15-18 June 2027
Crocus Expo, Moscow
Global print revenue is forecast to reach USD 510.33 billion in 2025, increasing from USD 501.36 billion in 2024 despite relentless digital pressure. Within that total, sheet-fed and web offset litho alone will account for roughly USD 310.9 billion. As per the market research and consulting company, numbers on that scale prove one point: the sector still matters. The deals getting done look different from even two years ago. Procurement teams now weigh print industry trends such as automation, sustainability targets and data-rich workflows before placing orders. A supplier risks being left off the shortlist if they fail to match those priorities.
Buyers ask for machines and workflows that think ahead. Predictive colour control, real-time fault detection and automated press adjustment reduce waste sheets and slash makeready minutes, benefits that drop straight onto the cost line. Leading multifunction devices already deploy algorithms that remove unwanted text blocks before output, giving corporate users a taste of what full-scale production presses can do.
Additive manufacturing is no longer a novelty part sitting on a trade-show shelf. Construction firms in Melbourne recently finished a multi-storey building in five weeks using a concrete-extrusion system, proof that large-format 3D output can hit real-world schedules. Print buyers in automotive spares, medical devices, and eyewear are now looking for partners who can deliver functional parts with certified materials and repeatable tolerances.
Environmental audits once arrived after the contract was signed; today, they come with the initial request for a quotation. Buyers expect options for recycled substrates, plant-based inks and closed-loop wash-up chemistry. They also want transparent data like grams of CO₂ per finished unit, not vague promises. Suppliers who produce that evidence win jobs, especially in sectors bound by extended producer responsibility laws.
Variable artwork, sequential coding and micro-segmented campaigns allow brands to speak directly to niche audiences. Advances in heads, pigments and RIP software now let long-run machines switch data on the fly without slowing down. The question for print purchasers is simple: Can a prospective supplier merge a 200,000-line database with high-fidelity graphics and ship on Tuesday? Those who can close deals quickly.
Internet-connected sensors report bearing wear, temperature spikes and feeder mis-picks seconds after they happen. Maintenance crews arrive before a jam cascades across the line. Decision-makers read those uptime statistics and treat them as a proxy for delivery reliability. A plant that knows its own health is far less likely to miss a product launch.
Marketing teams once bought twelve months of catalogues, gambling on forecast accuracy. In 2025, many run tiny batches every fortnight, refreshing offers as stock shifts. Web-to-print portals plug straight into enterprise resource planning, triggering production only when basket totals hit a threshold. The supplier that can stitch that portal neatly into a client’s data stack wins repeat work.
Point a phone at a product label and launch a 3D animation showing how to use the item. In pharmaceutical packaging, AR-enabled leaflets can display dosage instructions in multiple languages or demonstrate inhaler techniques visually, reducing reliance on printed inserts and improving user compliance. In retail, catalogues embedded with scannable markers bring furniture or fashion items to life with interactive previews.
These features don’t just grab attention, they also provide trackable engagement metrics. Buyers are now looking for suppliers who can embed these invisible markers seamlessly, manage linked digital content, and ensure technical compatibility across devices. Without the right print-tech infrastructure, those expectations go unmet.
Xerox’s purchase of Lexmark for USD 1.5 billion is only the latest in a wave of consolidation. A larger footprint means a single purchase order can cover offset posters, flexible packaging and point-of-sale boards without juggling multiple vendors. Group-wide colour standards and pooled spare-part inventories also reassure procurement teams worried about consistency across regions.
The largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey will end its physical edition in February 2025, switching to online-only delivery. Similar announcements arrive monthly. At the same time, e-commerce drives a continuous rise in corrugated cases, paper mailers and decorative sleeves. Print procurement leads, therefore, channel their budget away from directories and inserts and toward branded packs that protect and promote goods in one shot.
Stimulus programmes and looser regulation in several markets have lifted advertising spend and consumer confidence. Commercial printers keen to capture that rebound pivot toward label and carton work, adding inline die-cutting or embellishment units that open doors with food, personal care and pharmaceutical brands. Buyers scanning tender responses look closely at whether a bidder has already invested or plans to do so.
Taken together, the themes above define the baseline criteria in most tenders released this year. Cost per sheet still matters, but is no longer the only yardstick. Decision makers ask:
Vendors ready with clear, evidence-backed answers move from prospect to preferred partner.
Print managers scanning the calendar often combine research trips with printing and packaging expo registration to compare hardware on live jobs rather than glossy spec sheets. When a press lays down pigment under show lights, buyers can scrutinise gradients, overprints and drying performance in real-time. The resulting notes often feed directly into the capex sign-off once back at the office.
A single appearance on the show floor can reveal genuine digital printing innovations, from high-viscosity inks that cling to sustainable films to bit-depth algorithms that smooth highlight transitions. Attendees rarely forget the stand where they first saw such gains.
Procurement agendas in 2025 are sharper, greener and more data-centric than ever. Artificial intelligence trims waste, sensors keep presses running, and personalisation turns static pages into responsive media. Budgets flow toward suppliers who meet those standards today, not next quarter.
If your firm can meet the benchmarks outlined above, the logical next step is to share your capabilities where buyers gather. Submit a Printech exhibit enquiry or confirm your visitor badge to present tangible solutions to professionals who already know what they want and need the right partner to deliver it.
