COMPANYHISTORIES
SIC 2732

Books Printing

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

14companies1858–1991founding years13still active1no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedAmerican Printing House for the Blind
1858
FoundedR.R. Donnelley & Sons Company
1890
FoundedCourier Corporation
1894
FoundedBanta Corporation
1901
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedJostens, Inc.
1906
FoundedGolden Books Family Entertainment, Inc.
1910
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedChampion Industries, Inc.
1922
FoundedW.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
1923
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
FoundedTaylor Publishing Company
1943
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
FoundedHaynes Publishing Group P.L.C.
1960
FoundedAMREP Corporation
1961
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedAmerican Business Products, Inc.
1967
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
FoundedZindart Ltd.
1978
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
FoundedPMP Ltd.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

American Printing House for the Blind →
Active · founded 1858
The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) is the oldest company in the United States manufacturing products for…
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company →
Active · founded 1890
The largest commercial printing company in North America and a dominant player in the world communications arena, R.R.
Courier Corporation →
Active · founded 1894
Courier Corporation is the largest book manufacturer in the Northeast, the fifth largest in the nation, and a…
Banta Corporation →
Active · founded 1901
Banta Corporation, one of the nation's largest printing and digital imaging companies, literally started in a…
Jostens, Inc. →
Active · founded 1906
Jostens, Inc.
Golden Books Family Entertainment, Inc. →
Active · founded 1910
Since 1996 when a new investor group took control of the company, Golden Books Family Entertainment, Inc., a leading…
Champion Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1922
Champion Industries, Inc.
W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. →
Active · founded 1923
W.W.
Taylor Publishing Company →
Active · founded 1943
Taylor Publishing Company is one of the leading publishers of yearbooks in the United States, producing them for more…
Haynes Publishing Group P.L.C. →
Active · founded 1960 · United Kingdom
Haynes Publishing Group P.L.C.
AMREP Corporation →
Active · founded 1961
AMREP Corporation is the largest builder of housing in the state of New Mexico, and the 80th largest builder in the…
American Business Products, Inc. →
Active · founded 1967
American Business Products, Inc.
Zindart Ltd. →
Defunct · founded 1978 · China
After being acquired by Zindart, Corgi introduced Premier Models, which incorporated details not found in most die-cast…
PMP Ltd. →
Active · founded 1991 · Australia
PMP Ltd.
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