What Philipp Lithographing does

Philipp Lithographing Co. is a family-owned commercial offset printing company founded in 1913 and headquartered in Grafton, Wisconsin. The company specializes in large format sheetfed offset printing (41" to 81" sheet sizes) serving two primary end-use markets: point-of-purchase (P.O.P.) retail display graphics for consumer brands, and corrugated packaging labels and overwraps. Its technology stack centers on three KBA Rapida presses (145, 205, 162A) plus a Heidelberg XL 105, supported by Kodak Prinergy Evo prepress, EFI/Epson proofing, a Zund G3 digital cutter, and Qualtronic in-line color control. The company holds industry certifications including G7 Master Printer, SFI Chain of Custody, and ColorCert brand color management.

The company generates revenue through project-based custom quote pricing for one-time print jobs, with value-added services spanning prepress, color management, finishing, and delivery. Its go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales (phone, email, in-person) with a self-service online quoting portal called PHIL. Named enterprise customers include Walmart, Heineken, Harley Davidson, Disney, Bacardi, and Olympic Paint, and the company highlights a 1-2 day rerun turnaround and industry-low defect/rejection rates as core performance claims. Leadership is family-controlled: Peter Buening serves as President/CEO, Dave Kaehny as CFO/COO, and Stacy Buening as EVP/General Counsel. The company operates as a private, family-owned entity with no external funding rounds, no acquisitions, and a single production facility serving customers across the United States.

Name

Philipp Lithographing

Legal name

Philipp Lithographing Co.

Website

https://philipplitho.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1913

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Philipp Lithographing is a family-owned large format offset printer founded in 1913, serving consumer brand enterprises with point-of-purchase retail displays and corrugated packaging labels from its single Grafton, Wisconsin production facility.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Printing Services

NAICS

Commercial Printing (except Screen and Books) (323111), Support Activities for Printing (323120), Support Activities for Printing (32312)

SIC

Commercial Printing (2750), Service Industries For The Printing Trade (2790), Coating, Engraving & Allied Services (3470)

akta.pro primary industry

Large-Format & Specialty Printing (Signage, Posters, Displays) (MPAJALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Prepress, Plate-Making & Artwork Services (IMALAKAM), Finishing, Converting & Die-Cutting Services (IMALAKAN)

Keywords

• Commercial printing services
• Corrugated packaging printing
• POP display printing
• Large format printing
• Prepress printing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Grafton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Large Format Printing Services: One-time project-based printing services for P.O.P displays and corrugated packaging. Revenue generated per job based on size, complexity, substrate, and volume. Quick turnaround and rerun capabilities (1-2 days for reruns).
2. Print Solutions (Value-Added Services): Comprehensive print solutions including prepress support, color management, finishing, and custom die-cutting. Bundled service offerings from file preparation through delivery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Philipp Lithographing is a Wisconsin-based commercial printing company that produces corrugated packaging, large format printed materials, and point-of-purchase (P.O.P.) displays for brands and retailers. Its core service spans prepress through finishing, including sheetfed offset printing on heavy and specialty stocks, inline color control, die cutting, folding, gluing, and corrugated conversion. Customers are primarily consumer-facing brand owners in retail, food and beverage, cosmetics, electronics, pharmaceutical, and automotive categories.

Product overview

Philipp Lithographing is a family-owned large format offset printing company (established 1913) offering a unified suite of print solutions centered on Large Format Printing Services. The core offering encompasses P.O.P. Displays and Corrugated Packaging printing, supported by three integrated technology modules: PrePress Services (file preparation, proofing, secure file submission), Press Room Services (multi-press operations with KBA Rapida and Heidelberg equipment), and Finishing Services (precision cutting via guillotine and Zund digital cutter). A customer-facing PHIL Online Quoting System provides self-service quote generation and job management. The portfolio is architecture: a single unified print production platform with modular capability layers (prepress, press, finishing) that feed into distinct end-product categories (POP displays, corrugated packaging).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• P.O.P. Displays Large format printed point-of-purchase (P.O.P.) displays produced for brands and retailers to support in-store merchandising and promotional campaigns. Deliverables include high-impact printed display graphics and structural display components for retail floor and shelf presence.
• Corrugated Packaging Printed corrugated packaging produced for brands across retail, consumer goods, food and beverage, cosmetics, electronics, pharmaceutical, and automotive categories. Includes sheetfed offset printing on corrugated stocks with integrated finishing and conversion for shipping and retail-ready packaging applications.
• Large Format Printing Services Large format commercial printing services delivered via KBA Rapida sheetfed offset presses for packaging, displays, and specialty commercial print jobs. The offering supports heavy-stock and specialty substrates, up to 40-inch repeat, 12-color extended gamut, and inline color measurement for high-fidelity brand reproduction.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reruns ship within 1-2 days
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Smyth Companies: Family-owned label and packaging printer serving consumer brands with pressure-sensitive labels, flexible packaging, and folding cartons. Highly comparable to Philipp Lithographing in scale, customer type, and specialty printing focus.
• Diamond Packaging: Specialty packaging printer producing folding cartons, POP displays, and decorative packaging with a strong focus on sustainability and brand-owner customers. Directly comparable end markets and offset finishing capabilities.
• Nosco: Packaging printer specializing in decorated packaging, labels, and POP displays for consumer goods and healthcare brands. Comparable customer base and large-format offset printing capabilities.
• Cenveo: Commercial printing and packaging converter producing POP displays, labels, envelopes, and commercial print. Overlaps directly with Philipp Lithographing's large-format offset and POP display offerings.
• Mid-West Printing & Publishing (Midwest-Printing): Wisconsin-based commercial printing company offering offset, digital, and large-format printing for retail, POP, and packaging applications. Regional direct peer with similar offset capabilities and end markets.
• Multi-Color Corporation: One of the largest label and packaging printers in North America, producing decorative labels and packaging for major consumer brands. Directly comparable to Philipp Lithographing's corrugated packaging and label operations serving enterprise brand owners.

Broad incumbents

• HH Global: Global print management and outsourced marketing execution provider (which acquired InnerWorkings). Comparable enterprise customer base and POP/retail marketing execution, though operates at much larger scale and broader geographic scope.
• Berlin Packaging: Major hybrid packaging supplier offering rigid and semi-rigid containers, closures, and value-added services including printing and decorating. Serves the same enterprise brand owners with broader packaging portfolio than Philipp.
• LSC Communications (Atlas Holdings portfolio): Large-scale commercial and print-related services provider offering magazines, catalogs, books, and office products. Adjacent to Philipp Lithographing in commercial print methods though broader and print-media focused.
• Quad/Graphics: One of the largest commercial printers in North America offering retail marketing, packaging, and in-store display solutions. A broad incumbent whose retail-marketing and packaging segments directly overlap with Philipp's POP and corrugated work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=0ILXCZISo2Y

Compliance3 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 Philipp Lithographing