The Hong Kong Printers Association

What The Hong Kong Printers Association does

The Hong Kong Printers Association (香港印刷業商會) is a non-profit trade association founded in 1939 that serves as the principal representative body for Hong Kong's printing industry. Headquartered at 48-50 Johnston Road in Wanchai with a 23-person staff, it provides industry representation, training, publications, and networking services to printing companies, packaging firms, designers, and individual professionals in Hong Kong. Its core product surface includes two long-running publications — 《香港印刷》(Hong Kong Print Media, launched 2004) and 《DPI》(Design·Printing·Idea, launched 2005), merged into a single monthly magazine since August 2007 and distributed through direct member mail, over 100 merchant pickup points, public libraries, and Macau — plus a searchable member directory, job posting board, and industry news portal covering local, Mainland, and overseas printing developments.

The association's training and certification arm, APTEC (Printing Technology and Research Centre), operates from the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education Kwun Tong campus and delivers colour management, Fogra digital printing professional, computer typesetting, and digital transformation programmes in partnership with the Hong Kong Productivity Bureau and the Employees Retraining Board. Revenue mechanics rest on three streams: annual membership dues from printing companies and industry stakeholders, advertising sales in HKPM/DPI publications, and course fees ranging from HK$170 to HK$15,000 per programme. Distribution is hybrid: direct-to-enterprise membership mail for B2B members, supplemented by retail pickup at merchants, restaurants, design schools, and cultural venues for the consumer-facing DPI publication. Strategic activity includes organising trade pavilions at international exhibitions such as Frankfurt Book Fair 2024 (70+ member publishers and printers) and Hong Kong International Printing and Packaging Fair, plus Shanghai study missions and Greater Bay Area seminars to reinforce cross-border industry integration.

Name

The Hong Kong Printers Association

Legal name

The Hong Kong Printers Association

Website

https://hkprinters.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1939

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Hong Kong Printers Association is a non-profit trade association founded in 1939 that represents Hong Kong's printing industry through publications (HKPM and DPI), APTEC-led training and certification, member directories, and trade fair participation. It serves printing companies, packaging firms, designers, and industry professionals in Hong Kong.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Wanchai

HQ country

Hong Kong SAR China

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees from printing companies and industry stakeholders in Hong Kong. The association provides member benefits including free publications, training discounts, and access to member directories.
2. Publication Advertising: Advertising sales in association publications including Hong Kong Print Media (HKPM) and the merged DPI magazine, distributed monthly to members and subscribers across Hong Kong.
3. Training Programme Fees: Revenue from APTEC (Printing Technology and Research Centre) training courses including colour management, digital printing certification, and desktop publishing programmes. Course fees range from HK$170 to HK$15,000 per programme.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Hong Kong Printers Association is a non-profit trade association serving Hong Kong's printing industry since 1939. It provides industry representation, publishes the Hong Kong Print Media (HKPM) and DPI magazines, delivers professional training and certification through its APTEC arm, maintains a member directory, and organises trade events and study missions.

Product overview

The Hong Kong Printers Association operates as a trade association for the printing industry, offering a portfolio of publications and services. Its core publications include 《香港印刷》(Hong Kong Print Media, HKPM), a bimonthly industry magazine relaunched in 2004 that merged with 《DPI》(Design·Printing·Idea) in 2007 to publish monthly, serving printing industry professionals with the latest news and business intelligence. Supporting services include professional training programs through APTEC (Printing Technology and Research Centre), an online industry news portal covering local, Mainland, and overseas printing news, and a member directory for business networking.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 《香港印刷》(Hong Kong Print Media, HKPM): Industry magazine reporting latest industry dynamics and business information for the printing sector, launched in 2004
• DPI (Design.Printing.Idea)

