Strategy December 10, 2024
Why Print-on-Demand Is Big Business for Private Equity
Mark Hahn, managing director of Graphic Arts Advisors, explains how the sector’s scalability and profitability make it attractive for investors.
The future of print will increasingly be individually customized with the images we want, delivered wherever we want, printed on demand when we want and applied to whatever products we choose.
Building a robust and efficient online system has increasingly been accomplished with the support of well-heeled private equity funds seeking the higher margins possible with the scale and automation obtainable in an online environment.
Mark Hahn is the managing director and founder of Graphic Arts Advisors, a boutique strategic financial advisory and consulting firm focused exclusively on the printing, packaging, mailing, marketing services, brand management and related graphic communications industries.
Here are a few key takeaways
• Noteworthy Merger: Printful and Printify, leading on-demand printing companies, announced a merger of equals, combining their strengths to enhance service offerings while maintaining separate brand operations.
• Private Equity Investment: The merger was facilitated by significant private equity funding, reflecting the sector’s attractiveness due to its scalability and profitability.
• White-Label Services Expansion: Both companies specialize in white-label services, enabling independent resellers to market customized products under their own brands, thus supporting a vast network of online designers and retailers.
• Market Consolidation Trend: This merger exemplifies a broader trend of consolidation in the on-demand print and merchandise industry, driven by private equity firms seeking to capitalize on the sector’s growth potential.
Hahn’s full story on private equity in the print-on-demand space is available on Printing Impressions, whose parent company PRINTING United Alliance is a strategic partner of ASI.