A Panorama Of The Printing Industry in 2025: The Changes And Transformation Behind The 1.52 Trillion Yuan Output Value

A Panorama of the Printing Industry in 2025: The Changes and Transformation Behind the 1.52 Trillion Yuan Output Value

In June 2026, the National Press and Publication Administration released two sets of major data: first, the national publication publishing industry revenue will reach 526.886 billion yuan in 2025; second, the total output value of the printing industry will be 1.52 trillion yuan and operating revenue of 1.54 trillion yuan in 2025. These two sets of data reflect each other, painting a true picture of the upstream and downstream of the publishing industry chain-the publishing industry is under slight pressure, while the printing industry is undergoing profound structural changes as it expands in scale.

1. Overall Scale of the Printing Industry: Steady Progress, Production Increase Without Revenue Growth

According to annual reports from printing enterprises disclosed by the Printing and Distribution Bureau of the Central Propaganda Department, there will be 107,300 printing enterprises of various types in China in 2025, a year-on-year decrease of 1.3%; The total printing output value was 1.52 trillion yuan, up 1.1% year-on-year; Total assets reached 1.95 trillion yuan, up 1.2% year-on-year.

From a global perspective, China's printing industry has risen to the top spot in the world. By 2025, the global printing market is expected to reach $868 billion, with China, as the world's largest single market, holding a pivotal position.

However, behind the expansion lies hidden concerns. In 2025, the printing industry's operating revenue will be 1.54 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 1.9%; Total profit was 67.821 billion yuan, down 3.1% year-on-year. "Increased production without increased revenue" has become the most prominent issue in the industry. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics also confirms this trend: from January to November 2025, the printing and recording media reproduction industry will achieve operating revenue of 576.51 billion yuan (for enterprises above designated size), a year-on-year decrease of 3.8%; Total profit was 27.72 billion yuan, down 5.4% year-on-year. The annual operating income of printing enterprises above designated size was 637.64 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 4.8%.

There were 2.2644 million printing workers, nearly 360,000 more than the 1.9041 million in the publishing industry, reflecting that printing's nature as a labor-intensive industry remains prominent.

2. Publication Printing: Share continues to shrink, dropping from 13.8% to 8.9%

The printing industry is closely linked to the publishing and distribution industries. The publication publishing industry generated annual revenue of 526.886 billion yuan and profits of 52.248 billion yuan. Where did these publications come from? The answer is the printing industry.

However, a point to watch out for is that the proportion of publication printing output in total printing output has dropped from 13.8% in 2021 to 8.9% in 2025. Over four years, it has dropped by nearly 5 percentage points, a decline of more than one-third.

This trend closely aligns with the performance of the publication distribution market. In 2025, the total wholesale and retail sales of publications will be 506.76 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 3.29%; Operating revenue was 526.886 billion yuan, down 1.35% year-on-year. Multiple factors such as the digitization of reading, the decline of print media, and adjustments in textbook and supplementary policies are continuously squeezing the market space for printed publications.

Research indicates that over the past decade, due to the replacement of electronic media, the market size of printed publications (such as books and newspapers) has declined by an average of 5%–8% annually, and by 2025, their share will drop below 15%. Publication printing has gradually retreated from being the "main player" to a "supporting role" in the printing industry, which is an irreversible trend.

But opportunities also lie within the challenges. Demand for textbooks, professional books, picture books, and other niche sectors remains stable, with on-demand publishing becoming the new direction for development. The maturity of digital printing technology has made short prints and personalized printing possible. By 2025, the global book printing services market sales will reach approximately USD 317.1 billion, and are expected to grow to RMB 362.7 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of about 2.6%.

3. Structural Changes: The Rise of Packaging and Decoration, Digital Printing Racing Forward

The proportion of printed publications is declining-who will fill the gap? The answer is packaging and decorative printing.

By 2025, the proportion of packaging decoration and printing output value will continue to rise. Behind this is the dual driving force of the booming e-commerce economy and consumption upgrades. From express cartons to food packaging, from luxury gift boxes to electronic product manuals, the demand for packaging printing covers almost every corner of the national economy.

Meanwhile, digital printing is becoming the fastest-growing track in the printing industry. By 2025, there will be 7,423 digital printing enterprises nationwide specializing in both operations, a year-on-year increase of 23.0%. The global digital printing market is expected to reach $194.3 billion and is expected to grow to $244.6 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 4.7%. The breakthrough advances in high-speed inkjet technology have not only deepened traditional application scenarios but also opened up high-profit industrial tracks such as electric vehicle batteries, biomedicine, and automotive parts.

