NAICS 2022
323
Printing and Related Support Activities
Analysis
NAICS 323 is the 2022 subsector for printing and related support activities.
It has only one more detailed code, 3231, which covers exactly the same activities; the definition, index entries and statistics are on that page.
County Business Patterns counts 22,301 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 386,248 people at an average annual payroll of $57,397 per employee (28th percentile of national industries). 51% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which is close to the national mix.
Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments fell 10% and employment fell 12%. The 2018 count used NAICS 2017, so part of a large move can come from codes being redefined rather than from businesses opening or closing.
Official definition
Industries in the Printing and Related Support Activities subsector print products, such as newspapers, books, labels, business cards, stationery, business forms, and other materials, and perform support activities, such as data imaging, platemaking services, and bookbinding. The support activities included here are an integral part of the printing industry, and a product (a printing plate, a bound book, or a computer disk or file) that is an integral part of the printing industry is almost always provided by these operations.
Processes used in printing include a variety of methods used to transfer an image from a plate, screen, film, or computer file to some medium, such as paper, plastics, metal, textile articles, or wood. The printing processes employed include, but are not limited to, lithographic, gravure, screen, flexographic, digital, and letterpress.
In contrast to many other classification systems that locate publishing of printed materials in manufacturing, NAICS classifies the publishing of printed products in Subsector 513, Publishing Industries. Though printing and publishing are often carried out by the same enterprise, it is less and less the case that these distinct activities are carried out in the same establishment. When publishing and printing are done in the same establishment, the establishment is classified in Subsector 513, Publishing Industries, in the appropriate NAICS industry even if the receipts for printing exceed those for publishing.
This subsector includes printing on clothing because the production process for that activity is printing, not clothing manufacturing. For instance, the printing of T-shirts is included in this subsector. In contrast, printing on fabric (or grey goods) is not included. This activity is part of the process of finishing the fabric and is included in Industry 31331, Textile and Fabric Finishing Mills.
Excluded from this subsector are establishment primarily engaged in manufacturing bare printed circuit boards. These establishments print, perforate, plate, screen, etch, or photoprint interconnecting pathways for electric current on laminates and are classified in Industry 33441, Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing. Establishments primarily providing printing brokerage services are classified in Industry 56199, All Other Support Services.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.