The Top 25 Book Manufacturers - Intro

The Top 25 Book Manufacturers

R.R. Donnelley & Sons, Chicago, continued its reign in 1999 as North America's leading book manufacturer, as measured by book printing sales volume.

They remained at the top of the list even after Quebecor's acquisition last year of World Color Press, which propelled the combined company, Quebecor World, into the top slot among all commercial printers.

Indeed, total sales for Quebecor World reached $6.16 billion in 1999, to R.R. Donnelley & Sons' $5 billion. However, when measured by book manufacturing revenue, Donnelley stays at the head of the pack, churning out high-volume bestsellers such as Tom Clancy's new book The Bear and the Dragon, Putnam Publishing and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. (Donnelley was one of several printing companies that worked on the mammoth project of printing almost 7 million copies of J.K. Rowling's latest edition to the Harry Potter series.

The information on the following charts was provided by the manufacturers themselves to Printing Impressions magazine for its feature: "500 Who's Who in Printing," published in December 1999. This chart includes U.S. and Canadian companies only. We offer the following list and its accompanying profiles to introduce you to North America's top 25 book manufacturers.

Donna Loyle, Editor