Understanding the Current State of Paper Costs in Custom Printing: 2024 Update
by Alex Plachta
I want to update you on the current paper cost situation in the United States and what to expect for the rest of the year. This blog is based on my own experiences with manufacturers over the past few years as well as articles like this one on the topic.
In a nutshell, paper and related products in the custom printing world (everything from business cards to envelopes to booklets and more) continue to rise in price, but not nearly at the rate they did during 2020-2022. After COVID, there was a widespread shortage of raw materials and labor, causing prices to jump rapidly. It was quite dramatic, with monthly and sometimes even weekly increases that affected every printed product. It was a challenging period for us, as we had to continuously pass on the seemingly endless price hikes to our customers.
So far in 2024, prices have stabilized somewhat, and we are no longer raising prices as frequently. Price increases are continuing, but they’re on a more manageable timetable and are more in line with inflation. Perhaps manufacturing costs have leveled off, or demand has slightly decreased. Either way, this return to “normal” price increases has been consistent across all the manufacturers we use.
I expect this trend to continue over the next six months, barring any unforeseen events. Prices on paper products will likely increase slowly or not at all for the rest of this year, with a possible increase at the start of 2025. Before the COVID pandemic, there were typically yearly price increases. Manufacturers may return to a yearly or bi-yearly schedule for small price hikes instead of being forced to raise prices unpredictably due to out-of-control costs.
There’s not much to report, really, but perhaps that’s a good thing. While researching for this blog, I found very few recent articles on this topic, which is a relief compared to the numerous articles about paper price spikes we saw in the past.
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