Print marketing in 2025 is making both marketers and audiences say "wow" thanks to a new generation of innovations that have made print interactive, customizable at scale, and visually flawless.
If you're managing campaigns, running point on print collateral, or simply trying to stay current with marketing tech, these are the print marketing trends you need to know.
- Trend #1: Interactive Paper Turns Print Into a Digital Interface
- Trend #2: Small-Batch Printing Is In. Bulk Printing Is Out.
- Trend #3: Challenges with Print Designs in Canva
Trend #1: Interactive Paper Turns Print Into a Digital Interface
One of the most talked about print marketing trends of 2025 is something most U.S. brands are learning about for the first time: Interactive Paper.
Interactive Paper is an entirely new category of print that just launched in the U.S. after years of unprecedented performance for major brands across Europe.
Here’s why it’s our pick for the top trend of 2025:
Every piece of Interactive Paper is powered by near-field communication (NFC) technology embedded within the paper itself. Utilizing the same wireless technology used in contactless payments like Apple Pay, Interactive Paper triggers an experience directly to the user's smartphone.
There’s no learning curve, app, QR code, or camera required. Just print that activates when a smartphone is held near the paper, and the experience launches instantly.
There are two types of Interactive Paper, both opening entirely new possibilities for print marketing.
- Interactive Paper Touch.
With Interactive Paper Touch, three touch-sensitive buttons are printed using conductive ink and wired to an embedded NFC chip. When the user brings their smartphone near and presses a button, their natural electrical charge completes the circuit to instantly launch one of three distinct digital experiences on their device. - Interactive Paper Tap.
Interactive Paper Tap is engineered for speed. A simple tap of the phone is all it takes to trigger a single, powerful digital experience. Interactive Paper Tap is also compatible with AR (augmented reality) that launches 3D content anchored directly to the printed piece.
Learn more about Interactive Paper Technology here.
Trend #2: Small-Batch Printing Is In. Bulk Printing Is Out.
Printing thousands of the same identical brochure in bulk made sense when marketing moved slower and securing a low cost-per-piece was the priority.
But marketing timelines today shift quickly these days, and print marketing materials need to keep pace.
If messaging, pricing, branding, offerings, or other content needs to change, small-batch printing makes it fast and easy to adapt.
Here’s how it works.
Instead of printing 25,000 brochures that could be outdated next week, the small-batch printing model allows businesses to print a few hundred copies at a time. Since marketing collateral is printed in smaller, more frequent batches, businesses can make updates to print collateral between each print run.
Small-batch printing is made possible through a web-to-print portal, an easy-to-use online platform that’s similar to an e-commerce storefront.
Web-to-print portals are custom-built for your business and give approved users self-service access to browse, order, and distribute the print materials they need.
Once an order is placed, your printing partner manages the entire fulfillment process, including order processing, pulling the items from inventory, updating inventory, kitting, packaging, and shipping.
A web-to-print portal also supports controlled customization.
Approved users can personalize print materials for local audiences or individual prospects thanks to pre-designed templates housed within the portal. Editable fields within the templates allow users to customize information such as names, images, offers, or messaging while core brand elements remain locked in place.
Small-batch printing and web-to-print portals have made it easier than ever to produce, manage, and deploy high-performance print collateral. That’s why they take the #2 spot on our list of 2025’s top print marketing trends.
Learn more about small-batch printing and web-to-print portals.
Trend #3: Challenges with Creating Print Designs in Canva
Canva makes it easy to create beautiful designs, but what looks great on a screen doesn’t always translate to print.
Design forums are filled with questions about why designs created in Canva came out pixelated, discolored, or improperly trimmed when printed.
The reality is that Canva simply isn’t built for creating print-ready files. Without specialized expertise, the "Canva-to-print" gap can result in costly errors, delays, and headaches.
The solution to the challenge of designing for print in Canva is our pick for trend #3: the growing importance of premedia expertise.
Premedia refers to the technical processes that happen between design and final print or digital output, including color correction, image retouching, file preparation, typesetting, proofing, and layout refinement to ensure production accuracy.
The goal of premedia is straightforward: protect the integrity of your brand’s visuals across print and digital channels.
Since premedia is not a core competency for most marketing agencies or internal brand teams, premedia support is typically outsourced to a specialized printing partner since it requires production-grade software, tools, and years of experience preparing files for multi-channel output.
As digital-first creative teams take on more print and cross-channel campaigns, premedia has become a critical part of production and now ranks as one of the top print marketing trends of 2025.
Learn more about the growing importance of premedia expertise here.
About Artisan Colour
Ready to see what these modern print trends and technologies look like in action for your business?
The print marketing trends of 2025 require a printing partner who understands both the discipline of production and the demands of modern marketing. Artisan Colour was built on that exact premise.
Since 1998, Artisan Colour has continuously invested in innovative technology to provide modern print, marketing, and fulfillment solutions that maximize ROI. While our suite of services has expanded, our commitment to quality and craftsmanship remains unchanged.
Contact our team of experts today to experience the Artisan Colour difference.
