Top six structural challenges facing the industry in 2026

Severe and persistent pricing pressure (margin erosion): This is the most pervasive and critical challenge. Competition is described as ‘cut-throat’ and ‘irrational,’ as supply outpaces demand. Customers are ‘reluctant to pay more’ and prices are in ‘hibernation,’ making it almost impossible to sustain price increases. This is leading to chronic margin erosion despite rising demand.

Critical manpower and skills gap: The gap between the need for digitally literate ‘techno-printers’ and the available workforce is a significant structural constraint. Leaders cite difficulty in finding capable mid-level operators, slow adoption of technical training, and high attrition/poaching, which ultimately limit the effective use of new, sophisticated machinery.

The agility-cost contradiction: Customers demand next-generation performance — including flexibility, faster turnaround, compliance, and design-led sustainability — but are largely unwilling to pay for it. The industry is forced to manage immense complexity and operational volatility (shorter runs, frequent changeovers) while prices remain anchored to old benchmarks.

Market volatility and structural flux (shorter runs): The shift to shorter average run lengths and highly fragmented demand is now a permanent reality. This structural instability, or ‘permanent flux,’ makes profitability a ‘math problem’ solved only by engineered agility and relentless waste reduction, forcing businesses to prioritise survival with consistency over raw expansion.

Complexity and ROI of new technology: While technology (automation, digital, AI) is seen as essential for stability, its adoption is constrained by complexity. The return on investment (ROI) is often a ‘nightmare to calculate’ due to high capital costs, the difficulty of integrating new systems with legacy workflows, and a lack of clarity on tangible use cases for advanced AI beyond basic data analysis.

Exposure to supply chain and input cost volatility: Dependence on specialised substrates, geopolitical uncertainty, and fluctuating paper costs expose businesses to unpredictable input cost volatility. This is compounded by intense pricing pressure, which means cost increases cannot be reliably passed on, tying performance to external global factors.

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