Printing

The technological developments of the last 20 years have dramatically transformed the printing industry—so much so that it is now commonly referred to as graphic communications.

The introduction of desktop publishing, digital printing, and e-publishing has made many jobs stagnant or obsolete, particularly in the prepress area. For example, typesetters, paste-up workers, and film strippers have largely been replaced by workers who have mastered computerized processes. In addition, Linotype machine operators, photoengravers, and other jobs required for letterpress printing are on the decline. In addition, much of the composition work traditionally done by printing companies now is being handled by customers, who have access to sophisticated design, page layout, and photo manipulation software.

The Department of Labor (DOL) reported that several print industry jobs were included in the fastest declining occupations expected through 2033. For example, prepress technicians and workers would experience 18.5 percent decline in employment, and print binding and finishing workers were expected to have 17.5 percent drop in employment through 2033.

The recent advances in technology have created new opportunities, however, and the outlook for the digital printing market is more optimistic. A report by Polaris Market Research estimated the global digital printing market at $40.09 billion in 2024, and predicts more nearly 6 percent annual growth from 2025 through 2034, to reach $69.27 billion. Key drivers of this growth continue to be conventional print customers moving to digital processes, and new customers utilizing digital printing services due to its capabilities, including shorter runs, versioning, and personalization.

Students graduating from high school and college today are highly computer literate, which puts them in a good position for a career in printing. Most industry experts advise young people to pursue internships and graphic communications programs, but printing is so diversified that almost anyone can find a niche. With solid computer knowledge and strong initiative, entry-level workers can go a long way.

The research group IBISWorld predicts that the U.S. printing industry market size will continue to decline from 2025 through 2030. This decline reflects competition from nonprint media, such as the Internet; industry consolidation; and increasing use of nontraditional printing technologies. More companies are doing at least a part of prepress in-house. According to the IBISWorld report, "Digital media's rapid growth will adversely impact print periodicals' circulation and advertising volumes. Also, book publishers will increasingly seek shorter print runs because of ongoing digital technology advancements, further contributing to industry declines."

The coronavirus pandemic, which started in Wuhan, China, in late 2019, damaged the printing industry even further. Business lockdowns and social distancing requirements contributed to an economic slowdown. As of late 2020, the U.S. printing industry was valued at about $70 billion, with 45,316 businesses. The industry experienced a steep decline of 14.4 percent in 2020. From 2015 to 2020, industry revenue declined at an annual rate of nearly 4 percent, according to the market research group IBISWorld. As of 2024, there were 44,169 printing businesses in the United States with about 380,000 employees. The economy has been rebounding since the pandemic, but the printing industry will continue to decline in the coming years.

Employment of desktop publishing specialists is expected to decline by 13 percent through 2033, according to the DOL. The DOL says reasons for this decline include the fact that more companies are outsourcing these tasks to overseas workers, and that many of these tasks are now automated. Demand for manual paste-up workers, photoengravers, camera operators, film strippers, and platemakers is expected to disappear, as will the number of typesetting and composing machine operators. Employment of offset press operators and letterpress operators should decrease rapidly. Employment of bookbinders and bindery workers will decline in response to the growth of electronic printing. However, some bookbinding opportunities may continue to exist, as there may be demand for hand finishing operations, particularly for high-end and one-of-a-kind publications. This is directly related to the decline in the number of printing shipments.

Graphic designers, those who design print publications or perform their layout will see slow employment growth, 2 percent, in the number of jobs available through 2033. Growth in any job in the industry will most likely be in a digital printing or 3D printing related area. Graphic designers may also be needed to create graphics for social media sites and Web sites. One caveat to this growth is the increasing popularity of automated design tools like artificial intelligence, which could reduce job opportunities for freelance designers.