Standing at the Edge of the Cliff: Why Print’s Greatest Threat May Also Be Its Greatest Opportunity

When I first saw the age profile from the 2025 Printing Industry Census, I had to look twice.

Not because it was surprising, but because it confirmed what many of us already feel instinctively. According to the census, nearly 65% of the print industry workforce is over the age of 55, with just over 3% under 35. That isn’t a gentle ageing curve. It’s a cliff.

While this data reflects the U.S. printing industry, its age profile didn’t feel foreign. If anything, it mirrors what many of us see anecdotally across Australia. It is an industry rich in experience, but increasingly thin in succession.

As someone who has built a career in print, and as a woman who has often found herself in rooms where I’m still the exception, this data stopped me in my tracks. I’m often perceived as “young” in this industry, which, while extremely flattering, is also something that would not be said about me in almost any other professional or personal setting. In print, the bar for youth is refreshingly low. 

That small, throwaway observation is telling, however. Because when you strip away the nostalgia, the pride, and the craftsmanship we rightly celebrate, the numbers force an uncomfortable question.

Who exactly is going to inherit this industry?

An industry rich in experience and dangerously thin in succession

There is no denying the strength of print’s current workforce. The census paints a picture of an industry powered by deep expertise, long tenure, and genuine passion. More than 80% of respondents say they would choose print again if given the choice. It is a remarkable endorsement in any sector, particularly one that has spent decades defending itself against claims of irrelevance.

But experience without succession is not stability. It’s risk.

Within the next decade, a significant portion of our industry’s leaders, operators, technicians, and mentors will retire. With them goes not just headcount, but untold knowledge. The problem-solving instincts, the understanding of substrates and colour, and the ability to diagnose issues before software ever flags them.

What concerns me most isn’t that the industry is ageing. It’s that we haven’t been deliberate enough about who comes next, or whether they can even see a place for themselves here.

Where are the young people and the women?

The census doesn’t just highlight an age gap. It also reinforces a representation gap. Just 35.66% of respondents identified as female, and from lived experience, that number narrows further in senior, technical, and leadership roles.

At its core, this is about generosity, not as charity, but as strategy.

Industries that fail to reflect the diversity of the world around them struggle to attract new talent. Young people don’t avoid print because it lacks opportunity. They avoid it because they don’t see themselves in it. If you can’t see people like you thriving somewhere, it is difficult to imagine belonging there.

I know this personally. Like many women, I didn’t grow up planning a career in print. I found my way in sideways and stayed because I discovered an industry that is far more innovative, technical, creative, and impactful than it is often given credit for. But we can’t rely on people falling into print anymore. We need to actively open the door.

The paradox: a workforce challenge hiding a talent opportunity

Here’s the part we don’t talk about often enough.

For the next generation, print should actually be incredibly attractive.

It offers accelerated responsibility, real-world impact, and exposure to advanced manufacturing, automation, sustainability and design. Often this happens far earlier than in more saturated and more crowded industries. There is room to grow, to lead, and to shape the future precisely because the industry is in transition.

The census itself shows a workforce already engaging with AI, sustainability, and new business models, not resisting them. This is not a sector stuck in the past. It is one evolving quickly, sometimes quietly, and often without telling its own story well enough.

Why inclusion is no longer optional

When we talk about attracting women and younger talent into print, this isn’t a nice-to-have initiative. It is a strategic imperative.

Scholarships, mentoring, visible role models, and genuine pathways into the industry are no longer optional if we want print to thrive beyond the next decade. We need to modernise not just our technology, but our narrative. Print should not be something to fall back on. It should be something to actively build a future in.

Programs that celebrate women’s success, recognise leadership, and make expertise visible, whether through awards, mentoring, or scholarships, don’t just lift individuals. They strengthen the entire industry.

Through my work, and through initiatives that actively support women in print, I’ve seen what happens when we create space deliberately.