Paper Clips

Insights that drive Packaging, Paper and Performance

Author: <span>Vince O'Hara</span>

2026 Printing Impressions 300 Ranking: Something for Everyone

Pulling together the list of the 300 largest printing companies in the U.S. and Canada, as ranked by annual sales, isn’t easy. It’s a team effort that takes months of coordination, follow-up, analysis, and dedication. Over the years it’s become even more challenging due to the impact of consolidation and various headwinds affecting annual sales for many companies. This year feels different though. The Printing Impressions 300 is more than a ranking — it’s an annual snapshot of an industry that continues to adapt, invest, and evolve. We’re proud to bring it to you each year, and we hope the insights it provides help you better understand not only where the industry stands today, but where it’s headed next. Last year, the 300th company reported total sales of $3.7 million. This year, that number increased to $5.3 million. Request the list from Printing Impressions here: 2026 Printing Impressions 300 Free Research Report
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The Color Of Commerce, Literally

Consumer brands like Tiffany (blue), UPS (brown) and T-Mobile (magenta) have long had their own trademarked colors identifying their brands, but in an ad-tech industry first, ecommerce platform ROKT has one too. In fact, it is now an official color in color-matching platform Pantone’s matching system: Beetroot by ROKT. Developed in partnership with the Pantone Color Institute, recognized as a global authority on color, Beetroot by ROKT standardizes the bold fuchsia that has been part of ROKT's identity since the company's founding in Sydney in 2012. The certification establishes a proprietary color standard that will serve as a consistent visual signature across the company's physical, digital, and experiential presence worldwide. "Color has the power to create immediate recognition and establish a lasting connection with audiences," Pantone Vice President Laurie Pressman says in a statement announcing the new ROKT "owned" color.
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Graphic Packaging Enters Uncoated Recycled Paperboard Market with Launch of PaceSetter Ridgeline™

Graphic Packaging Holding Company , a global leader in sustainable consumer packaging, announced the launch of PaceSetter RidgelineTM, marking the company's entry into the uncoated recycled paperboard (URB) market. The URB offering — a high-performing solution for folding cartons, laminations, edge protectors, tubes and cores, and other specialty purposes — positions Graphic Packaging to serve a broader spectrum of paperboard and consumer packaging customers. Made from 100% recycled fiber, with at least 45% post-consumer recycled content, PaceSetter Ridgeline is available in 14- to 30-point calipers and produced at Graphic Packaging's state-of-the-art Waco, Texas, paperboard mill. The Waco facility enables seamless transitions between coated and uncoated recycled paperboard, giving the company flexibility to respond quickly to shifts in customer demand. Its advanced technology also supports sheet squareness, color consistency, quality assurance and converting performance across high-volume applications.
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PCA’s $140/ton containerboard price increase considered unprecedented

Packaging Corporation of America’s announced increase is double the typical amount, shocking industry observers. The reported action sent PCA’s — and competitors’ — stocks soaring on Friday. Packaging Corporation of America announced a $140 per ton containerboard price increase set to take effect Sept. 1, according to a Friday memo to investors from Michael Roxland, senior paper and packaging analyst at Truist Securities, citing industry contacts.  This amount is double what producers typically announce for increases, with numerous industry participants and observers calling it unprecedented and shocking.  This is PCA’s third announced containerboard increase in 2026 so far, and other top producers have previously announced similar increases at the same times. All of the companies’ previous hikes this year had been for $50 to $70 per ton.
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Sandy Alexander Acquired by the Marth Group

After months of industry speculation, Sandy Alexander, one of the most recognized and respected names in commercial print and integrated marketing services, announced it has been acquired by the Marth Group, the parent company of ENPOINTE (Minneapolis, MN) and Digital Lizard (NJ and Idaho). The acquisition marks the beginning of a bold new chapter — one built on the foundation of Sandy Alexander's iconic 60+ year legacy, amplified by the combined capabilities, talent, and geographic reach of the Marth Group family of companies. Under the terms of the acquisition, the Sandy Alexander brand will continue, with Mark & Barbara Marth assuming the roles of Co-CEOs of Sandy Alexander in addition to their responsibilities as owners of the Marth Group, owners of ENPOINTE in Minneapolis, and Digital Lizard in New Jersey and Idaho. ENPOINTE and Digital Lizard, along with Sandy Alexander, will create a unified platform across the Midwest, East Coast, and West Coast. Together, the combined organization will operate facilities in Clifton, NJ; Brooklyn Park, MN; Post Falls, ID; Westwood, NJ; Orlando, FL; and Burbank, CA — delivering a true national footprint of print and marketing services that few can match.
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Hope for quick plastic market normalization fades as Iran conflict escalates

Fighting in July squashed the promise of a June ceasefire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, along with packaging converters’ hopes for relief from plastic material price spikes. In June, hope abounded that a preliminary U.S. ceasefire with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz reopening would renormalize plastics markets following war-related supply chain disruptions and price spikes. But in July, the conflict again escalated, causing disturbances and uncertainty, and pushed some converters further toward swapping out virgin materials for recycled resins.  Experts believe one thing is clear for both virgin and recycled markets: Impacts will now last into 2027 regardless of when the conflict potentially ends.
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