Imprimerie Centrale de Lens

What Imprimerie Centrale de Lens does

Imprimerie Centrale de Lens is a privately held French commercial printing company headquartered in Lens (Pas-de-Calais), operating since 1949 as a Société par actions simplifiée unipersonnelle (SASU) with €308,000 of registered capital and a headcount of 11–50. The company provides a fully integrated print production chain spanning pre-press (PSO/ISO 12647-2 color management), offset printing (Heidelberg XL106-5L with UV and vegetable-based inks; Heidelberg PM 52-4), digital printing (HP Indigo 12000 with variable-data and creative-paper support), wide-format printing (MIMAKI JV300-160 up to 160 cm), in-house finishing (folding, Wire'O binding, lamination, varnishing, gold stamping, embossing, die-cutting), mailing/routing with postal deposit across France and DOM-TOM, and creative/web design services.

The business is structured around a horizontal B2B customer base served through three parallel go-to-market motions: a nationwide field sales team of commercial representatives, a self-serve Web-to-Print online platform (Pressero-based) with quote generation, ordering, delivery tracking, and invoicing, and a quote-based technical advisory service. Revenue is generated primarily through one-time transactional print orders, with a recurring subscription-style component from Web-to-Print platform access and unit-priced mailing/routing services (MD7, MD4, P Vert, P Noir, P Rouge tiers).

The company differentiates on environmental credentials (ISO 14001:2015, FSC, PEFC, Imprim'Vert, PSO), a reforestation partnership with Nordesta in Brazil (€1 per order, started February 2016, targeting 20,000 trees), 16 certified recycling contracts, and full in-house vertical integration that compresses lead times and supports responsiveness. Customer-reported satisfaction metrics are strong, including 9.00/10 on deadline compliance and 8.88/10 on needs understanding. There is no evidence of AI/ML capability development, no disclosed revenue, no external funding, and no M&A activity.

Name

Imprimerie Centrale de Lens

Legal name

Imprimerie Centrale de Lens

Website

https://imprimeriecentrale.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Imprimerie Centrale de Lens is a French commercial printing company founded in 1949 that provides integrated offset, digital, wide-format, finishing, and mailing services to B2B customers across France via a field sales team and a Web-to-Print platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lens

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Offset Printing Services: Traditional offset and UV offset printing for medium to large print runs including brochures, mailings, books, newspapers, leaflets, catalogs, posters, and packaging.
2. Digital Printing Services: HP Indigo digital printing for shorter runs, business cards, flyers, mailings, and specialty materials including variable data printing.
3. Wide-Format Digital Printing: Large-format digital printing for stands, posters, POS displays, panels, kakemonos, window displays, roll-ups, counters.
4. Finishing/Conversion Services (Façonnage): Folding, assembly, wire-O binding, saddle stitching, lamination, varnishing, gold stamping, embossing, cutting, die-cutting, and packaging.
5. Mailing/Routing Services: Film wrapping, address printing, postal deposit. Direct mail and press routing across France and DOM-TOM, with MD4 and MD7 service levels.
6. Web & Creative Services: Document design, website management, enriched images, interactive PDFs, and online communication.
7. Web-to-Print Platform Access: Online platform for quote generation, ordering, delivery management, order tracking, and invoicing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Imprimerie Centrale de Lens provides end-to-end commercial printing services, covering pre-press file preparation, offset and UV offset printing on Heidelberg presses, digital printing on HP Indigo, wide-format printing on MIMAKI, finishing (folding, binding, lamination, gold stamping, die-cutting), and direct mail routing and postal deposit. The company serves French businesses of all sizes, with in-house production from quote through delivery.

