Over the last decade, it’s no surprise that there have been significant changes in the printing industry as we continue our journey down the path of the analog-to-digital transformation and see the ongoing impact of alternative media on print volumes. A combination of these factors, plus the 2008/2009 recession, has taken a toll on the industry. The good news is that commercial printing shipments overall ticked up in 2018. And profits, while not back to their Q42007 levels, have recovered significantly since the 2008/2009 dip.

The number of establishments, however, does continue to decline as we continue to face consolidation. In 2008, there were 32,697 printing establishments (NAICS 3231) in the United States. By 2016, the last year for which we have data, that number had declined to 25,521, a decline of 22%, with an average net loss of establishments per year of nearly 900.

In the space that more closely aligns with the franchise business—establishments with less than 20 employees—there were 26,508 commercial printing establishments; in 2016, there were 21,107, a decline of 5,401 establishments, or 20%—an average of nearly 700 establishments per year over the period.