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From Print Shop to Powerhouse: Five Strategies for Smarter Expansion

The print industry has continuously evolved through reinvention, but today’s next move requires more than a new press or clever idea. As margins tighten and customers demand new forms of value, many printers are eyeing fresh markets like packaging, labels, or décor, only to discover that crossing segments means rethinking everything from workflow to sales strategy. Here are the five strategic considerations that separate smart diversification from costly distraction, and guidance on how to expand your print footprint with purpose, confidence, and long-term success.

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Source: Shutterstock under license

For decades, the printing industry has thrived on reinvention. From offset to digital, from monochrome to full color, and now from static to data-driven communications, change has been the one constant. Today, many printers are again standing at a crossroads. The markets they’ve served for years, commercial print, direct mail, transactional, packaging, wide format, are evolving. Margins are tightening, and customers are asking for new kinds of value. That’s when a familiar thought arises: Maybe it’s time to expand into a new segment!

The idea sounds promising, but crossing from one printing segment to another is rarely simple. The same presses, workflow, and expertise that make a printer successful in one niche may not translate seamlessly to another. Whether you’re a commercial shop eyeing packaging, a mailer looking at labels, or a wide-format provider exploring décor, success depends on more than buying new equipment. It requires strategic planning, realistic expectations, and a clear understanding of where your current strengths align, or doesn’t, with the new opportunity.


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About Pat McGrew and Ryan McAbee

Pat is a well-known evangelist for inkjet productivity. At McGrew Group, she uses her decades technical and marketing experience to lead the industry toward optimized business processes and production workflows. She has helped companies to define their five-year plans, audited workflow processes, and developed sales team interventions and education programs. Pat is the Co-Author of 8 industry books, editor of A Guide to the Electronic Document Body of Knowledge, and a regular contributor to Inkjet Insight and WhatTheyThink.com. Ryan McAbee is Chief Analyst at Pixel Dot Consulting LLC.

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