Miscellaneous printed matter market in Europe: size, suppliers and public contracts

Market size and key facts

In 2025, public buyers in 30 European countries awarded 480 supply contracts for miscellaneous printed matter through award notices on TED; the 243 of them that state a value (50.6%) add up to €75.2 million. EU countries together imported €6.61 billion of goods in the customs headings matched to miscellaneous printed matter in 2025 (Eurostat Comext, HS 4802 and 4801; sum of national imports, trade between EU countries included; all buyers, not only public ones), down 13.6% from 2023.

  • Since November 2023, 466 companies have won 1,325 public supply contracts for miscellaneous printed matter in 30 European countries, in 445 award notices from 305 public buyers.
  • 1.9% of these awards went to a company registered in a different country from the buyer; the most frequent foreign origin is Germany.
  • The five companies that win most often hold 24.8% of all awards across Europe.
  • 28% of the awards whose notice states the number of tenders received a single bid.

In proportion

All public purchasing in the EU-27 — general government spending on goods, services and investment, the measure the OECD and the European Commission use for public procurement — came to €2.93 trillion in 2025, 15.5% of GDP (Eurostat). Award notices on TED cover only the contracts above the EU thresholds, so they show who wins, not the whole of that spending.

Source: Eurostat, government finance statistics (gov_10a_main, gov_10a_exp) and GDP (nama_10_gdp), retrieved 9 November 2026.

Updated · counted daily from contract award notices on TED and Eurostat international trade data · figures as JSON · free to quote with attribution (CC BY 4.0)

How to cite: Cresques, "Miscellaneous printed matter market in Europe", https://cresques.com/markets/europe/229-miscellaneous-printed-matter, from TED contract award notices (© European Union) and Eurostat Comext, updated 13 November 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.

CPV group 229 across the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein: how much public buyers award, who wins, where from, and how the market splits by country.

The market in numbers

Public supply contracts in Europe: award notices published on TED from 2023-11 to 2026-11, by publication year.

Contracts awarded
1.3K
in 445 award notices
Awarded value
€154.7M
from 58% of awards with a published value
Winning companies
466
with at least one award
Public buyers
305
hospitals, cities, agencies
Contracts awarded by year
Contracts awarded by yearNov–Dec 2023: 1717Nov–Dec 20232024: 31631620242025: 48048020252026: 5125122026
Table view
Contracts awarded by year
Nov–Dec 202317
2024316
2025480
2026512
Awarded value by year (EUR)
Awarded value by year (EUR)Nov–Dec 2023: €1.9M€1.9MNov–Dec 20232024: €45.5M€45.5M20242025: €75.2M€75.2M20252026: €32M€32M2026
Table view
Awarded value by year (EUR)
Nov–Dec 2023€1.9M
2024€45.5M
2025€75.2M
2026€32M
Who buys: contracts by buyer sector
  1. Hospitals and health services: 643
  2. Cities, regions and central administration: 343
  3. Universities, schools and research: 79
  4. Police, fire services and prisons: 52
  5. Armed forces and defence agencies: 44
  6. Environment and waste: 40
  7. Culture, sport and religion: 28
  8. Economic affairs: 27
  9. Other69
    Other: 69
Table view
Who buys: contracts by buyer sector
Hospitals and health services643
Cities, regions and central administration343
Universities, schools and research79
Police, fire services and prisons52
Armed forces and defence agencies44
Environment and waste40
Culture, sport and religion28
Economic affairs27
Other69
Contracts by buyer country
  1. 46 companies
    Romania: 518
  2. 81 companies
    France: 117
  3. Czechia113
    17 companies
    Czechia: 113
  4. 58 companies
    Spain: 96
  5. 31 companies
    Poland: 87
  6. 41 companies
    Sweden: 69
  7. Lithuania64
    16 companies
    Lithuania: 64
  8. Slovenia44
    19 companies
    Slovenia: 44
  9. 33 companies
    Germany: 37
  10. Netherlands29
    19 companies
    Netherlands: 29
Table view
Contracts by buyer country
Romania518
France117
Czechia113
Spain96
Poland87
Sweden69
Lithuania64
Slovenia44
Germany37
Netherlands29
Who wins, by company size as declared in the notice
Who wins, by company size as declared in the notice: Large companies 15.8%, Medium-sized 14.9%, Small 28.6%, Micro 2%, SME (size not stated) 21.4%, Size not stated 17.4%Large companies: 209 (15.8%)16%Medium-sized: 198 (14.9%)15%Small: 379 (28.6%)29%Micro: 26 (2%)SME (size not stated): 283 (21.4%)21%Size not stated: 230 (17.4%)17%
  • Large companies
  • Medium-sized
  • Small
  • Micro
  • SME (size not stated)
  • Size not stated
Table view
Who wins, by company size as declared in the notice
Large companies209 · 15.8%
Medium-sized198 · 14.9%
Small379 · 28.6%
Micro26 · 2%
SME (size not stated)283 · 21.4%
Size not stated230 · 17.4%
Foreign winners: where they are registered
  1. Germany6
    Germany: 6
  2. Netherlands4
    Netherlands: 4
  3. Denmark4
    Denmark: 4
  4. Italy3
    Italy: 3
  5. United Kingdom3
    United Kingdom: 3
  6. Spain2
    Spain: 2
Table view
Foreign winners: where they are registered
Germany6
Netherlands4
Denmark4
Italy3
United Kingdom3
Spain2
Imports of these goods into the EU 27, all buyers (EUR)
Imports of these goods into the EU 27, all buyers (EUR)2023: €7.7B€7.7B20232024: €7.2B€7.2B20242025: €6.6B€6.6B2025
Table view
Imports of these goods into the EU 27, all buyers (EUR)
2023€7.7B
2024€7.2B
2025€6.6B

