Publishing, printing and reproduction of recorded media in Europe

Publishing, printing and the reproduction of recorded media (NACE Rev. 1.1 Division 22) generated €97 billion of value added in the EU-27 in 2006, representing 1.7% of the non-financial business economy total. However, in employment terms this sector’s contribution was smaller as 219,900 enterprises employed some 1.8 million people, equal to 1.4% of the non-financial business economy’s workforce. Several activities are involved in this sector with quite different processes. A distinction can be made between printing which produces goods, publishing which provides services, and newer activities such as the reproduction of CDs/DVDs. This sector has been revolutionised by changes in information technologies more than many other industrial processes, creating a number of electronic alternatives to traditional printing and at the same time enabling smaller and more flexible print-runs.