Product overview

Imprimerie Centrale de Lens operates as a comprehensive printing services provider offering an integrated production workflow from quote through delivery. The product portfolio centers on the Web to Print Platform as the primary customer-facing digital interface, supported by core printing services (offset, UV offset, digital, and wide-format), comprehensive finishing operations, and mailing/distribution services. Complementary offerings include pre-press file preparation, creative design, production planning, quality management, and sales support. The Web to Print platform serves as the unified access point for clients to manage quotes, orders, deliveries, tracking, and invoicing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Web-to-Print Platform Online ordering platform enabling customers to generate instant quotes, place orders, manage deliveries, track order status in real-time, and handle invoicing. Includes a demo boutique for prospect exploration. Targeted at clients preferring self-service print ordering.
• Printing Services (Offset, UV Offset, Digital, Wide-Format) Core printing production offering covering traditional offset for medium-to-large runs, UV offset with vegetable inks, HP Indigo digital printing for short runs and variable data, and MIMAKI wide-format printing up to 160 cm. Supports business cards, brochures, mailings, books, newspapers, catalogues, posters, packaging, and large-format signage.
• Pre-Press Service File control and preparation service including PDF validation per PSO/ISO 12647-2 standards, color management, chromatic profile handling, imposition, and automated data workflow with online proofing. Ensures print-ready output and color consistency.
• Finishing (Façonnage) Services Post-print finishing operations including folding, assembly, wire-O binding, saddle stitching, lamination (matte, glossy, soft-touch), varnishing, gold stamping, embossing, cutting, die-cutting, and packaging.
• Routing (Mailing and Distribution) Services Direct mail and press routing services including film wrapping, address printing, and postal deposit. Offers Marketing Direct (Destinéo Intégral) and Press Routing (P Vert, P Noir, P Rouge) tiers with delivery across France and DOM-TOM. Minimum 1,000 parcels for direct mail.
• Web and Design Services Creative services including document design, website management, communication strategy, and creation of enriched images and interactive PDFs.
• Quoting (Devis) Services Technical consultation, needs analysis, and price calculation to provide optimal quality-to-price ratios across all print product types. Available online and via the commercial sales team.
• Production Planning and Delivery Services Production planning and coordination covering paper procurement, work order management, scheduling, subcontractor coordination, and delivery logistics via in-house drivers and partners including TNT and DB Schenker.

Quantifiable outcome

• Customer satisfaction on understanding of needs: 8.88/10
• +3 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HeidelbergcoreTechnology or IntegrationHeidelberg is a key equipment partner providing offset printing presses. The company operates Heidelberg XL106-5L (5-color UV/vegetable ink) and Heidelberg PM 52-4 (4-color) presses. Heidelberg equipment is central to the company's offset printing capabilities.
• HPcoreTechnology or IntegrationHP provides the HP Indigo 12000 digital press (5-color), enabling short-run and variable data digital printing. HP-certified creative papers are also used. HP Indigo technology is a core pillar of the digital printing offering.
• AntalisminorOthersAntalis is a paper and packaging consumables supplier providing paper stock for printing operations.
• HuberminorOthersHuber (huber-france.fr) is a consumables and equipment maintenance partner for day-to-day operations and equipment improvements.
• TNTminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTNT provides logistics and courier delivery services for routing and shipment of printed products.
• SappiminorOthersSappi is a paper supplier providing paper products for the printing operation (paper region: EU/France).
• DB SchenkerminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDB Schenker provides logistics and freight forwarding services for large-volume or heavy print deliveries.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Sappi: Global paper manufacturer supplying coated and specialty papers to commercial printers. Declared ICL paper supplier; included as an ecosystem participant rather than a competitor.
• Antalis: Major European paper and packaging distributor and a declared supplier/partner to ICL. Comparable supply chain adjacency rather than direct competition.
• Heidelberger Druckmaschinen: OEM supplier of ICL's Heidelberg XL106-5L offset press. Included as a strategic equipment partner whose roadmap affects ICL's offset capabilities, not a direct competitor.

Direct peers

• Groupe Corlet: French commercial printing group offering offset, digital, and finishing services with a national footprint. Directly comparable as a multi-service French printer serving B2B marketing and corporate communications clients.
• Imprimerie Floch: Independent French commercial printer offering offset, digital, and finishing services. Similar size band, B2B customer base, and integrated workflow model to ICL.
• Brodard et Taupin: French printer based in northern France offering book and commercial printing including offset, finishing, and routing. Comparable integrated offering and regional French footprint.
• Maury Imprimeur: French commercial printer offering offset, digital, finishing, and mailing services to B2B clients. Directly comparable in service mix, customer segment, and integrated one-stop-shop positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Cenveo: Large North American commercial printing and packaging services provider. Comparable envelope, direct mail, and commercial print product mix serving enterprise marketing buyers.
• Cimpress / Vistaprint: Global web-to-print platform operating mass-customization print production. Comparable in offering a self-serve online ordering experience and broad-format digital print capabilities.
• Quad: Large US-based commercial printer offering integrated marketing production, including data-driven direct mail. Overlaps with ICL on direct mail, finishing, and B2B print services at much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/imprimerie.centrale
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/imprimerie-de-la-centrale

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Imprimerie Centrale de Lens