Last year Book Business revived our ranking of the Top 20 Book Manufacturers. The ranking is a resource intended to help publishers get a more complete view of the major players in the book printing and manufacturing business. And so we’re proud to announce the Top 20 Book Manufacturers ranking for 2015.
The Top 20 ranks leading book manufacturers in the U.S. and Canada by revenue generated in the book sector. There has been a good deal of movement in the ranking from 2014 to 2015. Many of the companies have shifted appreciably due to industry consolidation and individual company growth.
A number of new companies also joined the Top 20 this year, including Core Publishing Solutions and Friesens Corporation, both of which have cracked the top 10. And some key players are notably absent, including last year’s top-ranked printer, Courier, which was acquired by R.R. Donnelley. R.R. Donnelley is not listed because the company does not disclose financial information on individual industry sectors.
In addition to overall book printing revenue, we asked book manufacturers how much revenue they generate from digital book printing. Not all of our Top 20 shared digital printing numbers, but of the companies that did, the revenue numbers were substantial. Edwards Brothers Malloy reported the largest proportion of digital printing revenue, attributing approximately 26% of total revenue to digital printing. Maple Press reported the second largest proportion of digital printing revenue, which made up approximately 15% of its total. We take a closer look at how publishers are using digital printing here.
Top 20 Book Manufacturers 2015
The Top 20 ranks the leading book manufacturers in the U.S. and Canada based on revenue generated in the book sector.*
Company Name | Rank 2015 |
Rank 2014 |
Total Revenue ($M) |
Book Sector Revenue ($M) |
Book Sector Revenue (%) |
Principal Officer | Number of Employees |
Quad/Graphics | 1 | 2 | 4,197.5 | 200 | 4.76% | Joel Quadracci | 25,000 |
Command Web Group | 2 | 3 | 260 | 135.2 | 52% | Steven Merson | 625 |
TC Transcontinental Printing | 3 | 4 | 1,904.2 | 133.3 | 7% | Francois Olivier | 8,500 |
Walsworth Publishing | 4 | 5 | 175.9 | 95 | 54% | Don O. Walsworth | 1250 |
Edwards Brothers Malloy | 5 | 6 | 95 | 90 | 95% | John J. Edwards | 695 |
Core Publishing Solutions | 6 | N/A | 92.1 | 65.8 | 71% | Todd Roth | 450 |
Worzalla Publishing | 7 | 8 | 65 | 65 | 100% | Jim Fetherston | 270 |
Friesens Corporation | 8 | N/A | 70 | 61.2 | 87% | Curwin Friesen | 590 |
Sheridan Group | 9 | 9 | 201.4 | 58.4 | 29% | John A. Saxton | 1,076 |
Webcrafters Inc. | 10 | 10 | 60 | 54 | 90% | Jac Garner | 400 |
Versa Press | 11 | 11 | 48.7 | 48.7 | 100% | Steven J. Kennell | 200 |
Marquis Book Printing | 12 | 12 | 55.2 | 44.2 | 80% | Serge Loubier | 325 |
Maple Press | 13 | N/A | 33 | 33 | 100% | James S. Wisotzkey | 300 |
Webcom | 14 | N/A | 30 | 30 | 100% | Mike Collinge | 200 |
Dickinson Press | 15 | 13 | 27 | 27 | 100% | Ray Sevin | 125 |
Thomson-Shore | 16 | 14 | 28 | 26 | 93% | Kevin Spall | 165 |
McNaughton & Gunn | 17 | 15 | 25 | 23.8 | 95% | Julie McFarland | 155 |
Bookmasters | 18 | 16 | 21 | 21 | 100% | Ken Fultz | 165 |
Mercury Print Productions | 19 | 19 | 32.7 | 19.3 | 59% | John C. Place | 227 |
P.A. Hutchison Co. | 20 | 18 | 26.2 | 19.2 | 73% | Chris Hutchison | 135 |
*Financial data was self-reported and compiled by Book Business and its sister publication Printing Impressions. Some notable organizations, such as R.R. Donnelley, do not appear on the ranking because they do not disclose financial information on a per-sector basis.
Related story: The Book Business Top 20 Book Manufacturers 2016