By Melissa Donovan
The graphic arts remains resilient in 2026, with growth increasingly driven by high-value, application-focused services rather than traditional volume production. Demand for personalized products, short-run production, interior décor, textiles, packaging, and specialty graphics continues to expand, creating new opportunities for innovative print service providers (PSPs).
Tariffs, supply chain disruptions, and rising material costs tighten margins; labor shortages challenge staffing needs; and evolving customer expectations make it so PSPs must differentiate themselves from the pack. Workflow automation, integrated systems, artificial intelligence (AI), and advancements in printing technologies are all ways to achieve this.
Above: GetWrapped out of Oshawa, ON, Canada won second place for its work on the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit held at Pier 36 NYC, a 75,000 square foot waterfront space located in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The job consisted of about 9,000 square feet of Drytac ReTac in the canvas texture applied on walls, building, and stairfaces inside and on painted aluminum panels outside.
Strategic Investment
Conditions vary by geographic region and as a subset application type, but overall the current state of the wide format industry is healthy and somewhat stable. While many PSPs are thriving, those setup to serve customers with higher value applications are positioned for success.
Lieven Bertier, CMO, Summa, says that as a whole, many businesses face pressure on margins and investment decisions. However, there are specific growth opportunities in areas that benefit from customization, shorter production runs, and faster turnaround times.
“Companies that stand out are those willing to invest strategically. Businesses with a clear vision and appetite to embrace new technologies can create a significant competitive advantage, in challenging conditions,” notes Bertier.
According to Martin Thornton, business development manager, Zund America, Inc., “wide format printing remains resilient, with growth driven less by volume and more by application diversity and value-added services.”
“Growth is moving away from volume to high-value applications—customization, short runs, and on demand production—driven by ecommerce, retail transformation, and localized manufacturing,” agrees Gudrun Bonte, chief product officer, SAi.
Demand for higher value applications is spearheaded by consumers who are aware of and excited by personalization, bespoke, and customization, suggests Kerry Moloney, senior product marketing manager, Fiery, LLC. “Why settle for an off-the-shelf product when a personalized or bespoke piece can be produced instead? This trend is seen across all areas of wide to superwide format print production.”
“The strongest shops in 2026 are not marketing themselves as the cheapest printer; they are becoming niche specialists in applications such as vehicle wraps, healthcare graphics, sports environments, décor, experiential installations, personalized short-run production, textile/soft signage, or full-service design and execution partners,” attests Sean McGettigan, director, product marketing, Brand Management Group, a division of S-One Holdings Corporation.
According to Adam J. Tourville, channel manager, Fluid Color, “shops that are highly automated, diversified, and application-focused are performing well, while providers competing primarily in commodity banner and basic signage production are under significant margin pressure.”
Hot Segments
Market segments that continue to cause excitement vary. The differentiation between offerings is indicative of the industry as a whole, proving PSPs are creative and forward thinking.
The strongest opportunities, according to Mike Richardson, business development manager, Jessup Manufacturing Company, are in specialty media, durable floor and wall graphics, high-tack applications, and safety-related graphics—applications that help print providers differentiate beyond standard banners and signs.
Sebastien Hanssens, VP marketing and operations, Caldera, sees the most momentum in short-run packaging and labels; soft signage, textile, and direct to film (DTF)-related production; personalized interior décor; and specialized industrial applications.
“Textile continues to be a strong growth market, especially with the apparel decoration opportunities that DTF and UV DTF provide, as well as the lower cost of high speed and 1.8- to 3.2-meter textile printers. Sign and graphics has been very competitive for years, with margins getting thinner it is more important than ever for shops to find ways to differentiate themselves,” adds Josh Hope, director, marketing, Mimaki USA, Inc.
Justin Davis, director of sales and marketing, Flatbed Tools, also sees fabric-based applications as a huge growth market. “Direct to fabric and soft signage keep growing. Demand for printed textiles, custom apparel, and fabric displays is strong. Acoustic panel production is another one; it feels like every office renovation and hospitality project spec includes them now.”
In addition to soft signage, Kylie Schleicher, VP of business development and product management, Ultraflex Systems, Inc., believes interior décor and architectural graphics are among the fastest growing segments. “The opportunity lies in specialty work such as décor, experiential branding, interior design, and customized environments, where creative value outweighs price competition.”
