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What is a Trade Printer?

Intro to Production Printing: What is a Trade Printer?

Print 101: Trade Printer – Episode Summary

In this episode of The Print University, Pat McGrew and Ryan McAbee uncover the hidden but essential world of trade printers—print providers that specialize in serving other printers and professional buyers. Ideal for those building printing industry training programs for new employees, printing technician certification online, or training sales teams in outsourced training for print production staff, this course defines what trade printers are, how they operate, and why they’re central to modern print ecosystems.

Trade printers don’t sell directly to end-users. Instead, they support brokers, designers, franchise networks, and other PSPs (Print Service Providers) by offering specialized services, overflow capacity, or equipment access (e.g., foil stamping, perfect binding, embellishments). They may operate locally, nationally, or globally—especially through web-to-print portals or distributed print platforms like Cimpress and Flyer Alarm.

The episode distinguishes between traditional trade printers and technology platforms. The former often require physical job transfers (e.g., sheets for finishing), while the latter route digital files to a global network for local production—reducing shipping costs and improving delivery times. Ryan and Pat also spotlight growth areas: packaging, wide format, embellishment, and distributed manufacturing.

Challenges include pricing pressure, seasonal variability, and lack of end-customer visibility. But trade printing also creates powerful revenue streams, especially when automated quoting and online ordering are integrated.

You Will Learn:

  • What trade printers do and how they serve B2B and B2B2C relationships

  • Key capabilities: bindery, embellishment, packaging, wide format, overflow capacity

  • The rise of online printers, franchise networks, and distributed fulfillment platforms

  • Technology integration: MIS automation, pricing APIs, and digital job routing

  • Business strategies for becoming or leveraging trade printers in your network

Who This Course Is For:

Commercial PSPs, franchise operators, print buyers, operations managers, and educators implementing outsourced training for print production staff, MIS software training for print production, or exploring trade partnerships in printing technician certification online

Time to Watch:

Approx. 30 minutes