Semper International, a placement firm for skilled help in the graphic arts and printing industry, has announced that 71% of responding companies reported a profitable Q2 2015, a 20% drop from last quarter. In addition, 29% of companies reported an increase in sales during the first two weeks of Q3.

Since February 2003, Semper International has provided a quarterly survey offering estimates of trends in the printing and graphics industries. To prevent bias, survey questions–both qualitative and quantitative–are designed by Semper corporate partner Cvent.

Survey participants include more than 300 small, medium and large printing companies; both clients and prospects of Semper International. Participants provide data on revenue and hiring, as well as estimated outlooks on future trends. Data is requested from a random sample and is not screened. To preserve confidentiality, individual company information is not part of the tabulation.

Again this quarter, Semper International has partnered with Printing Impressions to distribute the survey and saw a boost in participation, particularly among large companies (measured by number of employees).

“The recovery continues to be a long and winding road,” says David Reagan, CEO of Semper International. “The soft spot we saw in the winter continues into the quarter. Our hopes for a fast recovery have not come to fruition. The news isn’t all bad. Companies have seen growth in the early days of Q3 and the traditional fall busy season is around the corner.”

The report offers noted insights in the survey data, including: More than half (62%) of firms posted net margins of between 5% and 15%; 61% of respondents expect sales to grow during Q3. 11% expect a decline; 34% of firms made capital investments during the last quarter; 46% of all respondents expect to hire staff during Q3 2015; and the largest labor cost concern continues to be health insurance, followed by overtime and base pay.