2026 Trends in Print and Embellishments

Here’s a glimpse at just five of the trends we expect to dominate conversations in 2026 and beyond.

1. AI will continue to dominate conversations.

If 2025 ends up with a fancy title, it will likely be remembered as the “Year of AI.” Over the past year, we’ve seen an explosion of new AI tools — some as standalone apps, others built into software we already use, and plenty showing up in our day-to-day workflows. It’s in our equipment, on our phones, and in our everyday lives. Love it or hate it, AI is everywhere.

And that isn’t going to change in 2026.

New tools will keep coming to market (what feels like almost daily!) along with steady updates that bring better features and better capabilities. The tool that will revolutionize your business might not even be an idea yet, but you could have it in your hands by May. Or it could already be proving itself but just needs that one more evolution to become exactly what you need.

Plan to keep experimenting with AI and never assume your work is done. This space will continue to evolve rapidly, so designate someone in your organization to evaluate new tools and options and ensure you’re using the right ones at the right time.

2. Automation is no longer a differentiator — it’s a survival tool.

If you aren’t automating, your business isn’t going to last in 2026 and beyond. While you don’t need robots performing every task, ignoring automation for mundane and routine tasks means you’re falling behind daily, monthly, and sometimes by the minute.

Remove friction from your processes and workflow, and free up your staff to tackle what matters: interfacing with clients, solving complex problems, making sales, and developing new ideas. Those are all things automation can’t replace.

3. Staffing will continue to be challenging.

One reason why automation is so critical is that staffing and labor will only intensify. Across every segment, not just print, people are retiring and leaving the workforce faster than they are joining it. The most skilled, most passionate, and most loyal employees are in demand everywhere. You’re not just competing with the print shop down the street; you’re competing with Amazon, Nike, Microsoft, ChatGPT, and any other business looking for great talent.

Print shops get a bad rap as places to work, and it will take a collective effort to change that. But in the meantime, build your business and culture to attract those desirable employees. Skills can be taught, and industry knowledge can be learned, excitement and drive come from within. Create an environment where the brightest stars want to build their careers, and then give them opportunities, such as continuing education or chances to advance.

Ensure your company has a competitive benefits package — salary matters, of course, but so do all the other things your company offers employees. Make sure you’re the workplace everyone wants to join, not the one they want to escape.

4. Expect demand for personalized, embellished pieces to keep rising.

Budgets are getting tighter, and the cost to obtain and retain customers is increasing, especially as competition intensifies. The days of a brand sending out 100,000 pieces to blanket a neighborhood and get a strong ROI are gone.

But reduced volume doesn’t mean reduced demand. Instead, brands will turn to pieces designed around their data. Pieces that are personalized even to a demographic get far more reliable responses than a mass mailing, for example. And when you layer in a few levels of personalization so each one feels relevant to the recipient, the rates go up. Now add in some embellishments — a bit of foil on the envelope, a textured coating, an interesting die-cut — and the responses soar even higher.

If you want to be at the front of this trend, make sure your team isn’t just taking orders. They should actively be educating customers on the possibilities and even suggesting ways to enhance campaigns to get the best bang for every dollar.

5. Security will continue to evolve and grow in importance.

Security has always been a primary concern for certain sectors, such as finance or healthcare, but expect that same need to lock down data and keep it secure to creep into every space. The age of security breaches, hacked networks, and ransomed data drives home that no one is truly safe.

You need to ensure your own systems are as protected as you can make them from unauthorized users, but also do everything in your power to help clients secure their data as well. It might not be the only thing a customer is looking for in a print provider today — or even something they consider — but as we move into 2026 and beyond, expect this to only become more critical. Taking steps now to be proactive about security and designing systems to protect data as much as possible means you’ll have a head start in the future as it becomes a top requirement for brands choosing a new print provider.