No, this isn’t the (NewsCorp-owned) Weekly Times with which Australian readers will be familiar… and, yes, Chinese online merchant Temu is newly in the printing business, offering customers “newspapers” for under $20.

The pitch, which includes custom editions you can use to bind wedding bouquets – is likely to be more of a threat to those ‘mum and dad’ printshop that have survived other forms of competition.

Temu offers a wide range of “newspaper” formats, most of which appear to be digitally printed, but quantities are limited – to perhaps 15 or 20 copies – restricting their publishing potential. Examples viewed by GXpress were also limited in pagination, and lacked clarity about page positioning.

Interesting is the wedding bouquet wrapper (pictured top) but the ominously-named Adverse Gift Co also offers ‘customised newspapers, birthday and wedding front pages, commercial newspapers, personalised and elegant black and white style photo text, birth souvenirs, DIY wedding newspapers, bridal party gifts, personalised newspapers, custom newspapers’ boasting “six sold”.

Is it a threat or an opportunity? Let’s just say it’s indicative of a trend which is taking control of even simple manufactured products overseas with (think EV cars) potentially risky consequences.

Peter Coleman