A Snapshot of the Printing Industry Today: 5 Key Factors

At PRINTING United Expo, the Alliance Insights research team took to the stage to break down several recent and upcoming reports that together paint a picture of where our industry is today — and where it will likely go next. Nathan Safran, vice president; Lisa Cross, principal analyst; and Onamica Dhar, economist, all with the Alliance Insights research arm of PRINTING United Alliance, shared a ton of great data breaking down everything from automation adoption, to convergence, to AI usage across the industry.  

Here are five key highlights from their data. 

1. It’s been a challenging year, but not for everyone.

Dhar presented the preliminary findings from the upcoming State of the Industry report, with the caveat that the study is still ongoing and open. They feel they have enough responses for a statistical majority based on past SOI reports, but these exact numbers could shift slightly when the official report is released later this year. 

Sales, she noted, increased just 0.6% for the first three quarters of 2025 on average. But only for about 37% of printers in the survey. 62.9% saw those numbers either flat or declining this year.  

At the same time, operating cost inflation outpaced pricing, she said — costs were up because of inflation about 70%, while just 47.5% of printers raised their prices. This was, she said, in part due to customer resistance and pushback on further increases. 

“So what are [printers’] biggest concerns,” Dhar said. “Participants mentioned that their biggest concerns are increasing sales, profitability, economic and overall business conditions, and rising costs [for labor and substrates].”  

This is reflected in the data, with more than half of respondents citing each of those concerns as some of the top things they’re worried about as they start to plan for 2026. Rounding out that list with only slightly lower numbers in the 40% range were concerns such as the effects of tariffs on costs and supply chains, maintaining healthy cash and working capital balances, and the rising costs of utilities and overhead.  

With those concerns in mind, it’s perhaps not surprising that the top priorities for 2026 include productivity or cost control initiatives for more than 70% of respondents. Automation is a priority for 61.2%, and more than 50% cited capturing higher value work, improved quality control, and improving the customer experience as being just as critical for their business. 

2. Tariffs are a real concern.

A staggering 93.5% of respondents noted they have already seen impacts from tariffs, and they don’t expect that to change. Nearly 70% expect to see their operating costs continue to increase in 2026, with 62% anticipating a reduction in profit margins as a direct result of tariffs. Only 36.6% expect to see a direct reduction in sales growth attributable to tariffs specifically, but nearly half expect to see supply chain disruptions in the coming year.  

“On average, 94.9% are rising their price because of the tariffs,” Dhar said. “Other offsets are productivity based, planned by 57% on average, and 69.1% mentioned that they are going to absorb at least some of these increases.” 

While just 38.8% have firm plans to make adjustments around tariffs right now, some of the response plans include transparency with customers about cost increases and being proactive about alerting them to the changes; shortening the validity of estimates; building up inventories before price increases go into effect; and sourcing alternative suppliers. 

3. Automation is a critical factor for the future. 

Cross took the stage to take a look other factors impacting printers across every segment, and she called out automation as one that most printers say is important to growing their business, and yet, she noted, 79% of commercial printers and 67% of wide-format printers say they currently have no or minimal automation in place. It’s a disconnect, and shows just how much opportunity is still out there for shops that want to see gains in the coming months and years. 

“The 'Do-Nothing strategy' is not the thing to do in our industry,” Cross said. “Things keep moving and changing, and you have to stay on top of it.” Further, she noted, “87% told us automation will make our business more resilient and scalable. 85% said automation is essential for staying competitive.” In this case, it is creating an industry with leaders and laggers, with those that have embraced automation better able to compete and weather the challenges than those that still rely on all or mostly manual processes. 

“The core message here is that automation is a key focus of investment,” Cross said. “Yes there are gaps, but your peers are looking to fill them.” 

4. Convergence is continuing to pick up speed.

Cross also noted that convergence is only becoming a bigger factor in print as the years progress. They have been tracking the trend for more than five years now, and it’s no longer a niche phenomenon — 96% of printers now say they serve multiple print segments instead of staying in one traditional lane. Driving that shift? 90% of customers, Cross reported, now expect a print provider to be a “one stop shop” instead of having to go to multiple vendors for different printed elements. And fortunately, she noted that 90% of printers have said that new print technologies and automation solutions are making it easier than ever to expand into adjacent segments. 

“When we talk about the results of convergence, when we asked about revenue increasing or decreasing after embracing convergence, 15.6% saw a direct increase in revenue, and a 10.3% increase in profitability.” So while convergence is allowing operations to meet customers where they want to go, it is having a direct, positive impact on the bottom line for those that embrace new segments and are willing to make the investments to get up and running. 

5. AI is everywhere.

“You can’t open the news — whether it’s tech or otherwise — and not come across something related to AI,” Safran said. And the printing industry is no different, with AI showing up in a big way across the PRINTING United Expo show floor, in products, technologies, and companies that span every segment and process. 

He noted that 85% of printers have adopted some kind of AI tool already, or are at least experimenting with AI, which, he said, is an unprecedented rate of adoption for any technology in history. 83% of survey respondents in the new AI report — which launched at Expo and is available on the Printing Impressions website — note that AI has unlocked new business opportunities, not just improved productivity. And 43% say that increasingly, those firms that don’t use AI just won’t survive. 

Safran noted that there is a strong divide between the AI “leaders” and “laggers”, with leaders not only being more willing to try new tools and experiment to see what works, but also reaping more benefits. Thinks like increased efficiency, better quality and consistency, and freeing up staff from repetitive tasks all ranked high on the benefits AI leaders are seeing. That said, things like customer account analysis or business decision making, while still a small percentage of the uses, has the potential to completely transform how a print business is operated in the near future. 

And these are jut a few highlights from the in-depth research the Insights team is working on. “AI Adoption in the Printing Industry: From Curiosity to Competitive Advantage” is available now, and is worth diving into for a far more in-depth look at exactly how AI is re-shaping out industry. The State of the Industry report, as well as the new Convergence report, will both be out before the end of the year, so keep an eye out for those.