The new Printing Outlook 2026–27 report provides detailed analysis of the latest WhatTheyThink Business Outlook Survey, the latest industry economic data and macroeconomic trends, as well as industry and cultural technological trends to look out for in 2026, 2027, and beyond.

WhatTheyThink is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Printing Outlook 2026–27 now available at the WhatTheyThink Report Store.

Some highlights:

  • 23% of print businesses surveyed said that revenues for 2025 had increased more than 10% compared to 2024.
  • Profitability lagged behind revenues.
  • “Pricing pressures and price erosion” was our survey respondents’ number one challenge, with “national economic conditions” a close second.
  • Geopolitical issues were of greater concern in this survey than in the history of our Outlook reports.
  • “Diversifying print product/application offerings” and “customers outsourcing more work to us” were respondents’ top business opportunities for 2026.
  • There appears to be a disconnect between print businesses that see diversification as an opportunity and concrete plans to invest in new equipment or identify new capabilities to add.
  • Just about one-half of survey respondents said they plan to hire staff in 2026, primarily production staff.
  • Two-thirds of survey respondents said they have implemented some kind of workflow automation.
  • One-third (32%) of survey respondents say they use artificial intelligence now in some fashion—10% “actively.”

The executive report looks back at 2025 as well as ahead to what the industry can expect, economically and technologically, in 2026–27 and beyond. The high inflation of the immediate post-pandemic was a major challenge through 2023 and had largely abated in 2024—but now it’s back. This means that profit margins are even thinner than they had been, even if revenues and jobs are up. Diversification remains a top opportunity, and finding employees remains a top challenge. What other trends are impacting the industry, and how will they play out in the latter half of 2026 and beyond?

The report features the results of the WhatTheyThink Printing Industry Business Outlook Survey conducted in Fall 2025/Winter 2026, and includes current and expected business conditions, top business challenges, top business opportunities, and planned investments for 2026. Additional questions asked about print businesses’ hiring plans for the next 12 months and what positions are being sought. The report also looks at the current statis and perception of automation and AI.

The report also offers the latest government data on shipments, establishments, profits, and employment for commercial printing, signage and display, and packaging and converting businesses. The report also includes macroeconomic data to look at how the overall economy might impact print businesses in 2026, and includes an industry forecast to 2035, as well as technology and cultural trends the industry should prepare itself for in the latter half of 2026, 2027, and beyond.

Print business owners will find the report essential for their planning, in order to put the marketplace and their strategic actions in realistic perspective. Industry suppliers will benefit from the insights into printer decision-making processes and the foundation of new industry demographic data that debuts in this report. Non-economic trends also offer ideas for what to pay attention to in the new year, and larger cultural and technological; trends indicate where marketing professionals and brandowners will likely be focusing their promotional dollars.

“2023’s Printing Outlook report had the theme ‘back in black,’ as 2022 saw demand for print resurging from the pandemic,” said WhatTheyThink managing editor Richard Romano, author of the report, “and 2023 had seen a return to something more akin to pre-pandemic normalcy. 2024 and 2025 were mixed bags, with a strong economy overall, but a great deal of uncertainty over tariffs and trade wars. This report’s theme is ‘The War at Home,’ as our survey was in the field just as the Iran War was starting, and it’s the first time in the history of our surveys that geopolitical issues played such a dominant role in respondents’ concerns, particularly as they affect the costs of fuel and supplies.”

The report is available in the WhatTheyThink Report Store at https://store.whattheythink.com/downloads/2026-27-printing-outlook/.