Products and services

• Hong Kong Print Media (HKPM) Magazine A bimonthly (later merged into monthly) industry magazine reporting on printing industry news, trends, and business information, available free to HKPA members and distributed to over 100 pickup locations and public libraries across Hong Kong.
• DPI (Design·Printing·Idea) Magazine A publication covering design, printing, and creative topics for industry professionals and the general public. Originally launched as a separate bimonthly and merged with HKPM in 2007 into a monthly combined magazine distributed to over 100 merchant and restaurant locations across Hong Kong.
• APTEC Training and Certification Programmes Professional training and certification courses delivered through the Printing Technology and Research Centre (APTEC), including colour management, Fogra digital printing professional certification, desktop publishing, and digital transformation courses. Course fees range from HK$170 to HK$15,000.
• Member Directory and Classification Service A searchable online directory of HKPA member companies organised by category to facilitate business networking and sourcing within Hong Kong's printing industry.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 300 industry peers gathered for the 87th anniversary celebration and 2026 Annual General Meeting
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe association collaborates with Hong Kong Design Institute on the '印出個未來' (Print Your Future) internship programme, where HKDI students gain practical printing industry experience at member companies. Member companies including Stone Pillar, Herald, Wei Min, DG3, and An Liang supported the programme.
• APTEC - Printing Technology and Research CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAPTEC (印刷科技研究中心) is the association's primary training and research arm, operating from the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) Kwun Tong campus. It delivers colour management certification courses, Fogra digital printing professional certification, and other industry training programmes on behalf of the association.
• Hong Kong Productivity BureauminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Hong Kong Productivity Bureau collaborates with the association on training programmes, including a digital transformation course for the printing media and publishing sector delivered as evening sessions.
• IPP - Association of Printing Media ProfessionalsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe IPP (印刷媒體專業人員協會) is listed as a supporting organisation for association training and seminars, including green printing enterprise seminars and professional development programmes.
• Employers' Retraining Board (ERB)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe association participates in the ERB's 'Special 5' skills upgrading programme, offering free retraining opportunities for printing industry employees under the Employees Retraining Ordinance.
• Macau Printers Association (澳門印刷業商會)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe Macau Printers Association is listed as a pickup location for DPI magazine, enabling distribution of the association's publication to Macau-based readers at their office in Macau.
• Chongwa (Hong Kong) Printing AwardsminorOthersThe association sponsors and promotes the Chinese Printing Awards (中華印製大獎), an industry awards programme recognising excellence in printing across Greater China.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Japan Federation of Printing Industries: Japan's national printing industry federation running industry statistics, training, and trade exhibitions. Comparable in function to HKPA but at substantially larger scale and with broader industry coverage.
• Taiwan Printing Industry Association: Taiwan's national printing trade association. Comparable role as a Chinese-language-region industry body providing advocacy, training, and trade show representation for printers.
• Singapore Print & Media Association: Singapore's printing industry association providing training, networking, and member services across the print value chain. Comparable to HKPA in scale and activities, but focused on Singapore-based printers.
• China Printing and Printing Equipment Industries Association: The largest national printing trade body in mainland China. Directly comparable to HKPA as an industry trade association serving printing companies, running publications, trade fairs, and policy advocacy — but operating at a national rather than city level.
• Macau Printers Association: Macau's printing industry trade body, already listed as a HKPA distribution partner for DPI magazine. Closest geographic peer — both are Cantonese-speaking-region printing trade associations with similar scale and member profiles.

Others

• Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC): Government-funded productivity organization that co-delivers digital transformation training with HKPA (HK$3,000 Printing Media and Publishing Digital Transformation course). Acts as a training partner rather than direct competitor, but its broader industry support scope overlaps with HKPA's mandate.
• Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC): Organizer of the Hong Kong International Printing & Packaging Fair in which HKPA actively participates. Not a direct peer but an adjacent ecosystem enabler — runs major trade exhibitions and industry promotion that complement HKPA's member services.

Broad incumbents

• PRINTING United Alliance: North America's largest printing industry trade association (formed via merger of Printing Industries of America and Specialty Graphic Imaging Association). Comparable industry-representation function but serves a much broader and larger membership base than HKPA.
• British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF): UK printing industry federation offering training, certification, and policy advocacy. Directly comparable in function to HKPA but operating at national scale across the UK printing sector.
• Intergraf: European federation for the printing and graphical industry. Comparable trade-association role but at pan-European level, providing advocacy and industry intelligence across multiple national markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/hkprinters
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-hong-kong-printers-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Hong Kong Printers Association