INDUSTRY | NEWS printmonthly PrintMonthlyMagazine printmonthly_signlink 6 website: www.printmonthly.co.uk January | February 2026 - Issue 358 The British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF) has reported the strongest growth in output and orders in the UK print industry for over three years. The BPIF’s Q4 Printing Outlook has suggested a major Q3 boost in the UK printing and printed packaging industries, which it says has triggered a “dramatic turnaround” in industry confidence. According to the latest BPIF Printing Outlook survey, both output and order levels have shown strong growth in Q3 above and beyond the positive forecasts from last quarter, with more growth forecast to come in Q4. Respondents to the survey are generally more positive, with fewer confidence concerns regarding the general state of trade. More than half (52%) of printers who responded to the survey were able to increase their output levels in the third quarter of 2025. Alongside this improved confidence, the survey also reflects positive changes regarding capacity utilisation, recruitment, cost control, and strategic plans to improve profitability. However, the BPIF has warned that last year’s Q4 Outlook report should be held as “a cautionary tale.” That report showed major improvement in orders and output for Q3, which provided a significant uplift in confidence. This was then “shattered by an underperforming economy and an Autumn Budget that was disappointing for business” according to the BPIF, reflected by a subsequent nosedive in confidence in Q1. Many specialists have warned that print and packaging companies are at risk of significant impact from upcoming changes to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) which received a significant update at the end of 2025. The EUDR law requires companies to ensure that natural commodities including paper, soy, and rubber sold in or exported from the EU market are deforestation-free and produced in accordance with relevant local laws. The rules are set to become mandatory for large- and medium-sized operators, and traders on December 30th, 2026 (this is another 12-month delay to the already revised date of December 30th, 2025), as well as micro firms and SMEs on June 30th, 2027. On November 26th, EU MEPS voted to simplify the complex rules which had originally received significant confusion. The proposed simplification would mean that the responsibility of products would be held by the companies that first introduce the product onto the market, and not the operators and traders, meaning items like books and magazines would be excluded. Although most paper in Europe comes from sustainably managed forests where the cycle of planting, growing, and logging is carefully controlled, many experts worry about the ramifications and knock-on effects this legislation could have. Many experts are also concerned that if the UK does not introduce a broadly equivalent regime then the UK market could then become a destination for higher-risk materials that cannot enter the EU. Trevor Willis, senior sales manager (EUDR) at technology company, iov42, says: “EUDR is not limited to non-EU deforestation. It focuses on whether products are associated with deforestation or forest degradation anywhere in the world.” In response to the legislation, iov42 created Interu as an IT Solution designed to allow organisations operating in the European marketplace to satisfy the legal reporting requirements of the EUDR. Interu has been developed by iov42 to satisfy the legal reporting requirements of the EUDR BPIF reports “dramatic turnaround” in industry Solopress has announced the publication of ‘The Way That Life Goes On’, a new poetry collection by 102-year-old RAF veteran, Eddie Habberley [pictured right], who flew Spitfires during the Second World War. Printed by Solopress as a 60-page, square-format perfect bound book with matt laminated cover, the collection was released on Remembrance Day. Written over many years, the poems explore Eddie’s experiences in war and peacetime, his lifelong love for his late wife Peggy, and his fascination with flight, philosophy, and the natural world. In 2022, aged 99, Habberley took the controls of a Spitfire once again during a commemorative flight from Biggin Hill, almost eight decades after his wartime service. Speaking about the new book, Habberley says: “It is a great experience for me to get my work published, something I never expected. I am excited to see the first book.” EUDR proposals become subject to more change Solopress prints Veteran’s poetry collection The BPIF says more than half of printers increased their output levels in Q3 By Jonathan Pert By Jonathan Pert By Jonathan Pert
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