Corrugated-based applications also show strong growth, as they span packaging and signage as well as display graphics and point of purchase, explains Peter Pudner, VP sales Americas, Kongsberg Precision Cutting Systems and MultiCam. “These are aligned with the need for shorter runs, faster turnarounds, and in certain areas such as retail, more sustainable material choices.”
According to Emilio Rangel, product manager, Mutoh America, Inc., traditional banner and commodity signage are still important markets, but they have become more price competitive, pushing shops to look for higher margin specialty applications. These include growing segments like personalization, promotional products, ADA signage, interior décor, packaging, and specialty UV applications.
“Traditional signage categories continue to generate volume, but are intensely competitive and price driven, pushing print businesses to differentiate through service, agility, and reliability rather than commoditized pricing,” suggests Hanssens.
Impacting the Print Shop
Tariffs, supply chain issues, and material costs are rising concerns for PSPs of all sizes.
Tony Simmering, product manager, Mutoh America, Inc., believes “print shops are seeing massive procurement and pricing issues related to tariffs and other geopolitical situations. Not just ink pricing, but supply stability over the next year is very important.”
“Substrate prices, inks, and freight remain volatile, forcing shops to adjust pricing more frequently and carry higher inventory. Lead times have improved since peak disruption, but reliability is still inconsistent for certain materials. As a result, many PSPs are diversifying suppliers and investing in workflow efficiency to offset cost increases,” notes Bonte.
Hope says the most challenging part of the situation is how quickly it changes day to day. “Planning for increased costs is difficult enough when you know about them well in advance, but ongoing changes make planning increasingly difficult for everyone involved—manufacturers, dealers, and customers.”
“With tariff levels subject to change, it is difficult for customers to plan capital investments with confidence. This uncertainty leads to delayed decision making, longer sales cycles, and more cautious investment strategies. We also see a shift in the nature of sales conversations. Financial risk, cost pressures, and return on investment are now core considerations, reflecting a more risk-averse market,” shares Pudner.
In terms of material costs, “most printer depend on globally sourced materials and equipment. Paper costs are among the most significant negative impacts on print shops today. Paper accounts for a large amount of the cost of a printed piece, yet the number of paper mills in the U.S. has shrunk, leaving print shops dependent on imported paper, which is heavily tariffed,” explains McGettigan.
Thornton cites industry data, stating that over 60 percent of print businesses experience compressed profit margins. Approximately 86 percent of manufacturers and service providers plan to pass some costs on to clients while others choose to absorb costs in the short term in order to remain competitive and retain client relationships.
While we can consider these challenges as negatives, Bertier chooses to spin them as positives. “They drive demand for greater efficiency. Print shops look beyond equipment specifications and focus on productivity across the entire workflow. When labor and material costs rise, reducing waste, minimizing errors, and improving throughput become critical. This is where automation and workflow optimization make a real difference. The biggest gains often come from simplifying setup, reducing operator intervention, and eliminating costly mistakes.”
Another positive, renewed interest in on-shoring and domestic supply. “Customers want more predictable sourcing, shorter supply chains, and vendors who can respond quickly,” says Richardson. U.S. manufacturers are well positioned to support this by domestically sourcing raw materials and helping reduce the uncertainty tied to overseas supply chains.
“A major shift is regionalization of supply chains. Manufacturers are working to reduce dependence on single-source overseas suppliers by increasing North American inventory, dual-sourcing components, and expanding domestic warehousing strategies,” shares Tourville.
Nick Howe, GM, AGL Inc., points out that U.S.-based manufacturers are able to maintain price consistency with domestic sourcing. In addition, if relationships with suppliers overseas are in good standing, pricing is maintained with minimal increases.
Big Asks
PSPs are savvy and know what they want. Over the last few years their needs have evolved based on what is going on in the world around them—i.e. tariffs, supply chain issues, and material costs.
PSPs want media products that “install easily, reduce labor, eliminate extra steps, and perform reliably in real-world environments. Two years ago, the conversation was centered on print compatibility and price. Today, customers are asking about total application cost, removal, slip resistance, surface compatibility, durability, and whether a media can help them complete jobs faster with fewer callbacks,” states Richardson.
“The demand from substrates and media is versatility and performance, using one media for a range of surfaces and applications. When one media can cover a range of surfaces, it reduces the number of products stocked. Media that can perform reliably in a variety of applications reduces the need for specialty products,” explains Laura Antenucci, marketing director, Continental Grafix USA, Inc.
