The BPIF has researched across many data sources available from the Office of National Statistics to produce statistics that help depict the landscape of the UK’s print industry.

These include data on gender, age and ethnicity for employees, as well as company size and age.

First, the headline structural data for the industry suggests that, in 2024, turnover was £13.7 billion, with 6,800 companies employing 93,000 people.

Employee gender

The UK population is approximately 49% male, and 51% female, historically this is a stable split. Manufacturing is 72% male, and 28% female, in 2014 it was 75% male, and 25% female. Printing is 70% male, and 30% female, in 2014 it was 69% male and 31% female.

Generally, across many sectors the proportion of females increased by a few percent in the seven years preceding 2020 and has decreased by a couple of percent since.

Employee age

The average age of the UK working population (over 16) in 2024 is 42.3, 10 years ago it was 41.5. In the printing industry, the average age in 2024 is 43.4, 10 years ago it was 43.0.

The average age for the UK is slowly climbing and the average age in printing is slightly higher than the UK average, but it hasn’t increased as much in the last 10 years.

The BPIF suggests that with an aging population, and increases in the state pension age, the economy needs industries where older people can continue to work if – it’s important that employment opportunities exist for people in their 50s and 60s. However, industry survival and change demands that a young and diverse workforce is provided opportunities too.

Employee ethnicity

Data from the ONS suggests that in 2024:

  • 84.0% of the UK workforce is White (printing – 88.2%)
  • 4.4% is Black (2.6%)
  • 3.8% is Indian (3.9%)
  • 1.6% Mixed (1.4%)
  • 1.5% Pakistani (1.2%)
  • 1.4% Other Asian (1.0%)
  • With the remainder being Chinese, Bangladeshi, or Other.

The printing ethnicity data is estimated from available data for manufacturing – better data specific to printing has not yet been uncovered.

According to the BPIF, there is an over-representation of white people in the UK printing industry, and a correspondingly slight under-representation of most other ethnic groups.

Company size and age

According to the BPIF, it has been said that the UK printing industry has a long tail, this is not disputed by the fact that, in 2024, 75% of companies employed less than 10 people. Only 50 companies had 250 or more employees.

Just over one-third of companies (36%) had a turnover less than £100,000, and 5% of companies had a turnover in excess of £5 million; however, the BPIF estimates that this 5% of companies accounts for around 75% of total industry turnover.

The age profile of companies shows that in 2024 almost two-thirds of companies in the industry were at least 10 years old. However, 9% of companies were formed within the last two years.