There are so many different ideas about what will happen to print markets in the future. 5 or 10 year trend forecasts tend to be fairly accurate, but let’s look beyond 2017 and hazard a guess (a wild guess in some cases) at what the printing industry will be like in 2040.

The technology of 2040 will likely be similar to today’s. There are a few major innovations, for the most part we have simply improved existing technology to make it faster and less expensive. However, in the future raw materials will be rarer and thus more valuable than they are today, and so I see print prices being comparable to those of today.

Newspapers, magazine, flyers, legal forms, and even many books will not be printed in the future. I have seen too many people receiving copies of magazines and papers to their laptops and enjoying them, to believe that these print markets will continue to flourish. I am certain that printed options will still be available, but the majority of the content will be distributed electronically, rather than physically. The printed book market will be much smaller than it is, but this will be the one market that does not go digital quickly or quietly.

The products that continue to use paper are business cards (could you imagine handing out little chips, screens or anything else?), contracts (ink on paper is still more believable than an electronic signature), signs (you can’t put up screens everywhere), and packaging (you have to put cereal into something). Much of the paper makeup has changed to the point where almost all papers are 90% recycled—primarily because we cannot get enough trees in a year to produce our paper needs any other way.

The number of printers dwindled, shrunk, and in 2040 are down to about 5, internationally. An analogy would be to the gas companies of today. Each printer would have about 5 larger plants with smaller regional locations across the globe. Larger jobs go to the main offices, but for the most part each branch can handle smaller jobs on their own. At this point each of the 5 have been doing this for so long that they all know each other’s prices, so each location sells the same products for roughly the same price. Oh sure, you could save a few pennies if you shopped it around long enough, but chances are the reward program you’ve selected is enough to get you to overlook any savings you’d achieve elsewhere.

But who is buying all this print? All companies must continue to buy business cards for their employees, and lawyers and other legal entities are purchasing larger volumes of contracts around the world. Signs are being done for many temporary sites, like a building under construction. Packaging is still being purchased by those who need boxes or bags to put their products in.

Only time will tell how accurate these predictions are, but I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter. What do you think 2040 will be like for printers, if there are any left? I know it’s a long way off, but for anyone planning on being a part of the industry in 30 years it is definitely worth thinking about.

Any questions or comments should be emailed to johnathonanderson@graphicartsmag.com
Johnathon Anderson
johnathonanderson@graphicartsmag.com