Facts and Figures

Graphic communications is the United States most geographically dispersed manufacturing industry and is a major force in the economy of every state. Every state has at least 60 printing plants, over 1000 employees, and over $190 million in production. The average state has over 700 printing plants with 20,000 employees and over $3 billion in shipments.
(Printing Industries of America, 2007)
You can go virtually anywhere in the country and get a job working in graphic communications. The top ten leading states in total number of graphic communications employees are California, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Michigan.
Graphic communications and imaging is one of the few industries that run an annual trade surplus. (International Trade Administration) Almost all printing that is consumed in the United States is produced in the United States, and the industry exports billions of dollars of products to other countries. In fact, the United States printing industry is projected to remain a strong domestic-based manufacturing industry for the foreseeable future.

Industry Figures

  • There are 36,870 printing establishments in the United States.
  • Printing is the second largest manufacturing industry in the United States with regard to number of establishments.
  • Over 1,000,000 people are employed in the United States printing industry.
  • Printing and related occupations employ the third largest number of people in manufacturing in the United States, the first being motor vehicle parts and the second being plastic product manufacturing. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007)
  • Overall almost 80 percent of graphics companies employ less than 20 people. However, the industry also has many multinational corporations and publicly traded companies. (PIA/GATF, 2007)
  • Annual printing shipments in the United States total $174.4 billion.
  • Contrary to popular belief, 46% of all advertising dollars are spent on printed media, while less than 5% are spent on the Internet. (Robert Coen’s Insider’s Report, 2007)