The construction of intelligent printing factories is also accelerating. By 2025, 2,703 intelligent printing factories will be built or under construction nationwide, a year-on-year increase of 1.2%. There were 5,217 key printing enterprises above designated size nationwide, with the total printing output value accounting for the national share of the national average increasing by 0.7 percentage points year-on-year. The degree of incorporation continues to rise, further highlighting the capacity and efficiency advantages of leading enterprises.

Green printing is also making steady progress. The total number of green printing certified enterprises nationwide reached 2,502, a year-on-year increase of 8.7%. The promotion and use of eco-friendly inks, water-based varnishes, solvent-free composites, and other green raw and auxiliary materials is reshaping the production methods of the printing industry.

4. Regional Structure: Intensive in the east, supported by the middle, and undertaken by the west

The regional distribution of the printing industry shows a distinct gradient. The eastern region will focus on intensive efficiency improvements, the central region will provide strong support, the western region will accelerate acceptance, and the northeast will optimize and adjust.

The Yangtze River Economic Belt is the area with the highest concentration of the printing industry. According to incomplete statistics, there are about 54,000 printing enterprises in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, accounting for approximately 52.9% of the national total; There are about 1.09 million employees, accounting for approximately 42.5% of the national total; The total industrial output value was about 730 billion yuan, accounting for approximately 51.7% of the national total.

The three major industrial clusters-the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, and Bohai Rim-remain the core battlegrounds of China's printing industry. Printing-related industrial parks clustered 1,475 printing enterprises, a year-on-year increase of 12.9%, showing clear trends of park-based and clustered development.

5. Digital and Intelligent Transformation: From "Selective Answers" to "Buzzing Questions"

In June 2025, the National Press and Publication Administration officially issued the "Three-Year Action Plan for Digitalization in the Printing Industry (2025–2027)," clarifying the overall goals, key tasks, and implementation paths for the digital intelligence construction of the printing industry over the next three years.

Industry experts divide the digital and intelligent transformation of the printing industry into three stages: before 2018 was the "optional phase," where digital transformation was only an "optional topic" for a few leading enterprises; From 2018 to 2024 is the "must-answer phase," with over 60% of large-scale printing enterprises formulating dedicated digital and intelligent transformation plans; After 2025, the "buzzer-response phase" will begin, with leading companies actively deploying cutting-edge digital intelligence technologies.

In practice, artificial intelligence is profoundly transforming the way printing is produced. Technologies such as lights-out production, autonomous mobile robots, dynamic scheduling, and predictive maintenance are becoming increasingly mature. Industry insiders predict that by 2026, smart factories will become the industry standard, with software-driven investment scale surpassing hardware upgrades.

New models such as on-demand publishing and mass customization are driving the printing industry from mass production to flexible manufacturing. For publication printing, this means that even under pressure on total volume, value can be enhanced through technological upgrades.

6. Challenges and Pathways

Although the industry remains the largest in the world, the printing industry still faces multiple challenges:

Weak profitability is the primary issue. Total profit fell 3.1% year-on-year, with a profit margin below 4.4%. Problems such as vicious price competition, blind capacity expansion, and insufficient innovation motivation are restricting the sustainable development of the industry. In 2025, printing industry associations from ten provinces and cities will jointly launch a self-discipline convention, advocating a shift from price competition to value competition.

Insufficient demand for publication printing is a structural challenge. The continuous penetration of digital reading has caused the traditional printing market for books, newspapers, and periodicals to shrink steadily. How to find a survival space for publication printing in the new media era is a question the entire publishing industry chain needs to consider together.

Core technologies being controlled by others is a long-term concern. Bottlenecks such as high-end inkjet printheads and core control software still exist, with dependence on imported high-end printing equipment exceeding 70%.

But the challenges also contain directions for transformation. Cultural and creative printed products inject new vitality into development; Overseas processing trade has made breakthroughs in multiple areas, with nearly half of the regions nationwide seeing year-on-year growth in printing foreign processing trade volume, with some regions seeing increases exceeding 30%; The full-chain "Printing+" service chain is moving from concept to reality, expanding value-added services such as front-end creative design and back-end cultural and creative development.

Conclusion

With a total printing output value of 1.52 trillion yuan and publication revenue of 526.886 billion yuan, these two sets of data together paint a complete picture of China's publishing and printing industry in 2025. The hair industry has shown resilience under pressure, while the printing industry has undergone profound transformation as it expands in scale.

The proportion of publication printing dropped from 13.8% to 8.9%, which is both a challenge and a signal of industrial structure optimization. The rise of packaging and decoration printing, the surge of digital printing, and the rollout of smart printing factories are reshaping the future form of the printing industry.

As emphasized by the Printing and Distribution Bureau of the Central Propaganda Department, in the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the printing industry must focus on the direction of data-driven and international development. From "selective answers" to "mandatory answers" and then to "quick answers," China's printing industry is writing its own transformation answer sheet.