Although photo printing volumes have been decreasing over the past decade, professional photographers continue to print a high number of photos. At the same time, however, the market is changing - online photo services and social networking sites make it very easy to display photos without printing, and soft proofing is becoming increasingly common. Savvy professional photographers are acknowledging today's market shifts and developing ways to take advantage of these new technologies and maintain their revenues.

This document analyzes the photo printing results from InfoTrends' December 2012 research report entitled Digital Imaging and Professional Photographers: 2012 Survey Results. Although the full report on professional photographers touched on photo printing, this document provides a deeper analysis of pro photographers' photo printing habits. It assesses overall printing methods, discusses printing behaviors, and also considers the impact of photo merchandise products on traditional prints.

Due to the popularity of products like photo books, photo calendars, and photo cards, the photo merchandise market has experienced strong growth over the past few years. While these traditional photo-centric personalized products continue to achieve solid growth rates, print vendors must explore new consumer products that will bolster unit and revenue growth, retain existing customers, and continue to attract new buyers.

This "next generation" of printed products is being driven by several factors, including consumer creativity, advancements in printing and production technologies, developments in software and apps, and an improved consumer mobile experience. There is no shortage of Web-based, print-on-demand solutions that enable creative consumers to express themselves in unique ways. In addition, new links between physical and digital products are beginning to emerge, making this market even more dynamic.

While growth opportunities exist in many segments of the custom-printed products market, this study focuses on developments in custom printed cards, stationery items including products like custom printed contact cards and journals, and photo-based home decor. This report provides valuable and relevant information that identifies buyers/non-buyers, evaluates consumer interest levels and needs, examines workflow issues and the creative process, analyzes purchasing decisions, and explores the impact of printing. Market size estimates and forecasts are also provided for the card, stationery, and wall decor categories and key vendors are profiled.