The Top 10 Headlines from 2025

Every year we pull together a list of the top 10 headlines on Printing Impressions, as determined by you, our readers. It's hard to believe we're already at the end of another year, but 2026 is just around the corner. This year, there were a lot of ups and downs in the industry, but some mainstays showed up on the list of the most viewed articles. Every year, the Printing Impressions 300 ranking of the largest printing companies in the U.S. and Canada, as ranked by annual sales, is at the top of the list and this year is no exception. Beyond that, we saw legislation that could potentially have impacted the industry thwarted, updates on USPS postal rate increases, acquisitions, and closures. Just missing out on the top 10 were articles about artificial intelligence (such as this article by Alyssa Summers highlighting "The Top AI Tools to Help Printing Companies Grow") and videos highlighting some prospering print service providers (such as this video about RRD and this one about Allied Printing Services).

Let's take a look at what headlines cracked the top 10.

1. USPS Announces 2025 Postage Rate Increase Effective July 13: One of the most talked about topics in the postal space is the ongoing postal rate increases. In April, Summer Gould reported on the proposed postal increases to take effect in July. While the average increase was 7.385%, Gould used her platform to offer some tips to printers to refine their marketing approaches. She also argued that because direct mail remains an effective strategy and top performer when it comes to ROI, "a smartly executed direct mail campaign can more than make up for increased postage costs." The next postal rate increase is set to go into effect in mid-January 2026.
2. Washington State’s Unexpected Push to Ban Most Printing Inks ... Again: Several years ago, PRINTING United Alliance led the charge in an effort to prevail over Washington's state's push to ban printing inks containing chlorinating pigments. We continued coverage on it into 2025 — and expanded the coverage to several states that were proposing bans on carbon black, a key ingredient in black printing inks — with several videos and articles exploring the potential damage of Washington's continued push to regulate PCBs in inks and pigments and ban chlorinated pigments. PRINTING United Alliance's Gary Jones wrote the No. 2 piece for the year explaining the proposed legislation, the devastation it would cause, and how the Alliance was approaching the issue.
3. Annual Printing Impressions 300 Ranking Reveals Mix of Ups and Downs: Every year, the ranking of the largest printing companies tops our lists for the most viewed content. This year differed from year's past because we had two lists published within just six months of each other. Coming in at No. 3 is the 2024 ranking. In year's past, the ranking was published in our December issue, with the digital version hitting inboxes in early January. Now, the list is published in our July issue of the magazine (spoiler alert, when you move further down this list, you will see the 2025 list). In the 2024 edition, there were some companies that experienced incredible growth (such as Prisma Graphic at 66%) and there were companies that reported stable numbers. There were also some big additions to our top five lists, namely No. 1 RRD and No. 7 CJK Group, which shared segment breakdowns with us.
4. The Effects of Tariffs on the Printing Industry: Results of a PRINTING United Alliance Survey: Next to AI, I think one of the biggest topics we paid attention to this year was tariffs, the uncertainty, and the potential impact on the printing industry. Early in the year, Alliance's chief economist Andy Paparozzi shared results from the PRINTING United Alliance Effects of Tariffs on the Printing Industry Survey, noting that more than 90% of the participants "expect the recent increases in tariffs to affect their business." Paparozzi pointed out that it was an important time to capture opportunities and be a disrupter rather than be disrupted. We followed up later in the year with Paparozzi and Marco Boer, vice president of I.T. Strategies, to find out how the industry was faring and we checked in with some PSPs to get their perspective.
5. Update: Landa Digital Printing Acquired for $80M: For a few months this year, we were following the story of Landa looking for new investors or a buyer. It wasn't until September that we finally had an update. Landa was acquired by FIMI for $80 million, becoming the 100% owner of the company.
6. JAL Equity and Taylor Corp. to Close Acquired Facilities in Wisconsin: Mark Michelson reported in October, "In unrelated moves, two once locally family-owned printing industry businesses in Wisconsin — which had been acquired by industry conglomerates — are being closed." The two locations were Fond du Lac, Wisconsin's Action Printing acquired by JAL Equity under the Marketing.com LLC in August 2024; and Germantown, Wisconsin's Reindl Bindery, acquired by Taylor Corp. in January 2022.
7. 2025 Printing Impressions 300 Ranking: Your Annual Holiday Gift Arrives Early: As mentioned earlier, this year was the first in which Printing Impressions published its latest ranking in July. The 2025 list featured several new primary specialty categories and some new companies, including No. 13 Chicago, Illinois-based Czarnowski, a $507 million company in the installations, commercial printing, creative services and design, and wide-format segments.
8. 250 Print Workers Impacted in Unrelated Layoffs in Illinois and Colorado: Also in July, we again reported on unrelated layoffs impacting the industry. Mark Michelson reported a "mass layoff" at an LSC Communications transportation center in Illinois, and he reported on the closure of a OneTouchPoint commercial printing plant in Colorado. The two reports resulted in the layoffs of 250 employees.
9. 2025 Economic Outlook for Commercial Printing: One of our most highly anticipated articles of the year is the economic outlook for the commercial printing segment, traditionally written by Paparozzi. As he opened the article: "Expect business to turn up for the commercial printing industry as 2025 progresses, supported by an American economy benefiting from monetary stimulus, fiscal stimulus, and deregulation. The upturn is likely to be substantial and extended but will not be inclusive: Participation will be limited to companies that use all the tools available — including artificial intelligence (AI) — to maximize productivity companywide, build robust databases and superior data analytics, and embrace transformative change while not losing sight of timeless business fundamentals." It will be of interest to compare this sentiment to the 2026 economic outlook, due online in January (look for it in the December print issue of Printing Impressions).
10. Quad Acquires Enru: The only press release on this year's top 10 comes from Sussex, Wisconsin-based Quad with the news that it acquired the co-mailing assets of LSC Communications-MCL, a third-party co-mail and co-mail logistics solutions provider doing business as “Enru.” The acquisition was meant to expand Quad's capabilities and existing postal solutions.

This is just a snapshot of the items that made headlines this year and snagged the attention of our audience. It shows the diverse concerns and interests of those who tune into Printing Impressions.