional locations for manufacturing even if a trade deal is made with China,” Yum says. “While cost has always been a major factor, some clients are motivated by diversification as a strategic risk-management decision. I believe many clients will adopt the China Plus One strategy as a longer-term solution.”
Major C&C Offset clients had been quite supportive by continuing to place orders during the first half of this year when the tariff situation was so uncertain, says deputy general manager Francis Ho. “However, they are being very careful with their publishing plans and reprint quantities, often forecasting more realistically to match their client needs. But the U.S. tariff strategies and charging percentages may change every now and then, and that will affect clients’ print order strategies.”
Clients’ ordering practices are similar to those of previous years, but there is more head-to-head price competition from our industry counterparts, Ho says, adding that there is still considerable demand for book printing in the digital age. “Presently, most publishers are more conservative and focused on surviving and remaining in business while looking for ways to further reduce their costs and increase their bottom lines. That is the tight business environment that we are dealing in,” he says.
Some packaging printers affected by the tariff situation are trying to enter the book manufacturing business, Ho says. “However, without the proper skill sets or equipment required to produce books, these packaging printers can only rely on price competition, creating a challenging situation for book manufacturers and publishers alike. The tough domestic Chinese market is also driving more local players to go into the export book business.”
Over at Chang Jiang Printing Media, the first half of this year’s performance was better than expected, says company founder and marketing director Samuel Chung. “We see stronger support from established clients as well as from new ones after they found out that the tariff on books is not as bad as that on other products.”
Most export print manufacturing is still happening in China, due to its competitive pricing, proven industry expertise, and efficient and extensive supply chain, Chung says. “Presently, the tariff on books seems to be favorable to print manufacturers from China. But one never knows what will come next from the current White House administration. We will continue to do a lot of preparation by sourcing papers and printers globally and scattering our sources to mitigate risks.” Right now, Chung and his team are placing trial orders with print companies in Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, and Turkey.
Shipping issues and freight costs
Ho, of C&C Offset, found that during the 90-day tariff extension period, there were insufficient containers when publishers were rushing out their orders. “That was a time when it was not just about sea freight costs but also about shipping times,” he says. “It seems to me that the peak production season, due to the volatility of the tariff situation, is now about two months earlier compared to pre-pandemic years.”
Over at Chang Jiang, most clients had asked for their books to be shipped out by the end of July. “But with the 90-day extension, they have allowed a delay right up till the end of August, and these are mainly for books sold as gifts during the Christmas season,” Chung says. “Naturally, the freight costs will go up substantially during this period, and this is a common issue faced by many in the last few years. So we have to be prepared: for instance, we need ample paper stock for urgent orders and to liaise closely with printers to ensure the shortest turnaround time possible. On the marketing side, our goal is to go after more print products that sell year-round and not time-sensitive or season-specific ones.”
While Musk, of Imago, saw volatility in container shipping earlier in the year due to introduction of tariffs, the market is now quite subdued and calm. “Many importers front-loaded their stocks due to the concern over tariffs, but demand has now tailed off significantly and rates have softened,” he says. “Some carriers are now diverting capacity away from the Trans-Pacific routes.”
EUDR compliance and complexity
It was all about Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification back in 1996. Now, the topic du jour is the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), a law requiring companies to prove that commodities such as paper and wood placed on the EU market, or exported from it, are deforestation-free and produced legally. So, all print manufacturers and print management companies featured in this report have been heavily involved in ensuring compliance with EUDR as well as other green and sustainability movements.
Imago, for instance, has been preparing for EUDR over the past year and is well prepared, having conducted extensive supply chain mapping of its factories, papers, and mills, Musk says. “It is usually our publishing clients who are placing the goods on the market and are classified as the ‘operator’ under EUDR.” The key responsibility of an operator is to conduct full due diligence and submit a due diligence statement (DDS)—covering geolocation data of plots where production/harvest takes place, dates of production/harvest, proof of legality, risk assessment and mitigation—to the EU’s centralized information portal prior to import or export.
Imago, Musk says, is committed to sustainability and supports the goals of the EUDR and will provide customers with timely supply of information that is required to help them fulfill their DDS obligations. “To facilitate this, Imago has signed up to the Book Chain Project’s EUDR solution,” he says, “a digital platform that allows us to collect, retrieve, and share data and legality information on the mills and papers that we use.”
