Exploring the Size and Sales Trends of the US Printing Industry

The printing industry has long been a cornerstone of the American economy, spanning centuries of innovation from the early days of the printing press to today’s advanced digital technologies. While the printing industry has evolved significantly, it remains strong, with new and emerging opportunities spanning graphic design, digital printing, automation, and sustainability.

At the recent PRINTING United Expo, held September 10-12 in Las Vegas, the PRINTING United Alliance research team presented insights into the size of the printing industry, its impact on the economy, and key sales trends driving the industry forward.

Industry Size Snapshots

The printing industry is comprised of a wide variety of establishments, spanning small companies employing fewer than five people, to large enterprises with more than 500 employees. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than half (11,679) of the 22,651 printing establishments as of 2022 were small companies with fewer than five employees. While small businesses are prevalent throughout the industry, most print industry employees work at medium-sized businesses. Specifically, of the 389,036 industry employees as of 2022, 20% work for companies between 100 to 249 employees. Altogether, BLS data indicates that as of 2022, the print industry generates an annual payroll of $21.6 billion.

From an employment perspective, the size of the printing industry has declined compared to its prepandemic levels. According to the BLS, print industry employment was approximately 415,000 in March of 2020, plummeting to approximately 341,000 in April of 2022. While print industry employment has trended upward since the pandemic, it is reasonable to expect it will not return to early 2020 levels, due to advancements in automation and efficiency of printing technology. However, sales efficiency has improved, with sales per employee rising from $181,501 in 2010 to $264,458 in 2022, thanks to technological advancements and enhanced productivity.

Sales on the Rise, Profitability Challenges Persist

Across the commercial and wide-format print segments, sales growth is prevalent and optimism for future sales is high. As reported by NAPCO Research in its 2024 Commercial Print Trends and Strategy Service, 61% of commercial print respondents (n=212) experienced sales growth in the preceding 12 months, with 22% stating they saw double-digit sales growth. Meanwhile, wide-format printers in the NAPCO Research Selling Wide-format Printing survey (n=63), reported even higher growth. More than three-quarters of respondents (77%) saw sales growth in the prior year, with almost half (46%) citing double-digit growth.

Looking ahead, commercial printers demonstrated optimism in their sales prospects, with 76% expecting to see sales growth in the year ahead while 22% expect to see double-digit growth. On the wide-format side, 86% of respondents indicated an expectation of sales growth for the coming year while 42% expected to see double-digital sales growth.

Sales growth is also reflected in the key business indicators reported by PRINITNG United Alliance in its First Quarter 2024 State of the Industry data. On average, for the full year 2023, participants reported a 2.4% sales increase, with 0.6% citing a sales increase in the first quarter of 2024. However, profitability challenges persist, as real (inflation-adjusted) sales were down 1.2% for full-year 2023 and 0.4% in the first quarter of 2024. Additionally, 40.8% of respondents stated their pre-tax profitability decreased both in the first quarter of 2024 and full-year 2023.

Pre-Tax Profitability Fluctuates. Click to enlarge.

Assessing Sales Strategies

For print service providers, brand positioning and the sales channels being utilized will have a strong impact on results. On the wide-format side of the industry, respondents in the Selling Wide-format Printing report largely indicate their brand positioning is focused on providing a high level of customer service (38%) and offering a wide range of products and services (32%). This indicates that wide-format PSPs are seeing benefits from serving as a close partner to their customers, offering them high-level service and ensuring they are accessible to serve their customers’ needs. Additionally, being a provider of a wide range of products and services indicates that printers are embracing industry convergence, expanding their offerings to include several applications.

It is also interesting to see that only 2% of respondents are positioning their companies as low-cost producers. Wide-format print being a high-value product, this indicates that marketers and other print buyers are not basing their purchasing decisions primarily on price and are willing to spend more to receive high-end service.

Wide-format PSPs also indicate they utilize a variety of sales strategies spanning traditional and newer sales channels. Website tops the list of sales channels used with 81% of respondents, followed by 72% of respondents utilizing a direct sales force. Meanwhile, modern digital-based strategies including social media and search engine optimization are utilized by 60% and 51% of respondents respectively. For PSPs seeking to sell via their website, investing in SEO could be highly beneficial as website traffic typically stems from search, so any efforts that a company can take to enhance their search positioning could directly impact sales results for the better.

Brand Positioning. Click to enlarge.

The Analog to Digital Transition Continues as AI Comes Online

The shift towards digital printing is accelerating, with 64.4% of output expected to be digital by 2026, up from 55.6% today, as reported in the PRINTING United Alliance First Quarter 2024 State of the Industry data. This reflects the industry's growing embrace of digital technologies.

As digital printing and production technology continues to gain adoption in the printing industry, advanced technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) are also on the rise in print. In the State of the Industry report, 40% of respondents state they currently use some form of AI, with another 32.8% stating they expect to be using AI within the next year. For more information on AI in the print industry, download the new study released by PRINTING United Alliance and NAPCO Research, AI in the Print Industry: The Journey Begins, available here.