November Graphic Arts Employment Again Remains Generally Flat
Net printing employment in November 2024 was not much changed from October—overall employment was down slightly by 0.1%, with production employment down 0.3% and non-production employment up 0.4%, one nearly offsetting the other.
Frank Takes a Shelfie
Frank waxes poetic as he takes a quick spin around his library of 11,000 books about printing, graphic arts, and typography. Visitors are always welcome.
Around the Web: Of Resolutions and Robots
For 2025, skip resolutions; try a “theme.” Encyclopedia Britannica is going to become an AI company, sadly. Some, uh, highlights from this week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Visit Tokyo’s Museum of Packaging Culture. Print magazine’s 2024 in typography. “Snackfishing” is now apparently a thing. Graphene-based e-textiles for early disease detection. A “modern” redesign of the cuckoo clock. A robot vacuum with a death claw! A penny-farthing motorbike. An LA man trapped in a Waymo. Win Lifestyle Bowls in a Chipotle-Strava challenge. Welcome to WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.
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Industry News
- NPSOA Renews Scholarship Program for 2025
- Roland DGA Announces Launch of New TrueVIS XP-640 High-Speed Eco-Solvent Printer
- Registration Now Open for Hybrid Fusion Packaging Summit 2025 in Amsterdam
- Paris Packaging Week Unveils its First Industry Trend Report: Perspectives 2025
- Pack to the Future: Five Reasons Why Brand Owners and Converters Must Embrace the Pace of Change
- PrintReleaf Partners with veritree, Growing Tech-forward, Global Environmental Impact
- Direct Mail and Facebook Ads Top Taradel's 2025 Small Business Survey Results
- Imagine Ranked #2 in Wide Format Impressions Top 150 and Featured Among Top 5 Companies for 2024
- Lindenmeyr Munroe Expands Distribution Operations into Florida Market
- Mimaki France Celebrates 15 Years of Innovation at Salon C!Print 2025
- Inkish Acquires 50% of Printing-Connect & Printing-Expo
- Company with Deep Roots in Mail Insertion Expands Business with SCREEN Truepress JET 520NX to Export Data-Sensitive Documents
- Yoran Imaging Opens US Sales Office, Appoints US Director of Sales
- Versatile Learning Options in KHS Campus
- Empowering Excellence: The Role of the Flexa Academy
- SupplyOne Highlights Comprehensive Cheese and Dairy Packaging Solutions
- Schreiner Group Introduces Hardware Security Modules Offering Enhanced Data Security for RFID-enabled Systems
Offset Lithography in 2024: A Year in Review
Although the pace of the market for offset equipment was moderate at best, technological advances throughout year have set the stage for what could be a surge in press placements in 2025.
Wide Format & Signage: A Look Back and Ahead
It’s January and you know what that means: time for our annual look back at the year that was and look ahead to the year that is to come—and what it all means for wide format, display graphics, and signage.
TAGA NextGen Conference: Where Industry and Students Meet
Ben Lubin, Solutions Development Analyst at FUJIFILM, talks about how the TAGA NextGen Conference gives students and industry veterans a rare opportunity to mingle and provide insights into each others worlds.
Does the Upcoming Improving Disclosure for Investment Act Actually Improve Anything?
The Improving Disclosure for Investment Act, S3815, allows financial companies to default investors into e-delivery, even if they previously selected for print delivery in the past. Heidi Tolliver-Walker explains what this pending legislation means for printers—and for investors.
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: Canon varioPRINT 6000 Series TITAN: Setting the Bar on Cut-Sheet Monochrome Printing
David Zwang takes an in-depth look at Canon’s varioPRINT 6000 series TITAN, the latest model in the company’s line of high-volume, sheetfed, production monochrome printers.
