Ebner & Spiegel

Ebner & Spiegel GmbH was a major German book printing company headquartered in Ulm. It was formed in 2002 through the merger of J. Ebner Graphische Betriebe GmbH & Co. KG and Franz Spiegel Buch GmbH, both with deep roots in Ulm's printing history. The company was part of the French Groupe CPI (Chevrillon Philippe Industrie), one of Europe's leading printing groups, and operated alongside CPI's other large printing facilities such as Clausen & Bosse in Leck, Germany, and Moravia Books in Pohořelice, Czech Republic. Ebner & Spiegel specialized in high-volume book production, capable of producing up to 450,000 paperback and 170,000 hardcover books per working day. It was particularly noted for printing the German editions of the Harry Potter series, including the heavily secured final volume in 2007. The company also faced controversy in 2011 when it printed tens of thousands of copies of a Quran translation for a Salafist organization. In April 2025, CPI Ebner & Spiegel and its subsidiary CPI Ulmer Buch Service filed for insolvency, and operations ceased by mid-2025 after losing its sole customer, CPI Books. Over 200 employees were affected, with 134 moving to a transfer company.

The history of Ebner & Spiegel spans two distinct printing traditions in Ulm that eventually merged. The J. Ebner'sche Buchhandlung und Buchdruckerei was founded in 1817. In 1859, the Ebner publishing house founded the 'Ulmer Tagblatt' (today's Südwest Presse). A few years after the end of World War II, the company began producing inexpensive paperbacks. In 1978, the company moved to a new building in Ulm-Böfingen. In 1982, newspaper production was spun off into today's Druckhaus Ulm-Oberschwaben in the Donautal industrial area, jointly operated by Schwäbische Zeitung and Südwest Presse. In 2001, Groupe CPI fully acquired J. Ebner from Ebner Pressegesellschaft. The Franz Spiegel Buch GmbH was founded in 1930 by Franz Xaver Spiegel as a small bookbindery in Ulm. In 1968, the greatly expanded company moved to its own production building in Ulm-Jungingen. In 1977, Mairs Graphische Betriebe and Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck each acquired 30% stakes. In 2000, CPI acquired 40% of the shares, and in 2001 the remaining 60% from Holtzbrinck. Ebner & Spiegel was formed in 2002 from the merger of J. Ebner Graphische Betriebe GmbH & Co. KG and Franz Spiegel Buch GmbH. After the merger, CPI invested 13 million euros in modernizing rotary printing and bookbinding. Since 2003, a joint sales organization, CPI BOOKS, existed with Clausen & Bosse. The company was part of the French Groupe CPI (Chevrillon Philippe Industrie, group revenue over 350 million euros), headquartered in Paris, along with Clausen & Bosse in Leck (Nordfriesland) and Moravia Books in Pohořelice, Czech Republic. Ebner & Spiegel produced up to 450,000 paperbacks and 170,000 hardcover books per working day. Ebner & Spiegel printed the German editions of the Harry Potter series. The final volume, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,' was printed in 2007 under great secrecy to prevent leaks before publication. In autumn 2011, Ebner & Spiegel received an order from the Cologne-based association 'Die wahre Religion' of the Salafist preacher Ibrahim Abou Nagie, who was under observation by the domestic intelligence service, to print 50,000 copies of a Quran translation. The printing company had previously inquired with the intelligence service, which raised no objections. The subsequent public Quran distribution campaign met with massive criticism from politicians, as the Salafists aimed for an Islamic state incompatible with democratic and liberal values. The Quran version printed by Ebner & Spiegel served missionary purposes. Although criticism led the company in April to not fulfill the printing order, in June it produced tens of thousands of copies again, again on behalf of Ibrahim Abou Nagie. According to the company, the resumption of printing was at the instigation of the managing director of Ebner & Spiegel without the knowledge of the CPI group management; the already printed copies were not to be delivered and the order activity for the Salafist preacher was to be finally ended. In April 2025, CPI Ebner & Spiegel and its subsidiary CPI Ulmer Buch Service filed for insolvency proceedings. The parent company CPI Books was not affected. The parent company stated that continuation of operations was no longer viable due to 'declining production volumes at the Ulm site in connection with rising unit costs.' On June 30, CPI Books, which acted as the sales company, terminated the contract for contract manufacturing at Ebner & Spiegel, causing the printer to lose its only customer. Since neither a buyer could be found nor the announced conversion of the site into a digital printing operation could be realized, operations ceased in 2025 with over 200 employees remaining. Within the framework of a social plan, 134 employees were able to move to a transfer company.

• 2025

  Files for insolvency in April; operations cease by mid-2025 after losing sole customer CPI Books.

• 2011

  Controversy over printing 50,000 Quran translations for Salafist organization 'Die wahre Religion'.

• 2007

  Prints 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' under heavy secrecy.

• 2003

  Joint sales organization CPI BOOKS established with Clausen & Bosse.

• 2002

  Ebner & Spiegel formed from the merger of J. Ebner Graphische Betriebe and Franz Spiegel Buch GmbH.

• 2001

  CPI acquires remaining 60% of Franz Spiegel Buch GmbH from Holtzbrinck; CPI fully acquires J. Ebner from Ebner Pressegesellschaft.

• 2000

  CPI acquires 40% of Franz Spiegel Buch GmbH.

• 1982

  Newspaper production spun off into Druckhaus Ulm-Oberschwaben.

• 1978

  J. Ebner moves to a new building in Ulm-Böfingen.

• 1977

  Mairs Graphische Betriebe and Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck each acquire 30% stakes in Franz Spiegel Buch GmbH.

• 1968

  Franz Spiegel Buch GmbH moves to its own production building in Ulm-Jungingen.

• 1930

  Franz Spiegel Buch GmbH founded by Franz Xaver Spiegel as a small bookbindery in Ulm.

• 1859

  Ebner publishing house founds the 'Ulmer Tagblatt' (today's Südwest Presse).

• 1817

  J. Ebner'sche Buchhandlung und Buchdruckerei founded.

One of Germany's largest book printing companies, part of the European CPI printing group, specializing in high-volume paperback and hardcover production.

• Paperback books

  High-volume paperback production, up to 450,000 per working day.

• Hardcover books

  Hardcover production, up to 170,000 per working day.

• Harry Potter German editions

  Printed the German editions of the Harry Potter series, including the final volume under tight security.

• 2011

  Salafist Quran printing controversy

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1. 1Ebner & Spiegel - Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
2. 2Ebner & Spiegel - Wikidatawikidata.org