In the U.S., the digital book publishing market is growing at 27% CAGR, representing approximately 16.7 billion digital book pages annually. Of those 16.7 billion, about 840 million are printed in color, with the rest in black and white. Today, commercial printers account for about 74% of all digital book printing.
Educational books
Standardized textbooks and religious books have recently experienced the largest growth within the book publishing industry - 20.7% and 12.6% CAGR, respectively. In the K-12 education segment - in which hardbound and softbound books and related materials are sold to elementary, middle and high schools - state and district level buyers are ordering more versioning in their text books. Also, the demand for lighter weight stock (below 67 gsm) has been increasing. Standardized tests are a small but rapidly growing book-printing segment, characterized by short runs and frequent content changes, as well as more versioning.
School annuals
Yearbooks for elementary and high schools have evolved into hardbound personalized books, typically printed in short runs and with increasing use of color. They represent some 2.6 billion pages and are shifting to digital printing at double-digit rates.
Organizational directories
Picture directories - used by churches, retirement communities, organizations and enterprises - account for approximately 1.5 billion pages per year. This segment is growing quickly at 57% per year.
Automotive manuals
Auto manuals add another 700 million in printed digital pages annually.
