🖨️ Print Industry Roundup: Seven developments shaping print and packaging that caught my eye recently

1. HP launched their AI chatbot HP Nio that plugs directly into PrintOS to give operators real-time production data and troubleshooting help. About time we got AI that actually helps run the press instead of writing the slogans on the boxes! (Link)

2. Smithers dropped new numbers showing digital printing hitting $251.1 billion by 2035. Digital print will account for 22.5% of the global value of all print and printed packaging by value in 2035, with the equivalent of a little over 2.83 trillion A4 prints produced. (Link)

3. Book printers are scrambling to handle shorter runs as publishers dump inventory risk onto them. Not in our wheelhouse at Standard Printing Company of Canton, but we’re seeing the same need with shorter runs, faster turnarounds, more automation to handle the order volume. (via Packaging Impressions)(Link)

4. SupplyOne, Inc. bought The BoxMaker to add digital printing to their mix. The BoxMaker's been investing in digital equipment and workflow automation since 2011, so SupplyOne just bought themselves a decade of learning curve instead of starting from scratch. I've worked with BoxMaker on various projects, and I have to tell you that SupplyOne has acquired a gem of an operation and culture. Congrats to Richard Brown and the team! (Link)

5. Wood Creek Advisors, LLC published a piece on how tariffs are forcing printing and packaging companies to rethink their strategies. As import costs rise, so does the cost of goods sold (COGS), which leaves companies with a difficult choice: to either absorb thinner margins or pass price increases onto customers. A tough sell in today's competitive market. (Link)

6. The Business Research Company dropped their commercial printing services market report showing the market hitting $858.83 billion by 2029 at 3.9% CAGR. Crazy price for the full report, but the quick facts are worth noting - that's serious money flowing through our industry, with packaging and advertising driving most of the growth. (Link)

7. Reuters covered how Trump's metals duties are forcing shifts from cans to cartons on grocery shelves. Pacific Coast Producers is looking to pass along $8-10 million in new tariff costs this year, jumping to $40 million next year. "We're getting caught up in that brush fire," their VP said. Not exactly our industry, but when food companies are scrambling for alternatives to steel and aluminum packaging, that's the kind of supply chain disruption that touches everything. Campbell's is sticking with steel cans despite the pain, which shows how hard it is to pivot when your whole operation is built around one substrate. (Link)

What's affecting your operation?