Largest Book Manufacturers -- Best Sellers List

Both top seeds, however, saw book sales drop in 2003. In fact, revenues for three of the top five sank by a total of nearly $130 million. Arvato Print USA (a division of Bertelsmann) and Von Hoffmann were the only two in the top five with increases. (See accompanying chart.)

The revenue losses aren't all that surprising either, though. 2003 challenged printers from many directions. For one, "the price of paper was down," says Dave Mead, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Banta Book Group, and president of the Book Manufacturers' Institute. While low prices are good for publishers, "paper costs can represent 40 to 50 percent of the unit cost of a book," says Mead. "If paper prices drop 10 percent, printers lose 5 percent on the gross production revenue."