Graphic Media Alliance

09/30/2025

The Next Generation of Print Employees

Source: Canon, 2025

Now is an important time for the print industry. It’s a time of change and where new and emerging technologies are influencing its future. The print industry is unique and has developed over many years, transitioning from analog to digital technologies, but there’s still so much more to come. For it to continue to grow and transform, we need fresh ideas and out-of-the-box thinking. And one way that we can support this growth is to attract the next generation.

Print to you and me is a range of innovative applications that we interact with in our daily lives. However, print to someone who doesn’t know print’s full capabilities or creative potential could be seen as just a book or a poster you put up on your wall. Those outside of our industry don’t realise all that ‘print’ encompasses – everything from a calendar to instruction manuals, or wallpaper to window graphics. In fact, everything you read that is not on a screen (besides a handwritten letter) is printed. But if this is the perception of print, then how do we attract new and young talent to fuel future innovation?

Print is more than just a word

We know that print is rapidly advancing due to new technologies such as automation, augmented reality and robotics, and it’s these additions that present the opportunities for new talent. In order to attract the future workforce, we need to re-look at the term ‘print’. What does it actually mean? For me, the word limits the scope of what print really is - it’s purely the output of what we do. And it’s impossible to encapsulate what our industry can do with just one word.

The magic of the industry is the end-to-end journey behind it including software, hardware, finishing etc. It should be positioned as a creative technology industry and this is what we need to bring to the fore to attract the next generation. Young people today are digitally savvy, having grown up with smart technology at their fingertips. Some of them see print as old-fashioned and not ‘sexy’ like digital. So, we need to combine new technologies that they’re au fait with ­– and perhaps that they wouldn’t necessarily relate to print – in order to appeal to them. We need to speak their language and show them the strong role that print has to play alongside these digital and virtual platforms, and how they can be part of its exciting future in bringing the two more closely together.

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What Graphic Media Alliance Is Doing

Graphic Media Alliance is dedicated to supporting both today’s print industry and the students who will carry it forward. 2025 marks the fourth year of our FOREtheWIN networking events, which brings print-interested students and emerging professionals together with local GMA members at local TopGolf locations. Each year more than 100 students take part, discovering print as a creative and rewarding career path.

GMA also works closely with high schools and colleges through collaborations, including classroom visits, career fairs, company tours, and advisory boards, across Ohio, Michigan, and Northern Kentucky. This past year, our first Educator Industry Workshop brought 15 instructors together with member companies to explore topics like packaging, commercial printing, wide format, and promotional print.

Scholarships and career growth are central to our mission. In 2025, the Printing Industries Education Funds (PIEF) awarded scholarships to 31 students providing funding to help them pursue their studies. Every year, Graphic Media Alliance coordinates the Graphic Communications contests for SkillsUSA in Ohio and Michigan with the goal to promote and celebrate print-ready minds. We encourage all members to get involved with their local schools and show students just how dynamic and exciting a career in print can be.