The global commercial printing market size was valued at USD 489.53 billion in 2023. It is expected to reach USD 590.21 billion in 2032, growing at a CAGR of 2.10% over the forecast period (2024-32). Economic growth and business expansion drive demand for commercial printing services, as businesses require printed materials for advertising, marketing, packaging, and communication purposes. Expansion of industries such as retail, healthcare, hospitality, and education contribute to market growth.
Commercial printing encompasses many processes, from mass printing through binding, composition, layout design, and press outputs. Phone books, periodicals, labels, catalogs, brochures, business forms, promotional materials, and training manuals are just some of the printed goods that can be made with the help of a commercial printer. A paper input tray, an ink replacement tray, a digital or analog control panel, a memory card reader, and an output tray are all included. It has widespread use in the publishing industry, the printing industry, and in major corporations that rely on efficient business processes.
Global demand is expected to rise as a result of technological advancements as well as expanding applications across numerous end-use industries. Business forms, financial documents, and instruction manuals are among the products printed by commercial printers. Commercial customers' advertising and product requirements drive the demand for high-quality printing projects.
Print advertising is one of the leading promotional strategies used to fuel the commercial printing industry. Print advertising is a component of a comprehensive marketing strategy used by retail companies aware of their target markets. Additionally, a current issue with online or digital marketing failing to attract people's attention was highlighted by a recent Adobe survey of 1,250 U.S. consumers, with print-based advertisements gaining greater customer attention. An ad that appears in a magazine can advertise a good or service for months or even years as long as the magazine is still in circulation. Due to the potential for durability from a single investment to numerous food and retail enterprises, the print-based advertising approach is seeing an increase in demand.
Machinery design, digitalization, computerization, and other technological advancements have greatly improved productivity and changed this business so that growth potential is no longer directly correlated with employment. However, some market companies' ability to operate is constrained by the rising raw material costs during the procurement process. Paper, inks, printing supplies, and other chemical products are some raw materials used in commercial printing. The feedstock prices are dynamic and change depending on several socioeconomic factors, which makes it difficult for businesses operating in the investigated market to conduct business. For the purchasing departments of ink makers, the historical market time was turbulent. Due to factory closures, fires, and regulatory action, essential raw materials, including titanium dioxide and important photoinitiators, pigments, and intermediates, have become scarce.
Significant adjustments are being made to the activities and procedures in the commercial printing business, such as the gradual substitution of sustainable solutions. With the important environmental implications being prioritized, several new measures are being developed for the printing sectors. Additionally, the emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other gases caused by the chemicals used in the printing process have several adverse effects. Green printing strategies have facilitated the development of new, effective, and efficient solutions to reduce these issues during printing. Due to the nature of the printing process, solvent-based inks are typically utilized in gravure and flexography printing methods. These volatile solvents release vapors when printing. The solvent and ink used in the heat-set lithographic printing process contribute to the emission of VOCs into the environment.
| Study Period | 2020-2032 | CAGR | 2.10% |
| Historical Period | 2020-2022 | Forecast Period | 2024-2032 |
| Base Year | 2023 | Base Year Market Size | USD 489.53 billion |
| Forecast Year | 2032 | Forecast Year Market Size | USD 590.21 billion |
| Largest Market | Asia Pacific | Fastest Growing Market | North America |
Asia-Pacific is the most significant revenue contributor and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.30% during the forecast period. Due to the rising need for commercial printing in developing nations like India, Japan, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Thailand, the Asia-Pacific region is predicted to have significant revenue development. The region's printing market is expanding as a result of factors like the development of new technologies, shifting lifestyles, the expansion of e-commerce, and urbanization. The Chinese economy has grown astronomically over the past three decades, propelling it to second place in the world's economic rankings. The largest and fastest-growing population is in China, where the economy is also expanding at a constant clip. The Chinese commercial printing sector and the potential for adopting digital printing technology have grown in importance due to being home to significant manufacturers and drawing numerous Fortune 500 businesses.
North America is expected to grow at a CAGR of 1.60% during the forecast period. Due to the rapid adoption of modern printing technologies in nations like the United States and Canada, the commercial printing market is likely to be dominated by North America. The rising spending on advertising is anticipated to be positively influenced by the market's growth. The U.S. was the world's second-largest advertising market in 2019. The industry is expanding due to the increased usage of premium printed packaging for branding and advertisements.
Europe has some of the most important commercial printers worldwide, which is also a significant driver and user of contemporary technology. Due to the massive expansion of the end-user base in the region and the strong government support for environmentally friendly printing processes, the demand for the market under study is anticipated to increase significantly in Central and Eastern Europe throughout the forecast period. The advertising sector would add to the market's expansion. GroupM predicts increased media advertising spending in Western, Central, and Eastern Europe from 2018 to 2023. In Western Europe, in 2019, advertising spending was close to USD 106 billion. Commercial printers in Europe, and now, with the recent implementation of the E.U.'s Green Deal, also at the European level, face significant sustainability challenges.
