Freiburger Druck GmbH&Co. KG - Ein Unternehmen der BZ.medien

What Freiburger Druck GmbH&Co. KG - Ein Unternehmen der BZ.medien does

Freiburger Druck GmbH & Co. KG is a family-owned newspaper and commercial printing company headquartered in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, and operating as a subsidiary of the BZ.medien media group. The firm runs two Cortina waterless offset printing lines supplied by König & Bauer — a configuration it has held since 2006, when it became the first newspaper printer worldwide to adopt this technology — and from May 2023 it has printed exclusively on processless plates, eliminating chemical plate development. Production capacity is sized at 45,000 copies/hour across insertion lines and roughly 40,000 copies/hour on press, with maximum formats of 96 pages broadsheet and 144 pages tabloid in full 4/4 color at ISO 2846-2 standards.

The commercial offering centers on daily, weekly and monthly newspapers, magazines, catalogs, advertising inserts and official municipal gazettes, complemented by services spanning concept and design, address data preparation, inkjet addressing, direct distribution (with up to 15 inserts per copy and a Tape-Fix envelope-less distribution system), worldwide shipping, color-accurate proofs, and carbon-neutral printing via a partnership with Climate Partner. Target customers are regional and municipal publishers, magazine publishers, and advertising companies in Baden-Württemberg, with the parent group's Badische Zeitung, Der Sonntag and Freiburger Wochenbericht among named accounts.

The go-to-market is enterprise field sales: named account managers, production planners and customer-service staff handle direct B2B relationships with publishers and municipalities, supported by a content-driven company website. Pricing is project-specific and quote-based rather than published, and revenue is not publicly disclosed. The firm differentiates on a stack of environmental credentials (EMAS validation, ISO 14001, ISO 9001, FSC certification since 2020, WIN Charta/KlimawinBW signatory since 2017, 100% renewable electricity since 2011) and on a sustained record of industry recognition, including seven Druck und Medien "Zeitungsdrucker des Jahres" titles (2006-2018) and continuous WAN IFRA Color Quality Club membership since 2008.

Name

Freiburger Druck GmbH&Co. KG - Ein Unternehmen der BZ.medien

Legal name

Freiburger Druck GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://freiburger-druck.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Freiburger Druck is a family-owned German newspaper and commercial offset printer serving regional publishers, municipalities and advertisers with waterless Cortina printing, processless plates, and integrated design-to-distribution services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Freiburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Offset Printing Services: Production of newspapers, magazines, prospectuses, official gazettes, and advertising inserts using offset printing technology. Services include design, data handling, addressing, and direct distribution.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Freiburger Druck is a B2B commercial offset printer that produces daily, weekly and monthly newspapers, magazines, customer publications, catalogs, advertising inserts and official municipal bulletins using waterless offset technology. The company also offers concept and design, addressing and shipping, direct distribution, color-accurate proofs, consulting/optimization, and climate-neutral printing as integrated services for publishers, municipalities and advertising clients.