Imports: Eurostat Comext, customs headings 4802, 4801 (only headings whose trade is mainly this category); all buyers, not only public ones.

Awards to companies registered in the buyer's own country

98.1%

Awards to companies registered in the buyer's own country: 98.1%

25 awards went to companies registered elsewhere.

Share of the 5 biggest winners

24.8%

Share of the 5 biggest winners: 24.8%

Of all awards; a high share means a concentrated market.

Lots with a single bid

28%

Lots with a single bid: 28%

Among 1.3K awards whose notice states the number of tenders.

How we count: one award per procedure, lot and winning company, from live contract award notices; a joint procurement counts on every buyer's market. Values are the awarded amounts published in the notice (framework ceilings and estimates are never added), converted to euro at the ECB yearly average. Company size is the SME flag of the notice (eForms BT-165). Read the methodology.

Country pages

Countries with fewer than 25 winning companies in this group have no separate page; their awards are counted above.

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Questions

How big is the miscellaneous printed matter market in Europe?
In 2025, public buyers in 30 European countries awarded 480 supply contracts for miscellaneous printed matter through award notices on TED; the 243 of them that state a value (50.6%) add up to €75.2 million. EU countries together imported €6.61 billion of goods in the customs headings matched to miscellaneous printed matter in 2025 (Eurostat Comext, HS 4802 and 4801; sum of national imports, trade between EU countries included; all buyers, not only public ones), down 13.6% from 2023.
How many public contracts for miscellaneous printed matter are awarded in Europe?
Since November 2023 public buyers in 30 European countries awarded 1,325 supply contracts for miscellaneous printed matter in 445 TED award notices; the 768 awards with a published value add up to €154.7M.
Which countries buy the most miscellaneous printed matter through public tenders?
Romania (518 awards), France (117 awards), Czechia (113 awards) lead; 466 companies won at least one award across Europe.
How often do foreign suppliers win miscellaneous printed matter contracts?
1.9% of the awards went to a company registered in another country than the buyer; the most frequent foreign origin is Germany.

Source: contract award notices on TED — Tenders Electronic Daily (ted.europa.eu), © European Union, published since November 2023; processed by Cresques. Numbers updated 2026-11-13.