Graphic Arts Industry Enterprises In Italy

The graphic arts industry includes graphic arts print, often also termed commercial print (although including publication and specialty print in this overview), as well as newspaper print, prepress and postpress companies. Since 2012 the number of printing establishments in Europe shows a steady decline—the effect of ongoing consolidation in the industry.

Also in Italy, the number of establishments declined on average by 2.6% from 2012 to 2022—very close to the average decline rate in Europe. Even during the pandemic, the decline rate remained stable, with companies being kept operational by subsidies during the pandemic. The recent pressure on print costs and volumes will lead to higher rates of shutdowns in the next few years, however. Also, the rising operating costs will take their toll on companies that are not prepared to handle the cost and interest rate increases, leading to more consolidation. In addition, Italy, as a major exporter of print in Europe, will suffer more from print volumes moving to Eastern Europe than other Western European countries. Accordingly, the forecast expects the decline to accelerate somewhat, reaching a rate of about 4% per year. Overall, the number of graphic arts establishments is likely to decline from more than 10,000 in 2012, the highest number of any country in Europe, to close to 5,600 by 2030.

Source: digitalprintexpert.de / 2024

As in all countries, the majority of companies in the graphic arts industry in Italy are small. About 80% have less than 10 employees (even after adjusting for dormant or non-productive companies). Only 1.7% of all enterprises have more than 50 employees, which is below the European average.

There are other important print producers that are, statistically speaking, not part of the graphic arts industry. Those are folding carton, flexible packaging, corrugated, and label printing, plus photocopy services and in-house printing. This adds another 4767 print enterprises in 2022 – adding another 60% to the number of graphic arts industry enterprises in Italy.

Further Industry Data

This article is part of a bi-weekly series of pieces looking at print industry data in 24 European countries. The next article will feature the Netherlands. A European overview can be found here.

A breakout of all segments by country and timelines for the number of establishments, revenue, and employment in the graphic arts industry and other print segments can be found in the 2024 European Print Industry Sizing report. The report also features the number of companies by size class and country. The report can be purchased from the WhatTheyThink store.

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