Functional packaging materials that support, protect, or carry another product that is within the scope of the EUDR—cartons and pallets, for instance—are not themselves in scope. “Packaging that enhances the product, such as a gift box or slipcase for an item that is in scope will also be in scope,” Musk says.
Toppan Leefung, on the other hand, had long ago set up an IT system to capture EUDR data and contacted Osapiens, which offers a scalable, AI-enabled platform to automate and monitor sustainability metrics in real time.
Inherent industry challenges
The publishing industry, says Zhao, of Toppan Leefung, is resilient, but there are worries that the reading level among children and young people is declining globally. “Initiatives involving governments, international organizations, and nonprofits have been rolled out to address the multifaceted causes of declining reading habits and to implement solutions to foster the love of reading,” Zhao says, adding that in the U.K., Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has declared 2026 as the National Year of Reading to curtail the country’s reading crisis.
“The Global Alliance for Literacy is promoting youth and adult literacy in 31 countries, while the World Bank’s Literacy Makes Sense campaign aims to reduce, by 2030, at least by half the number of children who cannot read or understand a simple story by age 10,” Zhao says. “These initiatives tackle the various factors contributing to the decline in reading, including pandemic-related disruptions, increased screen time and engagement with social media, under-resourced schools, overcrowded classrooms, and children’s lack of access to engaging books and well-stocked libraries. More than ever, our role as a print manufacturer is to assist publishers to make beautiful and enticing books that stimulate the desire to read.”
The print manufacturing industry as a whole needs to work on enticing and recruiting new and young talents, especially when we are going to adopt AI and increase automation in our business, says Lui, of Wai Man.
“It is currently facing a serious aging issue that results in skill gaps, declining labor supply, and increasing healthcare costs,” says Lui, who has implemented very little AI in the company’s actual print production process. “Fresh blood will further innovate, solve digital-era problems, and ensure the industry’s longevity and sustainability. However, my team has widely adopted AI for design, customer service, and research functions to assist clients. There is also considerable automation and AI in our QC, image control, and positioning workflows. Soon, our new warehouse will have automated guided vehicles (AGVs) roaming around as well.”
Even after all these years, with Hong Kong and China emerging as major print-manufacturing hubs, the “Made in China” label still comes with lots of misunderstanding. “Quality perception tops the list,” Lui says. “When we sell our services to some countries, they are still thinking or worrying that ‘Made in China’ means that the finished goods will be cheap and of subpar quality. Next is the skepticism about the protection of intellectual property in China. Well, pirated copies are selling online, but there is nothing we can do to stop them. So we do what we can at Wai Man: we implement strict access and control of incoming files, running sheets, and finished goods to avoid information leaks and potential piracy. We have fully complied with all sustainable regulations from E.U. and the U.S. We use mineral oil-free ink throughout our Bible and mini-book production processes, marking a step forward in achieving our green production goal.”
Embracing the future and planning ahead
The Hong Kong print-manufacturing and print-management industry has always pride itself in being adaptable, bold, creative, and diligent. The players are always looking for opportunities to diversify, evolve, and increase their market share and product/service offerings. The philosophical concept of “flow like water” describes this group to a T, especially when facing challenges such as the Trump tariffs and pandemic-era supply chain issues.
Over at Hung Hing, for instance, a diversification strategy into children’s book retail through its Active Minds chain and the Hong Kong education sector via its STEM Plus activities has gained lots of momentum. “The Study in Hong Kong initiative promoted by the government to position the city as an international education hub for post-secondary education and a cradle for future talents has created new business opportunities for Hung Hing to engage educational institutions, parents, and students, especially those looking into relocating to Hong Kong through various talent pass schemes,” Yum says. He adds that the three-day education expo held in July attracted more than 200 exhibitors and 40,000 visitors. “As for Active Minds,” he says, “the team had participated in the Hong Kong Book Fair and achieved better sales than last year’s event despite a full-day closure due to Typhoon Wipha.”
Beluga, the creative arm of Hung Hing, is actively engaged in R&D initiatives focusing on innovative and sustainable solutions such as eco-friendly coatings and biodegradable papers. This effort aims to redefine packaging and book formats by adopting more sustainable practices, including those that eliminate magnets and replace plastic handles with paper alternatives. The team, for instance, has come up with green swatches to help clients plan their greener/ecofriendly projects. “Leading multinational publishers have adopted ecofriendly solutions by replacing plastic with biodegradable products, including biodegradable laminate, paper rope, plastic-free stickers, and 100% recycled matt art paper wherever possible,” Yum says.
