Analysis
NAICS 323111 is the 2022 national industry for commercial printing (except screen and books), part of 32311 (Printing). Census lists 106 example activities under it in the official index.
County Business Patterns counts 15,140 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 280,276 people at an average annual payroll of $60,982 per employee (35th 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 14% and employment fell 15%. 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.
By establishments it ranks 1st of the 3 codes at this level within Printing, with 70.9% of them.
Census lists 8 related activities that belong elsewhere, most often in 323113, 313310, 323117 and 322. Businesses that do several things are classified by their primary activity, the one that generates the most value, so check those boundaries before settling on this code.
Its index entries, the activities Census uses to assign businesses to this code, include address lists commercial printing (except screen) without…, advertising materials (e.g., coupons, flyers) commercial…, agricultural magazines and periodicals commercial printing… and albums (e.g., photo, scrap) and refills manufacturing, among 106 in all.
Official definition
This U.S. industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in commercial printing (except screen printing, books printing) without publishing (except fabric grey goods printing). The printing processes used in this industry include, but are not limited to, lithographic, gravure, flexographic, letterpress, engraving, and various digital printing technologies. This industry includes establishments engaged in commercial printing on purchased stock materials, such as stationery, invitations, labels, and similar items, on a job-order basis. Establishments primarily engaged in traditional printing activities combined with document photocopying services (i.e., quick printers) or primarily engaged in printing graphical materials using digital printing equipment are included in this industry.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.
Not this code if…
| The business mainly does | Use instead |
|---|---|
| Screen printing on purchased stock materials (except books, grey goods, and manifold business forms) | 323113 Commercial Screen Printing |
| Printing on fabric grey goods | 313310 Textile and Fabric Finishing Mills |
| Printing books and pamphlets | 323117 Books Printing |
| Manufacturing paper stock materials, including stationery, invitations, labels, and similar items | 322 Paper Manufacturing |
| Providing photocopying services on photocopy equipment without performing traditional printing activities | 561439 Other Business Service Centers (including Copy Shops) |
| Printing and publishing, known as publishers | 513 Publishing Industries |
| Manufacturing bare printed circuit boards | 334412 Bare Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing |
| Providing printing brokerage services | 561990 All Other Support Services |
Index entries (106)
- Address lists commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
- Advertising materials (e.g., coupons, flyers) commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
- Agricultural magazines and periodicals commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
- Albums (e.g., photo, scrap) and refills manufacturing
- Appointment books and refills manufacturing
- Art prints commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
- Atlases commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
- Blankbooks and refills manufacturing
- Books, sales, manifold, printing
- Business directories commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
- Business forms commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
- Business forms, manifold, printing
- Calendars commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
- Cards (e.g., business, greeting, playing, postcards, trading) commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
- Catalogs commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
- Catalogs of collections commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
- Checkbooks and refills printing
- Comic books commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
- Commercial digital printing (except books)
- Commercial engraving printing (except books)
- Commercial flexographic printing (except books)
- Commercial gravure printing (except books)
- Commercial letterpress printing (except books)
- Commercial lithographic (offset) printing (except books)
- Commercial printing (except screen, books)
- Commercial quick printing (except books)
- Computer forms (manifold or continuous) printing
- Credit and identification card imprinting, embossing, and encoding
- Databases commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
- Diaries manufacturing
- Digital printing (e.g., billboards, other large format graphic materials, high resolution) (except books)
- Directories commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
- Discount coupon books commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
- Financial magazines and periodicals commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
- Flexographic printing (except books, grey goods)
- Globe covers and maps commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
- Gravure printing (except books, grey goods)
- Greeting cards (e.g., birthday, holiday, sympathy) commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
- Guides, street map, commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
- Heat press printing apparel and textile products (e.g., caps, napkins, placemats, T-shirts, towels) (except grey goods and T-shirt shops)