Product overview

Freiburger Druck is a traditional family-owned printing company and part of BZ.medien group, offering offset printing services with approximately 150 employees. The portfolio centers on waterless offset printing technology and includes three core print product categories: newspapers and periodicals (Tageszeitungen, Wochenzeitungen, Anzeigenblätter), magazines and catalogs (Zeitschriften, Magazine, Kundenzeitungen, Kataloge), and advertising materials (Prospekte, Werbebeilagen, Amtsblätter). Supporting services include Konzeption & Design, Adressierung & Versand, Direktverteilung with insert capability up to 15 items per product, Beratung & Optimierung, and farbverbindliche Proofs. Special advertising formats (Sonderwerbeformen) such as coating, half-cover, flying pages, title stickers, and super panorama are offered as add-ons. Carbon-neutral printing via Climate Partner is available as an optional environmental service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Newspapers and classified ad publications (Tages-, Wochen-, Monatszeitungen & Anzeigenblätter) Daily, weekly, monthly newspapers and classified ad publications printed in Broadsheet and Tabloid formats, 4 to 96 pages (3×32) in full 4/4 color ISO 2846-2, with paper weights from 42.5g machine-glazed up to 80g chlorine-free offset, for newspaper publishers.
• Advertising brochures and inserts (Prospekte und Werbebeilagen) Advertising brochures and promotional inserts with optional binding and trimming, available in Broadsheet and Tabloid formats, 4 to 96 pages (3×32) in full 4/4 color ISO 2846-2, supporting the Tape-Fix system for envelope-free direct distribution, for advertising agencies and direct marketers.
• Magazines and customer publications (Zeitschriften, Magazine und Kundenzeitungen) Magazines and customer publications with optional covers, binding and trimming, in Tabloid format with 16 to 144 pages, including special finishes like dispersion coating, for magazine publishers and corporate customers.
• Catalogs (Kataloge) Product catalogs with or without covers using adhesive binding, in Tabloid format with 4 to 96 pages (3×32) in full 4/4 color ISO 2846-2, with various special formats and paper options, for catalog publishers.
• Official municipal bulletins (Amtsblätter) Official bulletins for communities and city administrations printed in Broadsheet and Tabloid formats, 4 to 96 pages (3×32) in full 4/4 color ISO 2846-2, with the same paper options as newspapers, for municipalities and public-sector clients.
• Concept and Design (Konzeption & Design) Creative concept development, data handling, page layout creation, image editing and design services for newspapers, magazines and non-print products, for publisher and advertising clients.
• Addressing and Shipping (Adressierung & Versand) Address data preparation, online inkjet address printing, shipping optimization and worldwide delivery services with logistics expertise, for publisher and direct marketing clients.
• Direct Distribution (Direktverteilung) Direct distribution services with up to 15 inserts per product using MSD insertion lines (max 15 slots) and EasySert lines (max 19 slots), including the Tape-Fix system for fixing insert packages without envelopes, for publisher and advertising clients.
• Consulting and Optimization (Beratung & Optimierung) Consulting services covering editorial software solutions, workflow optimization, color management projects, energy audits and management system implementation, for publisher and printing clients.
• Color-accurate Proofs (Farbverbindliche Proofs) Color-accurate proof creation on request, allowing customers to preview how their product will appear on newspaper or coated papers before production, for publisher and advertising clients.
• Climate-Neutral Printing (Klimaneutraler Druck via Climate Partner) Optional carbon-neutral printing service in collaboration with Climate Partner, with emissions from production calculated and offset through certified climate protection projects at an additional cost of approximately 1-2%, for environmentally conscious publisher and advertising clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple international quality awards (WAN IFRA Color Quality Club member since 2008)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Unternehmensnetzwerk Klimaschutz der IHKminorOthers · 1 April 2022Member since April 2022. Confirms commitment to corporate climate protection, ambitious goals, and continuous improvement of company's climate performance.
• FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)minorOthers · 1 January 2020FSC certification since 2020 allows customers to choose certified printing papers supporting environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, and economically viable forest management.
• Climate PartnerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for offering carbon-neutral printing services. Climate Partner calculates emissions from production and offsets through climate protection projects. Additional costs of 1-2% for emission certificates.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Dresdner Druck- und Verlagshaus GmbH + Co. KG: Dresden-based newspaper and commercial printer serving regional titles (Sächsische Zeitung) and advertising clients. Directly comparable newspaper printing operation with similar offset technology and customer base.
• Stark Druck GmbH & Co. KG: German newspaper and commercial offset printer based in Pforzheim serving regional daily/weekly newspapers and advertising inserts. Operates a comparable newspaper coldset/heatset offset model with similar product mix (newspapers, magazines, inserts) and customer base of regional publishers.
• Mannheimer Morgen Druckhaus: Newspaper and advertising printing operation in Mannheim affiliated with a regional publisher. Comparable integrated newspaper printing setup serving daily/weekly titles and inserts in a regional German market.
• Aschendorff Medien GmbH & Co. KG: Münster-based printing and media company operating newspaper press lines for regional titles (Westfälische Nachrichten). Direct peer in regional newspaper offset printing with overlapping publisher customer profile.
• Bonifatius GmbH Druck – Buch – Verlag: Paderborn-based printing company offering newspaper, magazine, and book printing with a strong regional publisher client base. Comparable mid-sized German offset printer with similar service bundling around publishers and municipalities.
• Druckhaus Kaufmann (Ernst Kaufmann GmbH & Co. KG): Lahr-based newspaper and advertising printer in Baden-Württemberg. Competes directly with Freiburger Druck for regional newspaper titles and insert work in the same geography, using comparable offset press technology and serving overlapping publisher customers.
• Westdeutsche Verlags- und Druckgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG: Mülheim-based printing house producing newspapers, magazines and advertising inserts for regional German publishers. Direct competitor in the newspaper offset printing category with similar product mix and customer segments.

Broad incumbents

• Vogel Druck und Medienservice GmbH: Larger German commercial printer offering newspapers, magazines, catalogs and books across multiple sites. Overlaps with Freiburger Druck in catalog, magazine and newspaper printing but operates at a wider scale and broader portfolio.
• Quebecor World / Quad/Graphics (European operations): Large multinational commercial printer with European operations serving publishers and advertisers with newspapers, magazines and catalogs. Represents the broader competitive context and scale benchmarks above Freiburger Druck's regional footprint.

Others

• König & Bauer AG (KBA): Manufacturer of the Cortina waterless offset press that Freiburger Druck pioneered in newspaper printing. Not a competing printer but the key technology supplier whose roadmap and service network materially affect Freiburger Druck's production economics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/freiburgerdruck
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@freiburgerdruck
• Facebookfacebook.com/FreiburgerDruck
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/freiburger-druck-gmbh-co-kg
• Instagraminstagram.com/freiburger_druck

Compliance7 records

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 Freiburger Druck GmbH&Co. KG - Ein Unternehmen der BZ.medien