You are not a mind reader. That’s OK. Even without the gift of the sight, you can still understand your print buyers – who they are, what they look for in their print vendors and what sort of print buying experience they’re looking for.

In a presentation at PRINTING United Expo on Sept. 24 titled “The Next Generation of Print Buyers: New Decision-Makers, New Rules,” Lisa Cross, principal analyst at PRINTING United Alliance’s Alliance Insights research division, provided a highly detailed look at the modern print buyer and what they want in their print providers.

It’s a lot more than just paper.

Who Is Today’s Buyer?

Cross’ research found that today’s print customers are 60% millennials, 26% Gen X, 10% baby boomers and 4% Gen Z. This is already a major shift since 2024, when the print buying pool was 35% millennial, 34% Gen X, 28% baby boomer and 3% Gen Z.

This current crop of print buyers, Cross has found in her research, believes that they are knowledgeable about the print process. Yet, overwhelmingly, the print buyer wants an easy process – 89% of respondents to her study said that an easy-to-work-with provider is key to their selection of a print vendor.

As agentic AI continues to develop, too, Cross said that it could get to a point where the modern print buyer isn’t human at all, but that’s more of a bridge to cross down the road. For now, she said, print sellers are still dealing with humans for the most part.

What Stands Out

These print buyers want special features in their print products. They want things that they can’t do in-house because of a lack of equipment or expertise – finishing capabilities like embellishments and connecting print and digital media.

They also want nearly instant communication, Cross has found.

“No customer wants to wait for an answer,” they said. “They want an answer exactly when they’re asking the question.”

More than just communication, there is an expectation for a certain level of customer service and catering to the buyer’s needs and wants. They expect samples, and special services beyond printing like design and mailing. All of this is expected to be done expeditiously with tight turnarounds, Cross found, ideally with environmental concerns taken into account, too.

Cross said that what this all means is that what might have once been above and beyond in print service is now expected as the baseline. Services like online portals for ordering and workflow management are now standard, not a “nice-to-have,” Cross said.

Print’s Place

The mere fact that younger generations are taking up more room in the print buyer market shows that print is very much still viable. Cross touched on the idea of “digital fatigue,” and surmised that a lot of younger print buyers and consumers want print because it feels better to use than digital products in the digital-first world they grew up in.

“I think this is very compelling, because I was in the industry when a lot of digital media started taking hold,” Cross said. “Everybody was reading it as the death knell for print. Print has credibility. Someone’s taking the time to get this printed.”

Cross’ research showed that 49% of print buyers felt that print performs “much better” at being memorable than digital communication, with 33% saying slightly better and 13% “about the same.” Forty-three percent said that print is “much better” at building trust and credibility, with 40% agreeing that it’s slightly better, totaling 83% of print buyers saying that print is better than digital in building trust.

What’s Keeping Print Buyers From Buying Print

Economic issues are the leading cause of print buyers balking at spending money.

“I don’t think that’s a shocker,” Cross said.

Her data showed that 38% of current print buyers said that higher print service costs were a factor in limiting their print use, followed by budget constraints, higher postage and mailing costs and increases in paper substrate costs.

Cross said that the takeaway for printers and print sellers is that digital fatigue is a narrative that they can exploit to add even more reason for buying print, and using embellishments and finishing services to elevate the product to make the buyer feel like they have spent their precious marketing dollars wisely.

The data backs it up, too. Print is seen as more credible and reliable than digital communication. And as younger generations might start to experience that digital fatigue, the modern print seller can meet them where they are by providing high-quality print collateral that meets their expectations. It’s not an embellishment, after all, to say that print is effective.

It’s not an alternative to digital. It’s a more effective means of marketing.

“Position print as an attention and trust tool,” Cross said, “not a legacy channel.”