King Printing Company

Name

King Printing Company

Legal name

King Printing Company, Inc.

Website

https://kingprinting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Book Printing & Manufacturing

NAICS

Books Printing (323117), Support Activities for Printing (323120), Printing (32311)

SIC

Book Printing (2732), Commercial Printing (2750)

akta.pro primary industry

On‑Demand Copy & Print Shops (Walk‑In / Quick Print) (EDAEAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Finishing & Post-Press Services (Cutting, Folding, Collating, Laminating, Foil, Emboss) (MPAJALAF)

Keywords

• Book printing services
• Book manufacturing
• Short-run printing
• Digital book printing
• Self-publishing printing

Headquarters

HQ city

Lowell

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Book Printing and Manufacturing: Short-run book printing and binding services for self-published authors, individuals, small businesses, and book publishers. Orders can be as few as 100 books with typical runs of 2,500 books.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

King Printing Company is a short-run book printing and book manufacturing company operating from a single Lowell, Massachusetts facility. All production—prepress, digital/sheetfed/web printing, binding, assembly, and warehousing—is performed in-house, with minimum runs as low as 100 books and typical runs of about 2,500 books for self-published authors, small businesses, and book publishers. The company also runs the Adibooks self-publishing platform and an InstantQuote pricing tool.

Product overview

King Printing Company is a book printing and manufacturing company offering a comprehensive suite of printing services. The core offering is short-run book printing serving self-published authors, small businesses, and publishers. The company operates as a complete book manufacturer under one roof with capabilities spanning digital printing (fleet of monochrome and multicolor presses), sheetfed offset presses, web presses (Variquik), and specialized equipment including Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 74, HP T350 Inkjet Web Press, Kodak PROSPER presses, and Screen Truepress Jet520. Finishing services include Perfect Binding, Case Binding, Saddlewire, Wire-O, and various other binding options using Kolbus and Muller Martini equipment. The sister platform Adibooks provides self-publishing services with instant pricing tools. Pre-press services support both traditional and electronic workflows with Adobe PDF Print Engine and Kodak platesetting. Warehousing and inventory management services complete the offering for end-to-end book production.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Short-Run Book Printing Book printing and manufacturing services specializing in short-run printing for self-published authors, individuals, small businesses, and book publishers, with runs as few as 100-500 copies.
• Digital Printing Services On-demand digital printing services using monochrome and multicolor digital production presses with variable data processing for personalized printing.
• Sheetfed Offset Printing Traditional offset printing using sheetfed presses ranging from one color to six colors, sizes from 11" x 17" duplicators to 28" x 41" sheetfeds.
• Web Press Printing (Variquik) Web press printing that combines traditional sheetfed and web press capabilities, printing and folding in one operation with reduced makeready time, supporting multiple page sizes.
• Pre-Press Services Traditional and electronic prepress services including camera, stripping, proofing, and platemaking, supporting MAC and PC platforms with Adobe PDF Print Engine front-end and 100 Base-T Ethernet connectivity.
• Bindery Services In-house finishing including Perfect Binding, Case Binding, Saddlewire, Wire-O, Plastic Spiral, Drilling, GBC, Knotch, Layflat, Stitching, and Shrinkwrap, using Kolbus, Muller Martini, and Nordson equipment.
• Assembly Services Customized assembly services for kitting components including boxes, binders, manuals, diskettes, reference guides, warranty cards, and direct response materials with automated and hand-assembly systems.
• Warehousing and Inventory Management Secured storage facilities with a computer-controlled warehouse for managing completed kits, individual components, and peripheral items, providing daily inventory status reports and replenishment services.
• Adibooks Self-Publishing Platform Sister self-publishing platform that handles actual manufacturing for authors, offering the BookBox tool for instant pricing and a website for book publishing services.

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HPcoreTechnology or Integration · 26 July 2011First North American book manufacturer to install HP T350 Color Inkjet Web Press speed upgrade. Previously installed HP T300 Color Inkjet Web Press. HP T350 runs at 600 feet per minute producing up to 3,927 letter-size pages per minute.
• KodakcoreTechnology or Integration · 18 May 2010Installation of KODAK PROSPER 1000 Press in August 2010 with plans to upgrade to KODAK PROSPER 5000XL Press in 2011. The PROSPER Press Platform delivers offset class quality, productivity, and cost for digital book printing.
• Screen (USA)coreTechnology or Integration · 29 May 2008King Printing acquired the Screen Truepress Jet520 full-color variable printing system, the first national book manufacturer to utilize Screen's Truepress Jet520 to print finished book blocks in an automated production line.
• HeidelbergcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 March 2007Installed 5-color Speedmaster CD 74 perfector from Heidelberg, replacing an older competitive model. Features inline coating unit and DryStar Combination Dryer.
• Kodak Magnus PlatesettercoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2007Installed Kodak Magnus Platesetter as part of continual process improvement. Runs Adobe PDF Print Engine for flexible job processing from 1/c to 6/c.
• Printing Industries of New EnglandminorOthersKing Printing Co., Inc. is a member of Printing Industries of New England (PINE), an industry trade association.
• AdibookscoreOthersAdibooks is the sister operation that handles actual manufacturing. Serves self-publishing market with motto 'There's a Book in You.' Uses BookBox for instant pricing.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Lightning Source (Ingram Content Group): Lightning Source is the largest print-on-demand and short-run book manufacturer in the world, serving self-published authors, small publishers, and trade houses. It directly competes with King Printing for short-run, low-MOQ book manufacturing work and offers integrated global distribution.
• Worzalla Publishing: Worzalla is a Stevens Point, WI-based book printer serving trade, children's, and educational publishers with short- to medium-run book manufacturing. Comparable to King Printing in being a mid-size, family-oriented book manufacturer with comparable technology investments.
• Versa Press: Versa Press is a large short-run book and publication printer in Pennsylvania serving trade, religious, and educational publishers. It is a relevant peer given overlapping short-run, quick-turnaround book manufacturing capabilities and similar target customer segments.
• Malloy Inc. Malloy is a Michigan-based book printer and binder serving publishers, self-published authors, and educational markets with short-run and on-demand book production. A direct competitor in the short-run book manufacturing space King Printing serves.
• Sheridan Press (Sheridan): Sheridan is a Hanover, PA-based printer serving the journal, magazine, and book markets with both short-run and high-volume digital and offset capabilities. Its book manufacturing division directly competes with King Printing for academic and trade titles.
• Friesens Corporation: Friesens is a Canadian book manufacturer specializing in high-quality, short- to medium-run book production for trade, educational, and specialty publishers. Comparable to King Printing in short-run focus, in-house bindery, and publisher customer base.
• McNaughton & Gunn: McNaughton & Gunn is a Saline, MI-based book manufacturer serving trade, educational, and reference publishers with short- and medium-run book printing. Comparable in size and product mix to King Printing.
• Thomson-Shore Inc. Thomson-Shore is a Dexter, MI-based book printing and manufacturing company specializing in short-run and medium-run book production for trade and educational publishers. It is one of the closest direct comparables to King Printing in terms of size, product mix, and customer base.

Emerging players

• Lulu Press: Lulu is a self-publishing platform that combines print-on-demand manufacturing with online sales and distribution. While primarily a platform rather than a manufacturer, it competes with the self-publishing services (Adibooks) and book printing offerings of King Printing for individual authors.

Broad incumbents

• CJK Group (Consolidated Printers): CJK Group is a large holding company consolidating multiple book and publication printers across North America. As a much larger aggregated incumbent, it competes broadly in the same short- and medium-run book manufacturing market as King Printing, with greater scale and geographic diversification.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kingprintingco

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 King Printing Company