CHICAGO – Independent Publishers Group (IPG), and its book manufacturing unit, IPG Ink, are pleased to announce the production of its five millionth book, as well as the installation of a new HP digital printing press.
On September 30, 2024, IPG Ink, which printed its first book in June 2018, processed the order that included the five millionth unit: a title from Running Wild Press, Going to Maine: All the Ways to Fall on the Appalachian Trail. Clark Matthews, VP and General Manager of IPG Ink, said, “Our five millionth book just six years after our founding is a testament to our superbly successful printing program, with all-new machines for 2024 and volumes that are quadruple their starting point in 2018.”
In response to the recent increase in demand, IPG has invested in a new, state-of-the-art digital printer from HP. The HP PageWide A2200 currently being installed will further improve production times while maintaining the excellent quality of paperback books printed at IPG Ink. This ground-breaking HP press is capable of printing 800 linear feet of content per minute, enough volume to produce 10,000 200-page novels in a single day. It does so using half the space and at twice the image quality of IPG’s next-fastest press.
This new machine has specifically been chosen to address the evolving needs of IPG’s client publishers. A growing number of publishing houses need a solution that bridges the gap between the worlds of digital printing and offset printing. This new solution allows publishers to print almost anything on a 5-7 day turn time, whether it’s just a single copy for a direct-to-consumer order or a last-minute, 5,000 unit run for a frontlist title that has found unexpected success in the marketplace. IPG hopes to offer a more flexible and scalable supply chain to address the unpredictability of modern publishing.
The new HP press will be fully operational on November 1. This upgrade is another piece to round out the digital printing services IPG provides to its publishers. Earlier this year, IPG announced its partnership with Books International on a program for hardcover short run digital printing at a price feasible for publishers.
About Independent Publishers Group:
Founded in 1971, IPG was the first organization specifically created for the purpose of marketing titles from independent presses to the book trade. Today, IPG’s wide reach into the book market includes distribution of both print and e-books from a wide array of publishers, digital printing, and traditional publishing. With consistent growth year over year, IPG’s success has come from supporting and encouraging the growth of its publishing partners in the United States and worldwide. IPG was acquired by Chicago Review Press in 1987, and this acquisition formed the parent company Chicago Review Press, Inc., which now owns Chicago-based indie publishers Chicago Review Press and Triumph Books.
Contact: Julia Dillman, Corporate Communications, 312.337.0747, jdillman@ipgbook.com
