Why Printers Are Your Next Best Customers – And How to Win Their Business

By Aileen Flaherty 

A shift is underway in the promotional products industry. But it isn’t being driven from within. It’s coming from just next door: print shops.

Commercial printers, wide-format shops, screen printers and apparel decorators are increasingly asking how branded merchandise fits into what they already sell. For suppliers, that’s one of the clearest paths to new revenue this year — provided you know how to meet these buyers where they are.

Why Print Shops Are Moving Into Promotional Products

Print-first businesses didn’t wander into branded merchandise by accident. Client demand pulled them there. A customer who already buys signage, packaging or direct mail increasingly wants one partner who can also deliver the tote bag, the lanyard, the apparel drop. For the printer, adding promo means deepening an existing relationship and opening a new revenue line without having to chase new customers.

That’s an advantage for suppliers, too. Printers arrive already fluent in production timelines, proofing and customization — concepts anyone else expanding into the industry usually has to learn from scratch. What they don’t know yet is everything about the promo side: pricing structures, terminology, how to position a branded item to their own client. And who they can engage with as new trusted partners. That gap is your opening.

Lead With Education and Resources for New Print Shop Partners

The suppliers who win over this audience aren’t the ones who show up with a catalog — they’re the ones who take the time to partner with and teach them. A simple starter kit, a curated “top sellers for beginners” list or a co-brandable sell sheet a printer can hand straight to their own customer builds more trust than any discount will. Printers are loyal once they find a partner who supports their learning curve, so the early investment in onboarding tends to outlast the first order by years.

The categories that travel best into this audience are the ones closest to what printers already sell: apparel, drinkware, bags, tech accessories and office or stationery products. They’re easy entry points because they offer something the printer client already trusts, instead of asking that client to consider something unfamiliar.

Know Which Type of Print Shop You’re Selling To

Not every printer wants the same pitch and treating them as one audience is the fastest way to lose their trust.

Commercial Printers

Commercial printers produce business cards, brochures and direct mail for corporate and agency clients. They care about brand consistency and integrated campaigns. Instead of pitching them to simply, “add promo,” reframe it as, “extend the campaign you already built.” A brochure plus a branded pen. A mailer plus a desk item. Position it as a turnkey add-on, not a new investment.

Wide-Format Printers

Wide-format printers usually go for banners, vehicle wraps and trade show displays, as they already operate inside event and brand environments. Their opening is visibility: tote bags, drinkware, outdoor gear — anything that extends the brand experience past the booth or backdrop they just printed. Flexible minimums and fast turnarounds matter more here than anywhere else, because their clients run on event timelines.

Screen Printers and Apparel Decorators

Screen printers and apparel decorators tend to be the most promo-curious group, since they’re already selling decorated apparel to schools, teams and local businesses. The pitch is to expand to apparel-adjacent categories with strong margins and minimal added risk, like bags, hats, water bottles and lanyards.

Where Print Shop Buyers Meet Promotional Products Suppliers in Person

All of this is easier to show than to explain, which is exactly why trade shows matter to this conversion. The ASI Show Pavilion at PRINTING United Expo puts suppliers in front of more than 25,000 attendees, including 4,000+ professionals already selling promo and actively looking for a partner who can show them how to expand their offerings to their current client base. It’s one of the only settings where the entire pitch outlined above — education, samples, category-specific framing — happens in a single conversation instead of a string of follow-up emails.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are print shops getting into promotional products?

Client demand is the primary driver. A business that already buys signage, packaging or direct mail from a print shop increasingly expects that same partner to deliver branded merchandise — tote bags, apparel, drinkware, lanyards — for the same campaign. Adding promo lets print shops deepen existing client relationships and open a new revenue line without acquiring new customers.

What promotional products sell best to print shops?

The easiest entry categories are the ones closest to what print shops already sell: apparel, drinkware, bags, tech accessories and office or stationery products. These give the print shop’s client something familiar, instead of asking them to consider an unfamiliar product type. Suppliers who lead with these categories see faster first-order conversion than those who pitch broad catalogs.

How should promotional products suppliers approach commercial printers versus screen printers?

Commercial printers value brand consistency and integrated campaigns — pitch promotional products as an extension of the print campaign they already produced (a brochure plus a branded pen, a mailer plus a desk item). Screen printers and apparel decorators are already selling decorated apparel, so the pitch is expanding into apparel-adjacent categories like bags, hats, water bottles and lanyards where margins are strong and added operational risk is minimal.

What support do print shops need from promotional products suppliers?

Education and resources, not discounts. Suppliers who win this audience provide starter kits, curated “top sellers for beginners” lists, co-brandable sell sheets the print shop can hand directly to its own customer, and clear guidance on promotional products pricing structures and terminology. Print shops are loyal once they find a partner that supports their learning curve, so onboarding investment tends to outlast the first order by years.

Where can promotional products suppliers meet print shop buyers in person?

The ASI Show Pavilion at PRINTING United Expo is the largest single venue, drawing 25,000+ attendees including 4,000+ professionals already selling promotional products and actively looking for supplier partners. Face-to-face conversations let suppliers deliver education, samples and category-specific framing in one meeting instead of across a string of follow-up emails.