Support and training are more important than ever. “Harder questions about service and support are asked more than they used to be because PSPs were burned,” explains Davis. “Equipment goes down, the vendor goes quiet, and they lose days of production. We hear it constantly. The shops that are growing are the ones who figured out that their real competitive advantage is throughput, not just equipment specs.”
Ease of use is simply a requirement in all aspects of a job. “It is a critical factor, and customers seek equipment that can be operated with minimal training, reduces dependency on skilled operators for manual tasks, and allows users to move between machines and processes with ease,” says Pudner.
“Inspired by the simplicity of modern consumer technology, print shops no longer accept complex systems that require extensive training or specialist knowledge. Instead, they look for intuitive, operator-friendly solutions that offer one-click workflows, automated setup procedures, and rapid onboarding of new employees,” explains Bertier.
Accurate color is non-negotiable, especially in instances where a customer is paying more for a personalized or bespoke piece. “They are certainly going to expect the color quality to be right. That means everything from accurate brand colors through to maximum detail and vibrancy—all of which start with good color management,” states Moloney.
As a whole, print shop owners want to do more with less. “They are no longer asking whether a solution can produce quality output; they ask whether it can help them scale profitably with limited staff, mixed fleets, and rising complexity. They want centralized control, repeatable results across sites and operators, seamless integration with upstream systems, and clear visibility into production performance,” shares Hanssens.
“This translates to a critical need for customized integration of all important print and packaging workflow processes to reach the highest levels of automation. Owners—many of whom are working managers lost in daily business operations—demand partners who can provide a documented process and an executable plan to implement automation, rather than just selling software or hardware,” suggests Marc Raad, president, Significans Automation.
“Automation is a major priority and technology differentiator in wide format printing—primarily driven by labor shortages, the need for efficiency, and demands for faster turnaround times,” admits Richard Reamer, senior director, product marketing and planning, large format systems, Canon U.S.A., Inc.
According to Thornton, PSPs are looking to strategically implement advanced automation solutions specific to their production environment. “This includes adding automation components gradually rather than taking an ‘everything, everywhere, all-at-once approach.’ As a result, thorough process evaluation has become a critical first step before any investments are made. Customers are placing greater weight on long-term viability. Assessing these decisions over a ten-plus year horizon makes perfect sense, as does carefully evaluating suppliers and their ability to support and sustain advanced automation over time.”
Recruiting Skilled Laborers
The challenge of recruiting staff to fill a print shop grows as legacy employees retire.
“Recruiting skilled labor has reached its highest level of difficulty in decades. A shrinking pipeline of trade school graduates, an aging workforce, and intense competition from other technical sectors have made finding experienced prepress technicians, press operators, and finishing specialists challenging,” suggests Thornton.
This is driving automation adoption. “By embedding best practices into the workflow, automation reduces dependence on individual expert knowledge, minimizes repetitive manual intervention, and enables smaller teams to run higher volumes with greater confidence,” admits Hanssens.
Implementing automation “allows print businesses to significantly increase production and capacity with the equipment and staff they already have, effectively solving the lingering problem of skilled labor shortages,” explains Raad.
Interest in automation remains high, but Pudner says investment is cautious. “Many businesses are exploring options but delaying purchasing decisions due to broader economic uncertainty. A key enabler of automation adoption is software usability, with customers placing increasing importance on intuitive, easy-to-integrate solutions.”
Human involvement is still necessary. “Automation plays an important role in addressing the challenge of less skilled labors, but it is not about removing people from the process. It is about supporting operators, simplifying tasks, and preventing mistakes before they happen,” admits Bertier.
Materials also play a role in supporting laborers. “Easy install media, products that do not require overlamination, and solutions designed for clean removal can reduce labor demands and help less-experienced teams produce better results with fewer errors,” suggests Richardson.
Certainly, McGettigan says there is still a need for skilled workers. “Print operations are exploring initiative-taking recruitment strategies, such as apprenticeships, partnerships with trade schools, and competitive compensation with lifestyle benefits like flexible schedules and work-from-home options that younger workers are seeking.”
“There seems to be a fundamental lack of energy within the print industry to recruit young talent; the print industry historically has low wages, long hours, and physically difficult work. These factors don’t look as attractive as other trades where at least one of those pain points is minimized,” explains Simmering.
More schools are introducing STEM and STEAM initiatives, which helps present digital printing into the curriculum and gives students more hands-on learning with printing and manufacturing projects, shares Hope.
