323111 Commercial Printing (except Screen and Books)

Official definition

This U.S. industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in commercial printing (except screen printing, books printing) without publishing (except fabric grey goods printing). The printing processes used in this industry include, but are not limited to, lithographic, gravure, flexographic, letterpress, engraving, and various digital printing technologies. This industry includes establishments engaged in commercial printing on purchased stock materials, such as stationery, invitations, labels, and similar items, on a job-order basis. Establishments primarily engaged in traditional printing activities combined with document photocopying services (i.e., quick printers) or primarily engaged in printing graphical materials using digital printing equipment are included in this industry.

Source: US Census Bureau, 2022 NAICS descriptions.

When to use a different code

Census classifies these close-sounding activities somewhere else. Businesses mainly engaged in:

• Screen printing on purchased stock materials (except books, grey goods, and manifold business forms) are classified in U.S. Industry 323113, Commercial Screen Printing.
• Printing on fabric grey goods are classified in Industry 313310, Textile and Fabric Finishing Mills.
• Printing books and pamphlets are classified in U.S. Industry 323117, Books Printing.
• Manufacturing paper stock materials, including stationery, invitations, labels, and similar items are classified in Subsector 322, Paper Manufacturing.
• Manufacturing and printing advertising specialties are classified in the Manufacturing sector according to the products made.
• Providing photocopying services on photocopy equipment without performing traditional printing activities are classified in U.S. Industry 561439, Other Business Service Centers (including Copy Shops).
• Printing and publishing, known as publishers are classified in Subsector 513, Publishing Industries.
• Manufacturing bare printed circuit boards are classified in U.S. Industry 334412, Bare Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing.
• Providing printing brokerage services are classified in Industry 561990, All Other Support Services.

Source: US Census Bureau, 2022 NAICS cross-references.

Businesses that use this code

• Print shop

Activities listed under 323111

The Census index assigns these 106 activities to this code. If your business matches one, this is your code.

• Address lists commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Advertising materials (e.g., coupons, flyers) commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Agricultural magazines and periodicals commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Albums (e.g., photo, scrap) and refills manufacturing
• Appointment books and refills manufacturing
• Art prints commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Atlases commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Blankbooks and refills manufacturing
• Books, sales, manifold, printing
• Business directories commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Business forms commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Business forms, manifold, printing
• Calendars commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Cards (e.g., business, greeting, playing, postcards, trading) commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Catalogs commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Catalogs of collections commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Checkbooks and refills printing
• Comic books commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Commercial digital printing (except books)
• Commercial engraving printing (except books)
• Commercial flexographic printing (except books)
• Commercial gravure printing (except books)
• Commercial letterpress printing (except books)
• Commercial lithographic (offset) printing (except books)
• Commercial printing (except screen, books)
• Commercial quick printing (except books)
• Computer forms (manifold or continuous) printing
• Credit and identification card imprinting, embossing, and encoding
• Databases commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Diaries manufacturing
• Digital printing (e.g., billboards, other large format graphic materials, high resolution) (except books)
• Directories commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Discount coupon books commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Financial magazines and periodicals commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Flexographic printing (except books, grey goods)
• Globe covers and maps commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Gravure printing (except books, grey goods)
• Greeting cards (e.g., birthday, holiday, sympathy) commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Guides, street map, commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Heat press printing apparel and textile products (e.g., caps, napkins, placemats, T-shirts, towels) (except grey goods and T-shirt shops)
• Hydrographic printing
• Instant printing (i.e., quick printing) (except books)
• Intaglio printing (except books)
• Job printing (except screen, books)
• Job printing, engraving (except books)
• Job printing, flexographic (except books)
• Job printing, gravure (except books)
• Job printing, letterpress (except books)
• Job printing, lithographic (except books)
• Job printing, offset (except books)
• Juvenile magazines and periodicals commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Labels, commercial printing (except screen), on a job-order basis
• Lithographic printing (except books, grey goods)
• Looseleaf binders and devices manufacturing
• Magazines and periodicals commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Manifold business forms printing
• Maps commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Music, sheet, commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Newsletters commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Newspapers commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Offset printing (except books, grey goods)
• Patterns and plans (e.g., clothing patterns) commercial printing (except blueprinting, screen) without publishing
• Periodicals commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Photo albums and refills manufacturing
• Postcards commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Posters commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Print shops, digital (except printing books)
• Print shops, engraving (except printing books)
• Print shops, flexographic (except printing books)
• Print shops, gravure (except printing books)
• Print shops, letterpress (except printing books)
• Print shops, lithographic (offset) (except printing books)
• Print shops, quick (except printing books)
• Printing apparel (except screen printing)
• Printing manifold business forms
• Printing, digital (e.g., billboards, other large format graphical materials, high resolution) (except books, grey goods)
• Printing, engraving, on paper products
• Printing, flexographic (except books, grey goods)
• Printing, gravure (except books, grey goods)
• Printing, letterpress (except books, grey goods)
• Printing, lithographic (except books, grey goods)
• Printing, photo-offset (except books, grey goods)
• Printing, quick (except books, grey goods)
• Professional magazines and periodicals commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Quick printing (except books)
• Racetrack programs commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Racing forms commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Radio guides commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Radio schedules commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Religious magazines and periodicals commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Rotogravure printing (except books)
• Sales books, manifold, printing
• Scholarly journals commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Scholastic magazines and periodicals commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Scrapbooks and refills manufacturing
• Sheet music commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Shipping registers commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Stationery, commercial printing (except screen), on a job-order basis
• Technical magazines and periodicals commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Telephone directories commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Television guides commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Time planners/organizers and refills manufacturing
• Trade journals commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Trade magazines and periodicals commercial printing (except screen) without publishing
• Unit set forms (e.g., manifold credit card slips) printing
• Yearbooks commercial printing (except screen) without publishing

Source: US Census Bureau, 2022 NAICS index file.

SBA size standard for 323111

To count as a small business for SBA loans and federal contracts under NAICS 323111, your business (including affiliates) must not exceed 650 employees. Check your business.

Source: SBA table of size standards, effective March 17, 2023.

Closest UK SIC 2007 codes

There is no official one-to-one link between NAICS and UK SIC. These codes share the same international class (ISIC Rev. 4: 1709, 1811, 2599, 8219), so treat them as a starting point and check the definition.

• 18110Printing of newspapersUK SIC
• 25990Manufacture of other fabricated metal products n.e.c.UK SIC
• 82190Photocopying, document preparation and other specialised office support activitiesUK SIC

Built from Census concordances 2022→2017 NAICS and 2017 NAICS→ISIC Rev. 4.

Similar codes to compare

• 323113Commercial Screen Printing
• 323117Books Printing