Additionally, Papery, a trademarked Beluga brand, is working on a slew of exciting new products, including sustainable handbags that align with Hung Hing’s commitment to eco-conscious production. “We are also developing paper structures specifically designed for fairs and exhibitions, further enhancing our offerings in this space,” Yum says. “Ongoing discussions for a collaboration with a major licensee promise to bring new opportunities and innovations in the near future.” Beluga’s GraphiChair and MiniBag designs won major awards at the Global Innovation Print Awards last year.
“We have been working hard to source the best possible printing solutions inside or outside of China,” says Chung, of Chang Jiang. “For instance, we found a newsprint paper of reasonable quality that can open the door to a mass market product that used to be printed domestically in the U.S. However, U.S. publishers are dealing with rising prices and the lack of printing capacity and even have difficulties sourcing the paper domestically. That is why they are considering soliciting our help in solving the problems. This being an extremely price-sensitive new product line, we have to monitor it carefully and hope to gain a bigger market share in the coming months.”
Helping clients to find good factories for their specific needs is the ultimate goal, Chung says. “We use our connection and good payment record—paying factories well and fast—to get great price points that help clients to save and print more. It is a win-win-win situation for us, the factory, and our client.” Then there are Chung’s two wholly owned manufacturing facilities in Shanghai and Chengdu, with around 200 and 300 workers, respectively, to work on complex pop-up and hand-assembly projects or those with tight deadlines or special finishes. “We have it covered for our clients who have different product needs, turnaround times, and concerns,” Chung says. “Our mission of ‘finding good homes for good projects’ is all about what works best for the client and the project in hand.”
Zhao, of Toppan Leefung, says the company is well positioned for the future because of its customer-focused leadership supported by a mature and stable workforce. “We are committed to continuous quality and efficiency improvements while providing a safe and healthy environment for our staff,” Zhao says. “Currently, we are exploring order-processing automation, finding a better solution in file preflighting, job issuing, and QC, and optimizing robotic process automation (RPA) and AI applications. We are proud to have a dedicated and proactive sales organization in New York, London, Paris, and Hong Kong to service our esteemed clients.”
At C&C Offset, efforts in waste management threw many things into perspective. “A few years ago, when we integrated our waste management system for the entire C&C operations, we realized how wasteful we had been,” Ho says. “Then we set our mind to integrating more data to reduce not just physical material waste but also the waste—or rather, the loss—of time and efficiency throughout the whole print manufacturing process right up to shipping. We firmly believe in connecting all the dots in the process, standardizing what we can, and improving on the weak spots. This is how C&C can grow to be better, greener, and stronger.”
Standardization leads to automation, and smarter automation ensures survival against the competition, Ho says. “We use ERP but, by itself, ERP does not do standardization. It is also location-based and siloed according to business units, which means that it has its own limitations. We use it for easier production planning. So, we developed our own platform that connects all data from all business units, manufacturing facilities, and different systems that we use, and we share the data internally to standardize everything.” Some C-Smart modules, especially those for production, went “live” last year.
At the same time, Ho and his management team at C&C firmly believe in continuous upgrading and adding new equipment that is greener and more efficient. The C&C Guangdong facility, for instance, has added a new eight-color Komori LED UV press, which is the latest improved model with many automated features and better paper feeding, a smart folding machine with servo motors to control speed and positioning, a gathering machine with an integrated sorting and thread-locking system, and a top-line Aster Evo sewing machine.
Over at Wai Man Book Binding, the coming months will see Lui and his team working on offering more value-added services to clients, including R&D, comprehensive sourcing, print-on-demand, warehousing, and logistical support. “These will go on top of the quality that we promise—and never compromised on—to clients,” Lui says. “We continue to improve on our strengths in lightweight/Bible print manufacturing, introduce more secondary and finishing touches to complement our print production, and go the extra mile for our clients. New investments on equipment will have to wait till we are satisfied with the new floor layout and production efficiency.”
From the shorter to the longer term, these print suppliers have their bases covered. They are not deterred by macroeconomic factors beyond their control. Instead, they are making the best of the situation to adapt, grow, survive, and forge ahead. As partners to publishing houses, they are simply the best of the breed.