AI’s Role
AI addresses PSPs’ demands for ease of use, doing more with less, and supporting operators across the production floor.
“AI plays an important role across the industry. Cost evaluation, margin optimization, and material tracing take on added importance as companies look for greater efficiency and visibility throughout production. It is quite obvious that AI is top of mind everywhere, with nearly every industry conference now including dedicated sessions on its potential applications,” admits Thornton.
Raad notes design/prepress, workflow/estimating/scheduling, and customer service as three main areas where AI “is stunning and pervasive” in speeding up production and reducing human error, which directly boosts the bottom line.
“AI now plays a major role in prepress workflows and automatic job preparation. This includes everything from generating realistic missing image data to producing a polished canvas-style wrap, through to AI-powered job analysis that ensures the correct print settings are applied based not only on job metadata, but also on the content of the file itself,” explains Moloney.
In design/prepress, AI programs simplify challenges like difficult-to-extend bleeds and creating value-added print embellishments. AI automates repetitive tasks found in workflow/estimating/scheduling by learning from and analyzing data. Under the category of customer service, AI helps with micro-targeting advertisements to pinpoint sales prospect needs, shares Raad.
Common use cases for AI also include inventory forecasting, scheduling, automatic batching of similar jobs, and routing jobs to the right printer, lists McGettigan. “Estimating is seeing a big impact from AI. Instead of manually researching and building every estimate, AI can now recommend pricing based on historical data, predict labor costs, generate quotes automatically from customer specs, and standardize pricing.”
“Print shop owners now look to generative AI to automate content creation and prepress tasks that once required skilled operators. This includes generating or adapting artwork for different formats, automating layout and imposition, and quickly creating print-ready files from minimal inputs. They also expect AI to personalize designs at scale—enabling mass customization without manual setup. Generative AI is increasingly used to fix low-quality assets, extend graphics, and ensure consistency across jobs,” explains Bonte.
AI is integrated into manufacturing and printer diagnostics. “Over time, AI-driven systems will likely become much more common for predictive maintenance, printhead monitoring, workflow optimization, and automated quality control,” foresees Tourville.
AI is leveraged earlier in the print journey—when PSPs source consumables and equipment. “PSPs increasingly use AI tools to research equipment, compare solutions, and evaluate suppliers before engaging directly with manufacturers,” suggests Pudner.
“AI can help in predicting demand by product as well as selling season. It allows AGL to keep supplies on the shelf at regular intervals throughout the year and helps maintain cash flow,” admits Brian Buisker, president, AGL Inc.
Similar to Bertier’s thoughts on automation and its role as a supporting player—and not as a substitute for human practicality—Richardson says AI is best used as a “practical support tool rather than a replacement for print expertise. The key is oversight. In specialty wide format applications, material choice, installation conditions, surface type, safety requirements, and durability expectations still require experienced people. AI can speed up the front end of the process, but human review remains essential.”
Ink and Substrate Advances
Ink and substrate advancements are worth noting.
“The development of new inks and coatings is primarily driven by evolving environmental and safety standards and increasingly stringent government regulatory requirements,” states McGettigan.
This includes the reduction of SVHC or Substance of Very High Concern chemicals as a major focus, especially with the EU REACH—Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals—compliance. Ink manufacturers work to introduce new inks that conform to REACH laws and provide printed output that is vivid and durable, says Hope.
“Modern UV inks are significantly more advanced than they were even five years ago. The industry is seeing improvements in flexibility, adhesion performance, lower odor formulations, reduced brittleness, outdoor durability, and compatibility with more challenging substrates. There is a strong focus on lower temperature curing and improved LED cure efficiency to expand material compatibility,” shares Tourville.
Reamer notes that CAGR projections for the UV sector of wide format printing are positive and show it being one of the fastest growing sectors within wide format relative to other technologies.
Water-based UV ink is a game changer, according to Rangel. “It has all of the positive attributes of UV ink, being scratch/cleaning resistant as well as offering instant curing for immediate finishing work. Yet is the most eco-friendly ink on the market in terms of volatile organic compound (VOC) content at roughly half the VOCs of latex ink.”
“The market is demanding affordable, low-to-no VOC ink sets that provide same-day lamination, instant curing, and lower cost,” adds Simmering.
Elsewhere, the availability of white ink as a standard feature on printing equipment is a significant advancement. “When a piece of equipment can print white ink, shops can print on more wide format films to diversify their offerings and income streams. White ink as a standard feature directly leads to the advancement of new materials and obsolescence of others,” states Antenucci.
