Proost International Book Production was a Belgian manufacturer and supplier for the book publishing industry. It was one of the companies of the printing valley around Turnhout, Belgium. The company operated from two manufacturing sites in Belgium, one in Turnhout (Flanders) and one in Fleurus (Wallonia).
The company was founded in 1913 by Henri Proost, who previously worked at Brepols as director of the churchbook division. He founded his company in the Otterstraat in Turnhout and specialized in printing and binding of bibles and missals. The company continued this way until the Second Vatican Council, which causes a large decline of the need for church books. In 1962 the company changed from monochrome to color printing and diversified its business beyond religious books. In 1976 Proost built a new plant on an industrial estate near Turnhout, because it had outgrown its old plant in the centre of the city. At the same time the first four-color CMYK web-press was installed, which could print on continuous rolls of paper. In 1990 the company continued to expand and acquire a second printing plant in Fleurus, and became one of the biggest manufacturers in the world of books for children, comics, educational books and illustrated books. After being a family-owned business for about 83 years the company was acquired by LIBERfabrica plc (United Kingdom) in 1996, which in turn was acquired by Chevrillon Philippe Industrie (CPI) of France in 1999. The entire group operated in five countries and employed about 3400 people. Proost returned to Belgian hands in June 2009 following a takeover by the investment group Axxess Partners. In 2012 the company filed for bankruptcy, but was able to make a new start. Despite a continuing poor economic climate, Proost took over the Slovak company Qatena in 2013 and hoped to strengthen its chances of survival in the print sector. However, it did not help and Proost closed its doors definitively in 2015. [1]
Antwerp Province is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the North Brabant province of the Netherlands to the north and the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. Its capital is Antwerp, which includes the Port of Antwerp, the second-largest seaport in Europe. It has an area of 2,876 km2 (1,110 sq mi), and with over 1.85 million inhabitants as of January 2019, is the country's most populous province. The province consists of three arrondissements: Antwerp, Mechelen and Turnhout. The eastern part of the province comprises the main part of the Campine region.
Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was a Racine, Wisconsin, firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also produced children's books and family-related entertainment products. The company had editorial offices in New York City and Los Angeles, California. Western Publishing became Golden Books Family Entertainment in 1996. As of 2013, Little Golden Books remains as an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Turnhout is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. On January 1, 2015, Turnhout had a total population of 42,637. The total area is 56.06 km2 (21.64 sq mi) which gives a population density of 835.5/km2 (2,164/sq mi). The agglomeration, however, is much larger, accounting up to 81,473 inhabitants. Turnhout is known for its playing card industry, as it houses the head office of the world's largest manufacturer of playing cards, Cartamundi. Turnhout is also the capital of the administrative district with the same name. The Turnhout city council often promotes the city as "the capital of the Kempen area". This designation is entirely unofficial, since the Kempen area is far larger than the Turnhout district and does not form an administrative unit.
Agfa-Gevaert N.V. (Agfa) is a Belgian-German multinational corporation that develops, manufactures, and distributes analogue and digital imaging products, software, and systems. The company has three divisions. Agfa Graphics offers integrated prepress and industrial inkjet systems to the printing and graphics industries. Agfa HealthCare supplies hospitals and other care organisations with imaging products and systems, as well as information systems. Agfa Specialty Products supplies products to various industrial markets. It is part of the Agfa Materials organization. In addition to the Agfa Specialty Products activities, Agfa Materials also supplies film and related products to Agfa Graphics and Agfa HealthCare.
Centronics Data Computer Corporation was an American manufacturer of computer printers, now remembered primarily for the parallel interface that bears its name, the Centronics connector.
Rand McNally is an American technology and publishing company that provides mapping, software and hardware for the consumer electronics, commercial transportation and education markets. The company is headquartered in Chicago, with a distribution center in Richmond, Kentucky.
Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing. Using a printing press, the process allows many copies to be produced by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against sheets or a continuous roll of paper. A worker composes and locks movable type into the "bed" or "chase" of a press, inks it, and presses paper against it to transfer the ink from the type, which creates an impression on the paper.
American Type Founders (ATF) was a business trust created in 1892 by the merger of 23 type foundries, representing about 85% of all type manufactured in the United States. The new company, consisting of a consolidation of firms from throughout the United States, was incorporated in New Jersey.
Quebecor World Inc. was a printing subsidiary of Quebecor Inc. based in Montreal, Quebec. It comprised a number of small and large print shops throughout the world. In 2010, Quebecor World was acquired by Wisconsin-based Quad/Graphics.
Quad is an American commercial printing company which offers marketing strategy and management services, based in Sussex, Wisconsin. It was founded as a printing company on July 13, 1971, by Harry V. Quadracci. Since 2014, the company has expanded its marketing services. The company has 50 printing facilities in 14 countries, including in Europe, Canada, India, and Latin America, with the majority in the United States. It prints numerous magazines, including Businessweek,Time, Sports Illustrated, People, and Milwaukee Magazine.
Cartamundi Group is a company based in Turnhout, Belgium, that manufactures, produces, and sells board games, card games, collectible card games, packages, and playing cards through its manufacturing and sales subsidiaries. The name of the company in Latin means cards for the world. It is one of the world's largest playing card manufacturers.
Innovia Films, a division of CCL Industries, is an international manufacturer and supplier of biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films for speciality packaging, labelling, tobacco overwrap and industrial products. It was once known as UCB Films.
Trafford Publishing is a company for self-publishing using print-on-demand technology, formerly based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and now based in Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
The Eastern Color Printing Company was a company that published comic books, beginning in 1933. At first it was only newspaper comic strip reprints, but later on original material was published. Eastern Color Printing was incorporated in 1928, and soon became successful by printing color newspaper sections for several New England and New York papers. Eastern is most notable for its production of Funnies on Parade and Famous Funnies, two publications that gave birth to the American comic book industry.
Brepols is a Belgian publishing house. Once, it was one of the largest printing companies in the world and one of the main employers in Turnhout (Belgium). Besides its printing business, Brepols is also active as a publisher. Formerly well known for its missals, the company is now better known for its specialization in historical studies and editions of classical authors, including the Corpus Christianorum.
Van Genechten Packaging is a Belgian printing company, located in Turnhout. It is one of the companies of the printing valley located around Turnhout, Belgium.
Biermans was a Belgian printing company, located in Turnhout, Belgium. It was one of several companies located in the printing valley of Turnhout.
The Group Joos is a Belgian graphical company, located in Turnhout, Belgium. It is one of the companies of the printing valley of the Turnhout region.
World Color Press Inc. ("Worldcolor") was a company which provided high-value and comprehensive print, digital, and related services to businesses worldwide. World Color and its subsidiaries printed various commercial products, including comic books, magazines, brochures, direct mail and newspaper inserts, and directories, while also providing clients a broad range of pre-press services, such as desktop production and assembly.
Gale and Polden was a British printer and publisher. Founded in Brompton, near Chatham, Kent in 1868, the business subsequently moved to Aldershot, where they were based until closure in November 1981 after the company had been bought by media mogul Robert Maxwell.