Graphic Arts Industry Enterprises in Norway

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.

Given the population, Norway had a large printing industry but consolidation pressure applied as well. The number of establishments in Norway declined on average by 5.7% from 2012 to 2022—a rate noticeably above the average rate of decline in Europe and one of the highest in Europe. The rate slowed somewhat from 2018 to 2022. The recent pressure on print costs and volumes will lead to higher rates of closures 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. Accordingly, the forecast expects the decline to resume, although at a somewhat lower rate. Overall, the number of graphic arts establishments is likely to decline from more than 1,000 in 2012 to just over 400 by 2030.

Source: digitalprintexpert.de / 2024

As in all countries, the majority of companies in the graphic arts industry in Norway are small. About 84% have less than 10 employees (even after adjusting for dormant or non-productive companies) in  2022, a somewhat higher rate than the average in Europe. Only 2.2% of all enterprises have more than 50 employees, which is below the average. There is no company in the 250+ employee category.

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 280 print enterprises in 2022—about half the number of graphic arts companies in Norway.  

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 Poland. 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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