Unisoft: Demand for printing is growing, but orders from abroad halved

The Kharkiv-based printing house Unisoft participated in the Frankfurt Book Fair, as reported by our Chytomo  correspondent.

The Unisoft book printing factory had a stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair and worked with publisher Oleksandr Savchuk, who also showcased those of his books which were printed at Unisoft premises. The stands of Unisoft and publisher Oleksandr Savchuk were located nearby.

Despite Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Unisoft has managed to increase production numbers. According to the factory’s director Oleksandr Popovych, the amount of printing has reached one million books per month and the printing house’s premises are fully booked until the end of January 2025. The average print run starts at 5,000 copies, with orders for 10,000 to 20,000 copies becoming more frequent.

At the same time, orders from foreign publishers have halved. Previously, they accounted for 20% of revenue, but now make up on 10% of the print house’s orders. Oleksandr Popovych notes: “Our potential clients open the map and see how close we are to the front line. Unfortunately, this fact affects their decision on whether to print in Kharkiv or not.”

It is worth mentioning that at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the factory’s booth was filled with books not only by Ukrainian publishers but also by Italian, French, and others. During the fair, the factory secured a new contract to print 250,000 books for Italian clients.

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Main image: Chytomo

Copy editing: Lea Ann Douglas