Graphic Arts Industry Enterprises in Romania

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.

Central and Eastern European countries did fare better, however. The number of establishments in Romania even grew by an average annual rate of 1.1% from 2012 to 2022, although the statistics show some fluctuations.

Despite a dip in 2020, the outlook is positive and the printing industry is set to grow. Romania is profiting from printing volumes shifting from Western Europe to CEE due to lower labor costs, while being much closer to the end markets than, e.g., the Far East. The shift will mainly affect revenues, which are expected to continue to rise, while the pressure to consolidate will allow only for a small growth in the number of establishments. Overall, the number of graphic arts establishments is likely to grow from almost 1,400 in 2012 to more than 1,600 by 2030.

Source: digitalprintexpert.de / 2024

As in all countries, the majority of companies in the graphic arts industry in Romania are small. About 86% had less than 10 employees (even after adjusting for dormant or non-productive companies) in 2022, a higher rate than the average in Europe. Only 3.2% of all enterprises have more than 50 employees. This however is close to the average share and points to some consolidation and the establishment of large printing sites in Romania in the past.

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 1,220 print enterprises in 2022—adding another 80% on top of the number of graphic arts companies in Romania.  

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 Slovakia. 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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