Independent Publishers Group

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For information on the optics company, see IPG_Photonics.

Independent Publishers Group, or IPG, is a book distributor, founded in 1971 to exclusively market titles from independent client publishers to the book trade. IPG combines its client publishers’ books into a single list, offering small and mid-size publishers the advantages of a marketing and sales force comparable to that of a major publishing house. IPG’s distribution services include warehousing, bill collecting, customer service, and trade sales management, all of which allow publishers to concentrate on the acquisition, editorial, design, and promotional sides of the business.

In 1987, IPG was acquired by Chicago Review Press, or CRP, a steadily-growing independent publisher founded at about the same time as IPG. CRP began marketing its titles through IPG and remains a cornerstone of IPG’s client publisher list. Other clients include foreign publishers seeking distribution in the United States. IPG currently distributes for large and small Australian independent publishers and for publishers in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Ireland, Switzerland, New Zealand, Israel, and elsewhere.

IPG acquired Paul & Company, an 11-year-old distributor of university presses, in 2001. In addition to its general trade catalogs, IPG now prepares a twice-yearly academic catalog and actively markets these titles to professors, academic libraries, and academic wholesalers.

In October 2006, IPG announced that it had acquired Trafalgar Square Publishing, founded in 1973, which specializes in the distribution of UK publishers. Its roster features many of the UK’s largest publishing houses, including HarperCollins UK, Simon & Schuster UK, and Random House UK. In all, the acquisition of Trafalgar Square expands IPG's distribution by 50 clients with a total of 13,500 new titles.