Printed Books Reached Their Peak in 2007, According to New Study

PRIMIR study identifies key trends facing book markets: It will take years for e-books to penetrate all aspects of the traditional print book market, but the handwriting is on the wall.

[PRESS RELEASE] Reston, VA, JANUARY 11, 2010—According to a PRIMIR study entitled Trends in Books: 2008-2012, published in 2009, conventionally printed books reached the peak of their product life cycle with publishers' net sales of 3,127 million book units in 2007. In 2008, six major industry segments in the book industry accounted for 3.0 billion publisher net book copies valued at $35.7 billion. Printed books were headed toward a new record high in 2008 when the economic recession hit full force. PrintCom Consulting who conducted the research concludes that by the time the economy recovers, participants in the book publishing production chain will find themselves in a smaller, very different book industry.