Sustainable Solutions
Recyclable and PVC-free materials continue to edge toward mainstream. Despite pricing pressures, they are used when the job and budget calls for them.
“More print shops are asking sustainability questions. They request recyclable substrates, materials that are more environmentally friendly, and/or were produced using more sustainable methods,” says Schleicher.
Jim Halloran, VP sales and marketing, Lintec of America, Inc., believes end users increasingly balance cost considerations with sustainability goals and environmental commitments. “We continue to see growing interest from customers who recognize the long-term value of recycled and PVC-free solutions, particularly for architectural and window graphic applications where performance, aesthetics, and environmental responsibility all matter.”
“PVC-free media is the default in many regions for exhibition and indoor graphics, point of sale applications, and retail campaigns. Recyclable display boards and honeycomb paper boards are frequently requested by print buyers and becoming increasingly common. Less common, but steadily gaining market share, are recyclable banner materials as well as self-adhesive films,” shares Moloney.
The capabilities, appearance, and construction of eco-conscious substrates has progressed significantly, according to Schleicher. “PVC-free options now provide smooth finishes, strong color output, reliable stability, and excellent durability, often so close in performance to traditional counterparts that the difference is barely noticeable.”
While both recyclable and PVC-free media are gaining ground and “sustainability continues to influence purchasing decisions—price and performance still matter. Recyclable, PVC-free, and lower impact materials are gaining traction, especially with brands and end users that have formal sustainability goals. However, these options are not yet universal across every application because print shops must balance environmental preferences with durability, safety, installation performance, and budget,” explains Richardson.
In response, Richardson believes the most successful approach is based on the application or job. “Customers choose sustainable alternatives where they make sense, while still relying on proven materials when performance, slip resistance, removability, or outdoor durability are critical.”
Antenucci agrees, explaining that PVC-free and sustainable options are in use not just for their “green” aspect. “Recyclable materials have higher dimensional stability offering less shrinkage and expansion than PVC and often remove cleaner at the end of the campaign. Starting with the priorities of the project and choosing the right media that meets those priorities allows for optimization at every step.”
It’s important to take the entire job into consideration, meaning if the base film is PVC-free, the overlaminate it is paired with must be as well. “You cannot mix materials. A PVC-free graphic film must be paired with a PVC-free overlaminate or it negates the recyclability and causes tunneling/shrinking due to different expansion rates,” notes Tony Caruso, sales, AGL Inc.
In relation to the back end of the process, Thornton notes that the developments in PVC-free options as well as other sustainable materials increase the need for “flexible and precise finishing technologies.”
“Eco-friendly materials often cost more and cut differently. Shops navigate that trade off job by job right now rather than making a full switch,” adds Davis.
In fact, as Schleicher points out, sustainable materials still carry a price premium, which makes it difficult to absorb or justify the up charge to price-sensitive clients. “Shops serving corporate and retail brands are generally able to pass through sustainable material costs; commodity sign shops face more resistance.”
This “pricing pressure means manufacturers need to keep developing options that are both responsible and commercially practical,” suggests Richardson.
Major Disruption
Raad believes the continued adoption and subsequent maturity of customized workflow integration and automation will reshape wide format printing. “Print providers who rely solely on off-the-shelf software and hardware with embedded AI features will continue to face disruption; the future is with customized integration that ties all parts of the business into a single, efficient, and scalable ecosystem.”
Thornton agrees that AI will be a major factor when it comes to disruption in the industry. “AI-driven operations will reduce reliance on people to manage processes and instead leverage AI technologies. At the same time, the industry will continue to place importance on identifying key qualified personnel while also prioritizing cross training. This strategy will ensure that individual operators are capable of efficiently managing multiple applications and machines.”
“The biggest disruption may come from the combination of AI-driven workflow, automation, and more advanced specialty substrates. Customers will continue expecting graphics to work on more surfaces, last longer, install faster, remove cleaner, and meet higher sustainability expectations. The companies that succeed are the ones that combine technology with application expertise. Wide format printing is no longer just about putting ink on media. It is about solving visual communication, installation, durability, safety, and speed challenges all at once,” foresees Richardson.
The Next Chapter
PSPs that prioritize efficiency, flexibility, and value-added solutions are reshaping the industry. The winners of this year’s Application of the Year contest are perfect examples of this.
Aug2026, Digital Output
