Not in a gradual, “let’s improve the workflow” kind of way, and not in a surface-level “add a chatbot” sense either. This is a much deeper shift – one that changes how print businesses operate, compete, and ultimately survive.
Across the conversations we’re having with print companies right now, one theme keeps coming up: something is clearly changing, but it’s not always obvious what that means in practical terms, or where individual businesses fit within it.
A useful way to think about it comes from Ethan Mollick’s idea of the “jagged frontier” of AI adoption. Businesses don’t evolve evenly. They split. Some continue largely as they are today, while others move so far ahead they begin to look like a different industry entirely.
That’s exactly what’s starting to happen in print.
We’ve been framing this as the Seven Economies – not formal categories, but a way of understanding how the industry is separating in real time. Every print business is already sitting in one of them, whether that’s a conscious decision or not.
Most print businesses today sit somewhere within the first four economies. They range from deliberately traditional to quietly evolving.
Some businesses are making a conscious decision to step away from AI entirely, and in print, that can be a stronger position than it sounds.
Specialist fine art studios, letterpress printers, luxury packaging producers, and bespoke stationery brands all operate on a different kind of value – one built on craft, material knowledge, and human expertise. As more of the world becomes automated, that human element becomes more visible and, in many cases, more valuable.
As Chris puts it, these businesses are not in denial. They are making a calculated bet that “as the world automates, the demonstrably human-made becomes more valuable, not less.”
The opportunity here is not to reject technology outright, but to use it quietly where it helps while leading loudly with craftsmanship where it matters.
This is where things become more fragile.
These are businesses that still work exactly as they were designed to. The equipment is paid for, the team knows the process, and the customer base continues to order. On the surface, there is no obvious reason to change.
The challenge is not inside the business, but outside it. The customers these businesses rely on are evolving quickly. Expectations around personalisation, speed, responsiveness, and measurable results are shifting, often driven by changes happening in their own organisations.
As Chris highlights, “the phone doesn’t stop ringing overnight. But it does start ringing less.” The shift is gradual, but it compounds, and by the time it becomes visible, competitors in more advanced economies are already embedded with those same clients.
This is where most AI activity in print is currently focused, and there is real value being created here.
Businesses are using AI to speed up quoting and estimation, automate prepress checks, generate product and marketing content, improve campaign performance, and surface insights from production data more quickly.
All of this matters, and it should be encouraged. But it comes with a limitation.
As Chris puts it, “efficiency is not a moat.” If multiple competitors are all using AI to do the same things faster, the relative competitive position doesn’t change. The business becomes more efficient, but not necessarily more differentiated.
Which leads to the next question: what does this now make possible that wasn’t possible before?
This is where that question starts to be answered.
Businesses in this space are moving beyond efficiency and beginning to rethink what they offer and how they deliver it. They are exploring data-driven campaigns, dynamic personalisation, predictive modelling, and fully automated workflows that reduce manual intervention and increase speed.
They are also shifting the conversation with clients, moving away from purely transactional discussions and towards outcomes, performance, and measurable impact.
From the outside, these businesses still look familiar. They still have presses, production teams, and delivery schedules. But underneath, the model is evolving, and that evolution makes them more resilient and more competitive.
For most established print businesses, this is the most realistic and valuable direction to move towards in the near term.
Beyond this point, the structure of the business itself begins to change more fundamentally.
These are businesses that are choosing to lead rather than adapt incrementally.
They are restructuring teams, redesigning workflows around AI integration, investing in data infrastructure, and rethinking how sales, production, and customer engagement functions operate.
The goal is not simply to improve efficiency, but to create a meaningful competitive advantage.
Chris points to examples outside of print, where companies are already restructuring at scale, and the same pattern is likely to emerge here. Businesses that move early and decisively will be difficult to compete with, not because they are bigger, but because they are fundamentally built differently.
This is where new businesses enter the market without any of the constraints that established companies carry.
They are built from the ground up with AI embedded into every part of the operation. There are no legacy systems to work around, no inherited processes to maintain, and no outdated assumptions shaping decision-making.
These businesses are typically smaller, faster, and significantly more agile. Their cost base is lower, their ability to test and launch new ideas is higher, and they are focused entirely on what print can do now, rather than what it has done historically.
They are not trying to compete on tradition or scale. They are competing on execution, and they are targeting the same customers as established print providers.
This is the most difficult to visualise, particularly for businesses earlier in the journey.
With the rise of autonomous AI agents, it becomes possible for a single operator to manage what effectively functions as a full-service print marketing operation. Campaigns can be created, personalised, routed, and optimised continuously, with data feeding directly into the next cycle.
As Chris puts it, “from the outside, it will look like science fiction. From the inside, it’ll just be Tuesday.”
These economies are not replacing one another. They are coexisting, and in many cases, competing for the same customers.
Craft-led businesses will continue to thrive in their niche. Legacy operations will continue to run. AI-native businesses will emerge and gain traction. And a smaller number of established companies will choose to reinvent themselves in a more fundamental way.
At Digital Ink, the conversation is no longer about whether AI should be part of the business. That question has already been answered.
The more important question is whether the direction you are moving in is deliberate.
Because, as Chris highlights, the businesses most at risk are not the ones that chose their position intentionally. They are the ones that “drifted into the legacy economy by default, without ever deciding that’s where they wanted to be.”
Print as a medium remains resilient.
The business models built around it are what will be tested.
If you are not sure where your business currently sits, or where it should go next, that is exactly the kind of conversation we are having every day with print businesses across multiple regions.
