What Bertelsmann Printing Group does

Bertelsmann Printing Group, operating in the United States as BPG USA, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and functions as a dedicated book manufacturing operation within the parent's Marketing Services division. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Hicksville, New York, the company provides B2B book printing services to U.S. publishers of fiction and non-fiction, spanning one-color printing across MassMarket, Digest, MassMarket Max, Softcover Trade, and Hardcover Trade formats, as well as four-color book components with finishing options including foil stamping, UV coating, spot UV, and embossing.

The production platform is built on capital-intensive industrial print technology: web and sheet-fed offset printing, screen printing, digital book-block production (reinforced by the Bolero B9 binder commissioned at Berryville, VA in 2026), hardcover and softcover binding, fully integrated Computer-to-Plate processes, and the Kodak Insight server-to-server workflow for file exchange. BPG USA operates five facilities across Hicksville NY, Berryville VA, Fairfield PA, Martinsburg WV, and Dallas PA, with 1,400+ employees. The Fairfield, PA site has produced more than 3.5 billion books over 50 years of continuous operation. Digital workflow tooling includes the Insite Prepress Portal for file uploads, online proofing, and 24/7 collaboration, and the P3 customer portal for price estimates, real-time job status, and document downloads.

The business model is a quote-based, project-driven B2B services model in which publishers contract for prepress, printing, binding, finishing, and integrated logistics including drop shipments. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is generated through the customer portals. FSC chain-of-custody certification (FSC C102091) supports responsibly sourced paper for publisher sustainability requirements, and dedicated programs such as hot-title and split print-run offerings address high-demand and inventory-managed titles. The company sells exclusively into the U.S. book publishing vertical through direct B2B relationships, with no disclosed third-party distribution, no public funding, and no M&A activity on record.

Name

Bertelsmann Printing Group

Legal name

Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA

Website

https://bpg-usa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Bertelsmann Printing Group (BPG USA) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA that provides B2B book printing, binding, and finishing services to U.S. book publishers across five specialized production facilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Book Printing Services: One-time and short-run book printing services for fiction and non-fiction books in various formats. Services include prepress, printing, binding, and finishing. Volume ranges from hundreds to millions of books.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

BPG USA is a contract book printing and manufacturing service provider for publishers, producing one-color books (MassMarket, Digest, MassMarket Max, Softcover Trade, Hardcover Trade) and four-color book components with finishing options including foil stamping, UV coating, spot UV, and embossing. The offering is a one-stop pipeline spanning prepress consulting, automated file preparation, CTP plate production, offset and digital printing, binding, finishing, and logistics including drop shipments, supported by the Insite Prepress Portal and P3 customer portal.

Product overview

BPG USA offers a comprehensive book production portfolio combining one-color and four-color printing capabilities with integrated services. The core products include One-Color Printed Books (MassMarket, Digest, MassMarket Max, Softcover Trade, and Hardcover Trade formats) and Book Components and Finishing services (jackets, covers, inserts with foil, UV coating, spot UV, embossing). These are supported by the Insite Prepress Portal for digital file management and collaboration, Content Creation Services for design consulting and digital composition, Digitally Integrated Prepress for artwork preparation and CTP processing, Manufacturing and Logistics for print production and fulfillment, and the customer-facing P3 portal for job tracking and document access. The company operates one-color print and bind facilities in Berryville (VA), Fairfield (PA), Martinsburg (WV), and Dallas (PA), and four-color Component facilities in Hicksville (NY) and Berryville (VA).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• One-Color Book Printing

Quantifiable outcome

• Produced over 3.5 billion books at Fairfield location alone over 50 years
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• BertelsmanncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent company providing access to vast network of resources and expertise, empowering delivery of cutting-edge solutions throughout the entire book production process. As part of Bertelsmann Marketing Services, BPG USA benefits from global media company resources.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Versa Press: Book printing specialist offering hardcover, softcover, and on-demand digital production with integrated prepress and fulfillment. Directly comparable to BPG's range of book formats and end-to-end services.
• CJK Group: Print services platform serving book publishers through subsidiaries including Worzalla and Jostens printing. Closely comparable as a multi-site book manufacturer serving trade and education publishers.
• Publishers Press: US book printing specialist offering web and sheet-fed offset production plus binding and distribution services. Directly competes with BPG's one-color print-and-bind facilities.
• Maple Press: Book and directory printer with web offset and digital book-block capabilities. Comparable mid-scale book manufacturer serving trade publishers with similar format coverage.
• Worzalla: Book printing company focused on children's books, cookbooks, and trade titles with one- and four-color capabilities. Competes with BPG for the same trade-publisher segment with similar finishing and binding offerings.
• Sheridan Books: US-based book manufacturer specializing in one-color and short-run digital book production for trade publishers. Highly comparable to BPG USA's core one-color print-and-bind model and similar customer base.

Broad incumbents

• LSC Communications: Major US book and magazine printer with extensive offset and digital capacity. Directly competes with BPG on trade book manufacturing as part of a broader print services platform.
• RR Donnelley (RRD): Global printing services company with significant book and document manufacturing capacity. Competes with BPG on large-run book work as part of a much wider commercial print portfolio.
• Transcontinental Printing: Canadian-based printing and packaging services company with book manufacturing among its offerings. Competes with BPG on book production but operates at greater scale and scope.
• Quad/Graphics: Large diversified commercial printer offering books, magazines, catalogs, and direct mail. Broad incumbent with overlapping book manufacturing capabilities but not specialized in trade book printing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bpgusa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Bertelsmann Printing Group