thalia and elanders open joint digital printing centre in marl

Thalia, the largest bookstore chain in the German-speaking world, and printing service provider Elanders Print & Packaging have announced a long-term cooperation at the 2025 Frankfurt Book Fair. At the heart of the collaboration is a digital printing centre in the new Thalia omni-channel hub in Marl.

The details:

• The production and logistics facility in the Gate Ruhr industrial park will combine print-on-demand with distribution.

• The concept is aimed at publishers and promises an integrated solution for the production and distribution of books.

• Construction of the print-on-demand centre is scheduled to begin in January 2026, with operations starting in April 2027.

• Publishers will be offered ‘smart flat pricing’, a uniform price regardless of whether the publisher prints the entire print run digitally or in several steps (which would normally be more expensive).

• The books will be delivered to different locations on request, including the Thalia warehouse, publishing distributors, book wholesalers or other central warehouses.

With a turnover of €2.2 billion and around 7,000 employees, Thalia is the market leader in German-language book retail. The company currently operates 418 of its own bookshops in Germany and Austria, as well as online shops. In total, over 570 bookshops belong to the Thalia network.

Elanders Print & Packaging is part of the publicly traded Swedish Elanders Group, with sales of €1.4 billion and more than 7,000 employees worldwide. The company has over 26 branches and is considered Europe's leading digital printing service provider.

Photo: Thalia