Latin America has had higher yearly growth rates in advertising spending than any other region over the past five years. The market's expanding partnerships are fueling the region's expansion. Empresa Paulista de Embalagens (Epema), a Brazilian company that specializes in flexible packaging, and Comexi, a global provider of solutions for the printing and flexible packaging industry transformation, strengthened their partnership in May 2020 after the acquisition of a Comexi F3 flexographic press, which was installed at the Brazilian company's factory in Araquara. The two businesses have entered into a second commercial arrangement through this relationship. The Comexi F3 flexographic printing press was created to meet the printing requirements of the flexible packaging and package industry.
We can customize every report - free of charge - including purchasing stand-alone sections or country-level reports
Offset lithography remains a dominant technique in the commercial printing market due to its versatility, high quality, and cost-efficiency. Being itself one of the main segments, offset lithography is predominantly utilized for large volumes of printing jobs in the form of magazines, brochures, newspapers, and catalogues. Sharp images and consistent reproduction of colour are achieved by this process of transferring ink from the plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. The process is especially perfect for projects that require precision and tiny details, and this has ever been the reason it is preferred for high-quality and large-scale print runs. Offset lithography's ability to take varying types of paper and other sizes significantly improves its demand in the commercial printing sector by attending to various requirements, from corporate marketing materials down to high-end publications.
The Inkjet segment of the market includes a variety of inkjet printers used for different applications, ranging from high-speed, wide-format printers for banners and posters to highly precise, small-format printers for labels and packaging. Major factors contributing to the adoption of inkjet printing in commercial settings include versatility, low cost, and excellent quality of prints with vibrant colours and fine details. Improvements in printheads, inks, and substrates have been some important development steps toward applications of inkjet technology expansions and its performance boost. This turn, again, affected the market demand toward shorter print runs, personalized printing, and eco-friendly solutions. Hence, inkjet printing is replacing the traditional concept of printing in quite a few commercial genres such as advertisement, packaging, and publishing.
Flexographic printing, more popularly known as flexo, is done mainly in the commercial market, particularly for large volumes of impressions and packaging. The technique uses flexible relief plates, made either of rubber or plastic, for transferring ink onto any kind of substrate: paper, plastic, metal, and cellophane. Another added feature it accommodates is a great variety of inks: water-based, solvent-based, and UV-curable inks. It is mainly preferred due to its excellent strength on non-porous substrates, with the capacity to produce sharp images and brilliant colours. The process is also very effective, making it possible to achieve high speeds of production and fast changeovers—two key elements necessary for delivering deadlines and managing large orders. Much use of flexographic printing has been made in label and packaging sectors, newspapers, and other jobbing works. Demand for flexographic printing continues to grow and is driven by rising demand for packaging and labels among the food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods industries.
Demand for screen printing results from its high usage in packaging, advertisement, and promotion materials. In the packaging industry, screen printing has been highly preferred due to its detailed and attractive designs on most products, such as labels, packaging boxes, and promotional items. This process is vastly used in the advertisement sector to produce banners, posters, and signage due to the process being relatively cheap and flexible to make long runs. Screen printing segment, is experiencing notable growth due to its versatility and effectiveness in producing high-quality prints on various substrates, including textiles, ceramics, wood, paper, glass, and metal.
Gravure printing, a high-quality and high-speed printing technique, is extensively used in the commercial printing market. This method involves engraving the image onto a rotary printing cylinder, which allows for precise and consistent reproduction of fine details, making it ideal for large-scale production runs. Gravure printing is particularly favoured for its ability to produce rich, vibrant colours and fine line work, making it a preferred choice for printing high-quality packaging materials, magazines, catalogues, and decorative printing. sides, technological innovations in gravure offset printing provide more environmentally friendly inks and substrates, which by themselves reduce waste and lower emissions.
Packaging is a very broad and growing application of the commercial printing market. This includes the production of printed components that are applied to product packaging, such as labels, cartons, flexible packaging, and corrugated boxes. Demand for quality and ever-more attractive packaging has been driving improvements in printing technologies including digital printing, offset printing, and flexography. Businesses are also moving toward innovations in more sustainable and eco-friendly packaging materials to reduce their impact on the environment. Another trend gaining traction is e-commerce, further escalating the demand for special and very resilient packaging to protect products during transportation and improve customer experience.
Advertising in the commercial printing market makes vast contributions to promote products, services, and brands. This sector comes under various printing technologies to produce quality marketing material like brochures, flyers, posters, banners, and point-of-sale displays. Vibrant and very durable eye-catching prints drive innovations in digital printing, offset printing, and large-format printing. Commercial printers respond to various advertising needs by providing customized solutions for clear brand visibility and engagement. Due to the rising trend in targeted marketing and, hence, by derivation, in personalized advertising, variable data printing is rapidly becoming one of the deliverables within commercial printing services to produce personalized promotional material.
Publishing applications form a formidable and growing piece of the commercial printing market. This sector includes production like books, magazines, newspapers, and catalogs. With digital printing, it has been able to do much more in streamlining production, cutting costs, and opening more possibilities for personalization in the publishing sector. High-quality printing and fast turnarounds are two of the key benefits that have driven much of the adoption of commercial printing services in publishing. Added to this, the trend toward on-demand printing and self-publishing has pushed the market out further, making it easier for authors and small publishers to reach audiences because there is no large initial print run required. This flexibility and efficiency in application publishing deal with market demands that are mostly dynamic and see to it that the printed content makes its way into the markets in good timing.
