The Effects of Tariffs on the Printing Industry

More than 90.0% of the participants in the PRINTING United Alliance Effects of Tariffs on the Printing Industry Survey expect the recent increases in tariffs to affect their business. There are strong opinions on both the positive side – “It’s about time we took care of our country and our people” – and the negative side – “Tariffs do not help anyone!!!” –as well as broad agreement that it is too early to know what the long-term effects will be for either our industry or the American economy.

A total of 246 companies have completed the survey to date. The majority are commercial printers, graphic and sign (wide-format) printers, or apparel decorators. Annual sales range from less than $500,000 to more than $500 million, with 30.7% selling $1 million or less per year, 56.6% selling $5 million or less, and 9.8% selling more than $40 million. The survey and reports it will support are part of PRINTING United Alliance State of the Industry Series, which is generously sponsored by Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Among all companies surveyed, 66.5% expect tariffs to increase their operating costs, by 10.5% on average over the next six months, and 61.4% expect a reduction in profit margins, with 23.1% expecting the reduction to limit their capital investments. Nearly half (48.2%) expect supply chain disruptions. More than one-third (35.1%) expect a drag on sales growth, double the 15.1% who expect a boost from reduced foreign competition (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Expected Effects of Tariffs

Q: How are (or do you expect) higher tariffs to affect your business?

Click to enlarge. | Source: The Effects of Tariffs on the Printing Industry Survey, PRINTING United Alliance, March 2025

The uncertainty created by the “on-off, reduce-delay-doubling, tit-for-tat” is a major concern. A representative comment: “As anyone who ever ran a company or created marketing programs or invested in the stock market knows, the #1 thing people need is stability and certainty. What we have now is chaos – and for no good or proper reason. For example, I want to run an aggressive promotion to offer a special pricing opportunity to attract some new customers.  How can I do that if I don't know what the prices for T-shirts will be?  My customers are already acting like they are afraid to plan and afraid to order.”

We asked which materials will be affected most by the tariffs. Our survey panel listed more than 20, ranging from corrugated to coatings. Commercial printers cited uncoated paper (65.5%) most often, wide-format printers vinyl (70.0%), and apparel decorators soft goods (69.7%).

The core of our survey explored how the printing and decorating communities are adjusting to the new tariff regime. We uncovered a search for balance between getting ahead of the changes and not “jumping the gun,” as one CEO put it, for something that may be short-lived or soon take an entirely different direction.

We also learned that 93.2% plan to raise prices in response to the tariffs, 55.7% to boost productivity, and 69.9% to absorb at least part of the increase to maintain market share (Figure 2). When we asked how much of the increase will be offset and how much will be absorbed, responses varied significantly from company to company but averaged 58.7% offset by raising prices, 17.7% offset by increasing productivity, and 23.6% absorbed.

Figure 2: Expected Response to the Increase in Tariffs

Q: How will you respond to the increase in tariffs?

Click to enlarge. | Source: The Effects of Tariffs on the Printing Industry Survey, PRINTING United Alliance, March 2025

We dug deeper into planned adjustments. We heard about “shortening the time for which estimates are valid,” building inventories, substituting materials, and finding alternative suppliers, whether domestic or international (Pakistan, India, and South Korea were mentioned), mirroring actions taken during COVID-19. We also heard about speeding the transition from offset to inkjet because of the effects of tariffs on offset plates, “putting a hold on investing in additional equipment and staff until there is stability and clarity,” “expanding nonprint offerings to fill the revenue gaps,” and “deciding whether to discontinue offering some of our lowest-profit-margin items.” Concerning alternative sources, an apparel decorator made this point: “We are looking for domestic suppliers where possible but have a long-standing relationship with a Canadian supplier that is going to be problematic since customers need product to be an exact match.”

We asked if the tariffs will have positive effects. More than one-quarter (28.5%) said they will. Some emphasized benefits to the economy:

• “The long-term goal is to set reciprocal tariffs and incentivize USA manufacturing. It must be done.”
• “Long term I would hope they would accelerate economic growth, driving more business opportunities. If they reduce foreign tariffs on American goods, they should reduce the trade balance and open up new markets for these goods.”

Others emphasized company-specific benefits:

• “Higher tariffs will force us to continue to look at ways we can save money and be more productive with the things we have. It also keeps our eyes open to looking for other options and ways of doing things.”
• “Higher tariffs will allow us to grab a bigger share, taking away work from competitors who use Chinese products.”

Throughout the survey participants spoke about the secondary effects of changes in the global trading system. For example, one expects tariffs on Canadian paper to be “absorbed by Canadian companies but give American manufacturers a reason to raise prices,” and another expects that, while the paper his company purchases is not affected by the new tariffs, “there will be an increase in demand due to other companies switching brands to non-tariffed paper, which will mostly like allow the mills to increase the pricing.”

Of course, no one knows how this is all going to play out. Here’s what we do know:

• The increase in tariffs is another reason to draw on all resources, including AI, to maximize productivity companywide.
• Re-shoring is desirable but difficult. Manufacturing requires a lot of energy, as do the data centers we’ll need to support AI. Will we have the supply? Is our energy grid up to the increased load? And what about the labor supply?
• We must watch developments carefully. Politically charged negotiations can quickly run off the rails. And adjustments to the complex global trading system can have serious unintended consequences even for companies with limited exposure to the system.

We will update the Effects of Tariffs Survey regularly, publishing full results in PRINTING United Alliance State of the Industry Series. Alliance members can download series reports at printing.org/library/business-excellence/economics-forecasting. Everyone can download executive summaries at cusa.canon.com.

Here’s another thing we know: Tariffs directly and indirectly disrupt markets, and every market disruption creates opportunity. Every company in our industry, even if they have not been affected yet, should be asking, How can we capture those opportunities? How can we be the disruptor rather than the disrupted?