Cimpress is to buy Saxoprint from photo finishing giant Cewe for an undisclosed sum. The deal brings Cimpress one of the largest online print businesses in Germany into its fold. Saxoprint has ultra modern premises in Dresden where it was the first to install Heidelberg’s plate to press technology and before that an eight-unit perfecting XL162 which is no longer available. Over the last year Saxoprint has switched to a hybrid production model with investment in Canon inkjet printing. It has also exploited the level of automation in the business to offer a ‘best price guarantee’ to match the price that a customer might get from another supplier.
The deal will also include the LaserLine and Viaprinto online portals.
The business has sales of €89.6 million in 2025 with Ebitda of €8.8 million on this and with 544 employees. While no purchase price is disclosed it “exceeds the current book value of the commercial online print division”. In comparison Bluetree reported sales of £56.6 million for the year to April 2025.
In Q1 this year, the division reported a small increase in sales which is put down to its price led strategy. This comes in what Cewe says is a “persistently declining market”, acknowledging that the German market is under pressure. Saxoprint has been investing in developing overseas markets, including a potential return to the UK market which came to an end with Brexit and imposition of border delays.
Cewe Ceo Thomas Mehls says the deal was made on ‘best owner’ principle. It sales will lift group profitability, saying that excluding Saxoprint Ebit margin would have been 11.2% rather than 10.2% with a rise in return on capital employed. “We have a strong commercial online print business, but we believe its future potential is best realized under an owner like Cimpress, whose entire strategy aligns very closely to COP’s focus and capabilities,” he says.
While Cimpress has a presence in Germany as well as Switzerland and Austria, it has lagged in size behind Onlineprinters and FlyerAlarm. The “tuck in” deal provides the capacity needed to expand its foothold in what is the largest print market in Europe.
According to Cimpress CEO Robert Keane the deal “extends Cimpress’ deep expertise and scale advantages in manufacturing, improving our ability to help millions of business customers build brands, stand out and grow via customised physical marketing products and branded merchandise.
“We have clear near-term plans to drive significant synergies through cross-Cimpress fulfilment. Multiple Cimpress businesses will leverage Saxoprint’s world-class production capabilities for its primary products, and Saxoprint will source other products from Cimpress’ focused production hubs across Europe.”
The deal is expected to complete in the second half of the year whereon Saxoprint becomes part of the Cimpress PrintBrothers division. It follows hard on the heels of Cimpress deal to buy 50% of online print portal Mixam.
