It is tempting to say that every year is potentially a big year for print. It is part of the fabric of our lives. It’s in the shelf tags at the store, the signs along the highway, and our mailbox. It is on our bookshelves and sitting on tables in the offices we visit. It is even on the windows we pass, buses that go by, and under our feet! Print is everywhere, and it is not going away.

But print does ebb and flow. Some years see print volumes decline, though rarely uniformly. As new technologies take hold, some print volume moves to new platforms with higher selling value, while others move into the commodity stage. We’ve seen it happen every decade. We saw print move platforms as efficiencies and costs changed the value proposition and business models. Next year should be the next in the series of tipping point years.

During 2023, we saw new product introductions across most segments of print hardware and supporting software. New platforms, new ink technologies, new inkjet print heads, advances in 3D printing, and more speed and capabilities were announced this year, but in the print industry, nothing stops. There is more coming from vendors in every segment, as well as from print companies who are adding new products and services based on their expanding capabilities.