Industry Data
November Graphic Arts Employment Again Remains Generally Flat
Net printing employment in November 2024 was not much changed from October—overall employment was down slightly by 0.1%, with production employment down 0.3% and non-production employment up 0.4%, one nearly offsetting the other. Full Analysis
Sizing the Print Industry in Europe—Norway
This regular series of short articles provides some details on the size of the printing industry in Europe per country, especially tracking the number of printing establishments. This time we look at Norway. Full Analysis
Commercial Printing Establishments—2010–2022
According to the latest, recently released edition of County Business Patterns, in 2022 there were 15,430 establishments in NAICS 323111 (Commercial Printing except Screen and Books). This represents a decline of 30% since 2010. In macro news, Q3 GDP growth revised up to 3.1%. Full Analysis
Sizing the Print Industry in Europe—The Netherlands
This ongoing series of short articles provides some country details on the size of the printing industry in Europe per country, especially tracking the number of printing establishments. This time we look at the Netherlands. Full Analysis
October Shipments: Pinch Us, We’re Dreaming
October 2024 shipments came in at $8.19 billion, up quite substantially from September’s $7.69 billion—the fourth straight monthly increase, and the third best October in the past five years. Full Analysis
Sizing the Print Industry in Europe—Italy
This ongoing series of short articles provides some country details on the size of the printing industry in Europe per country, in particular, tracking the number of printing establishments. This time we look at Italy. Full Analysis
Keypoint Intelligence Forecast Conveys Growth Patterns, Technology Shifts, and Market Opportunities in the Wide-Format Industry
In 2024, Keypoint Intelligence released an updated forecast for the 2023–2028 wide format printing industry. The report examines key areas of growth and identifies emerging technologies poised to shape the future of the wide format sector. This article highlights the most in-demand wide-format applications currently driving the market and uncovers the rising adoption of workflow automation, revealing significant opportunities within the automation software landscape. Full Analysis
Printing Establishments—2010–2022
According to the latest, just-released edition of County Business Patterns, in 2022 there were 21,615 establishments in NAICS 32311 (Printing). This represents a decrease of 20% since 2010, but (checks notes) an increase of 0.4% from 2021. In macro news, highlights from the most recent Federal Reserve “Beige Book.” Full Analysis
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Around the Web
WhatTheyThink's web roundup miscellany
Around the Web: Of Resolutions and Robots
For 2025, skip resolutions; try a “theme.” Encyclopedia Britannica is going to become an AI company, sadly. Some, uh, highlights from this week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Visit Tokyo’s Museum of Packaging Culture. Print magazine’s 2024 in typography. “Snackfishing” is now apparently a thing. Graphene-based e-textiles for early disease detection. A “modern” redesign of the cuckoo clock. A robot vacuum with a death claw! A penny-farthing motorbike. An LA man trapped in a Waymo. Win Lifestyle Bowls in a Chipotle-Strava challenge. Welcome to WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany. Read More
Around the Web: Relaxing Rocket. Seeing Signage. Design Destination. Famous Fyodor. Forgone Fine. Software Snacks. Farming Fiasco. Squirrel Shocker. Goldfish Galore.
Instead of a Yule log this Christmas, bask in the glow of NASA’s Rocket Engine Fireplace. Brown sugar is apparently going to be 2025’s Flavor of the Year. A recyclable paper wine bottle shaped like a bottle. The First Toronto Post Office is also museum, featuring a reading and writing room complete with quill pens. The New York City Sign Museum is now offering tours. Münich’s Design Museum features a new exhibition of classic children’s picture books. Fyodor Dostoyevsky has gone viral, oddly. AI is used to come up with new snack flavors. Heightened solar activity is playing havoc with agricultural equipment. Carnivorous squirrels! A panoply of new Goldfish favors. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly drone-free miscellany. Read More
Around the Web: Lessons Learned. Packaging Profitability. Bottle Blue. Sign Sum. Relic Writing. Popemobile Power. Trekkie Torture. Hubble Hooha. Dish Destruction. Festive Fromage.
52 things we learned in 2024. An eye-catching bottle design boosted sales. Saratoga Water’s iconic blue bottles now have an official Pantone name. An unusual, mathematically challenged “welcome to…” sign. Rescuing relics from the now-defunct Type Archive in the U.K. Another week, another unearthed relic that challenges our assumptions about the history of language and writing. Mercedes-Benz’s new electric Popemobile. A one-time owner of “Star Trek” novelty license plates is swamped with speeding and parking tickets—and she doesn’t even own a car. What would happen if you actually did put a bull in a china shop? Whole Foods’ “12 Days of Cheese.” All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany. Read More
Around the Web: Hot Hue. Widespread Word. Cool Covers. Catalog Contraction. Ancient Alphabet. Imaging ink. Tiny Timepiece. Freaky Franks.
Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2025. The OED’s Word of the Year for 2024. Print magazine’s Best Book Covers of 2024. Print catalogs are getting smaller. A recent find uncovered the world’s oldest alphabet. Ancient Babylonian student’s math error preserved in stone for 4,000 years. A new technology can measure brain waves using electronic, temporary scalp tattoos. Graphene sheets used in a new technique for self-assembling electronics. Casio’s functional ring watch. A new Roger Dean exhibition. Sam’s Club’s “Holidogs” are not for the faint of stomach. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany. Read More
Around the Web: Packaging Problem. Travel Type. Stretchable Screen. Biker Blade. PlayStation Pizza. Heliotropic Hamsters. Condiment Card.
A packaging misprint sends Wicked doll buyers to a porn site. A demonstration of the first copier, invented by James Watt. Tracking down an unusual typeface. LG’s new display can be stretched from 12 in. to 18 in. An E Ink-based display for leaving notes for family members. Kurt Vonnegut had invented a board game—which is now available. The ancient Chinese roots of “rock paper scissors.” Graphene can dramatically improve the performance and sustainability of PET bottles. A windshield wiper for motorcycle helmets. Using a PlayStation to keep pizza warm. Solar-powered hamsters. Hidden Valley’s ranch dressing-themed Christmas card. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany. Read More
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