Commercial printing is Canada’s longest established and most widely dispersed information technology-based manufacturing industry. The commercial printing industry is primarily made up of owner-managed small and medium enterprises (SMEs). These SME’s are located in every region and community in the country. They provide essential services that support other manufacturing industries as well as every other sector of the economy.

• Canada’s commercial printing industry is the fourth largest manufacturing employer with more than 84 000 employees working in 5834 establishments.
• The Canadian printing industry is the second largest on-line seller in Canada (in terms of business to business and business to consumer) surpassed only by the transportation equipment manufacturing sector.
• The printing industry ranks third with 13.2 percent of its companies selling over the internet surpassed only by electrical equipment, appliance and component manufacturing at 17.7 percent and textile product mills at 17.2 percent.